Washington Post: “The Trump administration has asked a federal court to reconsider a ruling that opened the door for potential payments to millions of federal employees and others due to the cybertheft of their personal information. The Justice Department request, filed last week, involves what it calls “massive litigation” stemming from hacks of two government… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
Rand Report – Hostile Social Manipulation
Hostile Social Manipulation – Present Realities and Emerging Trends: “The role of information warfare in global strategic competition has become much more apparent in recent years. Today’s practitioners of what this report’s authors term hostile social manipulation employ targeted social media campaigns, sophisticated forgeries, cyberbullying and harassment of individuals, distribution of rumors and conspiracy theories,… Continue Reading
FY 2019 Domestic Terrorism Prosecutions Twice Number for International Terrorism
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – “Prosecutions for domestic terrorism outnumber those for acts of international terrorism by 2-to-1. The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first ten months of FY 2019 the government reported 204 terrorism-related prosecutions had been filed. Of these 71 or one in three were for acts… Continue Reading
US border officials are increasingly denying entry to travelers over others’ social media
TechCrunch: “Travelers are increasingly being denied entry to the United States as border officials hold them accountable for messages, images and video on their devices sent by other people. It’s a bizarre set of circumstances that has seen countless number of foreign nationals rejected from the U.S. after friends, family or even strangers send messages,… Continue Reading
CRS Report to Congress on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems
The following is the August 16, 2019 Congressional Research Service In Focus report – International Discussions Concerning Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems. “As technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), advances, lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS)—weapons designed to make decisions about using lethal force without manual human control—may soon make their appearance, raising a number of potential ethical,… Continue Reading
61% of Voters Say They Believe Russia Will Try to Interfere in 2020 Election
Morning Consult: “With less than six months until the first presidential primary vote is cast in Iowa, more voters are saying it’s likely that Russia will try to interfere in the next presidential election, according to a recent Morning Consult/Politico poll. But the survey suggests that the prospect won’t deter them from heading to the… Continue Reading
Modernization of Secrecy System is Stalled
Secrecy News: “Today’s national security classification system “relies on antiquated policies from another era that undercut its effectiveness today,” the Information Security Oversight Office told the President in a report released yesterday. Modernizing the system is a “government-wide imperative,” the new ISOO annual report said. But that is a familiar refrain by now. It is much the… Continue Reading
U.S. Views of China Turn Sharply Negative Amid Trade Tensions
Over half of Americans see friction in the current bilateral economic relationship, and more now see China as a threat – “Over the past year, the United States and China have slapped a series of escalating tariffs on one another, with the U.S. now taxing more than $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. Despite periodic,… Continue Reading
Edward Snowden memoir to reveal whistleblower’s secrets
The Guardian – In Permanent Record, the former spy will recount how his mass surveillance work eventually led him to make the biggest leak in history – “After multiple books and films about his decision to leak the biggest cache of top-secret documents in history, whistleblower Edward Snowden is set to tell his side of the… Continue Reading
White House Blocked Report on Climate Change and National Security
The New York Times – The White House Blocked My Report on Climate Change and National Security – Politics intruded on science and intelligence. “That’s why I quit my job as an analyst for the State Department. Ten years ago, I left my job as a tenured university professor to work as an intelligence analyst… Continue Reading
U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: The Corporate Connection
Center for International Policy – U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: The Corporate Connection, by William Hartung and Cassandra Stimpson, July 29, 2019 – “This report provides information on arms offers to Saudi Arabia involving the four largest U.S. arms suppliers to that nation: Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and General Dynamics. Over 90% of U.S. arms… Continue Reading
Senate Intel Committee Unveils Election Security Report In Wake Of Mueller Hearings
NPR – “The Senate intelligence committee has released its report detailing Russia’s targeting of election systems in 2016 along with recommendations for protecting American elections from foreign interference. The committee’s final report on election security [redacted] appeared Thursday as the 2020 presidential race gets underway in what promises to be a bitter and divisive election… Continue Reading
