Governance and Legislation

Putting Explainable AI to the Test: A Critical Look at AI Evaluation Approaches

(Mina Narayanan, Christian Schoeberl, Tim G. J. Rudner – Center for Security and Emerging Technology – February 2025) Explainability and interpretability are often cited as key characteristics of trustworthy AI systems, but it is unclear how they are evaluated in practice. This report examines how researchers evaluate their explainability and interpretability claims in the context of AI-enabled recommendation systems and offers considerations for policymakers seeking to support AI evaluations. – https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/putting-explainable-ai-to-the-test-a-critical-look-at-ai-evaluation-approaches/

The geography of generative AI’s workforce impacts will likely differ from those of previous technologies

(Mark Muro, Shriya Methkupally, Molly Kinder – Brookings – 19 February 2025) As the generative AI race heats up, it’s important to examine where in the U.S. the technology might boost or harm workers, or if place even matters. Brookings published a report looking at possible patterns of AI involvement in the labor market, focusing on how generative AI appears set to intersect with particular occupations, regardless of their location. There, we found that more than 30% of all workers could see at least 50% of their occupational tasks affected by ChatGPT-4, while 85% of workers could see at least 10% of their tasks affected, with greater impacts possible. – https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-geography-of-generative-ais-workforce-impacts-will-likely-differ-from-those-of-previous-technologies/

The Temptation of Chinese AI: Israel Must Not Be Blinded by DeepSeek

(Ariel Sobelman, Michael Genkin – INSS – 18 February 2025) The global race for artificial intelligence (AI) supremacy is accelerating, and China’s latest move—the launch of the DeepSeek AI model—has sent shockwaves around the world. The technology industry, stock markets, academia, and governments are all evaluating whether this Chinese engineering breakthrough could also shift the geopolitical balance. In light of the challenges facing Israel’s National AI Program, the true efficiency and cost of this new Chinese model are examined against the officially published figures. The key takeaway is that Israel must not be dazzled by Chinese advancements or tempted by technological shortcuts at the expense of building its own national AI infrastructure and securing its digital sovereignty. – https://www.inss.org.il/publication/deepseek/

Why dismantling the PCLOB and CSRB threatens privacy and national security

(Stephanie K. Pell – Brookings – 18 February 2025) The dismantling of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) and the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) is part of a broader but ever-dwindling system of government oversight and independent analysis that has become a casualty in the wake of the new Trump administration. The undermining of these governmental entities robs Congress of critical information it needs to engage in oversight and legislative action. Ultimately, the dismantling of the PCLOB and CSRB threatens both the privacy and national security interests of the American public. – https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-dismantling-the-pclob-and-csrb-threatens-privacy-and-national-security/

Why Corporate AI Projects Succeed or Fail

(Dylan Walsh – Stanford HAI – 18 February 2025) It’s a mad competition for AI talent. Job postings for machine learning and AI engineers increased 70-80% in the beginning of 2024 compared with 2023. Companies are offering new recruits substantial compensation and big budgets to poke around their internal operations, interact with employees across the business, find problems or inefficiencies, and then build AI-based solutions to address them. “But in-house developments don’t seem to be working well: Even as companies invest a lot of money, a lot of projects are failing or not delivering their promised value,” says Arvind Karunakaran, an assistant professor of engineering at Stanford and a faculty affiliate at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). “Something is going on in these very early stages of interaction between developers and other employees across the business that’s leading to these shortcomings.” – https://hai.stanford.edu/news/why-corporate-ai-projects-succeed-or-fail

How the rise of AI in Indonesia is expanding financial inclusion

(Vincent Henry Iswaratioso – World Economic Forum – 17 February 2025) Indonesia has experienced significant digital growth with increasing internet penetration and financial inclusion. AI enhances financial inclusion by improving fraud detection, risk assessment and personalized customer experiences. Sustainable AI-driven growth requires collaboration between fintech companies, regulators and policy-makers. – https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/02/rise-of-ai-in-indonesia/

