Sinking Airports | Bracing for Long Domestic Terror Fight | Cyber Security in Healthcare Industry, and more

The anti-Islam, anti-immigration AfD has often courted controversy by calling for Germany to stop atoning for its World War II crimes. Senior figure Alexander Gauland once described the Nazi era as just “a speck of bird poo” on German history. The BfV’s decision comes at a sensitive time for the AfD. While it is the largest opposition party in parliament, it has seen its ratings fall as the pandemic has kept the spotlight firmly on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition parties.

Tech Digs in for Long Domestic Terror Fight (Margaret Harding McGill, Ashley Gold, Axios)
With domestic extremist networks scrambling to regroup online, experts fear the next attack could come from a radicalized individual — much harder than coordinated mass events for law enforcement and platforms to detect or deter. The big picture: Companies like Facebook and Twitter stepped up enforcement and their conversations with law enforcement ahead of Inauguration Day. But they’ll be tested as the threat rises that impatient lone-wolf attackers will lash out. Where it stands: “Without any apparent large scale event in the immediate future, there is always a risk that radicalized individuals may feel themselves compelled to act out,” said Jared Holt, a visiting research fellow with the Atlantic Council. What they’re saying: Twitter says it’s working closely with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to minimize potential risks, including those specifically relating to planned future demonstrations from white nationalists and other extremist groups across the country. “These relationships are longstanding and go beyond any one event,” a Twitter spokesperson told Axios. Facebook and YouTube also said they continue to work with law enforcement.

After Capitol Riot, Police Chiefs Work to Root out Officers with Ties wo Extremist Groups (Kimberly Kindy, Mark Berman and Kim Bellware, Washington Post)
The revelation that the Capitol mob — covered in emblems of extremist groups — included off-duty law enforcement officers possibly assisted by working police is escalating pressure on sheriffs and police chiefs nationwide to root out staff with ties to white supremacist and far-right armed groups. Law enforcement leaders have faced criticism in the past for failing to police their own officers’ involvement with extremist groups. However, the selfie photos that off-duty officers took inside the Capitol during the violent siege, which left one police officer dead and dozens of others injured, were a wake-up call for many who have long denied the extent of the problem within policing. National Sheriffs’ Association President David Mahoney said many police leaders have treated officers with extremist beliefs as outliers and have underestimated the damage they can inflict on the profession and the nation. “We saw the anti-government, anti-equality and racist comments coming out during the Obama administration. Shame on us for representing it as freedom of speech and for not recognizing it was chiseling away at our democracy,” Mahoney said in an interview. “As we move forward, we need to make sure we are teaching our current staff members that they must have the courage to speak out when they know about another deputy’s or officer’s involvement. There should be no reference to the thin blue line.

The Story of the Jet that Would Have Delivered South Africa’s Nuclear Bomb (Thomas Newdick, The Drive)
South Africa, an international pariah for much of the Cold War due to its apartheid policy, remains the only country to have developed nuclear weapons and then voluntarily given them up. Before it did so, the main focus of these developments was an air-launched weapon that was intended to be delivered by a Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer strike aircraft. This combination could potentially have struck targets in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as part of South Africa’s long-running campaign against regional rebel groups, or even hostile revolutionary governments.

China to Field More Nuclear Weapons that Can Target the United States, Says Report (Gabriel Dominguez, Janes)
China’s missile force is expanding, with the number of nuclear warheads capable of reaching the United States on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) potentially increasing to “well over 200” within the next five years, according to a report by the US Air Force’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC).

Sea Level Rise Could Disrupt Air Travel, New Study Says (Jan Wesner Childs, Weather Channel)
Flights at hundreds of airports worldwide are in danger of being disrupted by rising sea levels, according to a new study.
More than 260 airports around the globe are currently at risk of coastal flooding, and dozens could be below mean sea level by the turn of the century, the research published in the journal Climate Risk Management found.
Hundreds more could be in danger depending on the amount of sea level rise driven by global warming between now and 2100.

Compliance Should View Cyber-Security Through Prism of Risk (Aaron Nicodemus, Compliance Week)
Cyber-security is often viewed with suspicion, even fear, by compliance officers. Why is that?

Growing Significance of Cyber Security in Healthcare Industry (Dhwani Meharchandani, Security Boulevard)
Over the last year, the healthcare industry has become a target of strategic interest amongst cyber criminals. Owing to its troves of valuable data, healthcare has never been as vulnerable to cyber attacks as it is now. As per a report by HIPAA Journal, healthcare institutions reported 616 data breaches of 500 or more records in 2020. Moreover, the report also revealed that 28,756,445 healthcare records were exposed.

How to Cyber Security: Faceplanting in 10 Lines of Code (Jonathan Knudsen, Security Boulevard)
Failure to address security early in the software development life cycle can increase business risks. Learn how a proactive, holistic approach helps achieve more-secure software.