Month: November 2020

China has powered up its first domestically-built nuclear reactor, and the construction of 6 more are underway at home and abroad. According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) the country’s first reactor using Hualong One technology was successfully connected to the grid and started generating electricity at the Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant in the southeast Fujian Province on Friday morning.  The announcement was made with hopes that China will become more energy-independent and to export its design across the globe.

Claimed to be the Architect of Iran’s Nuclear Program, Iranian Nuclear Scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was ambushed and killed in the city of Absard, about 44 miles east of the capital Tehran. The ambush happened with explosives and machine gun fire, where he was rushed to the hospital and died there. While no immediate claim of responsibility, the Iranian Foreign Minister has pointed the finger at Israel as the prime suspect. The killing is seen is just as grave as the assassination of Qassem Soleimani  back in January. Iran has vowed retaliation as they threatened to  “strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr and will make them regret their action. “It seems that despite the lack of concrete evidence, Israel will be on the list for Iran to blame for this act of terror as they mentioned. This also can lead to further deteriorations in relations between the US and Iran as the final weeks of the Trump presidency are here and would leave a Biden presidency in a deep hole in regards to Iran.

Fakhrizadeh was regarded as the “main keeper of Iranian knowledge of its nuclear programme.” His face was never shown until April 2018 in effort to keep in secret as other Iranian nuclear scientists were killed, with suspicions of them being killed by Israeli assassins. He is hailed as a martyr in Iran, and was also according to Western and Israeli intelligence officials a key figure in an atomic bomb program that was stopped in 2003. In a presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fakhrizadeh was a central figure in the presentation as he accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons and using its nuclear program for that reason. In his presentation, Netayahu said “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.”

This situation of course can possibly lead to a confrontation in the Middle East between Iran and Israel. This also could possibly put the United States in a bad light as Iran has accused the US of provoking Iran as best as they can before the Biden Presidency begins, which is doubtful at this point. This also can be just words alone as Iran vowed the same action when Solemani was killed and nothing happened. Only time will tell what will happen after more is revealed about this event.

Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, is expected to tackle the issue of cybersecurity as he brings vast experience in that respected area. Mayorkas worked under the Obama administration as deputy DHS Secretary and during his tenure he contributed vastly in a deal with China that briefly reduced Chinese hacking targeting U.S. companies back in 2o15 as well as acting in increasing cybersecurity intelligence that government shared with industries.

With this pick to the DHS, the cybersecurity experts are hoping for Mayorkas to boost cooperation globally in the field of cybersecurity and to restore the good relationship between industry and government on cybersecurity that has been strained by the current administration. The experts also expect a key issue such as cybersecurity to be top of the list and not demoted to secondary like the Trump administration has shown, as it appears to  be clear that this time around cybersecurity will surely be a top priority for Homeland Security.

There will be many issues that Mayorkas and Co will be facing once they are in the DHS Seat such as the 5g infrastructure transition, the cybersecurity of elections, and of course protecting the US against foreign cyberattacks as some of its issues it has to tackle, including the low employee morale around the DHS currently too. However, it still has to be remembered that he has  another huge task in rolling back the immigration polices implemented by the Trump administration, but make no mistake cybersecurity efforts aren’t too far behind

On November 24, Russian and American maritime ships came very close. Russian navy chased U.S destroyer in the Sea of Japan also known as the East sea. The U.S. claimed it was conducting a “freedom of navigation” operation in the largest bay in the sea, Peter the Great Bay. An area both countries long disputed about, U.S long denying the claim of Moscow over the territory.

Russian officials declared that the U.S. has sailed beyond its maritime boarders by 2km before being warned by the Russian vessel “the Admiral Vinogradov”[1]. And warned the U.S. through communication channels that such actions could lead to a possibility of maneuvering.

The U.S. destroyer “USS John McCain” had then changed routes after the Vinogradov turned towards McCain according to the Russian Defense. However, the U.S fleet declared that MacCain has operated within international law boundaries and that Russia claimed the area to be internal waters in 1984 illegally.

Is this an indicator for deviating relations between the two countries? Does this have any implications towards the new administration coming in January? I guess we will have to wait and see.