Confronting Gendered Harm in Cyberspace is not a Matter of Social Justice — It’s a National Security Imperative

(Pavlina Pavlova – Just Security – 17 February 2025) As the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Information and Communication Technologies (OEWG) convenes the 10th substantive session in New York, cyber operations by state-affiliated groups and cybercriminals increasingly target the infrastructure and services essential to daily life. These large-scale attacks place substantial pressure on national security, particularly when interdependent sectors experience cascading disruptions. While populations at large feel the impacts, not everyone is affected equally. Context matters: a victim’s identity can determine the type of attack, its likelihood, and its consequences. Women, in particular, face heightened risks if breaches expose sensitive data or cause outages in critical public services. Despite the worsening threat landscape, United Nations (U.N.) cyber norms remain gender-blind, undermining States’ ability to protect all citizens. – https://www.justsecurity.org/107353/gendered-harm-cyberspace-not-social-justice-a-security-imperative/

Between ambition and pragmatism: The future of cyber capacity-building in a fragmented world

(Nayia Barmpaliou, Patryk Pawlak – European Union Institute for Security Studies) This report provides a structured analysis of the evolving international cyber capacity-building (CCB) ecosystem, highlighting both its progress and persistent challenges. Over the past decade, CCB has emerged as a key mechanism for international cooperation, helping countries strengthen cyber resilience and fostering global partnerships. It explores how CCB efforts have developed within separate policy communities—such as international security, criminal justice, and ICT development—leading to inefficiencies and operational fragmentation. However, despite widespread consensus on its importance, efforts to scale, coordinate, and enhance the effectiveness of CCB remain fragmented. Ultimately, this report seeks to deepen the understanding of ideological and operational divides in CCB, assess their impact on effectiveness, and outline pathways for more cohesive and impactful international cooperation. – https://www.iss.europa.eu/publications/reports/between-ambition-and-pragmatism-future-cyber-capacity-building-fragmented

Responsible AI and Civilian Protection in Armed Conflict

(Daniel R. Mahanty, Kailee Hilt – Centre for International Governance Innovation – 14 February 2025) While the Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy holds promise, its supporters should place greater emphasis on how the implementation of its principles will lead to better protection of civilians in armed conflict, especially when combined with other measures not limited to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy. This policy brief argues that the responsible use invoked by the declaration should not result in only marginally better protection of civilians (PoC) outcomes than “irresponsible” use, but should instead achieve markedly better ones. Giving meaning to the declaration’s implied PoC content depends on whether the expansion of its membership and stewardship of the process raises the ceiling or lowers the floor for responsible use. National and multilateral efforts to promote the responsible military use of AI should be connected to a renewed commitment among all states to mitigate harm to civilians resulting from all military operations, not only those that involve the use of AI. – https://www.cigionline.org/publications/responsible-ai-and-civilian-protection-in-armed-conflict/

Artificial intelligence and intellectual property: Navigating the challenges of data scraping

(Lee Tiedrich, Karine Perset, Sara Fialho Esposito – OECD.AI- 14 February 2025) The Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) has released a new report examining the intellectual property (IP) implications of how organisations collect and use data to train AI systems, with a particular focus on data scraping. This analysis examines approaches and potential solutions for addressing IP considerations in AI development. GPAI approved and released the report on 30 January 2025, which benefited from input by the OECD’s AI Governance Working Party (AIGO) and through GPAI reviews and workshops. – https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/ip-data-scraping

A Bird’s-eye View of the Paris AI Action Summit: Regulation, Power, and Alternatives

(Lucas Anjos – Global Tech Institute – 13 February 2025) The recently concluded AI Action Summit, held in Paris, France on February 10-11, emphasized the widening difference between the AI strategies of the Global North and the common concerns of the Global South. While world leaders, major tech CEOs, and policymakers debated regulatory frameworks and economic competitiveness, usually advocating for a mutually exclusive view of regulation vs. innovation, the summit largely mirrored previous gatherings in its focus on maintaining the dominance of established players. Some would argue that there was a slight shift to more immediate risks (instead of a heavy focus on existential ones), including to the environment. – https://techglobalinstitute.com/announcements/blog/a-birds-eye-view-of-the-paris-ai-action-summit-regulation-power-and-alternatives/

