• ISIS: An Enduring Threat

    ISIS remains an enduring security threat and its narrative has sustained through the attacks and propaganda carried out by its affiliates. Socio-political grievances and religious repression will continue fueling support for ISIS. There is a lack of global appetite to counter the ISIS threat due to geopolitical confrontations and armed conflicts raging worldwide

  • Russian Disinformation Campaign Creates 'Climate of Chaos,' Say Experts

    In the last two years, Russian agents have created  fake websites which are employed in a “persistent” disinformation campaign. The Russian agents are creating false news websites that mimic reputable sources and posting fake stories to those phony sites. The websites may look like trusted European media outlets but in fact mislead readers with malicious stories and propaganda.

  • Why Is Immigration Reform So Contentious?

    The issue of immigration reform is one that both Republicans and Democrats have sought to address for years with little success. The reason, sys one expert: Immigration is a very complex issue and there has not been sufficient political will to fix it.

  • Understanding the Threats to U.S. Election Security in 2024

    Despite widespread concern that foreign interference and generative AI would pose major threats to the 2024 election, the greatest risks emanate from rising domestic extremists and diminishing domestic trust.

  • Concerns about Elon Musk, Russia's Putin Not Fading Yet

    Reports that billionaire Elon Musk has been talking on a consistent basis with Russian President Vladimir Putin are cause of concern. Musk’s companies are doing work for the Pentagon NASA. Some of that work is so sensitive that Musk has been given high-level security clearances due to his knowledge of the programs, raising concerns among some that top secret U.S. information and capabilities could be at risk.

  • U.S. Finalizes Rule Restricting Investment in Chinese Tech Firms

    The Treasury Department on Monday finalized a new rule meant to prevent U.S.-based people and companies from investing in the development of a range of advanced technologies in China, thereby preventing Beijing from accessing cutting-edge expertise and equipment.

  • Election Skeptics Are Targeting Voting Officials with Ads That Suggest They Don’t Have to Certify Results

    The ads, which have been placed in swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, come from a new group with deep ties to activists who have challenged the legitimacy of recent elections.

  • False Narratives Around the 2024 Presidential Election

    False and misleading narratives about the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election are spreading widely among extremists and purveyors of hate and conspiracy theories.

  • Mexico Is Offering Water to South Texas. But There’s a Catch Farmers Aren’t Happy About.

    Farmers say they want the water, but not if it goes against the allotment they need for the spring planting season.

  • U.S. Officials Say Russia Behind Fake Video of Pro-Trump Votes Being Destroyed

    Russia, as part of its broad influence campaign to help Donald Trump win the November election, has released a fake video, which has been circulating on social media, purporting to show the destruction of mail-in votes cast for Trump in Pennsylvania. The fake video is the latest in a series of fake videos produced by an offshoot of the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, which helped Trump win the 2016 election.

  • How Is the Kremlin Meddling In 2024 Elections? Here Are 5 Tactics.

    Russia’s Plan A is always to cooperate with mainstream forces and then corrupt them to align with Russian foreign policy interests. In Plan A fails, Russia falls back on Plan B, which is aligning with far-right parties -– but, at times, even forming alliances with far-left parties. For the Kremlin, the cheapest and most efficient way of boosting its allies is to flood the market with disinformation.

  • Threatening ‘The Enemy Within’ with Force: Military Ethicists Explain the Danger to Important American Traditions

    In a time of increasing political polarization, military educational institutions are focusing even more explicitly on the oath military members take to the Constitution, rather than to a person or an office. Military members have a duty to obey orders from superior officers, but the content of an order is not the only factor that determines whether it is a moral one. The political motivation for an order may be equally important, because the military’s obligation to stay out of politics is deeply intertwined with the mutual obligation of civilian officials not to use the military for partisan reasons.

  • Is Donald Trump a Fascist? Here’s What an Expert Thinks

    Experts are divided over the question of whether or not the term “Fascist” applies to Donld Trump. New York University professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat says she is still divided on the issue. She wrote that “in some ways, the label of Fascism is too reductive for Trump” because he “praises Communist dictators as much as he praises the Fascistic leaders,” but “it is beyond doubt that Trump has provided a new stage and a new context for fascist ideologies and practices.”

  • Emerging Tech and Terrorism: Adoption Patterns and Implications

    The diffusion of innovation theory highlights that most organizations, groups, and individuals adopt innovations in the mid-to-late product lifecycle. This applies to technology adoption by terror groups: most violent non-state actors will adopt technology once it has crossed several thresholds, including cost, availability, testing (i.e., proof of concept), and ease of use.

  • ‘Firehose’ of Election Conspiracy Theories Floods Final Days of the Campaign

    In the final days of the presidential election, lies about noncitizens voting, the vulnerability of mail-in ballots and the security of voting machines are spreading widely over social media. Polls show that election disinformation fanned by former President Donald Trump and notable allies such as tech tycoon Elon Musk, is warping voters’ faith in the integrity of the democratic process.