Hacking Satellites | Russian Anti-Virus Use | Counterterrorism Problems, and more

U.S. Less Effective at Countering Terrorist Threats in Afghanistan and Somalia Since Troop Withdrawal, Generals Warn  (Karoun Demirjian, Washington Post)
U.S. troops’ exit from Afghanistan and Somalia has limited the United States’ ability to conduct counterterrorism operations against groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, the American generals in charge of the Middle East and Africa told senators Tuesday. “In my view, we are marching in place at best,” Army Gen. Steven Townsend, who leads U.S. Africa Command, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee of the security picture in Somalia. “We may be backsliding.” For years, the United States has been trying to weaken the terrorist organization al-Shabab, which Townsend has called “the most lethal arm of al-Qaeda.” Those efforts were complicated in the last year, following the full exit of U.S. troops from Somalia, a departure ordered by President Donald Trump near the end of his tenure in the White House. Townsend said that counterterrorism efforts have experienced reduced efficacy due in part to the fact U.S. troops have been “commuting to work” from neighboring Djibouti, where the U.S. military maintains a permanent base.  Monitoring al-Shabab from “over the horizon,” as the Pentagon characterizes the dynamic, means U.S. forces are unable to apply “sufficient pressure,” Townsend said, adding: “We really can’t get at the al-Shabab problems.

UK Police Warn Younger Children Involved in Far-Right Terrorism  (Michael Holden, Reuters)
Britain’s head of counter-terrorism policing said on Thursday the police had serious concern about a rise in the number of young people and children becoming caught up in far-right extremism. Matt Jukes said youngsters, mainly boys in their early teens, were becoming self-radicalized online and then progressing to actually planning terrorist attacks. “We’re talking about boys principally 14, 15 years old,” Jukes told reporters. “This is a group which is substantially younger than we have seen in the past.” British police have warned for some time about the rise in far-right extremism, but Jukes said those involved were getting younger. In 2021, out of 186 terrorism arrests, just over 40% related to suspected extreme right wing terrorism. Of the 20 children arrested, 19 were linked to far-right ideologies. Last February, a boy who headed a neo-Nazi group and carried out his first offence aged just 13 was convicted of terrorism offences, while last July, another 13-year-old was arrested and later admitted possessing information useful to a terrorist.

Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Jailed Pending Trial in Jan. 6 Capitol Attack  (Christiana Lilly and Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post)
A federal judge Tuesday ordered Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, a longtime leader of the Proud Boys far-right group, to remain jailed pending trial on charges that he conspired with followers who planned in advance to threaten Congress and battle police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis of Miami ordered Tarrio to be held after federal prosecutors argued that he and co-defendants “directed and encouraged” the actions of Proud Boys members who formed “the tip of the spear” in the breach of the U.S. Capitol. Tarrio poses a risk of flight and danger to the community, prosecutors said, citing his purported efforts to evade law enforcement and discourage witnesses from cooperating. “There is overwhelming evidence that Tarrio organized a plot to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede the certification of the electoral college vote, an offense that strikes at the heart of our democracy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough argued in court filings. Even as Congress’s proceedings were still suspended Jan. 6, Tarrio posted to other members, “They’ll fear us doing it again,” prosecutors said. When a member asked, “So what do we do now?” he allegedly answered at 4:14 p.m., “Do it again.”

Russia and China Joining Forces to Spread Disinfo  (David Bandurski, Brookings)
When Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics last month, the two leaders signaled to the world that their relationship had entered a new era. The deepening relationship between China and Russia is driven in part by a shared narrative that the United States and the European Union are constraining their interests and that they are using information and technology to exert leverage over their adversaries. Russia and China are now collaborating on the narratives being supplied to domestic audiences, feeding similar disinformation and propaganda to a citizenry increasingly cut off from the global web as part of a broader project to reshape the global information landscape to favor the Kremlin and Beijing’s authoritarian political projects. 

NSA Investigates Viasat Hack That Coincided With Ukraine Invasion  (Nathaniel Mott, PC Mag)
U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence are investigating whether a breach at a European satellite internet provider that coincided with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the work of Kremlin hacker. The breach caused a massive disruption in Ukrainian communications at the invasion’s outset, but responsibility for the hack remains unclear.  

Deepfake Video of Zelenskyy Telling Ukrainians to “Lay Down Arms” Debunked  (Sanya Burgess, Sky)
A faked video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling his country’s armed forces to surrender was posted on a hacked Ukrainian news site. The video—a deepfake of Zelensky—shows the Ukrainian leader telling his countrymen that “it turned out to be not so easy being the president” and “to lay down arms and return to your families.” The video is not a particularly convincing fake, but it nonetheless shows the potential of using deepfake technology to circulate disinformation. Facebook said it has blocked the video from its platform. 

Germany Warns Against Russian Anti-Virus Use  (BBC)
Germany’s top cybersecurity agency issued a notice advising German companies to stop using software made by the Russian firm Kaspersky. The notice follows a decision in 2017 by the United States to ban government agencies from using software made by the company out of concern that it might be compromised by the Russian government.  

Chinese Tech Companies Deepen Roots in Russia in Spite of U.S. Sanctions (Raquel Leslie and Brian Liu, Lawfare)
Lawfare’s biweekly roundup of U.S.-China technology policy news.