Tim Starks

Tim Starks is senior reporter at CyberScoop. His previous stops include working at The Washington Post, POLITICO and Congressional Quarterly. An Evansville, Ind. native, he’s covered cybersecurity since 2003. Email Tim here: tim.starks@cyberscoop.com.

Articles by Author

The buttons of WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and other apps on the screen of an iPhone. (stockcam, Getty Images)

WhatsApp releases account feature that looks to combat spyware

Privacy

da-kuk, Getty Images

OMB rescinds ‘burdensome’ Biden-era secure software memo

Government

Curly_photo, Getty Images

Industry, government, nonprofits weigh voluntary rules for commercial hacking tools

Privacy

Jordanians wave the national flag and shout anti displacing Palestinian slogans during a protest over U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on Gaza on Feb. 7, 2025 in Amman, Jordan. The protest followed recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S. would “take over” and “own” Gaza after the end of the current war between Hamas and Israel, and that Palestinians in Gaza would leave for neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt. (Photo by Jordan Pix/Getty Images)

Researchers find Jordan government used Cellebrite phone-cracking tech against activists

Geopolitics

Madhu Gottumukkala, acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, testifies during the DHS oversight hearing in the Cannon House office building on Jan. 21, 2026. The hearing covered a full oversight into the Department of Homeland Security, CISA, TSA and S&T. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Lawmakers probe CISA leader over staffing decisions

Government

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrives for a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 8, 2025. Noem testified before the Homeland Security Subcommittee about her department’s FY 2026 budget request. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Congressional appropriators move to extend information-sharing law, fund CISA

Money

Computer with alert on it. — (Pixabay)

CISA’s secure-software buying tool had a simple XSS vulnerability of its own

Government

J Studios, Getty Images

Predator spyware demonstrates troubleshooting, researcher-dodging capabilities

Technology

Sean Plankey, of Pennsylvania, responds to questioning during Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearings to examine his nomination to be Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, of the Department of Homeland Security, in the Dirksen Senate office building, in Washington, DC, on Wednesday July 24, 2025. (Mattie Neretin/CNP/Sipa USA)

Sean Plankey re-nominated to lead CISA

Policy