Our picksCDC’s Missteps | Cyber Honey Traps | World’s AI Norms, and more

Missteps at CDC Set Back U.S. Ability to Detect Coronavirus’ Spread(Caroline Chen et al., Defense One)
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed a flawed test for COVID-19, then took weeks to release a fix that allowed state and local labs to use it

Accused Chinese Hackers Abandon Techniques after U.S. Indictments(Jeff Stone, Cyberscoop)
U.S. indictments against individual Chinese soldiers accused of hacking various American targets have deterred those military personnel from conducting the same kinds of hacks again, according to the co-founder of a firm known for investigating nation-state activity.

The Taliban Peace Deal Might Have Been Had Many Years and Thousands of Lives Ago(Spencer Ackerman, Daily Beast)
There were three critical moments when the Taliban, out of weakness, were ready to cut a deal. But the United States, out of hubris, didn’t want to hear about it.

Inside the Cyber Honey Traps of Hamas (Neri Zilber, Daily Beast)
Terrorists used to use women (real or imagined) to lure Israeli soldiers to their doom. Now what they’re after is the soldiers’ phones.

Muslim Leaders Should Do More to Equip Young People to Challenge Terrorist Recruiters, Government Adviser on Islamophobia Says (Edward Malnick, Sunday Telegraph)
Qari Asim likened Islamist hate preachers to paedophiles and said they groom youngsters “to turn people into terrorists”

America Must Shape the World’s AI Norms — or Dictators Will(William Cohen, Leon E, Panetta, Chuck Hagel, Ash Carter, Defense One)
Four former U.S. defense secretaries issue a warning about China and a wake-up call to Americans on artificial intelligence.

Russia’s Election Meddling Involves New-Age “Psy-Ops” (Paul Linnee, Star-Tribune)
They”re using techniques I was taught in the U.S. Army, but the resources today give them a special edge to get their message out.

How Digital Disinformation Sows Hate, Hurts Democracy: QuickTake (Shelly Banjo, Washington Post)
Disinformation, now known as fake news, has tainted public discourse for centuries, even millennia. It’s been amplified in our digital age as a weapon of fearmongers, mob-baiters and election-meddlers to widen social fissures, subvert democracy and boost authoritarian regimes. Companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google are under pressure to take action.