COVID-19: Catalyst or Complication for Bioterrorism? | Disappearing Ransomware Gang | Putin Tests Biden's Cyber Vow, and more

·  “Putin has spent his time in power invading neighbors, meddling in Western elections, cheating on arms-control agreements—and allowing cyberattacks against the U.S. This despite the best efforts to improve relations from Presidents George W. Bush, Obama and Donald Trump. Biden’s team argued that last month’s summit wouldn’t solve a problem like Putin but could limit the damage. The new cyberattacks suggest this was wrong.”

·  “Biden has said he gave Putin a list of 16 critical infrastructure areas that should be ‘off-limits’ from cyberattacks. He warned after the meeting that ‘if, in fact, they violate these basic norms, we will respond with cyber.’ The President suggested over the weekend that the U.S. would respond if it found the Kremlin at fault over the recent attacks.”

·  “Putin is not omniscient and his grip on Russia isn’t as firm as it sometimes seems. But he was—or should have been—aware of an attack on a major political target in the U.S. If Russian hackers are independent of the government, Moscow should be willing to cooperate with Washington and bring them to justice. Note that these cyber-criminals in Russia never seem to attack targets in Russia. If the U.S. doesn’t respond, it will be open season on America’s digital infrastructure. Proportionate retaliation runs the risk of escalation. But after publicly drawing a red line, Biden has no choice lest he show Putin and other thugs around the world that the U.S. President’s words are empty.”

EU Takes Italy to Court for Not Sharing Terrorism-Related Data  (Daniele Lettig, EURACTIV)
The European Commission has referred Italy to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg for failing to comply with the ‘Prüm decisions’, the rules established by the EU Council of interior ministers in 2008 to strengthen judicial cooperation between member states, which for Brussels are “a fundamental tool in the fight against terrorism and crime”. The rules allow member states to swiftly exchange information on DNA, fingerprints and national vehicle registration data, allowing prosecutors and the police to identify suspects and establish links between criminal cases across the EU. But Italy has not yet granted such facilities to its European partners, because it has never opened its databases to other states. The Commission had launched an infringement procedure already in 2011, when the information exchange had become operational, and having received no response in 2017, it moved to the second step, sending a reasoned opinion and urging Italy to fully comply with its legal obligations. After repeated investigations on the progress made by the country in fulfilling its obligations, “it is noted that to date Italy still does not allow other member states to access its data relating to DNA, fingerprints and registration of vehicles,” the European Commission said.

Tech & Terrorism: Facebook Puts Onus on Users to Identify Extremism  (Tammy Waitt, American Security Today)
Criticisms also began to build when far-right groups were found to have promoted violence during the 2020 U.S. presidential election using Facebook groups and pages. “The Redirect Initiative is Facebook’s latest half measure to tackle extremism on its platform in which users are asked to do the policing instead of the companies themselves,” said Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen. “By putting the onus on users, Facebook is deflecting from its responsibility to be more proactive about removing offending content.” David Ibsen serves as Executive Director for the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a not-for-profit, non-partisan, international policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideologies. David Ibsen serves as Executive Director for the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a not-for-profit, non-partisan, international policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideologies. “Moreover, Facebook’s initiative ignores a crucial root cause for the spread of extremist content—proprietary algorithms that have a perverse incentive amplify divisive and controversial content to keep users on their sites and generate more revenue for the company.

South Korea’s Lessons for Tackling Disinformation  (Heidi Tworek and Yoojung Lee, Brookings)
Baseless rumors about new technologies spreading cancerous radiation. Politicians condemning negative stories as “false” or “defamatory.” Deepening polarization amid constant online manipulation. These might sound like recent episodes in U.S. public life. But they in fact come from South Korea, where rumormongering and manipulation of public opinion have become key features of its politics. Although South Korea consistently tops indices measuring a country’s digital maturity, digital disinformation is changing its politics. Despite evidence to the contrary in the United States, South Korea’s experiences suggest that political polarization is not the death knell for the state’s ability to address domestic disinformation and provide clear guidance during crises like COVID-19, Heidi Tworek and Yoojung Lee write.

Inside Facebook’s Data Wars  (Kevin Roose, New York Times)
Executives at the social network have clashed over CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data tool that revealed users’ high engagement levels with right-wing media sources.

Jordan’s Government Used Secretly Recorded Clubhouse Audio to Spread Disinformation  (Vittoria Elliott, Rest of World)
Researchers have identified a disinformation campaign linked to the Jordanian military that repurposed audio recorded on the Clubhouse app and TikTok. The campaign appears to be the first documented instance of a disinformation campaign utilizing Clubhouse and TikTok—evidence of the way new social media platforms are likely to be utilized in such campaigns.

Information Warfare Looms Larger in Russia’s New Security Strategy  (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
Kremlin’s first update in six years decries foreign influence, calls for more Russian info ops.