Espionage

It’s Not Just Software. Physical Critical Equipment Can’t Be Trusted, Either
Just auditing the software in critical equipment isn’t enough. We must assume that adversaries, especially China, will also exploit the hardware if they can.
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Romania at the Crossroads as Europe Watches On
George Simion and Nicușor Dan will contest the second round of Romania’s presidential election on 18 May. The election could have profound implications for both Romania and Europe.
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Romania, Foreign Election Interference, and a Dangerous U.S. Retreat
The Romanian election is but one example of recent foreign election interference incidents. The Russian interference in 2016 U.S. election led Congress, on bipartisan basis, and the relevant agencies in the executive branch, to make many changes to address this threat, but under the new administration, “the U.S. is now moving full steam ahead to completely destroy its defenses against that threat,” Katie Kedian writes. All of the positive U.S. government developments “have been dismantled or severely downgraded,” leaving “the U.S. public less informed and less safe from foreign interference.”
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Memes and Conflict: Study Shows Surge of Imagery and Fakes Can Precede International and Political Violence
The widespread use of social media during times of political trouble and violence has made it harder to prevent conflict and build peace.
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What Happened to Putin’s Friends? How Europe’s Radical Right Navigated the Ukraine Crisis on Social Media
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a dilemma for European radical right parties: these parties had cultivated friendly ties with Vladimir Putin. An analysis of a decade of Facebook posts reveals how these parties strategically managed their communications to avoid the political fallout while maintaining their Eurosceptic agenda.
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Trump Is Shifting Cybersecurity to the States, but Many Aren’t Prepared
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order which substantially reduced the role of the federal government in securing elections, health care, and critical infrastructure against cyberattacks by state actors and cybercriminals. The responsibility of for protection has been shifyed to states and localities, but only 22 of 48 states in a Nationwide Cybersecurity Review met recommended security levels. Moreover, Trump’s funding cuts will make it more difficult for states to bolster their cyber defenses.
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Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries
Last week DOJ took steps to move forward with implementing a program to prevent China, Russia, Iran, and other foreign adversaries from using commercial activities to access and exploit U.S. government-related data and Americans’ sensitive personal data to commit espionage and economic espionage, conduct surveillance and counterintelligence activities, and otherwise undermine our national security.
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China Targets Canada’s Election—and May Be Targeting Australia’s
Following Canadian authorities’ discovery of a Chinese information operation targeting their country’s election, Australians, too, should beware such risks. In fact, there are already signs that Beijing is interfering in campaigning for the Australian election to be held on 3 May.
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Experts Explain Signal, Cybersecurity, and How a Journalist Was Sent High-Level Military Intelligence
“The practice of not using SCIFs (Secure Compartmented Information Facilities) for the planning and implementation of conflict with a foreign state is an egregious breach of national security protocols,” said Virginia Tech’s cybersecurity expert Aron Brantly. “That the principals group was using this as a means of communications is a profound violation of US classification laws and standards and constitutes a grave threat to U.S. national security.”
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Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets
Foreign interference in democracies has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, the tactical tools authoritarian actors use to undermine democracy include cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and civil society subversion.
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Defending American Interests Abroad
Overseas malign information operations by foreign actors seek to undermine the strategic interests of the United States. These operations are intended to manipulate the global information environment for geostrategic purposes by disseminating false or misleading information to shape narratives, shift public discourse, and undermine other nations’ national security.
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Declassified JFK Files Provide “Enhanced Clarity on CIA Actions, Historian Says
Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer winner writing three-volume Kennedy biography, shares takeaways from declassified docs.
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To Fight Disinformation, Treat It as an Insurgency
Today, state purveyors of disinformation operate in an environment more susceptible to their tactics than at any moment since the end of World War II. Such infiltrations by our adversaries pose significant risks to both strategic competition and the digital health of future generations.
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Foreign Influence in Higher Ed Addressed in Expanded Oversight Bill
The DETERRENT Act is billed –and its acronym derived from –as “defending education transparency and ending rogue regimes engaging in nefarious transactions.” It aims to increase transparency and tighten foreign gift reporting requirements for higher education institutions. The top three countries in giving in 2024 were Qatar ($342.8 million), China ($176.6 million) and Saudi Arabia ($175.2 million).
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Understanding Russian Hybrid Warfare Elections in Moldova and Georgia
While most Americans would be hard pressed to locate Moldova or Georgia on a map, these elections serve as a lesson in how Russia employs hybrid warfare to undermine U.S. security and advance Russia’s interests globally.
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