About the role:Anthropic is seeking a Facility Security Officer (FSO) responsible for implementing and directing the government security program and ensuring company and customer security requirements are met. This position supports the National Industrial Security Program (NISP) and Anthropics efforts to test for CBRN and national security other risks with government agencies, requiring interface with all levels of personnel and government management to ensure contract security compliance.Responsibilities:Security Program AdministrationTake an inclusive, equitable approach to hiring and coaching top talent, and maintain a high performing teamCreate and manage comprehensive system for security operational posture including personnel processing, program reviews, and document control systemsOversee audits, self-inspections, and violation investigations & reporting requirementsMaintain security and risk management documentation and reporting systemsProcess and manage visit certificationsOversee facility access control systems and system designDesign and support SCIF facilities and alarm systems per ICD 705Lead program for respond to FCL security incidentsPersonnel Security ManagementOversee the maintenance of and updates to DISS/NISS systemsCreate sustainable process for security clearance requests and changesResponsible for ensuring all assigned personnel meet/maintain the appropriate security clearance requirementsImplement systematic employee security briefings/debriefingsCoordinate special access requirements and indoctrinationsOversee foreign travel briefing programSupport insider threat program initiativesMaintain personnel security files and databasesCompliance & TrainingEnsure compliance with NISPOM, ICD directives, and applicable security regulationsDevelop security policies, procedures, and documentationProvide security awareness and OPSEC trainingConduct staff assistance visits and facility inspectionsManage COMSEC requirementsSupport government inspections and assessmentsDocument ControlMaintain classified document accountabilityProcess courier authorizationsManage document marking and handling proceduresOversee classified visit requestsMaintain DD Form 254 documentationYou may be a good fit if you have:20-25 years cybersecurity and/or USG security control experience, 5+ years of FSO-like experienceCurrent TS/SCI clearance and ability to maintainWillingness to complete counterintelligence and lifestyle polygraphStrong knowledge of physical security requirements (Collateral Closed Areas, DoDM 5205.07, ICD 705)Proficiency with security systems (DISS, eQIP, NISS, ISFD)Experience with COMSEC custodian dutiesComprehensive knowledge of NISPOM and IC security standardsStrong organizational and communication skillsExcellent leadership and people management skillsStrong candidates may also have:DISS/NISS certificationIndustrial Security Professional (ISP) certificationComprehensive knowledge other cybersecurity frameworks for managing riskHave experience supporting fast-paced startup engineering teamsCare about AI safety risk scenariosAdditional Requirements:U.S. citizenship (ITAR compliance)Moderate travel expectedSubject to and must pass rigorous background checks, random drug testing, and polygraphAbility to work in dynamic fast pace environment with minimal supervisionStaff in this position are required to be based either out of the greater San Francisco or DC area with moderate travel expected.Deadline to apply: The expected salary range for this position is:Annual Salary:$340,000$400,000 USDLogisticsLocation-based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require more time in our offices.Visa sponsorship: We do sponsor visas! However, we aren't able to successfully sponsor visas for every role and every candidate. But if we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa, and we retain an immigration lawyer to help with this.We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification.How we're differentWe believe that the highest-impact AI research will be big science. At Anthropic we work as a single cohesive team on just a few large-scale research efforts. And we value impact advancing our long-term goals of steerable, trustworthy AI rather than work on smaller and more specific puzzles. We view AI research as an empirical science, which has as much in common with physics and biology as with traditional efforts in computer science. We're an extremely collaborative group, and we host frequent research discussions to ensure that we are pursuing the highest-impact work at any given time. As such, we greatly value communication skills.The easiest way to understand our research directions is to read our recent research. This research continues many of the directions our team worked on prior to Anthropic, including: GPT-3, Circuit-Based Interpretability, Multimodal Neurons, Scaling Laws, AI & Compute, Concrete Problems in AI Safety, and Learning from Human Preferences.Come work with us!Anthropic is a public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco. We offer competitive compensation and benefits, optional equity donation matching, generous vacation and parental leave, flexible working hours, and a lovely office space in which to collaborate with colleagues.

