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

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., departs a Democratic luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)

Senators seek answers about hackers obtaining sensitive student data from ostensibly anonymous tip line

Policy

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 16: The American flag flies above the U.S. Capitol building during a press conference on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Latest spy power reauthorization bill leaves critics unimpressed

Government

Mobile phone antennas at sunset; fhm, Getty Images

Surveillance campaigns use commercial surveillance tools to exploit long-known telecom vulnerabilities

Technology

(Getty images)

A dozen allied agencies say China is building covert hacker networks out of everyday routers

Government

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)

CISA director pick Sean Plankey withdraws his nomination

Government

Flowers adorn a garden in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building on March 31, 2026. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court is about to decide how far geofence warrants can go

Government

June 2, 2025: Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss. (nikkormat42, iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Lawmakers ponder terrorism designations, homicide charges over hospital ransomware attacks

Healthcare

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States Kash Patel is seen in the Capitol near a meeting on the administration’s use of FISA authority on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Alex Kent/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The surveillance law Congress can’t quit — and can’t explain

Government

Sean Cairncross, April 15, 2026 at the Semafor World Economy event in Washington, D.C. (Tim Starks/ CyberScoop)

Executive orders likely ahead in next steps for national cyber strategy

AI