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What Is Most Likely Going on in Area 51? A National Security Historian Explains Why You Won’t Find Aliens There
One of the reasons people can never be entirely sure about what is going on at Area 51 is that it is a highly classified secret military facility. It was not until 2013 that the U.S. government even acknowledged the existence and name “Area 51.” As a national security historian, I know there’s a long history of secrets at Area 51. I also know that none of those secrets have anything to do with space aliens.
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China Courts Germany's Far-Right Populist AfD, Now Polling at Above 20%
As is the case with other far-right populist parties in Europe, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party rejects a values-based foreign policy, just as much as it opposes NATO and the U.S. That approach has attracted the attention of Beijing.
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Lessons for Today’s Cold War 2.0 with Russia, China
The decades-long battle between Western intelligence services and the Soviet Union offers important lessons for the ongoing national security threat posed by Russia and China. Intelligence expert says both seek to topple U.S. from atop world stage, with Beijing’s blend of money, influence, all-hands-on-deck approach posing bigger threat.
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New Cipher System Protects Computers Against Spy Programs
Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in computer security with the development of a new and highly efficient cipher for cache randomization. The innovative cipher addresses the threat of cache side-channel attacks, offering enhanced security and exceptional performance.
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Crashed UFOs? Non-Human “Biologics”? Professor Asks: Where’s the Evidence?
Congressional testimony this week about reverse engineering from crashed UFOs and the recovery of non-human “biologics” sounds like science fiction. And that’s the realm in which it will remain unless scientific and other hard evidence enters the picture, says an expert.
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De-Risking Authoritarian AI
You may not be interested in artificial intelligence, but it is interested in you. AI-enabled systems make many invisible decisions affecting our health, safety and wealth. They shape what we see, think, feel and choose, they calculate our access to financial benefits as well as our transgressions. In a technology-enabled world, opportunities for remote, large-scale foreign interference, espionage and sabotage —via internet and software updates—exist at a ‘scale and reach that is unprecedented’.
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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.
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Not the X-Files: Where Are Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Sightings in the United States?
The February 2023 Chinese surveillance balloon incident raised questions about the degree to which the U.S. government knows who is flying what over its skies. Public reporting of unidentified aerial phenomena may help officials identify potential threats.
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How an “AI-tocracy” Emerges
Many scholars, analysts, and other observers have suggested that resistance to innovation is an Achilles’ heel of authoritarian regimes. But in China, the use of AI-driven facial recognition helps the regime repress dissent while enhancing the technology, researchers report.
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Chinese Intelligence-Linked Hackers Targeted U.S. Government Agencies in Microsoft Hack
Hackers linked to China’s intelligence agencies, are behind a monthlong campaign that breached some unclassified U.S. email systems, allowing them to access to a small number of accounts at the U.S. State Department and a handful of other organizations.
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Outlaw Alliance: How China and Chinese Mafias Overseas Protect Each Other’s Interests
The rise of Chinese organized crime in Europe highlights its ties to the Chinese state, national security officials say. Recent cases show the suspected role of mobsters in Beijing’s campaign to repress diaspora communities and amass influence.
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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.
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Winning the 21st-Century Intelligence Contest
The conduct of intelligence activities is inherently a strategic dynamic between rival actors simultaneously playing offence and defense. Analogies with war, sporting contests and competition abound. The prize for a nation’s leadership? Holding an advantage in decision-making and action.
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China’s Ties to Cuba and Growing Presence in Latin America Raise Security Concerns in Washington, Even as Leaders Try to Ease Tensions
There have been news reports that China made deals with Cuba to set up an electronic eavesdropping station on the island nation, just 90 miles from Florida and build a military training facility there. The China-Cuba connection is just one example of how the Chinese government and Chinese companies have been expanding their influence on America’s doorstep for decades. Not just through trade and investment, but also through espionage, military, law enforcement and drug activities. Such activities will greatly affect U.S. national security for years to come.
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How U.S. Colleges, Universities Can Mitigate Risks Related to Foreign-Funded Language and Culture Institutes
A new report from the National Academies recommends steps that U.S. colleges and universities can take to identify and mitigate risks associated with foreign-funded language and culture institutes on campuses. The report follows one released in January that examined Confucius Institutes — Chinese government-funded language and culture centers.
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The long view
AI-Powered Massive Deepfake Detector to Safeguard Elections from Deepfake Threats
Israeli startup Revealense has introduced its illuminator Massive Deepfake Detector, an AI-powered solution designed to combat the growing threat of deepfakes in electoral processes. Dov Donin, CEO of Revealense, said: “Our system is already used by several governments globally.”
How the U.S. Can Counter Disinformation from Russia and China
Attempts by Russia, China, and other U.S. adversaries to spread dangerous false narratives need to be countered before they take root.
Emerging Threats to the U.S. Financial System
In early 2021, a freewheeling, freethinking group of investors on Reddit plowed their money into GameStop, a video game retailer that several big hedge funds had bet against. The stock price shot up, some people made millions—and, to the delight of those on Reddit, the hedge funds had some very bad days. Researchers saw the GameStop story as a cautionary tale. If investors on Reddit could work together to move the markets like that, what could an adversary like China do?