• New National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy

    Hundreds of thousands of cyber jobs in government and the private sector are vacant, and the administration says that filling them is a national security imperative. Today, the administration unveiled its ambitious National Cyber Workforce and Education  Strategy (NCWES) which aims at addressing both short-term needs and long-terms requirements.

  • If Cyber Is Uninsurable, the United States Has a Major Strategy Problem

    The opinions of leaders in the insurance industry are opinions not to be taken lightly, as experienced leaders and among the most respected minds in the global market. And they’re concerned. Or downright terrified. The debate within the insurance industry over cyber risks reveals an important potential weakness, but the reality is far more nuanced.

  • Experts: Vietnam May Benefit as US Companies De-risk Supply Chains Now in China

    Vietnam is well-positioned to draw U.S. investors seeking to de-risk supply chains now in China, but closer economic integration between Hanoi and Washington appears unlikely to lead to political realignment, according to experts.

  • Hateful Usernames in Online Multiplayer Games

    The online games industry continues to fall short in protecting players from hate and extremist content in games. Usernames are a basic part of any online experience. A new report focuses on hateful usernames, which should be the easiest content for companies to moderate.

  • China’s Cyber Interference and Transnational Crime Groups in Southeast Asia

    The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of engagement with criminal organizations and proxies to achieve its strategic objectives. This activity involves the Chinese government’s spreading of influence and disinformation campaigns using fake personas and inauthentic accounts on social media that are linked to transnational criminal organizations.

  • Germany Will Rely on Imports for Its Growing Hydrogen Needs

    Revisiting its national hydrogen strategy (NHS), the German government foresees a huge need for hydrogen. By 2030, hydrogen consumption may hit 130 terawatt hours — that is more than one-fifth of all current electricity consumption in Germany. But Germany will need to import as much as 70% of it.

  • An American View on U.S. Investment in Critical-Mineral Mining in Australia

    In May, the United States and Australia signed a compact which, among other things, aims to coordinate policies and investments to support the expansion and diversification of critical minerals supply chains. In this case, diversification basically equates to reducing dependence on China, in which various links in the critical-mineral supply chain are heavily concentrated.

  • Paying the Costs of Climate Resilience

    The idea that climate pollution can be eliminated by political edict overestimates political power and underestimates economic power. It is not simply powerful economic interests that influence public policy, but the sense of economic well-being perceived and experienced by the mass public. The maintenance of that sense of well-being is a critical foundation of political stability. The transition to a renewable resource-based economy must be careful to reinforce and not undermine that sense of well-being.

  • One- to Four-Family Properties with Multiple Losses Insured by the National Flood Insurance Program

    What are the characteristics of properties that have experienced multiple flood losses (e.g., percentage of overall claims payments, number of losses, and structure characteristics)? What are the socioeconomic characteristics of multiple loss property (MLP) households and the communities in which they are located? What percentage of MLPs have been mitigated, what are the socioeconomics characteristics of neighborhoods where MLPs have been mitigated, and how effective has mitigation been in reducing risk?

  • The Dollar: The World’s Reserve Currency

    The dollar’s role as the primary reserve currency for the global economy allows the United States to borrow money more easily and impose painful financial sanctions. Other countries are beginning to consider alternatives.

  • U.S. Tech Leaders Want Fewer Export Curbs on AI Chips for China

    Intel Corp. has introduced a processor in China which is designed for AI deep-learning applications despite reports of the Biden administration considering additional restrictions on Chinese companies to address loopholes in chip export controls. Intel’s move is part of an effort by U.S. technology companies to bypass or curb government export controls to the Chinese market as the U.S. government, citing national security concerns, continues to tighten restrictions on China’s artificial intelligence industry.

  • Can You Trust AI? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t

    Across the internet, devices and services that seem to work for you already secretly work against you. Smart TVs spy on you. Phone apps collect and sell your data. Many apps and websites manipulate you through dark patterns, design elements that deliberately mislead, coerce or deceive website visitors. This is surveillance capitalism, and AI is shaping up to be part of it.

  • Florida’s Home Insurance Crisis Isn’t Going Away

    It’s hard to make money selling home insurance in Florida. For one thing, the state is very vulnerable to hurricanes, and those hurricanes are getting stronger thanks to climate change. A legal loophole has made the state a hotbed for fraudulent litigation over insurance claims, and companies lose even more money fighting those lawsuits. And reinsurers are charging insurance companies much higher fees owing to climate change-driven disaster losses.

  • Chinese Legislation Targets U.S. Trade Sanctions

    A day before U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing, China passed a sweeping new Foreign Relations Law that appears to be aimed at countering U.S. trade sanctions. The law comes as the government of President Xi Jinping is pushing back against American efforts to cut off its access to technology to make advanced computer chips and efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese suppliers.

  • Maryland Think Tank Co-Director Charged for Acting as an Agent for China, Iran

    Gal Luft, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, allegedly evaded FARA registration while working to advance the interests of China in the United States and seeking to broker the illicit sales of Chinese-manufactured weapons to several countries, and the sale of Iranian oil to China.