Keith’s note: If new border entry requirements go into force a lot of non-U.S. citizens may not be inclined to come to the U.S. for NASA and space-oriented meetings since they will be required to give the U.S. government access to 5 years of social media postings. According to a 10 Dec 2025 Federal Register posting by CBP regarding the Arrival and Departure Record (Form I-94) and Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA): “3. Mandatory Social Media: In order to comply with the January 2025 Executive Order 14161 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application. The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years.” So maybe NASA and all of its professional organizations will consider start using Zoom again like they did during the pandemic. Or move their meetings offshore. And flying suborbital flights out of the U.S. will be more intrusive as well.

Keith’s note: A reader started to give crap on LinkedIn on Wednesday about an image of his that had gone viral – and that I reposted before I knew the source. When I offered to credit him with is name it went sideways. So I retagged the photo with a generic tag to protect him. I did not identify him since I don’t do that. But then he started to stalk me on another social media platform and, given his employment as a law enforcement employee at NASA with a profile pic in full camo gear, well, a line had been crossed. Messages to NASA PAO have since gone unanswered – so there you go. Original posts below.

Keith’s note: according to the NASA OIG report Evaluation of NASA’s Information Security Program under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act for Fiscal Year 2025: “The Federal Information Security Modernization Act requires the Office of Inspector General to conduct an annual evaluation of NASA’s information security program. For fiscal year 2025, we rated NASA’s information security program at a Level 3 – meaning policies, procedures, and strategies were consistently implemented, but quantitative and qualitative effectiveness measures were lacking – a rating that falls short to be considered effective.”

Keith’s note: This memo was just sent out to NASA SMD employees (and others). It opens with “To ensure the continued safety of our workforce and compliance with security measures, the NASA Headquarters Protective Services Office will be reinstating random searches and inspections of individuals, belongings, and vehicles…” A day or so after NASA scared 4,000+ civil servants out of their jobs (and the contractor count is still TBD), the 9th floor sends out scary memos like this to their workforce. Brian Hughes et al simply do not know how to read the room. When the White House gets around to asking NASA to do something spectacular it will become obvious that they pushed NASA to throw away far too much human expertise. And NASA management now makes a point of needlessly freaking out those who remain. You have minimal resources left Brian, Darren, Sean et al. Treat them as the valuable individuals that they are – not sheep for you to scare whenever you get a memo from the White House . (Full memo below).

Keith’s note: Mike Witt, NASA’s Senior Agency Information Security Officer (SAISO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Cybersecurity and Privacy is leaving the agency shortly. Best wishes, Mike.

Keith’s note: It would seem that DOGE is tracking NASA employees as they come – and go – at NASA Headquarters. And if they are doing it there then you can expect that this will be done across the agency. And that is the plan.

Keith’s note: According to this press release “Committee Leaders Demand Answers from NASA on DOGE Access After the Agency Refuses to Comply with Investigation“ specific instances of DOGE employees (who are named) with unparalleled access to NASA sensitive information have been identified. NASA has not been forth coming in their responses to earlier Congressional inquires in this regard. Now Congress wants answers, saying “The information we have reviewed of NASA’s vulnerability to DOGE-related threats is chilling.” Full release and letter below:

Keith’s note: there are several credible reports that I have verified of incidents wherein NASA employees (civil servant and contractor) were persistently harassed outside of their office in public places like coffee shops. IMHO NASA folks should use caution outside of work with regard to wearing badges etc. NASA has sent out this statement (to some media but not others) in response to reports of these incidents: “While we generally do not report on personal matters, I would like to clarify we are hearing stories of possible harassment toward employees, but not assault. Our managers are hearing information thirdhand and using this as an opportunity to remind our teams to be mindful of their surroundings and to report any incidences to the Office of Protective Services.” See NASA Management Is Ignoring You

NASA OIG: NASA’s Security Management Practices “While overall security policy and oversight are managed by OPS at the Agency level, implementation and funding of protective services operations remains a responsibility of Center leadership who used their resources to pursue Center- based priorities. As a result, OPS authority is marginalized and Centers, at times, develop and implement strategies that conflict with the intent of Agency directives. As part of MAP, OPS […]

A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone, The Verge “Seemingly, Bikkannavar’s reentry into the country should not have raised any flags. Not only is he a natural-born US citizen, but he’s also enrolled in Global Entry — a program through CBP that allows individuals who have undergone background checks to have expedited entry into the country. He hasn’t visited the countries listed in […]