Our picksAl Qaeda’s Franchise Reboot | Data Privacy | Brexit as IRA Recruitment Tool, and more

Who’s on First at the Department of Homeland Security? (Anne Joseph O’Connell, Lawfare)
The Department of Homeland Security barely has any “official” top officials. It currently ranks lastamong the cabinet departments, with only about one-third of its top positions filled with Senate-confirmed leaders. And the secretary of homeland security position holds the unglamorous honor of having the longest cabinet vacancy in history: It’s been well over 500 days since the position had a Senate-confirmed occupant. President Trump finally submitted a nomination for secretary to the Senate late last week, the first since Kirstjen Nielsen departed in April 2019.

Confirmation Gets Trickier for Trump Homeland Security Pick (Ben Fox and Lisa Mascaro, Atlanta Journal Constitution)
A whistleblower complaint and a tight timeline are making it increasingly unlikely that the Senate will confirm Chad Wolf as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the November election

Brexit Is the IRA’s Biggest Recruitment Tool (Dan Haverty, Foreign Policy)
Despite a major crackdown, the uncertainty around the border is keeping militant republicanism alive.

Al Qaeda’s Franchise Reboot (Asfandyar Mir and Colin P. Clarke, Foreign Affairs)
An Aging Jihadi Brand Still Inspires the Next Generation

Venezuela Announces Terrorism Charges against Alleged U.S.“Spy” (Guardian)
Matthew John Heath was plotting attacks against country’s oil industry and electrical system, chief prosecutor said on state TV

Israel Sentences Jewish Extremist to 3 Life Terms (Linda Gradstein, VOA News)
In Israel, a Jewish extremist who was convicted of three counts of murder for throwing a firebomb that killed three members of a Palestinian family has been sentenced to three life terms in prison. It is rare that convicted Jewish extremists receive such a long sentence, but the judges — in their ruling — said that 26-year-old Amiram Ben Uliel acted out of racist ideology.

DHS Overrules TSA on More Airport Screening by Private Vendor (Shaun Courtney, Bloomberg)
A top Homeland Security Department official overruled the Transportation Security Administration’s objections to a Senate proposal that would let a private company assume authority to screen airport passengers, reviving legislation that failed to get traction earlier this year.

Data Privacy Increasingly a Focus of National Security Reviews (Katy Stech Ferek, Wall Street Journal)
Oracle, TikTok proposal is high-profile example of the kind of deals U.S. officials are examining.

Hackers Connected to China Have Compromised U.S. Government Systems, CISA Says (Mariam Baksh, Nextgov)
Using publicly disclosed code and vulnerabilities, attackers appear to be winning a crucial race against defenders.