Our picksCOVID-19 Knowns and Unknowns | Preparing for the Next Pandemic | COVID-19 & Biological Warfare, and more

DHS Makes a Master List of Knowns and Unknowns of COVID-19 Outbreak (Brandi Vincent, Nextgov)
The agency developed the master question list as a reference for government decision-makers.

Router Phishing Scam Targets Global Fear over Coronavirus (Peter Grad , Tech Xplore)
There is no tragedy serious enough that creeps somewhere around the world won’t take advantage of. The cybersecurity organization Bitdefender reported this week that phishing scams preying on people’s fears about coronavirus have been detected among users of Linksys and D-Link routers.

Microsoft Divests from Israeli Facial-Recognition Startup (Matt O’Brien, AP)
Microsoft said Friday it is pulling its investments from a facial-recognition startup AnyVision, which scans faces at Israeli military checkpoints, even though the tech giant couldn’t substantiate claims that the startup’s technology is used unethically.

Preparing for the Next Pandemic (Osamah F. Khalil, The Hill)
Well before COVID-19, public health professionals and national security officials warned of the potential impact of pandemics to the United States. However, those warnings were ignored by successive presidential administrations and the U.S. Congress. Instead, the continued emphasis on military expenditures and interventions has come at the expense of investing in and securing America’s health care and public health infrastructure. 

White House Abruptly Transfers DHS Official amid Loyalty Purge (Daniel Lippman, Politico)
The White House removed a top public affairs official at the Department of Homeland Security in a move that shocked many in the department as it takes a lead role in handling the coronavirus pandemic, according to two former senior DHS officials familiar with the matter.
Heather Swift, who was DHS’ deputy assistant secretary of public affairs, was abruptly pushed out of her position on Friday after the Presidential Personnel Office raised questions about her loyalty to President Donald Trump, said one of the former DHS officials.
The personnel office may have discovered some old social media posts that officials there did not like, this person said, though Politico was unable to find any examples of posts the Trump administration might find objectionable.

Russia Claimed It Created a Coronavirus Cure, but It’s an American Malaria Drug (Julia Davis, Daily Beast)
As the Kremlin’s cynical effort to hide the extent of the pandemic in Russia is ever more apparent, it’s scrambling to blame others and present itself as the global savior.

In Iran, False Belief a Poison Fights Virus Kills Hundreds (AP)
Iranian media report nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 1,000 sickened so far by ingesting methanol across the Islamic Republic, where drinking alcohol is banned and where those who do rely on bootleggers. An Iranian doctor helping the country’s Health Ministry told The Associated Press on Friday the problem was even greater, giving a death toll of around 480 with 2,850 people sickened.
The poisonings come as fake remedies spread across social media in Iran, where people remain deeply suspicious of the government after it downplayed the crisis for days before it overwhelmed the country. 

Does Coronavirus Prove Biological Warfare Is Coming? (Robert Farley, National Interest)
While it is possible that states or terrorist groups will find an effective way to mobilize biological agents for warfare in the future, the decisive effect of such weapons remains speculative.

How Iran Could Wage a Cyber War Against America (Michael Esfahani, National Interest)
Tehran, its allies and sympathizers have returned to launching a diverse array of cyberattacks targeting U.S. interests. I could get ugly.