The Russia watchDanger: Cyber trust war; Putin’s new cyber tool: GPS spoofing; France vs. fake news, and more

Trust war: Dangerous trends in cyber conflict (Neal A. Pollard, Adam Segal, and Matthew G. Devost, War on the Rocks) For most of cyberspace’s short history, defense analysts, policymakers, and many computer experts have been focused on cyber-attacks that cause physical destruction and death. However, so far, cyber conflict has taken a different path. While the threat to factories, power grids, and refineries remains — and may be growing as more things are connected to the internet — cyber-attacks have generally sought to subvert the integrity of political, social, and economic systems, rather than destroy physical infrastructure. The most prominent operations of the last year — Russian attempts to undermine the 2016 American presidential election through the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, the release of emails, and the use of fake Facebook and Twitter accounts — were designed to undermine trust in institutions through manipulation, distortion, and disruption. Cyber-attacks on trust are more worrying than those intended to produce physical effects. Attackers find it easier, and perhaps more effective, to weaken the bonds of a military alliance rather than go after fighter jets, or to corrupt financial data rather than destroy banks’ computers. Cyber-attacks on trust and integrity have a much lower threshold, are harder to detect and deter, and can cascade through interconnected systems.

FBI vets: What many are missing about the infamous ‘dossier’ amid Russia probe (Mike Levine, Newsweek)The unverified nature of the Steele Dossier is precisely why the FBI decided to look into the allegations, rather than accept them as evidence, and why the dossier should not be used to undermine what federal authorities have since uncovered, according to law enforcement veterans. Trump and other Republicans accuse the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller of conducting an investigation based on a “dossier that was all dressed up” and “paid for by the Clinton campaign,” as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), put it during a House hearing in December. Law enforcement veterans say such criticism seems to misunderstand — or deliberately misconstrue — the role that something like the dossier plays in investigations. “They not only misunderstand how these kinds of investigations are conducted, but knowingly attempt to discredit the investigation … by playing on that misunderstanding,” a former U.S. FBI official told ABC News.