Our picksCyber retaliation plans; preventing nuclear war; FEMA & climate change, and more

Published 19 March 2018

· NSA pick will develop cyber retaliation plans but don’t expect government to use them

· Seven Days in Entebbe and the nostalgia for 1970s terrorism

· In 1983, American provocations — and Soviet fear — drove the world closer to nuclear war

· To prevent nuclear war, borrow from 1973

· FEMA is not preparing for “climate change.”

· Trump’s data firm exploited private information from millions of Facebook users

· China’s New Frontiers in dystopian tech

· Food insecurity: A devastating consequence—and weapon—of conflict

· Here are some key challenges to critical infrastructure security

· What DOJ’s California lawsuit means for immigrant sanctuaries across the country

NSA pick will develop cyber retaliation plans but don’t expect government to use them (Joseph Marks, Defense One)
The other options for deterring cyberattacks aren’t much better, though.

Seven Days in Entebbe and the nostalgia for 1970s terrorism (Dominic Green, Spectator)
It was only Seven Days in Entebbe, but it felt like an eternity. The rescue in July 1976 by Israeli commandos of 102 Jewish and Israeli hostages from Palestinian and German terrorists at Entebbe airport in Uganda was a scriptwriter’s dream: a three-act drama of crisis, complication and resolution, in which the good guys won—good guys that is, unless you were rooting for the hijackers to murder 106 men, women and children for no other reason than they were Jewish. Three films were in production almost immediately. None were made by Arabs or Germans.

In 1983, American provocations — and Soviet fear — drove the world closer to nuclear war (War is Boring)
Soviet leaders worried the Americans were planning a sneak attack

To prevent nuclear war, borrow from 1973 (Adam M. Scheinman, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
North Korea’s nuclear build-up continues. Vladimir Putin announced on March 1 that Russia had developed new nuclear weapons—an announcement timed, no doubt, to one-up the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, which was released in February. Amid developments such as these, some observers worry that nuclear weapons are back, big time. The truth is that they never really left. Yes, total stockpile numbers have come way down from their Cold War high. But the strategic rationale for retaining nuclear weapons remains. That’s unlikely to change any time soon—so what can realistically be done to stop nuclear wars before they start?

FEMA is not preparing for “climate change.” (Emily Atkin, New Republic)
Last year was among the most expensive years in the history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief program, due to record-breaking hurricanes and wildfires that scientists say were made worse by climate change. But the agency has removed that very term from its strategic plan for the next four years.

Trump’s data firm exploited private information from millions of Facebook users (Chas Danner, New York Magazine)
The data analytics firm that worked for President Trump’s election campaign, Cambridge Analytica, harvested the personal information of tens of millions of Facebook users without their permission, then failed to delete that data when it got caught, according to a new joint-investigation by the New York Times and the Observer of London. Facebook, whose role in the 2016 presidential election has already been widely criticized, suspended Cambridge Analytica’s access to the service on Friday in light of the reports.

China’s New Frontiers in dystopian tech (Rene Chun, Atlantic)
Facial-recognition technologies are proliferating, from airports to bathrooms.

Food insecurity: A devastating consequence—and weapon—of conflict (Levi Maxey, Cipher Brief)

Behind the curtain of violent conflict often resides a potentially devastating, long-term issue that demands global attention: food insecurity as both a weapon and consequence of war. Militant groups recruit the hungry with promises of the next meal, and states such as North Korea and Syria control food as a mechanism of internal power and psychological warfare. The problem of feeding the world’s hungry – many of whom find themselves in the crossfire of conflict – is only expected to get worse as climates change, populations grow and the rural migrate to booming megacities.

Here are some key challenges to critical infrastructure security (Joseph Marks, Nextgov)
Researchers should focus on when humans need to be in the loop and when machines can take charge.

What DOJ’s California lawsuit means for immigrant sanctuaries across the country (Natalie Delgadillo, Governing)
The White House indicated that it may sue other states with policies similar to California’s. Does it have a case anywhere else?