[1]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-chases-u-s-warship-spat-over-territorial-waters-sea-n1248759

Latin America remains vulnerable to hostile cyber activity, especially as the region’s economies become more technically adept. Cyber security practices are currently failing to keep up with advancements in digitization as Cyber crime, cyber espionage, and hacktivism have targeted Mexico, in particular. On pace to be among the top ten economies in the world by 2050, Mexico has achieved economic heights as a result of increased Internet access and implementation of e- commerce. As such, Mexico has been attracting the attention of enterprising hostile cyber actors seeking to exploit commercial organizations for financial reward. While promising government initiatives like the establishment of a national cyber security strategy and legal frameworks demonstrate Mexico’s awareness of the importance of cyber security, they are at a nascent stage. Though Mexico houses several command centers for cybersecurity crises,  enforcement of such laws against cyber attacks has been universally weak.

To further complicate things, several international state actors have been accused of usurping the country’s finances. Suspected North Korean hackers attempted to steal money from Mexican banks in 2016. The hackers ended up deploying destructive malware after they had unsuccessfully exploited the SWIFT payment system to steal money via fraudulent transfer requests. In 2017, more than 500 companies in Mexico were infected with the WannaCry ransomware, believed to have been orchestrated by North Korea. Even Mexico’s own government has been suspected of complicit behavior in which surveillance spyware was deployed on journalists’ and activists’ smartphones back in 2017. Russia has also been actively seeking to expand its influence in Latin America in order to offset U.S. influence in the region. Russian operatives are believed to have conducted cyber espionage against Government of Mexico targets, although no specifics were provided to determine the cause. 

However, while legislation exists that addresses technology-related crime, Mexico’s failure to incentivize or compel organizations to report breaches, makes it difficult to understand the full impact of hostile cyber activity in the country. This needs to change in order to develop proper cyber security initiatives to adequately address these criminal activities. Such changes require budget reallocation towards enhanced firewall technology to protect government and corporate encrypted virtual private networks and proxy servers.

Sources:

Guenther, Rita, et al., eds. Science and technology to counter terrorism: Proceedings of an Indo-US workshop. National Academies Press, 2007.

https://www.lookingglasscyber.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/STRATISS-Cyber_Landscape_Mexico.pdf

The definition of Cyberterrorism is not limited to the use of the internet to commit violent acts of terrorism. It also includes the use of the internet to communicate with other terrorist elements and recruit new members. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria created the modern-day template of how to augment a terrorist apparatus using social media. ISIS was not the first terrorist organization to use social media to recruit; Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had used social media in this vein for over a decade. However, the proof of ISIS’ effectiveness is shown in the estimated 40,000 volunteers which joined their ranks since 2014.

Another way in which ISIS saw success in its online recruitment was its concerted effort to target groups most susceptible to radicalization. As a result, ISIS specifically targeted male Muslim twenty-somethings. Aside from media showing combat and executions, ISIS Twitter accounts as well as its digital magazines included content suggesting that potential recruits would also find comradeship and a place where they would fit in. The terrorist organization distributed this content in multiple versions in languages to reach out to a truly global audience In addition, ISIS was able to embark on these marketing and recruitment initiatives for little to no cost.

With the new technologies and the rising uncertainty and challenges that the world is facing recently, there is more urgency to reduce nuclear risks. this Agenda recommends that the next U.S administration can lead the way in further reducing the risk of nuclear use though diplomacy and by demonstrating leadership. they recommend also that the new president should narrow the range of scenarios in which the U.S. would consider using Nuclear weapons and urges other states with similar weapons to adopt similar positions. In addition, this agenda recommends that the U.S should work with Russia and china to reduce nuclear risks. Also to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime and roll back and prevent proliferation- Agree on a P5 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) declaration that a “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”

https://media.nti.org/documents/Reducing_Nuclear_Risks_An_Urgent_Agenda_for_2021_and_Beyond.pdf

Trump’s inability to concede is greatly affecting the transition team and putting our country at a national security risk. Trump had fired Christopher Krebs, who served as the first director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.  Mr. Krebs, had overseen election cybersecurity efforts, and had joined other officials in declaring the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.” This statement is obviously in direct contradiction to Trump’s unbacked claims that the election was based in fraud. Trump and his legal team has frequently claimed that the 2020 election has been “stolen from him through fraudulent ballots and software glitches that changed millions of votes.” Trump had turned to his appointee, Krebs, in hopes that he’d help confirm his allegations that there had been Russian interference and Trump votes had been changed to Biden votes and Krebs did the exact opposite, leading to his immediate firing. 

