Ammonium Nitrate Explosions | U.S. Neo-Nazis Regroup | Easy Deepfakes, and more

Ammonium Nitrate: Fertilizer Behind Many Industrial Accidents (Agence France-Presse / VOA)
Ammonium nitrate, which Lebanese authorities have said caused the devastating Beirut blast, is an odorless crystalline substance commonly used as a fertilizer and has caused numerous industrial explosions over the decades. These notably include one at a Texas fertilizer plant in 2013 that killed 15 and was ruled deliberate, and a North Korean railway blast that left 161 dead in 2004. When combined with fuel oils, ammonium nitrate creates a potent explosive widely used in the construction industry, but also by insurgent groups such as the Taliban for improvised explosives.

Foreign Threats Loom Ahead of U.S. Presidential Election (Associated Press / New York Times)
As the Nov. 3 presidential vote nears, there are fresh signs that the nation’s electoral system is again under attack from foreign adversaries. Intelligence officials confirmed in recent days that foreign actors are actively seeking to compromise the private communications of “U.S. political campaigns, candidates and other political targets” while working to compromise the nation’s election infrastructure. Foreign entities are also aggressively spreading disinformation intended to sow voter confusion heading into the fall. There is no evidence that America’s enemies have yet succeeded in penetrating campaigns or state election systems, but Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential campaign confirmed this week that it has faced multiple related threats.

Hackers Broke into Real News Sites to Plant Fake Stories (Andy Greenberg, Wired)
Infiltrated CMS of Eastern European media outlets to spread misinformation about NATO.

Cheap, Easy Deepfakes Are Getting Closer to the Real Thing (Tim Simonite, Wired)
Using open-source software and less than $100, a researcher was able to create plausible images and audio of actor Tom Hanks.

Neo-Nazi Terror Group Atomwaffen Division Re-Emerges Under New Name (Ben Makuch, Vice)
Months after claiming it was disbanding, the neo-Nazi terror group formerly known as the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) has re-emerged under a new leadership structure and name, according to one of its leaders and an online statement reviewed by VICE News.
The new group, operating under the banner of the National Socialist Order (NSO), says it draws from a cadre of former AWD leaders who avoided jail time after a sweeping nationwide FBI operation earlier this year led to the arrest of several of its members. The NSO statement said “much good came out of AWD”—which is linked to five killings in the U.S.—but that the new organization has learned from the mistakes of its predecessor.
Though this may appear to be nothing more than yet another brigade of internet Nazis making threats, the founding of the NSO illustrates how violent accelerationist organizations continue festering online despite the FBI’s concerted efforts to arrest far-right militants. (Beyond the AWD round-up earlier this year, The Base—a parallel organization—was dismantled through a series of raids by the bureau in January, thwarting an assassination plot in Georgia and a mass shooting in Virginia.)

Former Clients of Acting Homeland Security Chief Chad Wolf Received Millions in Department Contracts (Brian Schwartz, CNBC)
Several former lobbying clients of Chad Wolf, now the acting secretary of Homeland Security, have received millions of dollars’ worth of government contracts while he has held senior positions within the department. Wolf, who became the acting chief of the department late last year, was a lobbyist for over a decade at Wexler & Walker before he took leadership roles with DHS under President Donald Trump. Since 2017, several of Wolf’s former clients reaped a total of at least $160 million in contracts from DHS, according to a CNBC analysis of the public filings. 

Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Chief Warns New Attack on London Is “Likely” after Lockdown (Martin Bentham, Evening Standard)
Commander Richard Smith said counter-terrorism officers and MI5 are pursuing “800 different leads and investigations” into possible deadly plots