Table of Contents While Lady Gaga's recent take on the character in the Joker: Folie Deux live action movie may have divided opinion, the Harley Quinn show is still going strong, with a fifth season of the R-rated animated series about to hit streaming serviceMax.Voiced by Kaley Cuoco, the titular anti-hero once again lines up alongside fellow anti-hero Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) and an assortment ofvillains and heroes from the DC Universe,.This time out there's a new location for Harley's adventures, with the baseball bat-wielding protagonist swapping the familiar gothic cityscape of Gotham for Metropolis -- the home of Superman, leading to encounters with Lex Luthor, his sister, Lena, plus DC fan-favorite Brainiac.Here's more on exactly when you can see the story continue, and why you may want to pair the show with a VPN.Read more: Don't Quit These Streaming Services Just Yet in January 2025How to Watch Harley Quinn season 5Season 5 of Harley Quinn is exclusive to streaming service Max in the US, with its first episode debuting on Thursday, Jan. 16. New episodes will release every Thursday from then on until the season finale on March 20.Seasons 1-4 of Harley Quinn, plus a Valentine's Day special are already available to watch on demand on the streamer. James Martin/CNET Max Carries Harley Quinn If you're interested in watching Harley Quinn S5, now's a good time to subscribe to Max. Subscriptions cost $10 a month (with ads) or $17 a month (ad free). Want to watch in 4K? The Ultimate plan offers that feature and costs $21 a month. There's also theHulu, Disney Plus and Max megabundle: Ad-based version comes with a $17 monthly price tag, while the ad-free version is $30 a month. How to Watch Harley Quinn Season 5 with a VPNPerhaps you're traveling abroad and want to stream Max while away from home. With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the series from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming too.A VPN is the best way to encrypt your traffic to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that's passed our tests and security standards.You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you're using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list, such as Surfshark or NordVPN. James Martin/CNET 2024 Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands ExpressVPN isour current best VPN pickfor people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but you can save money with an annual plan.Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 61% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months) See at ExpressVPN Follow the VPN provider's instructions for installation, and choose the United States, where Harley Quinn season 5will be streaming on Max. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you're connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream Harley Quinn on more than one device, it's possible you'll need to configure each one to ensure you're signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you're logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you're ready to open Max to stream.If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you've followed installation instructions correctly and that you've picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services have restrictions on VPN access.

Full Until Dawn film trailer shows plenty of gruesome deathsTurn back time.Image credit: Sony Pictures News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on Jan. 16, 2025 Sony Pictures has released the first full trailer for its Until Dawn horror film.Earlier this week a teaser was released that hinted towards how the game's branching narrative would be replicated in the film.Now, in this full trailer, we can see how the plot revolves (literally) around an hourglass with the cast repeatedly waking up after gruesome deaths to try their luck at surviving once again.UNTIL DAWN Official Trailer (HD)Watch on YouTubeThough the plot differs from the original game - and features a new cast - there are plenty of horror tropes: from the haunted house setting, masked slayers, and chases thwarted by bear traps, to creepy zombie-like monsters and a particularly nasty looking face infection."Every night holds a clue," the trailer reads. "Every death brings you closer to the truth."Then: "If we want to survive, we have to make it until dawn," says one character nodding. He said the name!The film is set to release exclusively in cinemas on 25th April.As for the original game, it received a PS5 and PC remake in October last year and includes a new ending that points towards a possible sequel.

