Gauging the Fallout from the Pandemic | Fight against Industrial Espionage Hasn’t Really Worked | Hate Preachers Now a 'Priority Threat', and more

Amed, a gold-miner from Yagha, said he was woken up by the sound of Kalashnikovs. He survived by hiding in a mining hole the Jihadists didn’t discover. “I found the bodies of four of my friends and we buried them in a mass grave,” he said over phone. “When our army says it’s safe, I don’t know what they mean,” he said.

F.B.I. Director Compares Danger of Ransomware to 9/11 Terror Threat  (Julian E. Barnes, New York Times)
The Biden administration is sounding increasingly urgent alarms about high-profile ransomware attacks that have caused widespread gas shortages, shut meat processing plants and paralyzed hospitals, as officials step up efforts to counter cyberthreats. Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday that the ransomware threat was comparable to the challenge of global terrorism in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack. “There are a lot of parallels, there’s a lot of importance, and a lot of focus by us on disruption and prevention,” Mr. Wray said. “There’s a shared responsibility, not just across government agencies but across the private sector and even the average American.” The F.B.I., Mr. Wray said, is investigating 100 different software variants that have been used in various ransomware attacks, demonstrating the scale of the problem. Mr. Wray’s comments came on the heels of the Biden administration warning businesses on Thursday that they needed to take urgent steps to improve their cybersecurity and defend against ransomware attacks. One such attack this week on a meat processor, JBS, forced the shutdown of nine beef plants and disrupted poultry and pork production.

150 Days after Capitol Attack, More Than 465 Arrested as FBI Seeks Tips on Hundreds More: DOJ  (Alexander Mallin, ABC News)
More than 465 people have been arrested across nearly all 50 states in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department announced in a statement marking Saturday as 150 days since the insurrection. A fact sheet released by the DOJ on Friday helps to illustrate what officials have described as likely the largest criminal investigation in DOJ’s history, which continues to sweep up more suspects. And investigators are continuing to search and seek tips on some of the most violent actors from that day. The department says it is still seeking tips to identify more than 250 individuals involved in assaults on officers or other acts of violence. So far, citizens around the country have provided more than 200,000 digital media tips to the FBI to assist in its investigations, according to the DOJ. On Jan. 6, a rally in support of President Donald Trump turned deadly after Trump encouraged his supporters to march to Capitol Hill, where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. Rioters breached through barricades and security checkpoints, forcing Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers to evacuate or shelter in place, temporarily disrupting the certification of President Joe Biden’s election win.

Hate Preachers Now a ‘Priority Threat’ amid Concerns over Return of Islamist Extremism  (Edward Malnick, The Telegraph)
Hate preachers will be treated as a “priority threat” and tackled as part of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, amid concerns about a resurgence of Islamist extremism. The Telegraph understands ministers are preparing to direct counter-terrorism officials to monitor and “disrupt” the activities of those who “promote fear and division”, without involvement in terror. One former counter-terrorism officer suggested that the move could lead to officials and police attempting to prevent certain extremists from distributing material on the streets or holding large events, and challenging them when they speak in public.  It could also lead to an “Al Capone approach” of pursuing individuals for offences such as mortgage fraud, fo which Tommy Robinson, the far-Right activist, was jailed in 2014. The development comes after a review by Sara Khan, the Government’s extremism commissioner, and Sir Mark Rowley, the former head of counter-terrorism policing, warned that many “hateful extremists” who are not involved in terror are able to operate with “impunity”. It warned extremists were “creating a ‘chilling’ impact on freedom of expression.

Russian Hackers Pose New Cyberattack Threat: Report  (Economic Times)
It comes after cybersecurity agencies in the US and the UK attributed the SolarWinds attack to Russia’s civilian foreign intelligence service, as well as several campaigns targeting Covid-19 vaccine developers, reports ZDNet.