• O-RAN Is Overhyped as Avoiding Chinese 5G Influence

    By Manoj Harjani

    In recent years, countries have faced a stark choice between Chinese and Western suppliers to develop their 5G cellular network infrastructure. While Chinese suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE are not trusted because of their ties and legal obligations to China’s party-state, Western suppliers have struggled to compete on cost. The emergence of Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) technology has some promised, but the idea that O-RAN is a viable alternative to Chinese suppliers seems hollow.

  • Study Sheds Light on Shady World of Text Message Phishing Scams

    By Matt Shipman

    Researchers have collected and analyzed an unprecedented amount of data on SMS phishing attacks, shedding light on both the scope and nature of SMS phishing operations.

  • China's Digital Silk Road Exports Internet Technology, Controls

    By Lin Yang

    A Chinese initiative known as the “Digital Silk Road” is helping Southeast Asian nations modernize their digital landscapes. But rights groups say Beijing is also exporting its model of authoritarian governance of the internet through censorship, surveillance and controls.

  • Analyzing the Characteristics of AI-generated Deepfakes

    Most of the deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence (AI) that spread through social media feature political representatives and artists and are often linked to current news cycles. The findings of a new research are applicable to different fields, from national security to the integrity of election campaigns.

  • Major Gaps in Cybersecurity at Auto Workshops

    Many auto workshops do not know enough about how to keep our cars safe from cyberattacks, a new study reveals. “A large proportion of the vehicle fleet could practically be entirely open to attacks or already breached,” says a cybersecurity expert.

  • European Tech Law Faces Test to Address Interference, Threats, and Disinformation in 2024 Elections

    By Linda Robinson

    The European Union (EU) began implementing the Digital Services Act (DSA) this year, just in time to combat online disinformation and other electoral interference in the dozens of elections taking place in Europe’s twenty-seven member countries and the European Parliament elections taking place June 6 through June 9.

  • Militia Extremists, Kicked Off Facebook Again, Are Regaining Comfort in Public View

    By Amy Cooter

    When journalists sounded alarm bells in early May 2024 that more than 100 extremist militia groups had been organizing and communicating on Facebook, it wasn’t the first time militias had garnered attention for their online activities. As a scholar of militias, I’ve seen extremists get kicked off Facebook before.

  • Extremist Communities Continue to Rely on YouTube for Hosting, but Most Videos Are Viewed Off-Site, Research Finds

    By Cyrus Moulton

    After the 2016 U.S. presidential election, YouTube was so criticized for radicalizing users by recommending increasingly extremist and fringe content that it changed its recommendation algorithm. Research four years later found that while extremist content remained on YouTube, subscriptions and external referrals drove disaffected users to extremist content rather than the recommendation algorithm.

  • University Students Tackle Adventure in CyberForce — Conquer the Hill Competition

    University of Central Florida’s Cameron Whitehead wins CyberForce Conquer the Hill: Adventure Competition 2024. Whitehead was one of 112 students from 71 accredited U.S. colleges and universities who competed virtually to complete work-based cybersecurity tasks and challenges during a full day of energy sector-related adventure.

  • Chinese Nationalist Groups Are Launching Cyber-Attacks – Often Against the Wishes of the Government

    By Lewis Eves

    China is often presented as a monolithic entity, entirely at the whim of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, the reality is more complex. Many Chinese cyber-attacks and other kinds of digital interference are conducted by Chinese nationalist groups.

  • The Future of Cybersecurity

    By Stanford Engineering Staff

    An expert in cybersecurity surveys a rapidly evolving world where technology is racing ahead of our ability to manage it, posing risks to our national security. With TikTok in the hands of 170 million Americans, cybersecurity expert Amy Zegart says it’s time to talk about consequences. Foreign access to all that data on so many Americans is a national security threat, she asserts.

  • Can Wikipedia-like Citations on YouTube Curb Misinformation?

    By Stefan Milne

    Videos can be dense with information: text, audio, and image after image. Yet each of these layers presents a potential source of error or deceit. And when people search for videos directly on a site like YouTube, sussing out which videos are credible sources can be tricky.

  • Users Seek Out Echo Chambers on Social Media

    Users are inclined to favor popular opinion; lack of exposure to dissent contributes to polarization.

  • Cybersecurity Education Varies Widely in U.S.

    By Tina Hilding

    Cybersecurity programs vary dramatically across the country, a review has found. The authors argue that program leaders should work with professional societies to make sure graduates are well trained to meet industry needs in a fast-changing field.

  • Truth and Reality with Chinese Characteristics

    By Samantha Hoffman, Tilla Hoja, Yvonne Lau, and Lilly Min-Chen Lee

    The Chinese Communist Party seeks to maintain total control over the information environment within China, while simultaneously working to extend its influence abroad to reshape the global information ecosystem. That includes not only controlling media and communications platforms outside China, but also ensuring that Chinese technologies and companies become the foundational layer for the future of information and data exchange worldwide.