Where you place the products will matter too. MacMurray advises placing a small air purifier, like the Levoit Core Mini ($50) in the offending closet. If you dont have an outlet in there, hanging activated charcoal bags inside can help too. Theyre fantastic for absorbing odors and moisture in spaces with no ventilation, she says. By using both an air purifier and charcoal bags, you should start noticing a difference.Our experts have another strategy: blocking the aromas before they get in. For the cigarette smoke, Id try to seal up the front door with a door sweep and weather stripping to try to block it out, says Laura Fenton, the author of the Substack Living Small and book of the same name.There are some vents filters that can help too. Kuo notes the brand Lisol offers one that can be cut to size and there are products that have activated charcoal too. Just make sure air can still flow through. It's not a good idea to seal off the vents, as it can disrupt air circulation, Fenton notes.You might also ask your neighbors if theyre experiencing similar issues. This can help pinpoint the source. The neighbor may be unaware that they are negatively impacting other apartments, Fenton says.It's worth asking neighbors in the building if they are experiencing similar odor issues as well.Photo: draganab/Getty ImagesIf multiple apartments are experiencing the same problem, it may give you more leverage when talking to the landlord. Under NYC law, smoking or vaping in common areas of a building with three or more unitsincluding stairwells, hallways, and lobbiesis prohibited. I always say to ask questions of your landlord because so many of us who rent dont ask enough of them, Deane says.Hopefully these interventions help you breathe easier. But if the problem persists to the point where youre scrolling for new listings, note that some NYC buildings have smoke-free policies in their listings and might be worth seeking out.

Mark Zuckerberg can see the finish line. He is so close to getting what he has wanted for years. The U.S. government is trying to give him the greatest gift he could possibly imagine: A TikTok ban. This would be U.S. intervention against the most credible competitor Meta has seen in years, and U.S. intervention to kill a superior product to the benefit of an American company.On Joe Rogan last week, Zuckerberg said that the U.S. government should be defending its companies, not be the tip of the spear attacking its companies. And yet, in this case, the U.S. governmentthe Biden administration that he has been railing against as he pivots to MAGAhas squarely aimed its spear at Metas biggest, most credible competitor in a move that would greatly benefit Zuckerberg and his company.Everything that Zuckerberg is doing right nowMetas shift rightward; its dehumanizing of immigrants and LGBTQ+ users and employees; its move away from diversity-focused hiring; his trips to Mar-a-Lago; removing tampons from the mens bathrooms at Meta offices; the inauguration partyshould be seen in the broader context that Meta would benefit enormously from a TikTok ban and that Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as president on Monday, is the one person who, at this point, credibly has the ability to reverse a ban.Zuckerbergs very public pledge of fealty to Trump has multiple purposes, of course. Trump previously threatened to put Zuckerberg in jail, and he is obviously cozying up to an administration that he hopes will not regulate his companies. But a TikTok ban is the biggest potential prize. Trump has Zuckerberg by his apparently very masculine balls, and is positioning himself as being the ultimate decider on what will happen to TikTok.Zuckerbergs political persuasions and positions have always shifted with whatever suits his companies most at that moment in time, which is something that became more clear as I went back through many hours of Congressional testimony and political speeches that Zuckerberg has given over the last few years. One thing that has not changed, however, is Zuckerbergs obsession with using the specter of Chinese internet dominance and competition to both avoid consequences for his own company and to lay the groundwork for government regulation on Chinese platforms like TikTok.Meta has denied directly lobbying on the TikTok ban, but the company spent a record sum lobbying in 2024, including on Homeland Security topics. In March 2022, the Washington Post reported that Meta paid a firm called Targeted Victory to push the narrative that TikTok is dangerous to children. And Zuckerberg himself has spent the last five years painting a picture to Congress that his monopolistic company faces great competition, actually, from Chinese companies and more importantly from China itself. This story has served Meta extraordinarily well, as he has been able to distract from Metas myriad privacy violations and monopolistic actions by saying it would be worse if China wins. Meta is not a monopoly, he says. It is a company fighting on behalf of America against China and Chinese companies for the soul of the internet.Zuckerberg made this argument most clear at a speech at Georgetown University in 2019.The larger question about the future of our global internet. You know China is building its own internet focused on very different values, and its now exporting their vision of the internet to other countries, Zuckerberg said. Until recently, the internet in almost every country outside of China has been defined by American platforms