Senator Angus King of Maine has stated, “Of all the things this president has done, this is the worst…To strike at the heart of the democratic system is beyond anything we have seen from any politician.” Senator King believed that Christopher Krebs was one of the most independent and competent people working in the Trump administration, putting partisanship behind and solely focusing on the importance of protecting American democracy. Krebs was not surprised though because it is reported that as early as June he had started to tell his colleagues he expected to be fired as the president started talking about a potential “rigged” election.

As someone who happened to be following Krebs on Twitter, I was struck with a profound sense of patriotism when after his firing he tweeted “Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomorrow. #Protect2020.” As we move forward as public servants and political leaders that’s the message we should all get behind. Do it right, Fight for today, Secure a future for future generations. 

Sanger, D., & Perlroth, N. (2020, November 18). Trump Fires Christopher Krebs, Official Who Disputed Election Fraud Claims. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/us/politics/trump-fires-christopher-krebs.html

In the chapter “Who Could Be Planning A Nuclear Terrorist Attack? from her book “Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe”, author Allison Graham describes efforts by Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations to obtain nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to use on the United States, American Allies, and Russia. One of the themes that I feel the author is really trying to convey is how easily non-state entities like Al Qaeda and Aum Shinrykyo have demonstrated the ability to get their hands on the material necessary to create WMD’s and in the case of Aum Shinryko, deploy these weapons in devastating attacks on civilians.

Based on this information, I would say that although they are still dangerous, the threat of North Korea and Iran having WMD’s pales in comparison to the threat of non-state actors possessing these kinds of weapons. While the regimes running those countries can be described as erratic, they can at least be negotiated with. For example, despite their bellicose rhetoric, the Obama administration was able to successfully negotiate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. However, when it comes to non-state actors there is really no one to negotiate and if and when they come into the possession of a WMD that they are able to use against the United States and its allies, there is not much we can do to prevent them.

As we rapidly approach the holiday season, we simultaneously advance upon the second wave of COVID. Although cases continue to increase in many parts of the world (like in Japan, India, and South Korea) in other countries, the worst of the Second Wave has passed. France, though initially filled with a lot of anger and violence over what many French considered an inadequate lockdown by Macron, may have already passed its peak of cases in this second wave. Despite continuous efforts by some Americans to practice precautions, many others continue to book flights despite discouragement, are making shopping plans for Black Friday, and somehow continue to disregard the severity of the virus. Apparently, Fox News (before being blacklisted by Trump and the Trumpsters of course) had a researcher from Hong Kong, Li-Meng Yan, come on the show to tell “the truth” alleging China’s malicious plans to spread the virus throughout the globe. The video from July shows the virologist speak out against China as a whistleblower, saying her life was in danger for speaking out about the origins and intentions of the virus. She also mentioned just “how dangerous” it really is. Despite many people on social media hailing her a hero and calling for asylum to allow her to remain protected in the U.S., many other scientists spoke out against the allegations.

After having watched the video, and seeing how both Fox and the virologist speak out against China and the danger the country presents, I can see how it is SO easy to fall in agreement with the virologist. After all, the initial whistleblower of COVID died trying to spread the news about the novel virus. And with China being very secretive about their findings, it is easy to see how people may be swayed into believing this. However, a NYTimes article recently came out highlighting the agenda behind the claims of a lab-created Coronavirus.

The article explains that though a lab-leak has technically not been ruled out by U.S. intelligence, there is an enormous amount of research proven to support that the virus originated in an animal before moving its way to humans. The article explains that Dr. Yan and American conservatives worked united to speak on this based on their shared anti-Chinese sentiments. Whereas Dr. Yan worked with other anti-Beijing spokespeople while in Hong Kong to denounce the government’s alleged practices, conservative America appeared to follow Trump’s anti-China rhetoric. They fell so uniformly into this baseless idea, that it allowed some of the responsibility of the handling of the outbreak off of Trump and instead onto China. Apparently, Stephen Bannon and fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui coached Dr. Yan and told her to not mention either one of them, with Bannon pushing the theory of a leak, though he claimed not believing the leak to not be intentional. Dr. Yan eventually met with experts from Georgetown to explain her beliefs, but they could not seem to come to an explanation as to the weaponization of the virus. Trump tweeted a clip of her claiming China intentionally spread the virus, with Tucker later on announcing on his show that he could not endorse Dr. Yan’s theories despite inviting her once more on the show.

This entire whirlwind of events is as fascinating as it is terrifying. At this time, Dr. Yan’s mother says she is worried for her daughter’s safety as they have not spoken in months. Despite much controversy regarding the origins or “agenda” of the novel virus, the greatest threat remains the same for now: people disregarding its gravity.