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Threats to U.S. Jewish, Arab, Muslim Communities on the Rise: DHS, FBI
Hostilities in the Middle East are reverberating in the United States, where homeland security and law enforcement officials are tracking a steady increase in threats to Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities. CBP warned that operatives with links to three U.S.-designated terrorist organizations — Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah — might try to enter the U.S. along its southern border.
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Most Americans View War in Afghanistan as Not Worth Fighting, Unsuccessful
Two-thirds of adults say the American war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting, and more adults view Afghanistan as an adversary than an ally. Less than a quarter of adults say the U.S. was successful in developing a functioning government or improving opportunities for women in Afghanistan.
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Working with Banks Around the World to Prevent Weapons Proliferation
Most banks have no interest in facilitating a risky weapons sale or contributing to instability in the global landscape. But most are either unaware of the issue or do not know how to address it. Through live and virtual events, the financial sector is learning how to avoid inadvertently facilitating illicit weapons trade.
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“Surveillance: From Vision to Data” Explores History of Surveillance
The term surveillance may suggest images of high-tech cameras or George Orwell’s ever-watching Big Brother, but surveillance involves more than watching and being watched. To understand surveillance and its consequences, look to data: who collects it, what information is compiled, how it is interpreted, and ultimately, why it matters.
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Adtech Surveillance and Government Surveillance are Often the Same Surveillance
In the absence of comprehensive federal privacy legislation in the United States, the targeted advertising industry, fueled by personal information harvested from our cell phone applications, has run roughshod over our privacy.
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Floridians Believe in Climate Change, Want Government Action
The latest edition of the Florida Climate Resilience Survey found that 90 percent of Floridians believe climate change is happening, a higher figure than in the nation as a whole: a recent Yale University survey found that 74 percent of Americans as a whole think climate change is happening.
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Israel-Hamas War a Reality Check for India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
The ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas has underlined the challenges facing an ambitious initiative to build a new trade route from India through the Middle East to Europe, according to analysts.
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Ethiopia's Dam Dispute Could Escalate
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam conflict has lasted for more than a decade without a resolution. Some experts warn that any further delays in settling the outstanding issues could have dire consequences.
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Navigating the Risks and Benefits of AI: Lessons from Nanotechnology on Ensuring Emerging Technologies Are Safe as Well as Successful
Twenty years ago, nanotechnology was the artificial intelligence of its time. The specific details of these technologies are, of course, a world apart. But the challenges of ensuring each technology’s responsible and beneficial development are surprisingly alike.
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Study of Wartime Deepfakes Reveals Their Impact on News Media
Deepfakes are artificially manipulated audio-visual material. A new study, the first empirical analysis of the use of deepfakes in wartime misinformation and propaganda, examined tweets about deepfakes during the Russo-Ukrainian war, demonstrating that deepfakes undermine peoples trust generally in news media.
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Political Rhetoric Changes Views on Democratic Principles: Study
Most people will agree that over the past several years, American political leaders have been saying — and sharing on social media — unusual things that politicians would never have said a decade or two ago. At times, their words can seem out of character for what a leader should typically say and can even appear antidemocratic in nature. A new study shows that some of that antidemocratic, norm-violating rhetoric reduces support for certain basic principles of American democracy.
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How Big Institutions Stymie Disaster Response, and What to Do About It
Large institutions like government, the private sector, non-profits, and academia, are unprepared for disasters—both natural and human-created—because their incentives are not well-aligned.
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Israel’s Ground War Against Hamas: What to Know
A major ground campaign in the Gaza Strip will display Israel’s overwhelming military force, but the country faces a steep challenge in its goal of eradicating Hamas, as well as in finding a workable post-combat plan for the territory.
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Who Are the Primary Groups Behind the U.S. Anti-Israel Rallies?
Since the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, activists at anti-Israel rallies have continued to justify and celebrate Hamas’s slaughter of Israelis. Activists have stated that all Israelis are legitimate military targets; that Palestinians have the right to resist by “any means necessary”; that Hamas terrorists are “freedom fighters”; and that Hamas’s terror attacks were part of a laudable process of “decolonization.”
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How Video Games Are Being Used by Foreign Actors and Extremists
Video games are easy to exploit, and are being used by actors ranging from IS and Hizbollah for recruitment, to Russia, who use it to spread propaganda during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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The long view
Economic Cyberespionage: A Persistent and Invisible Threat
Economic cyber-espionage, state-sponsored theft of sensitive business information via cyber means for commercial gain, is an invisible yet persistent threat to national economies.
Researchers Calculate Cyberattack Risk for All 50 States
Local governments are common victims of cyberattack, with economic damage often extending to the state and federal levels. Scholars aggregate threats to thousands of county governments to draw conclusions.
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.
Southport Attacks: Why the U.K. Needs a Unified Approach to All Violent Attacks on the Public
The conviction of Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three young girls in Southport has prompted many questions about how the UK handles violence without a clear ideological motive. This case has also shown up the confusion in this area, and made clear the need for a basic reframing of how we understand murderous violence against the public today.
Water Is the Other U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis, and the Supply Crunch Is Getting Worse
The United States and Mexico are aware of the political and economic importance of the border region. But if water scarcity worsens, it could supplant other border priorities. The two countries should recognize that conditions are deteriorating and update the existing cross-border governance regime so that it reflects today’s new water realities.
Sweden’s Deadliest Mass Shooting Highlights Global Reality of Gun Violence, Criminologist Says
“We in the United States don’t have a monopoly on mass shootings,” James Alan Fox says, “though we certainly have more than our share.”