with free expression values. But theres no guarantee that those values will win out. A decade ago almost all of the major internet platforms were American. Today, six of the top 10 are Chinese and were beginning to see this in social media too.While our services like WhatsApp are used by protesters and activists everywhere due to strong encryption and privacy protections, on TikTok, the Chinese app growing quickly around the world, mentions of these same protests are censored even here in the US, he added.A few days after Zuckerbergs Georgetown speech, Zuckerberg had a seven-hour hearing before the House Financial Services Committee in which he stated that an entire cryprocurrency system Facebook was spinning up called Libra was so incredibly important to U.S. financial and cultural dominance that if Congress imposed restrictions on it, Xi Jinping would win. (Libra, later called Diem and then sold to Silvergate Bank in 2022, is now dead.)I think there are completely valid questions about how a project like this would impact Americas financial leadership, our ability to impose sanctions around the world, our oversight of the financial system in a lot of places, Zuckerberg said. And I just think that we need to trade off and think about and weigh any risks of a new system against what I think are surely risks if a Chinese financial system becomes the standard.This general reasoning from Zuckerberg prompted Rep. Anthony Gonzalez to say that youre painting this as if we dont do it, China will do it. I think youll be hard pressed to find somebody who is more of a hawk on China in this committee. So I agree with that. What I dont think is the right frame is If Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook dont do it, then Xi Jinping will. Like, this isnt Mark Zuckerberg versus Xi Jinping Facebook doing this, frankly, I dont trust it and I dont believe the American people trust it.This endeavor of watching Zuckerbergs old testimony made clear that he lied repeatedly on Joe Rogan last week on all sorts of things. For example, he practically begged Congress to regulate Meta in July 2020during the Trump administrationwhile groveling about how seriously the company takes things like COVID misinformation and election integrity. On Rogan, he suggested such concerns were foisted upon him by the media and the Biden administration. Zuckerberg also seemed dumbfounded on Rogan that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Elizabeth Warren were interested in his company, which again, notoriously attempted to launch an entirely new global monetary system with Libra.We had organizations that were looking into us that were, like, not really involved with social media, Zuckerberg told Rogan. Like, I think, like, the CFPB, like, this financial I don't even know what it stands for. It's the, it's the financial organization, that Elizabeth Warren had set up. And it's basically like, we're not a bank.During another Congressional hearing in 2018, Zuckerbergs prepared notes said Break Up FB? U.S. tech companies key asset for America; break up strengthens Chinese companies. And, again, in 2020 he told Congress: If you look at where the top technology companies come from, the vast majority a decade ago were America. Today, almost half are Chinese Facebook stands for a set of basic principles. Giving people voice and economic opportunity. Keeping people safe. Upholding democratic traditions like freedom of expression and voting and enabling an open and competitive marketplace. These are fundamental values for most of us, but not for everyone in the world. Not every company we compete with or the countries they represent. As global competition increases, there is no guarantee that our values will win out.Meta, and, specifically, Instagram Reels, would be the most obvious beneficiary of a TikTok ban. TikTok has now what Facebook once had, and which Instagram has but is losing: Deep cultural relevance and a generation of users who love it. Facebook and Instagram still have billions of users, but AI spam, a terrible algorithm that seemingly universally surfaces cringe, and a huge number of bots and people who post like their brains are made of mashed potatoes have made both Facebook and Instagram feel like platforms that people remain on begrudgingly, not because they actually want to be there.Zuckerbergs general narrative that Meta faces intense competition from China and that Chinese social media companies cannot be trusted persisted across all of his Congressional hearings, and he has repeatedly used the specter of China exporting its cultural values via social media as a shield to deflect from his own companys monopolistic tendencies, its privacy violations, and its harms against children. He has used this not only to avoid regulation of his company and his platforms, but also to seed the ground for what ultimately became the TikTok ban. Zuckerberg can see the prize. The question is whether, by kissing Trumps ass, he will actually finally get it.Jason is a cofounder of 404 Media. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Motherboard. He loves the Freedom of Information Act and surfing.More from Jason Koebler

