By Farah Pandith, NSI Advisory Board member
Recent years have revealed a scary, dangerous new era in which children have been taught to hate, are recruiting others and are plotting terrorist attacks. While several schemes conceived by young far-right extremists were thwarted, the future may be bleaker. We have missed emerging trends in the past; counterterrorism professionals must urgently renew their vigilance — and implement new countermeasures — over the radicalization of young people in the West and beyond.
Read the full article here.
This article was written by NSI Advisory Board member Farah Pandith and originally appeared in NBC News on March 22, 2021.
By Ambassador Cindy Courville, NSI Advisory Board Member
On April 20, 2021, the death of President Idriss Déby Itno — the ‘Marshall of Chad’ — was announced on national television by Chadian General Azem Bermandoa Agouna. The President was allegedly killed while directing an offensive against the armed group the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), which had entered Chad through southern Libya. Immediately following the announcement, the Transitional Military Council named the President’s son, Mahamat Idriss Déby, as interim president, as well as announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and the government.
Prior to his death…
By Adam Pearlman, NSI Visiting Fellow
As vaccination rates rise, businesses reopen, and daily life in the United States returns to something resembling pre-COVID norms, we can begin to assess the impact of a year of relative, if not total, isolation. Pandemic-era telework has been, on one level, a proof of concept, proving it could be done successfully at-scale. Although challenging for workers of all demographics in different ways, productivity didn’t grind to a halt. But there were, of course, security implications accompanying this seismic shift in work culture.
Most of the conversations in national security circles have centered on…
In a world that is always changing, NSI Experts offer insight on developing stories in the news. Please continue reading for their take on the most important breaking stories.
Sam Curry, NSI Visiting Fellow, on taking a hard stance against the cybercriminals who conduct ransomware attacks
“…The developments have put threat actors, ransomware writers and other malware authors on notice that the gloves are off. This also sends a clear message to the criminals: you are not immune to repercussions. Ransomware gangs are, in a dark sense, startups with their own venture capital and business models. …
On Wednesday, May 12, NSI hosted Josh Rogin, Journalist, Washington Post, and Political Analyst, CNN, who shared his insight on all things U.S. and China, including why he thinks China is America’s hardest foreign policy problem. Josh also talked about his new book, “Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century,” which explores the conflict over China policy in the Trump White House and the state of our two countries’ interdependence.
Click here to learn about NSI’s NatSec Nightcap series.
By Cameron Burks, NSI Visiting Fellow
Beijing’s Approach to Date
Beijing has yet to take a public position on its response the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). On April 22, 2021, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (“MFA”) was asked about the USICA at a press conference. The MFA spokesman expressed concern that the act targeted China, protested various amendments to the legislation, including a potential Olympics boycott, and called on the U.S. to rethink passage of the act. …
In a world that is always changing, NSI Experts offer insight on developing stories in the news. Please continue reading for their take on the most important breaking stories.
Dmitri Alperovitch, NSI Advisory Board member, on DarkSide and the growing threat of cyberattacks
“DarkSide is a ransomware group that is believed to be based largely in Russia. … They develop malicious code that can then be used to deploy within a network and encrypt all the data, and then supply all of the infrastructure to facilitate ransom payments, negotiation with victims, and then they basically franchise it out to lots…
On Friday, June 18, at 1 PM ET, NSI will release a fireside chat featuring Jeff Greene, Director of the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, focused on Executive Order 14028, President Biden’s initial steps towards improving cybersecurity within the federal government.
The recent SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, and Colonial Pipeline Hacks revealed how vulnerable the United States is to attacks from nation states to cybercriminals. While many of the recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission were passed into law last year, it is clear that there is more work to be done. Join us for a conversation about the goals of the Executive Order and how the Biden Administration is working to protect America in cyberspace.
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By Morgan Lorraine Viña, NSI Visiting Fellow
American aid workers and human rights activists are used to being under fire by authoritarian regimes. Siding with those that embrace democratic values, freedom, and human rights, the work of these activists undermine dictators and gives hope to the oppressed. For this, they are routinely targeted for abuse and their lives are put in danger. Too often unnoticed, their work is also increasingly being jeopardized by cyber attackers, usually state sponsored, seeking to disrupt their mission. …
Fault Lines welcomes FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to discuss the national security work the FCC is doing. What is the FCC’s role in pushing back against the threat posed by China? What is the FCC doing on O-Ran? How will competition with China impact technology policy in the next five years? Commissioner Carr and guest host Megan Brown, answer these questions and many more on this week’s episode of Fault Lines!
Mason NSI
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