Extremists’ Financial Lifeline | Sinking Internet | Russia’s Evolving Cyber Tactics, and more

Supreme Court to Consider Terrorism Suspect Abu Zubaida’s Request to Learn More about His CIA-Sponsored Torture  (Robert Barnes, Washington Post)
The Supreme Court on Monday said it would take up a request by a Guantánamo Bay terrorism suspect for more information about his CIA-sponsored torture, a disclosure the U.S. government opposes, calling it a threat to national security. The prisoner is Abu Zubaida, once a prized capture whose torture after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has been extensively documented. But the government has invoked the “state secrets” privilege to oppose his efforts for additional information about foreign intelligence officials who partnered with the CIA in detention facilities abroad. The government already has declassified vast amounts of information about Abu Zubaida, whose birth name is Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein and whose closeness to Osama bin Laden, the deceased founder of al-Qaeda, is now questioned. But he and his attorney have asked for more disclosure and to question two CIA contractors, James Mitchell and John Jessen, about the interrogations. Abu Zubaida wants the information because he has intervened, through his attorneys, in a Polish investigation of the CIA’s conduct in that country, where he was once held. His request was opposed by then-CIA director Mike Pompeo, who said the disclosure “reasonably could be expected to cause serious, and in many instances, exceptionally grave damage to U.S. national security.

Federal Agencies Detail Russian Tactics Used in Recent Cyber Intrusions  (Aaron Boyd, Nextgov)
The FBI, Homeland Security Department and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an alert on Russian government cyber tradecraft and mitigation techniques for targets.

DHS Watchdog Declined to Pursue Investigations into Secret Service During Trump Administration, Documents Show  (Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post)
The chief federal watchdog for the Secret Service blocked investigations proposed by career staff last year to scrutinize the agency’s handling of the George Floyd protests in Lafayette Square and the spread of the coronavirus in its ranks, according to documents and people with knowledge of his decisions.
Both matters involved decisions by then-President Donald Trump that may have affected actions by the agency.
Joseph Cuffari, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, rejected his staff’s recommendation to investigate what role the Secret Service played in the forcible clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square on June 1, according to internal documents and two people familiar with his decision, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the discussions.

Terrorist Group Steps into Venezuela as Lawlessness Grows  (Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times)
With Venezuela in shambles, criminals and insurgents run large stretches of the nation’s territory. We traveled through one of the regions under their control.

Sea-Level Rise Could Submerge Fiber Optic Cables, a Key Component of Internet Infrastructure  (Yale Climate Connections)
One foot of sea-level rise along coastlines would put more than 4,000 miles of fiber optic cables underwater at least part of the time.