WastedMassive GTA 5 Liberty City modding project bites the dust after "friendly takedown" chat with Rockstar, dev says there's "no negativity" between it and Take-Two"We appreciate all the support that the project has received."Image credit: Rockstar Games. News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Updated on Jan. 16, 2025 A massive modding project which had brought a full re-creation of GTA 4's Liberty City to GTA 5 has gone the way of most pedestrians who cross a street Michael, Franklin, or Trevor happen to driving down. After a conversation with Rockstar Games, which the mod's developers have stated wasn't "a DMCA, rather a friendly takedown", it's been pulled from the internet.Dubbed the 'Liberty City Preservation Project', the mod was released to the public over the holidays, having been in the works since 2018. It looked pretty damn cool, and had clearly had a bunch of effort put into the details of the version of LC it let you fly out to from Los Santos and wreak havoc in.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Anyway, late yesterday, one of the lead developers on it - Nkjellman - posted this message in the Dirscord server of World Travel (that's the team behind the mod): "Due to the unexpected attention that our project received and after speaking with Rockstar Games, we have decided to take down the Liberty City Preservation project. We appreciate all the support that the project has received, and we look forward to continuing to pursue our passion for modding the Grand Theft Auto series."Bummer, right? Rockstar's got a weird history when it comes to its attitude to modding, having done plenty of stuff like this before, so it's not exactly out of the blue, but it sucks people can no longer download the thing this group of modders worked on, even if we've obviously got to take them at their word here that they were the ones who made the call and respect that choice.In a follow-up post put up on the server after the team "noticed a lot of misconceptions and theories surrounding our latest announcement", Nkjellman explained: "This isnt a DMCA, rather a friendly takedown, mutually agreed upon by all parties involved. There is no negativity between us and Rockstar Games/Take-Two Interactive."They added that the World Travel Discord server which was being used as the place players could download LCPP from "will be kept for future projects and community mods", but links to download the mod won't be allowed to be shared on it. The also advised against trying to get the mod via "unofficial links", since these could well contain malware or viruses.Previously, when it decided to release the LCPP to the public, the group said it was banking on Rockstar having changed its approach to mods since acquiring modding team Cfx.re, but, alas, it seems that's sadly not been the case.So, you'll have to find something else GTA-ish to play while you wait for GTA 6 to drop.

2 soon.They only went and did it!Yes, finally we can all relax and enjoy Nintendo's new hardware: Switch 2 is real, it's been officially revealed, and it's looking a bit sexy.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

SpaceX caught the Starship rockets Super Heavy booster for a second time, after it launched the upper stage into space on Thursday during a seventh test flight of the system. Soon after the successful catch, SpaceX representatives reported the ship was lost after the company lost contact about eight and half minutes into the flight. The ship had successfully separated from the booster and had started its own rocket engines to ascend to orbit before it appeared some of those engines gave out. The company then saw its link to the telemetry coming off of the ship disappear, and a few minutes later SpaceX confirmed that the ship had suffered an anomalywith that upper stage during the end of its ascent burn in space.The company pulled off the first booster catch which involves articulated arms on the launch tower snatching the rocket stage out of the air as it uses rockets to slow its descent in October 2024. A second attempt to catch the booster in November was called off due to a communication problem.The rocket SpaceX sent up on Thursday was upgraded in multiple ways compared to prior test flights. The company hoped to test out a number of different heat tiles on the ship section, which protect it from the forces of re-entry. The launch tower was also outfitted with radar sensors to more accurately locate the booster during the catch process.This story is developing

Boston has notoriously bad traffic, but does it have to be that way? Economists, planners, transit advocates, and politicians in Massachusetts are closely monitoring whats happening in New York, now that congestion pricing has gone into effect. Many view congestion pricing in Boston as a potential panacea for resolving what amounts to the fourth worst traffic problem in the world. Were looking very closely at what New York City is doing with congestion pricing, Brian Kane, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board, told WBUR this week. Im not saying thats going to happen in Massachusetts any time soon, but I do think we have a real world example of what could potentially happen if its allowed to continue after Inauguration Day, Kane said. That I think will be a good test to see if it could work here.Congestion pricing, or congestion relief, seems to be clearing up Manhattan gridlock, making for a more pleasant pedestrian and cycling (and driving) experience. It will unlock money for capital improvements to the subway. Many New Jersey commuters have come on board: Those who rely on Port Authority Bus Terminal to get to work say commutes have been cut substantially. Could Boston be next? If so, how would congestion pricing work in the City on a Hill?The Wu administration