Cyberattacks linked to the Chinese government that compromised large portions of the American telecommunications network have the U.S. government sounding the alarm. The chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), has called it the 'worst telecom hack in our nation's history' and noted that it makes prior cyberattacks by Russian operatives look like 'child's play' by comparison. The complex cyberattack, carried out by a group of Chinese hackers dubbed Salt Typhoon, began as far back as 2022. Its purpose, according to U.S. officials, was to give Chinese operatives persistent access to telecommunications networks across the U.S. by compromising devices like routers and switches run by companies like AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and others. This attack comes on the heels of reports that the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were assisting telephone companies with countering other China-connected compromises of their networks. The earlier hacking was part of an attack targeting people in the Washington area in government or political roles, including candidates for the 2024 presidential election....

In 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon's surface ' a momentous engineering and science feat marked by his iconic words, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Three years later, Apollo 17 became NASA's final Apollo mission to land humans on the brightest and largest object in our night sky. Since then, no humans have visited the moon or traveled past low Earth orbit (LEO), largely because of shifting politics, funding, and priorities. But that is about to change. Through NASA's Artemis II mission, scheduled to launch no earlier than September 2025, four astronauts will be the first humans to travel to the moon in more than 50 years. In 2022, the uncrewed Artemis I mission proved the ability of NASA's new spacecraft Orion ' launched on the new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System ' to travel farther into space than ever before and return safely to Earth. Building on that success, the 10-day Artemis II mission will pave the way for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface, with the goal of establishing a future lasting human presence on the moon and preparing for human missions to Mars....

Business and IT leaders have made large efforts to build cyber resilience, or the ability to respond to and bounce back after a cyber crisis such as a data breach or operational disruption. But one aspect of cyber resilience deserves more attention from most organizations: the cyber crisis communications plan. The early hours of a cyber crisis are the worst time to realize that your communications plan is incomplete or nonexistent. Circumstances surrounding an incident, during which communication decisions need to be made, are urgent and chaotic. Adrenaline is running high; everyone, from employees to reporters, is demanding answers; and salespeople looking to protect relationships may even be sharing incorrect information. A leader's initial impulses for communication are often wrong and can create additional problems. That's why truly cyber-resilient organizations must have a cyber crisis communications plan in place ' and stress-test it regularly. Communication around a cyber incident is crucial to mitigating reputational harm, regulatory risk, and financial fallout. Delivering the right information at the right time, in the right tone and channel, takes practice....

On Feb. 12, the Division of Student Life and MIT lost a valued community member. Ken Johnson Jr., director of communications, promotions, and marketing in the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER), passed away following complications from a stroke. He was 47 years old. Johnson's sports information career spanned 25 years. Prior to working at MIT, he worked at Brown University and was the sports information director at Manhattanville College, the University of Bridgeport, St. Anselm College, and Assumption University. For the last eight years, Johnson has been at MIT, where he loved working with student-athletes and was recognized many times for his contributions to the sports communications profession. 'Ken truly embraced his role in DAPER. He loved working with our student-athletes and coaches. He continuously displayed his commitment to making every team feel special,' says G. Anthony Grant, DAPER department head and director of athletics. As a Red Sox fan, an avid golfer, a marathon runner, and a lover of all kinds of sports, Johnson was passionate about working with all of MIT's 33 sports teams ' and it showed. He was recently honored by the College Sports Communicators for his 25-year career in the field. Johnson was also the second vice president of the Eastern Athletic Communications Association and the recipient of the 2019 U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Excellence in Communications Award for NCAA Division III Track and Field....