Our picksLong Live Cyber Deterrence! | Ransomware Hit U.S. Gas Pipeline Operator | Omaha Hospital Gets the Toughest Cases, and more

DHS Says Ransomware Hit U.S. Gas Pipeline Operator (Catalin Cimpanu, ZDNet)
Operations halted for two days at unnamed US natural gas compression facility.

Cyber Deterrence Is Dead. Long Live Cyber Deterrence! (Max Smeets and Stefan Soesanto, CFR)
Cyber deterrence is dead.
Born in the 1990s, the thinking on cyber deterrence was nurtured by the U.S. Department of Defense in numerous war-gaming exercises. Hitting puberty in the aftermath of the distributed denial-of-service campaign against Estonia in 2007, cyber deterrence matured after Stuxnet and received peak attention from policymakers and academics from 2013 to 2016 during the golden age of ‘cyberwar’ scholarship. From 2016 onward, the interest in cyber deterrence started to fade to the extent that it is now intentionally neglected. The figure below captures this short life cycle by quantitatively visualizing the number of articles, book chapters, and research reports written on ‘cyber deterrence’ and ‘cyberdeterrence’ between January 1990 and January 2020.

Russia’s Proposed New Pipeline Threatens U.S. National Security Interests (Todd Carney, Lawfare)
Since 2014, Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a conflict in Donbas that has killed thousands. Despite the fighting, the two countries have been able to maintain an economic relationship centered around one industry: energy. A new Russian energy project threatens to undermine that relationship and impact U.S. energy interests in Europe.

Bill Would Force Companies to Keep Insuring Homeowners in Wildfire Zones. Will It Work? (Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times)
The bill is the latest move from Sacramento to force insurance companies to continue issuing policies in the wildland-urban interface, the gray zone where millions of homeowners reside between suburbia and the forest.

Europe Resists Mounting U.S. Pressure on Huawei 5G Technology (Kelvin Chan, AP)
The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on European allies to ban Chinese tech firm Huawei from supplying next-generation mobile networks, with more officials visiting this week to press the case.
The diplomatic push seems to be failing, however, after Britain decided to allow Huawei as a potential supplier. Germany, another close ally, is leaning toward the same decision.

Huawei Loses Legal Challenge against U.S. Federal Purchase Ban (AFP)
Washington has the right to block US federal agencies from buying products by Huawei on cybersecurity grounds, a judge has ruled, dismissing the Chinese telecom giant’s legal challenge to a purchase ban.
Huawei filed the suit nearly a year ago, claiming that Congress had failed to provide evidence to support a law that stopped government agencies from buying its equipment, services, or working with third parties that are Huawei customers.

EU Proposes Rules for Artificial Intelligence to Limit Risks (Kelvin Chan, AP)
The EU’s report said clear rules are needed to address “high-risk AI systems,” such as those in recruitment, healthcare, law enforcement or transport, which should be “transparent, traceable and guarantee human oversight.” Other artificial intelligence systems could come with labels certifying that they are in line with EU standards.

First Ebola, Now Coronavirus. Why an Omaha Hospital Gets the Toughest Cases. (Sarah Mervosh, New York Times)
A biocontainment unit that drew attention for treating Ebola patients in 2014 is now evaluating more than a dozen cruise ship evacuees for the coronavirus.

Why Congress and the Pentagon Are Tussling over U.S. Troops in West Africa (Alex Ward, Vox)
“The mission is worth it,” one expert told Vox.

North Carolina Facebook Page Labeled Fake News (Jane Wakefield, BBC)
A Facebook page that seemed to be sharing local news in North Carolina is a textbook example of a disinformation campaign, BBC News has been told.
The site accumulated more than 50,000 followers in less than a month but also raised suspicions it was peddling fake news.
Administrators of the site claimed to be students at the North Carolina State University, working on a news project.
The administrators told the McClatchy News agency they were conducting a social-media project to see how fast news could be spread.
“Truth was not the goal,” they said. They were seeking “to get President Trump re-elected.”