is using the No. 28 bus for a fare-free bus pilot program, which could be expanded with congestion pricing. (IliketrainsR211T/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)I think Greater Boston is about ten years from a congestion pricing system, said Chris Dempsey, a Boston planner and partner at Speck Dempsey, who previously helmed Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), a local riders alliance. Dempsey also teaches in Harvard GSDs real estate program and prides himself on never having owned a car.I dont think anything is going to happen quickly here, but I do think that the progress, and what I would call success in New York is very helpful and beneficial to the conversation here, Dempsey told AN. All the technology is in place. You could basically snap your fingers and do peak and off-peak pricing overnight, if you wanted to. What were missing is the politics to make it happen. Politics, and other factors, are indeed at play, just like New York. Former Boston City Council President and District2City Councilor Ed Flynn, and others, say the additional tax may be burdensome, especially to the working class and seniors in a city thats already expensive. I think its unfair to have this type of commuting and add a tax to people struggling to make ends meet, Flynn told AN. Congestion pricing is inequitable. It would negatively impact working families and communities of color.Yay or Nay?Theresa Carr, a planner at Nelson\Nygaard with an economics degree, has been studying congestion pricings feasibility in Boston for decades. Previously, Carr has conducted congestion pricing studies for Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other cities. She also thinks Boston is ripe for following New Yorks footsteps. Sustainability, equity, climate resiliency, you name it. Congestion pricing pays dividends, Carr said. She alsobelieves congestion pricing in Boston could fill a widening hole in funding for mass transit in the city. As a transit planner, I am always trying to make mass transit competitive with driving, Carr told AN. This is where we need to consider economics, because it ultimately comes down to peoples willingness to pay for that competitiveness, right? Also, the T has a hole in funding, and I know the Millionnaires Tax will help with that, but theres so much more revenue we need to invest in transit. And congestion pricing can help with that enormously. It will benefit drivers, too, because it will make their commutes way more predictable.View of downtown Boston from South Station sidewalk (Sharon Hahn Darlin/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0)Joe Poirier is an associate of Carr and previously studied congestion pricings feasibility in Seattle. Congestion pricing is such a massive revenue generator, which cannot be understated, Poirier added. Poirier said too that, as many commuters shift over from gas guzzling cars to electric vehicles, and revenue from the gas tax shrinks, congestion pricing can make up for that shortfall. If gas tax revenue keeps falling, he said, theres going to be an even bigger hole in funding for fixing roads. Revenue from congestion pricing can help with that.Flynn, whose district includes Downtown Boston, the South End, Chinatown, South Boston, and other neighborhoods, sees things differently. Many of our commuters are hotel workers, janitors, nurses, and teachers, so I dont think we should make it harder for them, Flynn said. Our city is already facing shortages in public safety and traffic enforcement. Its not hard to imagine the labor and skills well lose if we burden commuters who drive into the city and provide these services, he said. Likewise, Flynn raised concerns about the MBTA, which is riddled with financial problems, and whether or not the T can handle the influx of riders congestion pricing would create. We have a struggling MBTA system. Many people need their cars because the transit system doesnt run 24 hours, Flynn said. Late night train service is non-existent, and bus service is limited and infrequent. Low income workers and first responders that work between midnight and morning have no choice but to drive into Boston so I think wed be hurting them the most. If congestion pricing forces people off roads onto our already fragile public transit system, the T is unlikely to perform effectively.Howd We Get Here?Talks about congestion pricing in Boston date back to the early 2000s, around the time then Mayor Bloomberg and his planning tsar Dan Doctoroff were weighing its application in New York. It was in 2005 when Paul Scapicchio, a former Boston City Councilor who represented East Boston and Chinatown, first floated the idea, which he continuously advocated for.T4MA took the baton from Scapicchio when, around 2017, Dempsey started courting then Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who historically had been opposed to congestion pricing. Governor Baker was a skeptic of increased tolling his entire political career, Dempsey said, but he eventually endorsed the concept of high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT), where you pay dynamic prices to move more quickly on free lanes.HOT lanes decreased traffic congestion, and many enjoyed the new capital it brought for infrastructure improvements. Things seemed to be going in the right direction for Bostons pro-congestion pricing bund until COVID-19 happened, when other things took priority for Governor Baker. Our momentum was totally killed by COVID, Dempsey