Private Eyes in the Sky | Record Increase in Murders in 2020 | Risky Chinese Drones, and more

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Private Eyes in the Sky  (Erik Lin-Greenberg and Theo Milonopoulos, Foreign Affairs)
How Commercial Satellites Are Transforming Intelligence.

From 9/11 to 1/6  (Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Foreign Affairs)
The War on Terror Supercharged the Far Right.

FBI Report Likely to Show Record Increase in Murders in 2020  (Russell Contreras, Axios)
If the FBI data released next week shows what’s expected — that 2020 saw the highest single-year spike in U.S. murders in at least six decades — experts say the sudden job losses, fears and other jolts to society at the start of COVID-19 will likely have been the overwhelming drivers. Even with such a spike, the murder rate would remain far lower than it was through much of the 1980s and 1990s.

DHS Launches National Climate Resilience Prize Competitions  (DHS)
DHS announced a new series of prize competitions focused on strengthening nationwide resilience to climate change. Through these competitions, American innovators are encouraged to develop groundbreaking solutions for climate change-related hazards facing communities across our country. Winners will receive cash prizes from a total pool of $195,000 for their innovative solutions.

U.S. Government Buying Risky Chinese Drones  (Lachlan Markay, Axios)
Federal law enforcement agencies are purchasing surveillance drones from a Chinese company the Pentagon has deemed a potential national security threat, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Efforts to purge military and law enforcement agencies of potentially compromised Chinese technology have stalled amid bureaucratic red tape, and experts worry the federal government is needlessly exposing itself to snooping by malicious foreign actors.
Driving the news: The U.S. Secret Service is the latest to purchase surveillance drones from the Shenzhen-based company DJI, which dominates the commercial drone market in the U.S. and abroad.

Federal Agencies Warn Companies to Be on Guard against Prolific Ransomware Strain  (Maggie Miller, The Hill)
The FBI, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Wednesday issued a warning to U.S. organizations to be aware of a specific type of ransomware that has already wreaked havoc on hundreds of groups.
The agencies issued a joint alert specifically warning groups to be on guard against the Conti ransomware variant, with the agencies noting that 400 U.S. and international groups had already fallen victim to Conti.

2nd Ransomware Attack on Agricultural Cooperative Points to Food Safety Threat  (David Jones, Cybersecurity Dive)
Just days after an Iowa-based grain supplier was hit by a ransomware attack, Crystal Valley Cooperative, a Mankato, Minnesota-based agricultural cooperative, shut down operations following a ransomware attack, according to a Facebook post by the company.
Crystal Valley is unable to accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards at its cardtrols, however the cooperative said local cards can still be used. Crystal Valley is working with various experts to help recover from the incident and will continue to issue further updates.
The incident marks the second known incident involving an agricultural cooperative since the FBI and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency issued a warning about ransomware targeting food and agricultural companies earlier this month.