Chinese Military to Surpass US, Russia | Encryption and Online Safety | No Time to Die, and more

We uncovered above-average sexual activity, often without sufficient time for an exchange of sexual history, with a remarkably high mortality among Bond’s sexual partners (27.1; 95% confidence interval 16.4–40.3). Given how inopportune a bout of diarrhea would be in the midst of world-saving action, it is striking that Bond is seen washing his hands on only two occasions, despite numerous exposures to foodborne pathogens. We hypothesize that his foolhardy courage, sometimes purposefully eliciting life-threatening situations, might even be a consequence of Toxoplasmosis. Bond’s approach to vector-borne diseases and neglected tropical diseases is erratic, sometimes following travel advice to the letter, but more often dwelling on the side of complete ignorance. Given the limited time Bond receives to prepare for missions, we urgently ask his employer MI6 to take its responsibility seriously. We only live once.

2 Neo-Nazi Group Members Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison  (Michael Kunzelman, AP)
Two neo-Nazi group members were sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison each in a case that highlighted a broader federal crackdown on far-right extremists. FBI agents arrested former Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Jordan Mathews, U.S. Army veteran Brian Mark Lemley Jr. and a third member of a group called The Base four days before a pro-gun rally in Virginia in January 2020. Surveillance equipment installed in their Delaware apartment captured Mathews and Lemley discussing an attack at the rally at Virginia’s Capitol in Richmond. The judge who sentenced Mathews and Lemley to prison concluded that they intended to engage in terrorist activity. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang’s decision to apply a “terrorism enhancement” to their sentences significantly increased their recommended prison terms under federal guidelines. Chuang said recorded conversations between Mathews and Lemley captured the “virulence” and “passion” in their willingness to kill people and bring down the U.S. government. “The court rejects the notion that this was merely talk among friends,” the judge said. Prosecutors recommended 25-year prison sentences for both men. Lawyers for each defendant sought prison sentences of 33 months.

Senators Examine How Social Media Amplifies Extremism  (Benjamin Din, Politico)
That’s the issue the Senate Homeland Security Committee will dive into this morning as lawmakers consider the ways social media platforms can amplify domestic extremist content and other potential threats to homeland security. It’s the latest in a string of hearings looking at the ills of social media, spurred by recent revelations from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked tens of thousands of pages of company documents to regulators, lawmakers and journalists. The committee has also held a number of sessions on domestic extremism, especially in response to the Jan. 6 insurrection. “It’s not enough for companies to simply pledge that they will get tougher on harmful content,” Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will say, per his prepared remarks. “Those pledges have gone largely unfulfilled for several years now. Americans deserve answers on how the platforms themselves are designed to funnel specific content to certain users, and how that might distort users’ views and shape their behavior, online and offline.” Most of the witnesses plan to address the recent reporting on the Facebook Papers, according to a review of their prepared remarks, especially ways that the company’s algorithms and recommendation system can lead users interested in seemingly innocuous topics toward increasingly fringe ideas.

Why Encryption and Online Safety Go Hand-in-Hand  (Riana Pfefferkorn, Brookings)
Encryption is under constant threat from governments both at home and abroad. To justify their demands that providers of messaging apps, social media, and other online services weaken their encryption, regulators often cite safety concerns, especially children’s safety. They depict encryption, and end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in particular, as something that exists in opposition to public safety. There’s just one problem with this claim: It’s not true. Not only can providers detect abuse on their platforms even in end-to-end encrypted environments, but they even prefer detection techniques that don’t require access to the contents of users’ files and communications.

New Activity from Russian Actor Nobelium  (Tom Burt, Microsoft)
The Russian hacking group believed to have been responsible for breaching the IT firm SolarWinds and using that access to access a range of U.S. government systems has resumed its activity. Microsoft officials wrote in a blog post earlier this week that they have observed the hacking group, thought to be working on behalf of Russian foreign intelligence, targeting resellers of technology and other service providers, likely in a bid to use access at such firms to target their clients. According to a separate report, Russian military hackers are believed to have disguised their hacking activity by routing their connections through Americans’ home and mobile connections.  

State Department to Form New Cyber Office to Face Proliferating Global Challenges  (Dustin Volz, Wall Street Journal)
Changes are part of Biden administration’s treatment of cybersecurity as a critical national security issue

FBI, Others Crush REvil Using Ransomware Gang’s Favorite Tactic Against It  (Tim de Chant, Arstechnica)
Multi-nation operation succeeds as gang member makes critical mistake.

Britain Wants to Use Its New Cyber Command to ‘Hunt’ Ransomware Gangs  (Lucas Ropek, Gizmodo)
A week or so after revelations about an FBI plot to hack a prominent ransomware gang, Britain has announced new offensive operations against cybercrime groups.