said.South Station is one of the Ts most vital hubs. (IliketrainsR211T/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)Incumbent Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey took office in 2023. Healey previously said she opposed congestion pricing but eventually changed her tune in 2024 when she created a task force responsible for generating transit revenue. The T has a $700 million funding gap, and the task forces job was finding ways to rectify that, which put congestion pricing back on the table.Congestion pricing was subsequently endorsed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu after Healeys announcement, although Wu has concerns thanks to shaky MBTA leadership. Boston City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune is also a strong proponent of congestion pricing. In response, Boston Herald pundits dismissed the idea as woke after Wus endorsement, much like what Joe Borelli did in New York.Borelli, a New York City Councilmember from Staten Island, has fought hard against congestion pricing, and continues to fight it hard. (But not as hard as Vickie Paladino, a Queens lawmaker who recently encouraged people to sabotage congestion pricing by aiming lasers at the sensor boxes.) New York conservatives have opined against congestion pricing for the supposed hardship it would mean for motorists. Dempsey however disagrees, and believes motorists have much to gain from the system. Anyone who drives into the city for work actually stands to benefit the most from congestion pricing, Dempsey told AN. Because congestion pricing creates much more predictability in your commute as a motorist. It can literally shave hours from your drive, giving you more time at home and with family.Flynn recognizes the need for reducing traffic but doesnt think congestion pricing is the right solution. Instead of a fee on our drivers I think its critical we invest in a more reliable public transit system, Flynn said, and increase bus routes and frequency to incentivize people to take transit.How Will It Work?On January 14, Governor Healey released a landmark $8-billion transportation plan which is meant to stabilize the MBTAs troubled finances and supercharge other transportation investments. Transit advocates had long awaited the plan because, previously, Healey said she may include resources in the budget for planners to study congestion pricings implementation in Boston, although the eventual budget inevitably had no such language.Like New York, it seems that constraints at the state level hinder congestion pricings employment in Massachusetts. In many ways, Boston could easily copy New York Citys playbook, Dempsey said, precisely because both cities are tightly governed at the state level, but there would need to be some differences in approach.Dempsey noted that there are two types of congestion pricing: Theres whats called cordon pricing and corridor pricing. Cordon pricing is what New York implemented, where 60th Street became a line, or a cordon, where tolls are extracted using sensor boxes (designed by Dattner Architects). Corridor pricing is a bit different, Dempsey said, and is probably the kind of system that would work best in Boston, which has a different urban layout than New York. Corridor pricing would mean sensor boxes installed above lanes on key arteries which feed into Bostons CBD like the Tobin Bridge, as opposed to a line like Manhattans 60th Street, although Dempsey said the project isnt advanced enough yet to know what the boundary would be, or where exactly the tolls should go.Moreover, Bostons subway system isnt as robust as say New Yorks, so instead of moving people onto trains, many Boston commuters would take bus service to avoid tolls. The added revenue congestion pricing unlocks could help Mayor Wu expand her fare-free bus pilot program, which is currently underway in Roxbury, among other benefits. Urban design aside, however, political bottlenecks are the real issue at hand.View of downtown Boston (SounderBruce/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)As a planning consultant, I can confidently say Mayor Wu is the best transportation mayor in the entire country, Dempsey said. She is a transit rider herself, and she understands how important transportation is for equity. But ultimately, I do really think that this is going to require state leadership. Because today, the city does not have the power to do tolling itself, right? And so the state, at a minimum, would have to give the city power to do this. And I just dont see that happening right now. Nevertheless, Dempsey remains optimistic. I get why people are skeptical in Greater Boston, Dempsey said, but polls show that approval for congestion pricing is always very low before its implemented, just like what we saw in New York. Dempsey pointed to a similar instance that occurred in Stockholm when the Swedish government held a referendum on keeping congestion pricingthe public voted overwhelmingly to retain it because of the capital improvements it untapped, and better commutes.For now, it seems as though congestion pricing is on the Massachusetts Governors backburner, but that could change after a positive phone call with the New York Governor. So for many, now is a good time to start thinking about congestion pricings feasibility in Boston, and whether or not its a good fit. The Massachusetts Governor is waiting to see what happens in New York, Dempsey said, and to gauge the political temperature from Governor Hochul.

