OUR PICKSThreat of Information Insecurity | U.S. Not Ready for Wartime Mobilization | ISIS as Tinder Swindler, and more
··The Threat to Democracies from Information Insecurity
The risks of a deliberate and systematic distortion of an entire information ecosystem
··Twitter’s Sacking of Content Moderators Raises Concerns
Fewer content monitors means more toxic content
··FBI Conducting 2,700 Domestic Terrorism Investigations, Wray Tells Congress
The top domestic terrorism threat U.S. faces continues to be from domestic violent extremists
··America Isn’t Ready for Wartime Mobilization
Americans appreciate the implications of a near-peer conflict on domestic society
··Congress Must Fix the Electoral Count Act to Avert a Crisis
Several dangerous points of potential electoral failure still exist
··How China Is Trying to Turn the U.S. CHIPS Act to Its Favor
China has not taken the news about the CHIPS Act lying down
··Iranian Hackers Compromised a Federal Agency’s Network, CISA and FBI Say
Iranian hackers exploited an unaddressed vulnerability in a federal agency’s network
··A New Tinder Swindler? ISIS Using Dating App to Fund Terrorism: Report
Tinder is being used by ISIS to fund its insurgency campaigns and recruit members
The Threat to Democracies from Information Insecurity (Anne-Marie Slaughter and Ben Scott, Project Syndicate / The Strategist)
What is driving some people to reject the legitimacy of fair elections, embrace conspiracy theories and even resort to political violence? We believe the answer lies in a novel threat to democracies around the world: information insecurity.
Information insecurity is much more than vulnerability to propaganda. It is the deliberate and systematic distortion—enabled and heightened by digital capabilities—of an entire information ecosystem.
Twitter’s Sacking of Content Moderators Raises Concerns (Janosch Delcker, DW)
Elon Musk has fired a large number of staffers who used to monitor Twitter for toxic content. A former contract worker told DW that she expects abuse to surge on the platform as a result. Experts are alarmed.
FBI Conducting 2,700 Domestic Terrorism Investigations, Wray Tells Congress (Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald)
The FBI is conducting twice as many investigations into threats of domestic terrorism now than it was at the start of 2020 amid a historically deadly time for law enforcement, Director Christopher Wray told a congressional committee. “The top domestic terrorism threat we face continues to be from domestic violent extremists we categorize as racially or ethnically motivated extremists and anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists,” Wray said Tuesday. “The number of FBI domestic terrorism investigations has more than doubled since the spring of 2020, and as of the end of fiscal year 2022, the FBI was conducting approximately 2,700 domestic terrorism investigations.” Wray, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, in an appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee, said that while most acts of violence in recent years have come from those espousing white supremacist ideologies, 2020 saw an uptick in acts committed by what law enforcement categorize as “militia violent extremists.” Wray then went on to explain from whence hundreds of those investigations stem. “We are approaching the two-year anniversary of the January 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, which has led to unprecedented efforts by the Department of Justice, including the FBI, to investigate and hold accountable all who engaged in violence, destruction of property, and other criminal activity on that day.
America Isn’t Ready for Wartime Mobilization (Richard Protzmann, National Interest)
Americans need to understand what the national response and strategy for domestic policy during a war would entail.
Congress Must Fix the Electoral Count Act to Avert a Crisis (Ivan Eland, National Interest)
Several dangerous points of potential electoral failure, which were demonstrated by the abuse of the act after the 2020 presidential election, have not yet been addressed.
How China Is Trying to Turn the U.S. CHIPS Act to Its Favor (S. Z. Tan and Peter W. Singer, Defense One)
A strategic messaging campaign portrays the new law as a counterproductive and lawless act.
Iranian Hackers Compromised a Federal Agency’s Network, CISA and FBI Say (Edward Graham, Nextgov)
Actors linked with the Iranian government were able to exploit an unpatched Log4Shell vulnerability—which the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency asked agencies to address by the end of 2021—in an unnamed agency’s network.
A New Tinder Swindler? ISIS Using Dating App to Fund Terrorism: Report (Tamara Abueish, Al Arabiya)
The Netflix true-crime documentary ‘Tinder Swindler,’ which told the story of how a young Israeli conman used the popular dating app to lure women into sending him thousands of dollars to support his lavish lifestyle, sent shockwaves around the globe earlier this year. Now, Tinder is reportedly being used by ISIS agents in South Africa to fund its insurgency campaigns and recruit members, the head of the South African Banking Risk Information Center (SABRIC) Nischal Mewalall told British daily The Times. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Members of the terrorist group have been creating fake profiles of unknown actors and models to manipulate users into sending them money, according to Mewalall. Tinder has acknowledged that the app has been used by “a relatively small percentage” of people for criminal activity and has warned people to be wary of individuals asking for money. “We have a zero-tolerance policy on predatory behavior of any kind. We have a dedicated fraud team that utilizes a network of industry leading technology that scans for fraud and reviews each and every member profile for red flag language, and conducts manual reviews of suspicious profiles, activity, and user generated reports,” the app says in its policy statement.
