Our picksHistory of China’s Biohazard Accidents | Autonomous Drones Kill Soldiers | Space as Critical Infrastructure, and more
· True or Not, the Wuhan Lab Leak Story Looks Set to Change the World
· Biden Expands Blacklist of Chinese Firms Off-Limits to U.S. Investors
· Justice Department to Prioritize Ransomware Attacks on Same Level as Terrorism
· ‘They Are Hair on Fire’: Biden Administration Mulls Cyberattacks against Russian Hackers
· U.S. Announces Bounty on Al Qaeda Chief in North Africa
· House Bill Would Designate Space as Critical Infrastructure
· A Short History of China’s Biohazard Accidents — before COVID-19
· Germany Sees Increase of Hezbollah Supporters and Members – Intel
· London Bridge Attack: U.K. Should Tackle Radicalization Seriously
· Can Rockets Deliver Supplies to War Zones? Space Force, Air Force Aim to Find Out
· Government, Industry Scramble to Prioritize Ransomware amid Fallout from Pipeline, JBS Breaches
· How to Negotiate with Ransomware Hackers
· Autonomous Drone Attacked Soldiers in Libya All on Its Own
True or Not, the Wuhan Lab Leak Story Looks Set to Change the World (Jeremy Warner, The Telegraph)
Whatever the origins of Covid, relations between China and the West are coming apart at the seams.
Biden Expands Blacklist of Chinese Firms Off-Limits to U.S. Investors (AFP / Techexplore)
US President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded a blacklist of Chinese firms that are off-limits to American investors over their links to Beijing’s “military-industrial complex,” in a sign of Washington’s continued pressure campaign against the Asian power.
Former president Donald Trump in November issued a list of 31 Chinese companies that were deemed to be supplying or supporting China’s military and security apparatus, later adding even more firms.
But after legal challenges put the sanctions in doubt, Biden’s team reviewed the blacklist, removing some names and ultimately expanding it to 59 firms that Americans are prohibited from having a stake in. Many are subsidiaries of companies already included.
Justice Department to Prioritize Ransomware Attacks on Same Level as Terrorism (Jeff Pegues, CBS News)
The Department of Justice says it is so concerned about the “growing threat” that digital extortion poses nationwide that it will now handle ransomware investigations the same way it handles terrorism cases. After a spate of attacks on the world’s largest meat processing company to a major oil pipeline, the White House is warning all companies to take “immediate steps” to increase their security. Any business could be targeted by foreign cyber criminals, it warned. The Justice Department is making clear that it will use all the tools in its arsenal to counter the threat. In a memo to federal prosecutors on Thursday, the Justice Department’s second-in-command pressed investigators to step up efforts to track down and prosecute the criminal gangs carrying out the attacks. The memo noted the “destructive and devastating consequences” the attacks are having on critical infrastructure. “We recognize this is an increasing threat,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday. The White House had an extraordinary warning to American companies, telling them to beef up their cybersecurity because “no company is safe.
