Infinite Supply of Disinformation | Cyber Command’s Evolving Approach | ISIS-Trained Teachers, and more

More Aggressive and Less Ambitious: Cyber Command’s Evolving Approach (Joshua Rovner, War on the Rocks)

·  “The Cyber Command and National Security Agency collaborated in a task force called the Russia Small Group to discover evidence of election meddling. It shared that information with the Department of Homeland Security in order to harden election infrastructure, and with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ‘to counter foreign trolls on social media platforms.’”

·  “Did these efforts stop Russia? Did they stop anyone else? Nakasone and Sulmeyer state that Cyber Command ‘disrupted a concerted effort to undermine the midterm elections,’ but we don’t really know what foreign actors were planning, or how hard they tried for a repeat of 2016. Without knowing what foreign adversaries had in mind, is hard to judge the results of Cybercom’s activities. For the command, however, the effort was a clear success story. Beyond preventing election interference, it proved that the command could coordinate with several agencies, integrate intelligence with law enforcement and work in tandem with the private sector.”

·  “In other ways, however, the new approach represents a step back. When Cyber Command published its Command Vision in 2018, it claimed that persistent engagement would be important for coercion and norm-setting. … In contrast, the Foreign Affairs article is conspicuously modest about the command’s ability to influence anyone.”

·  “The United States has not fought a conventional war against an enemy with sophisticated cyberspace capabilities. How such a war would play out is hard to predict, given the lack of precedent, but we can assume it will be complex and messy. Preparing for such a war, however unlikely, demands a great deal of attention. Moreover, while an aggressive approach might make sense in peacetime, where escalation is unlikely, the same tactics may be dangerous in a deep crisis or conflict. If great-power hostilities continue to rise, Cyber Command may have to pump the brakes on persistent engagement and devote more attention to the missions for which it was originally designed.”

Russian Fake News Is Back: Do These 4 Things to Help Save the Election from Foreign Interference (Sinan Aral, Boston Globe)

·  “With less than two months to Election Day and even less time to the start of mail-in voting, it’s become obvious during this contentious election cycle that we can’t rely on either the platforms or lawmakers who don’t seem motivated to pass targeted legislation like the Foreign Influence Reporting in Elections Act, the SECURE Our Democracy Act, the Honest Ads Act and the Voting System Cybersecurity Act. So what can we, as ordinary citizens, do to protect our democracy? A few simple steps could go a long way.”

·  “First, think before sharing. … Second, Google it. … Third, be aware of the original source. … Finally, check your emotional pulse. Our research shows fake news is salacious and attempts to elicit strong emotions like surprise, anger and disgust.”

·  “No matter who you support in the upcoming election, when it comes to protecting our democracy, we’re all in this together. And right now, during one of our fragile democracy’s most vulnerable moments, it’s all hands on deck.”

Treasury Stands Up to a ‘Russian Agent’ (Editorial Board, Washington Post)

·  “There appear to be two minds in the Trump administration: one that acknowledges Russia is a hostile geopolitical foe; and that of President Trump and his most craven flunkies, who seek to help the Kremlin escape blame and punishment for its persistent wrongdoing. The first occasionally wins out, as was the case on Thursday [Sept. 10], when the Treasury Department placed sanctions on Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russian member of the Ukrainian parliament. The department concluded that Mr. Derkach ‘has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services.’”

·  “What Treasury did not mention is that Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani worked with Mr. Derkach to smear Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden based on the fact that Mr. Biden’s son was once on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company.”

·  “Sadly, there may be many senior members of the Trump administration who approach protecting the country with a similar level of partisan blindness. A bombshell whistleblower complaint emerged Wednesday [Sept. 9] from the Department of Homeland Security, claiming that leaders of the powerful federal agency pressed persistently to cook intelligence reports so they aligned with Mr. Trump’s political views rather than reality. In his complaint, Brian Murphy, the former chief of intelligence and analysis at DHS, alleges that top officials demanded misleading information on immigration, on Russian interference in U.S. elections and on antifa.”

·  “DHS spokesman Alexei Woltornist denied Mr. Murphy’s claims and invited investigations into the matter. Good; the entire department, from Mr. Wolf down, should cooperate fully with the internal and external reviews that should follow … This would be an investigation that could result in uncovering actual wrongdoing, not just muddy the waters in advance of a presidential election.”

Sweden Spared Surge of Virus Cases but Many Questions Remain (AP / VOA)
When most of Europe locked down their populations early in the pandemic by closing schools, restaurants, gyms and even borders, Swedes kept enjoying many freedoms.
The relatively low-key strategy captured the world’s attention, but at the same time it coincided with a per capita death rate that was much higher than in other Nordic countries.
Now, as infection numbers surge again in much of Europe, the country of 10 million people has some of the lowest numbers of new coronavirus cases — and only 14 virus patients in intensive care.
Whether Sweden’s strategy is succeeding, however, is still very uncertain.

Was Donald Trump Really Willing to Strike North Korea with 80 Nuclear Weapons? (Doug Bandow, National Interest)
Media went wild in Korea recently over a plan by the Trump Administration to respond to a North Korean attack by potentially launching nuclear weapons or even some sort of decapitation strike. All of that would be a giant mistake.