How the FBI created a tech startup for a global sting operation

In 2018, a secure communications app known as Anom was released and quickly gained popularity with organized criminals who saw it as a new tool to conduct operations out of the view of law enforcement. But little did they know, the very app they believed gave them a place to hide was secretly being run by the FBI. In his new book Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation, journalist Joseph Cox explores the story of Anom and how it gave U.S. law enforcement and their global counterparts a front-row seat to the underworld. FedScoop’s Madison Alder and Rebecca Heilweil recently spoke with Cox about Dark Wire, how the FBI was able to pull the operation off, if there’s a chance for something like this to happen again, the unconventional ways government can access encrypted messaging today, and much more. Also: The National Labor Relations Board is one of the latest federal agencies to name an AI chief. David Gaston, NLRB’s assistant general counsel, will serve as the agency’s new chief artificial intelligence officer. And, two of the biggest artificial intelligence providers have signed agreements to formally collaborate with the U.S. AI Safety Institute on research, testing and evaluation of their models. The agreements, known as memorandums of understanding, were announced last week by the AI Safety Institute, which called them “first-of-their-kind” government and industry partnerships. Under those agreements, the institute, which is housed at the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, will “receive access to major new models from each company prior to and following their public release” and collaborate with the companies on evaluation and risk mitigation.