REPORTING ON PORT SECURITY
As national security correspondent for Voice of America (VOA), Jeff Seldin combines two passions into his journalism career — reporting the news and traveling the world. He’s journeyed across the U.S., Europe, North Africa and the Middle East to report on governments, policy, terrorist groups and cybersecurity, for audio platforms, such as WTOP and Federal News Network in Washington, D.C.
When he joined VOA’S newsroom, he worked the Pentagon beat and saw his role expanded to the intelligence agencies, counterterrorism, cybersecurity and security at the nation’s borders and ports. He crafts his coverage for international audiences.
“Usually I tell people if it can blow up or does blow up, in the real world or cyberspace, it’s something that I may have to cover,” he told E&P. Naturally, security at U.S. borders and ports is a constant concern.
“There are consistent questions about what’s going on at the southwest border,” Seldin said. “Some of that involves factors like migration trends, international crime, human smuggling and climate change.” He noted the worry that international terrorist groups — such as Iranianbacked Hezbollah, which has made inroads in Latin America — would capitalize on porous borders to send operatives to the United States.
While many journalists are tasked with reporting on the southern border, few are covering national security risks at U.S. ports, which are essential to the economy and supply chain. However, these stories don’t escape Seldin’s radar. In February 2024, he alerted audiences to the growing threat of cyberattacks on port systems and the concern that heavy equipment used at these ports, manufactured in China, might ultimately be used for spy operations.
“The way the Chinese government works, if you’re a technology company in China, the law requires you to share whatever information or data you have with the government. … So, security professionals in government and intelligence officials no longer see that much of a difference between Chinese companies and the Chinese government. You see this right now in the whole debate over Tiktok,” Seldin said.
Besides cybercrimes, ports are also vulnerable to more physical threats, such as cargo containers used for drug or human smuggling. In his role, Seldin queries the White House and Pentagon, the Coast Guard and CISA — the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency — to get to the heart of these matters. While some niche news publications expressly report on port security, few national news outlets have beat reporters on it. Seldin suggested that’s likely a symptom of the complexity of this coverage and the need for subject-matter experts, particularly in the cybersecurity realm.
“I think the challenge is always going to be how to make something that can be very dry or complicated accessible to audiences,” he said.