• Europe’s Moment of Truth: A Democracy Shield for Today and Tomorrow

    Democracy in Europe is under growing pressure. Authoritarian regimes like Russia and the People’s Republic of China are conducting increasingly sophisticated foreign interference campaigns. Internally, illiberal actors – who are often the beneficiaries of this foreign interference — are eroding the rule of law and civic freedoms as democratic norms deteriorate in the EU’s immediate neighborhood. The EU’s European Democracy Shield, announced in 2024 and expected in 2025, aims to counter these threats to democracy.

  • A British University’s Technology Entanglements with Russia and China

    A major British research university’s joint venture campus in China maintains partnerships and close links with entities sanctioned by Britain, the US, EU and others for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and assisting China’s military modernization and human rights violations. The links to sanctions highlight the risks posed by foreign science, technology and academic partnerships in China in a period of heightened geopolitical rivalry, intensifying technological competition and deepening China-Russia cooperation.

  • Circuit Boards Must Be Trusted. So We’d Better Make Them in Australia

    While national security debates have focused on chips and microelectronics, the role of printed circuit board (PCBs) in underpinning system trust has gone largely unexamined. In today’s contested environment, that carries strategic consequences.

  • It’s Not Just Software. Physical Critical Equipment Can’t Be Trusted, Either

    Just auditing the software in critical equipment isn’t enough. We must assume that adversaries, especially China, will also exploit the hardware if they can.

  • Romania at the Crossroads as Europe Watches On

    George Simion and Nicușor Dan will contest the second round of Romania’s presidential election on 18 May. The election could have profound implications for both Romania and Europe.

  • Romania, Foreign Election Interference, and a Dangerous U.S. Retreat

    The Romanian election is but one example of recent foreign election interference incidents. The Russian interference in 2016 U.S. election led Congress, on bipartisan basis, and the relevant agencies in the executive branch, to make many changes to address this threat, but under the new administration, “the U.S. is now moving full steam ahead to completely destroy its defenses against that threat,” Katie Kedian writes. All of the positive U.S. government developments “have been dismantled or severely downgraded,” leaving “the U.S. public less informed and less safe from foreign interference.”

  • Memes and Conflict: Study Shows Surge of Imagery and Fakes Can Precede International and Political Violence

    The widespread use of social media during times of political trouble and violence has made it harder to prevent conflict and build peace.

  • What Happened to Putin’s Friends? How Europe’s Radical Right Navigated the Ukraine Crisis on Social Media

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a dilemma for European radical right parties: these parties had cultivated friendly ties with Vladimir Putin. An analysis of a decade of Facebook posts reveals how these parties strategically managed their communications to avoid the political fallout while maintaining their Eurosceptic agenda.

  • Trump Is Shifting Cybersecurity to the States, but Many Aren’t Prepared

    President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order which substantially reduced the role of the federal government in securing elections, health care, and critical infrastructure against cyberattacks by state actors and cybercriminals. The responsibility of for protection has been shifyed to states and localities, but only 22 of 48 states in a Nationwide Cybersecurity Review met recommended security levels. Moreover, Trump’s funding cuts will make it more difficult for states to bolster their cyber defenses.

  • Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries

    Last week DOJ took steps to move forward with implementing a program to prevent China, Russia, Iran, and other foreign adversaries from using commercial activities to access and exploit U.S. government-related data and Americans’ sensitive personal data to commit espionage and economic espionage, conduct surveillance and counterintelligence activities, and otherwise undermine our national security.

  • China Targets Canada’s Election—and May Be Targeting Australia’s

    Following Canadian authorities’ discovery of a Chinese information operation targeting their country’s election, Australians, too, should beware such risks. In fact, there are already signs that Beijing is interfering in campaigning for the Australian election to be held on 3 May.

  • Experts Explain Signal, Cybersecurity, and How a Journalist Was Sent High-Level Military Intelligence

    “The practice of not using SCIFs (Secure Compartmented Information Facilities) for the planning and implementation of conflict with a foreign state is an egregious breach of national security protocols,” said Virginia Tech’s cybersecurity expert Aron Brantly. “That the principals group was using this as a means of communications is a profound violation of US classification laws and standards and constitutes a grave threat to U.S. national security.”

  • Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets

    Foreign interference in democracies has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, the tactical tools authoritarian actors use to undermine democracy include cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and civil society subversion.

  • Defending American Interests Abroad

    Overseas malign information operations by foreign actors seek to undermine the strategic interests of the United States. These operations are intended to manipulate the global information environment for geostrategic purposes by disseminating false or misleading information to shape narratives, shift public discourse, and undermine other nations’ national security.

  • Declassified JFK Files Provide “Enhanced Clarity on CIA Actions, Historian Says

    Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer winner writing three-volume Kennedy biography, shares takeaways from declassified docs.