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Bum-Rushing Extremists from the Military Might Not Help  (Todd C. Helmus, Ryan Andrew Brown, and Rajeev Ramchand, Defense One)
Interviews with a former neo-Nazi indicate that pre-discharge education and deradicalization might hinder extremist groups’ recruiting efforts.

Domestic Extremism Is Most ‘Lethal and Persistent’ Terrorism Threat to U.S., Says Mayorkas  (Melissa Holzberg, Forbes)
The most “lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat” to the United States is domestic, ideologically motivated extremism, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in his opening remarks at a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee. Mayorkas said that since the September 11 attacks, the threat landscape against the U.S. has substantially “evolved” to the point that foreign terrorism is no longer the chief concern of DHS. Mayorkas said the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was a “searing example” of the threat the country faces. DHS announced in February that it would provide $77 million to state and local governments to combat domestic violent extremism. At the time Mayorkas wrote in a statement that “the most significant terrorist threat facing the nation comes from lone offenders and small groups” whose violent acts are motivated by “extremist ideological beliefs.” President Joe Biden directed intelligence officials to study domestic violent extremism shortly after his inauguration. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the assessment would clarify if new methods are needed to combat domestic extremism. FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Homeland Security Committee in September that “racially motivated violent extremism” accounted for the largest number of domestic terrorism cases the FBI handled in the last year.

Anti-Asian Attacks Rise along with Online Vitriol  (Drew Harwell, Craig Timberg, Razzan Nakhlawi and Andrew Ba Tran, Washington Post)
The fatal shootings of six Asian women in Georgia on Tuesday have turned a spotlight on a disturbing trend of the past year: Crimes against people of Asian descent have risen sharply in the United States, along with online slurs blaming them for the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities say they are not certain, at this point, that the alleged shooter, Robert Aaron Long, 21, was motivated by racial animus. But the broader trend of hateful words and deeds against Asians and Asian Americans is clear, researchers say, and appears to have spiked since the November presidential election and the contentious months that followed. Terms including “China,” “Wuhan” and “flu” surged on far-right forums on Telegram, 8kun and TheDonald.win as former president Donald Trump pushed baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud, according to data tracked by the Network Contagion Research Institute, which monitors misinformation and online extremism. The terms were used on those platforms 44 percent more in January than in the average month last year. While the exact relationship between these terms and allegations of election fraud is not clear, the researchers theorize that rising political polarization fueled harsh talk online, as did xenophobia and the quest for scapegoats, including people of Asian descent.

Senate Democrats Call on DHS for Details on Response to Portland Protests  (Jordan Williams, The Hill)
Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee are calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release details on the agency’s response to last summer’s anti-racism protests in Portland, Ore.
The lawmakers, led by committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.), sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday regarding an internal report from January on the way the agency’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis handled last summer’s protests.

For U.S. Cyber Defense, Helpful Hackers Are Only Half the Battle  (Katie Moussouris, The Hill)
With so much attention focused on the SolarWinds attack, and now the Microsoft Exchange attacks, an important government cyber security initiative is progressing without the appropriate resources it needs to ensure it does not do more harm to our nation’s security than good. This new requirement from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency mandated all civilian agencies to launch a vulnerability disclosure program by March 1.

In plain English, this requirement means the agencies are asking the public to help find vulnerabilities in government internet-connected systems and applications. It is the digital equivalent of when you see something, say something.

Biden’s China Reset Is Already on the Ropes  (Derek Grossman, Nikkei Asia)
The prospects of a U.S.-China reset are rapidly fading, and both sides bear some measure of responsibility. Beijing has refused to change its own assertive behavior. And all signs thus far point to a Biden administration that plans to take an exceptionally hard line against China.

New Global Model Needed to Dismantle Ransomware Gangs, Experts Warn  (Shannon Vavra, Cyberscoop)
Ransomware gangs are making a killing — they’re encrypting data at schools and hospitals around the world at an alarming rate, and they’re raking in hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth doing it, by some counts.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.