Outgoing United States president Joe Biden has signed a cyber security executive order (EO) promising to build on the foundational steps taken earlier in his administration by ordering additional actions to improve the US cyber security.In one of his last official acts before the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump next week, Biden detailed actions intended to improve accountability for software and cloud service providers, strengthen the security of US government IT infrastructure, promote security modernise security best practice, promote innovation, and address malicious cyber threats to the US and by extension her allies emanating from other jurisdictions.Significant malicious cyber-enabled activities pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, said Biden, presenting the EO to Congress.He wrote: These campaigns disrupt the delivery of critical services across the nation, cost billions of dollars, and undermine Americans security and privacy. More must be done to improve the nations cyber security against these threats.Among some of the provisions of interest to the security industry are the imposition of new reporting requirements on software suppliers to the US government, including the introduction of secure software development attestations, to be overseen by the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).The order also requires federal government bodies to adopt industry best practice, especially in identity and access management (IAM) to improve threat visibility and strengthen cloud security, and to implement strong authentication and encryption across its infrastructure.It also supports the modernisation of said infrastructure and where it supports critical government work, and enforces the use of cyber best practice in areas such as zero-trust, endpoint detection and response (EDR), encryption, network segmentation, and phishing resistant multifactor authentication (MFA), as well as around procurement and use of government contractors.Elsewhere, it calls on the government to accelerate research at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and security, and post-quantum encryption.Finally, the EO sets out additional steps to combat cyber threats, providing that any property or interests in property in the US are blocked and may not be transferred or paid to any individuals determined by the US government to be complicit or to have engaged in malicious cyber activities.Illumio public sector chief technology officer Gary Barlet, who previously held US government CIO posts at multiple organisations, said: Bidens executive order introduces several promising proposals that could significantly enhance the nations cyber security posture, including stricter software requirements, guidance on leveraging artificial intelligence for cyber defenses, and the adoption of endpoint detection and response tools.Its encouraging to see a focus on addressing critical issues that align with the pressing need to counter nation-state threat actors, and Im particularly encouraged by the emphasis on collaboration, which will be essential to the success of these measures.However, with Bidens time in the White House now measured in hours, Barlet said that the success of the EO would depend on policy priorities set forth by the incoming Republican administration.The next administration has an opportunity to bring renewed focus and energy to government technology. By building on the existing foundations and progress, we could see meaningful progress in federal cyber security posture and collaboration efforts that lead to impactful results, he said.Echoing his actions in the wake of his 2016 victory, Trumpis expected to sign a pile of new EOs after taking office on 20 January, many of them likely to focus on issues such as immigration that activated his voter base in November.Whether or not Trump will take any immediate action on cyber security remains to be seen, and speaking to journalists before Biden signed the order, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, said Bidens team had not discussed the content of the EO with Trumps transition team in advance, but that they were open to such discussions once Trumps team is in place.According to reports, Trump is close to picking cyber veteran Sean Plankey to run CISA, replacing the outgoing Jen Easterly.Plankey, who currently works with post-quantum encryption firm Indigo Vault, among other things, served in security roles at the Department of Energy (DoE) and was director for cyber policy on the National Security Council during Trumps first term. He has also worked in security roles in Americas armed forces, including naval intelligence and the Coast Guard.Neuberger said she hoped that the broad brush aims of the EO were bipartisan enough that they should be taken forward by the next president.Read more on US tech policy under TrumpPresident-elect Donald Trump's tech policy team at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will strongly influence the administration's direction on AI.A proponent of AI's use in HR, Keith Sonderling has been nominated by president-elect Donald Trump for the No. 2 position in the Department of Labor. Few government programs have affected US IT workers as deeply as H-1B. As Trump takes office, his administration must weigh worker concerns against Elon Musk's agenda.