Our picksA 'Worst Nightmare' Cyberattack | Attack of the Drones | Iran Rattled, and more

Published 21 April 2021

·  Iran Rattled as Israel Repeatedly Strikes Key Targets

·  Biden Appointments Signal Major Changes in Digital Operations and Acquisition

·  “Extremely Difficult, but Not Impossible”: General Provides Assessment Of Afghan Counterterrorism Effort after U.S. Troops Depart

·  Countering Dominant Narratives of NZ’s Far Right

·  Post-Riot Effort to Tackle Extremism in the Military Largely Overlooks Veterans

·  Federal Agencies Face April Deadline on Secret JFK Files

·  Attack of the Drones: The Mystery of Disappearing Swarms in the U.S. Midwest

·  A ‘Worst Nightmare’ Cyberattack: The Untold Story of The SolarWinds Hack

Iran Rattled as Israel Repeatedly Strikes Key Targets  (Ben Hubbard, Farnaz Fassihi and Ronen Bergman, New York Times)
Recent attacks suggest that Israel has a clandestine network inside Iran and that Iranian security services have been powerless to break it.

Biden Appointments Signal Major Changes in Digital Operations and Acquisition  (Stan Soloway, Government Executive)
Early signs suggest federal agencies may be on the cusp of a significant leap forward.

“Extremely Difficult, but Not Impossible”: General Provides Assessment Of Afghan Counterterrorism Effort after U.S. Troops Depart  (Missy Ryan and Karoun Demirjian, Washington Post)
America’s ability to strike extremist targets in Afghanistan will be significantly constrained once U.S. forces depart this year, making the task of containing terrorism threats extremely difficult but “not impossible,” a top general said Tuesday. Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that he is developing plans to address extremist threats in the wake of the withdrawal, which President Biden announced will be completed by Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that set off the long U.S. conflict there.  Describing the intense logistical and security challenges the United States may face trying to prevent renewed plots by al-Qaeda or other extremists without a presence on the ground, McKenzie said the military could use long-range missiles, crewed aircraft or Special Operations raids to strike targets when they are located. “I don’t want to make that sound easy,” McKenzie said of the larger “over the horizon” counterterrorism mission, as military officials call the effort to combat militants from afar. “It’s going to be extremely difficult to do it, but it will not be impossible.” McKenzie’s annual posture testimony marked the first public comments from a senior military official involved in Afghanistan.

Countering Dominant Narratives of NZ’s Far Right  (Marc Daalder, Newsroom)
A European Union-funded study has praised Jacinda Ardern’s response to the March 15 terror attack and offered suggestions for how New Zealand can counter far-right narratives in the future. The report surveyed 12 far-right groups, including defunct 1990s-era skinhead gangs like Unit 88 and more modern white supremacist outfits like Action Zealandia, to determine the most prevalent extremist narratives. It then recommended potential avenues for countering these narratives.