Our picksCivilian Cyber Agency Gets Big Power Boost | U.S. Banks & Terror Finance | Retaining Cyber-Security Pros, and more

U.S. Asked Russia about Offer of Bases to Monitor Afghan Terror Threat  (Michael R. Gordon and Gordon Lubold, Wall Street Journal)
The Pentagon’s top military officer discussed with his Russian counterpart an apparent offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his military’s bases in Central Asia to respond to any emerging terrorist threats in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, raised the subject at the request of President Biden’s National Security Council staff in his meeting last Wednesday with Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the U.S. officials said. Gen. Gerasimov was noncommittal during the Helsinki meeting, the U.S. officials said. A Kremlin spokesman declined to comment. The previously unreported exchange comes as the Biden administration is searching for ways to strengthen its capability to monitor and respond to potential terrorist dangers in Afghanistan now that U.S. forces have left the country. While the U.S. and Russia share concerns about the threat of terrorism, the idea of working with Russia on counterterrorism is fraught with challenges, particularly politically. Congress enacted legislation several years ago that precludes close cooperation between the U.S. and Russia militaries as long as Russian troops are in Ukraine, unless the secretary of defense issues a special waiver.

Extremists Organizing Fight Clubs Across the U.S.  (Tess Owen, Vice)
Robert Rundo, believed to be in Europe after being kicked out of Serbia, has also started a media network with a well-known Russian neo-Nazi.

U.S. Banks Still Vulnerable to Terror Finance 20 Years After 9/11, Experts Say  (Brett Wolf, Reuters)
As we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, U.S. banks continue to be under greater scrutiny for anti-money laundering compliance than they were two decades ago; however, re-emerging rivalries between government agencies and an erosion of public-private sector intelligence-sharing could be increasing the country’s vulnerability to terror finance activity, experts said during a recent webinar. Further, it appears that little has been done to address the financial element of domestic extremism as demonstrated by the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection. The FBI’s Terrorist Financing Operations Section (TFOS), created after the 9/11 attacks to bolster the gathering and effective use of financial intelligence and which previously had assisted public-private sector cooperation, was dismantled in 2019 amid a bureaucratic reorganization. As a result, “the expertise and the guidance that is uniformly needed is not there anymore,” said panelist Dennis Lormel, first head of TFOS, during a webinar hosted by consultancy AML RightSource. “From a [counter-]terrorist financing perspective, I think we’ve taken kind of a step backwards,” Lormel said. “Where’s the capacity to share that information going forward?

DHS Cyber Office Wants to See Secret Voting Machine Vulnerability Report  (Shannon Vavra, Daily Beast)
After a cybersecurity researcher wrote a report about potential vulnerabilities in voting machines, and a judge locked up the report, a government official now wants to read it.

Arizona Audit Backers Turn on Each Other After Recount Flop  (Will Sommer, Daily Beast)
The Arizona audit showed that, if anything, Joe Biden won the state by even more votes than previously realized.

Defense Bill Set to Deal Civilian Cyber Agency a Big Power Boost  (Justin Doubleday, Federal News Network)
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is set to get new authorities from another round of defense legislation this year, reflecting lawmakers’ desire to position the fledgling agency as central to U.S. cyber defenses.

States Struggle to Recruit and Retain Cyber-Security Pros  (Kathleen Foody, Insurance Journal)
Hiring and keeping staff capable of helping fend off a constant stream of cyber attacks and less severe online threats tops the list of concerns for state technology leaders. There’s a severe shortage of those professionals and not enough financial firepower to compete with federal counterparts, global brands and specialized cyber-security firms.