What If the Lab-Leak Theory Is Right | Mathematical Pattern of Extremism Growth | Flay DHS Budget, and more

We were aghast. A tool we had developed to help people assert their right to online privacy, to conduct their lives away from the prying eyes of Big Tech and to uphold individual liberty had been co-opted by an organisation committed to destroying those very same values. Even though we were achieving healthy daily downloads, the eventual decision to switch it off was relatively easy.  We would not put profit before human lives. This experience was a microcosm of the debate that rumbles on to this day: what should be the trade-off between privacy and the protection of citizens from harm? The issue was raised by UK home secretary Priti Patel last month when she called for stricter regulation of encrypted messaging, which has historically been used by criminals to exploit children.”

Growth of Extremist Groups Follows Mathematical Pattern: Study  (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
Two distinct extremist groups, ISIS and the Boogaloo movement, would seem at first glance to share little in common other than a willingness to commit violence. Yet these groups emerge and grow online following a similar mathematical pattern, according to a new paper from researchers at George Washington University. The paper proposes a “shockwave equation” that can be applied to a wide number of online groups to predict the point at which they experience sudden growth. The groups include ISIS, which comprises Islamic jihadists, and the Boogaloo movement, a loose collective of right-wing extremists advocating for a new civil war. “You might think that because of their very different ideologies etc., and the fact that ISIS support was very focused while Boogaloos are diverse, the two movements, ISIS and Boogaloos, would behave very differently. But what we found is that, in fact, they follow the same mathematical blueprint in terms of their growth patterns,” Neil Johnson, a physics professor at George Washington University, told Defense One. Many extremist groups have benefited from the presence of a specific, charismatic leader. But Johnson and his colleagues’ research shows that growth depends even more on the interpersonal online dynamics of the core members and how they interact with new recruits, a factor he refers to as “collective chemistry.

Concerns Grow over China Nuclear Reactors Shrouded in Mystery  (Al Jazeera)
No one outside China knows if two new nuclear reactors that are under construction and that will produce plutonium serve a dual civilian-military use.

Biden Administration Leaves Homeland Security Budget Flat Despite Border Surge  (Nick Miroff, Washington Post)
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers the Biden administration will seek $52.2 billion in funding for the coming fiscal year, leaving the agency’s budget unchanged despite the strains of a migration surge along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mayorkas provided lawmakers with an overview of the department’s funding targets for fiscal 2022, which begins in October, and said a detailed request would be released Friday. He said it will include $1.2 billion for border infrastructure and $345 million in additional discretionary spending for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to address backlogs in asylum and naturalization processing, as well as the funding needed to admit as many as 125,000 refugees, as President Biden has directed.

Biden’s First Cyber EO Deadline Is Here. What Will Change  (Justin Katz, FCW)
The first of many deadlines within President Joe Biden’s cybersecurity executive order is due on Wednesday; this one surrounding policy recommendations for agency event logging and data retention. The potential changes on the surface may seem basic but unifying logging practices across federal agencies is a monumental and necessary task, experts told FCW.

The Ransomware Problem Is a Bitcoin Problem  (Nicholas Weaver, Lawfare)
The best way to deal with this new era of big-game ransomware will involve not just securing computer systems or prosecuting criminals, but  disrupting the one payment channel capable of moving millions at a time outside of money laundering laws: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.