Boogaloo Bois Prepare for Civil War | Cyber ‘Deterrence’: A Brexit Analogy | Active Duty Extrmists, and more

Pentagon Increasing Efforts to Stamp out Extremism among Active-Duty Troops and Veterans (Oren Liebermann, Barbara Starr and Jamie Crawford, CNN)
The Department of Defense is increasing its efforts to find and eliminate extremism within its ranks, particularly among those who espouse White supremacist beliefs, according to two senior defense officials who wanted to underscore the message that the military will not tolerate extremism within the services.
The effort, which started long before the riots of last week, has taken on increased urgency after a violent mob of President Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an assault that left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer. CNN has reported that the mob included veterans and Thursday’s briefing comes two days after an extraordinary intervention from the country’s most senior generals, who issued a statement reminding service members of their obligation to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism.

Large Bitcoin Payment Made to Far-Right Individuals Before U.S. Capitol Attack: Report (Reuters)
Payments in bitcoin worth more than $500,000 were made to 22 different virtual wallets, most of them belonging to far-right activists and internet personalities, before the storming of the U.S. Capitol, cryptocurrency compliance startup Chainalysis said on Friday. The payments, made by a French donor, of 28.15 bitcoins were made on Dec. 8, the New York-based startup, specializing in countering money laundering and fraud in the digital currency space, said in a blog post. Chainalysis said it now has evidence that many alt-right groups and personalities received large bitcoin donations as part of the single transaction. “We have also gathered evidence that strongly suggests the donor was a now-deceased computer programmer based in France,” Chainalysis said in the report. Nick Fuentes, who was permanently suspended from YouTube last year for hate speech, received 13.5 bitcoins, worth about $250,000 at the time of the transfer, making him by far the biggest beneficiary of the donation, according to the blog post. Fuentes could not be reached for a request for comment.

Terrorism Expert Warns “Toxic Mix” of People Are Exploiting Trump Chaos (Josh Leyton, Metro)
A former counter-terrorism chief has warned that an ‘unusual and toxic mix’ of groups are exploiting the turmoil surrounding Donald Trump’s prolonged exit. Sir Ivor Roberts said ‘unholy alliances’ have been formed between extremists, conspiracy theorists and far-right activists during the flux caused by the transfer of power in Washington DC. The FBI has warned of nationwide armed protests as Joe Biden prepares to take office following the deadly storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6. The rallies are said to be planned for all 50 state capitals in the run-in to the incoming President’s inauguration on January 20, with one group said to be planning an uprising. Sir Ivor, senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), also told of the ramifications for the British Government with far-right movement the Proud Boys, thought to have a UK chapter. He said: ‘The transfer of power in a government, particularly in the US case when the transition lasts for well over two months, will always present an opportunity for malevolent individuals or groups to exploit the uncertainty of the hiatus for their own goals.

The EU’s Recent Steps to Combat Online Extremism (Lucinda Creighton, New Europe)
Since the earliest days of the internet, the propagation of extremist content online has been one of the most challenging and dangerous misuses of online platforms. This circulation of hate has had an untold impact on the radicalization, recruitment and training of terrorists across Europe and beyond. Even though the use of online platforms is frequently highlighted by terrorist acts perpetrated by home-grown, European radicals, the process of online radicalization has continued apace, unseen and arguably deliberately overlooked. At long last, and perhaps provoked by the spate of devastating terrorist attacks in the latter half of 2020, Europe has finally taken two significant, tangible steps toward combating the spread of extremism online. The Regulation on Preventing the Dissemination of Terrorist Content Online (TCO) is finally moving forward, after lying dormant at its trilogue state for over a year … In my work with the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), I have closely followed the development of both proposals since their inception. While a much welcome step in the right direction, both initiatives have their flaws.

Cyber ‘Deterrence’: A Brexit Analogy  (Ciaran Martin, Lawfare)
“Brexit means Brexit” started out its life in the U.K. as a spectacularly successful political slogan four and a half years ago. It sounded authoritative and purposeful, yet at the same time unobjectionable. It was enough to convince British supporters of leaving the European Union that a new Prime Minister, Theresa May, who had supported staying in the bloc, would deliver what they wanted. More importantly, it was enough to reassure a shocked nation that the uncharted journey ahead was in safe hands.
Its genius as a slogan was its undoing as a governing philosophy. As a slogan it worked because no one really understood what it meant, and therefore anyone could interpret it as they chose. In government, that malleability could not and did not hold. Moreover, as a slogan it made Brexit sound simple. The governing reality was that the process of leaving the European Union was extraordinarily complicated and involved extremely difficult choices.
The slogan of Western cyber policy—that “we will impose costs to deter our adversaries” (or variants of these words)—is at least as old as “Brexit means Brexit.”