Extremism in Gaming Spaces: Policy for Prevention and Moderation

(Claudia Wallner, Jessica White, Petra Regeni – RUSI – 13 February 2025) This policy brief seeks to identify recommendations for governments, regulators and other international policymaking entities to design effective policies for preventing and countering violent extremism policies in gaming spaces, to enforce standards, and to support the development of capacity to moderate online harms. – https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/policy-briefs/extremism-gaming-spaces-policy-prevention-and-moderation

Indonesia’s Social Media Usage Law Might Not Protect Children

(Eka Nugraha Putra – FULCRUM – 13 February 2025) The Indonesian government’s move to safeguard children from online harm is laudable. However, it overlooks their wellbeing and trains them to be digitally illiterate by assuming the solution lies in a general law. – https://fulcrum.sg/indonesias-social-media-usage-law-might-not-protect-children/

Trustworthy AI needs Trustworthy Data

(Eurasia Group – 10 February 2025) Artificial intelligence has shot to the top of the global agenda, as the international order is mired in what Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer calls a “geopolitical recession.” Global efforts to agree on principles and guardrails for AI are taking place against a backdrop of intense geopolitical competition, disruption, and a deficit of international leadership. Even in such an environment, global leaders’ efforts to create governance frameworks for AI have been impressive. From the UN Global Digital Compact to the Paris AI Action Summit, governments have recognized the mutual imperative to ensure that AI’s potential is harnessed safely and responsibly. Now, the challenge is to build coherence and consensus around the expanding web of AI initiatives and principles that have already been crafted by a wide range of organizations, including the OECD, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the G7, and more. Despite the flurry of global, regional, and national policymaking activity around AI in recent years, longstanding global governance challenges involving the use and handling of data—which is critical to ensuring trustworthy AI—remain unresolved. – https://www.eurasiagroup.net/live-post/trustworthy-ai-needs-trustworthye-data

Terrorism – Counter Terrorism

CTED Executive Director addresses the Fourth Ministerial Conference “No Money for Terror 2025” on countering the financing of terrorism

(UN CTED – 14 February 2025) On 13 February 2025, Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman, CTED Executive Director, delivered a lead statement at the ministerial segment of the 4th “No Money for Terror” (NMFT) conference held in Munich, Germany. Hosted by Germany, the conference addressed key topics such as innovative approaches to multilateral cooperation, digital channels of terrorist financing, the importance of financial inclusion and the risk-based approach, and the nexus between organized crime and terrorism financing. – https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/ctc/news/cted-executive-director-addresses-fourth-ministerial-conference-%E2%80%9Cno-money-terror-2025%E2%80%9D

Geostrategies

Quantum game changer

(Evan Freidin – Lowy The Interpreter – 20 February 2025) In the high-stakes race to master potentially game-changing technologies, one field receives substantially less attention: quantum computing. This emerging field is a major front in the US-China tech war, up there with artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Its development is a closely guarded secret in both countries, and has been a key feature of the tech restrictions the US government has attempted to place on China. – https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/quantum-game-changer

Organization of Turkic States Advances Eurasian Trade Connectivity

(Vusal Guliyev – The Jamestown Foundation – 19 February 2025) The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), comprising Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and observers, is leading efforts to enhance the Middle Corridor. This initiative aims to bolster regional connectivity, mitigate trade disruptions from geopolitical instability, and develop sustainable, competitive transport networks through multilateral treaties and infrastructure investments. Recent OTS summits have reinforced commitments to optimizing and digitalizing the Middle Corridor. Agreements focus on modernizing logistics, integrating green energy solutions, and harmonizing customs and border procedures. Strengthened intergovernmental collaboration allows the OTS to enhance regional economic integration. Continued focus on infrastructure, digital transformation, and strategic partnerships will unlock the Middle Corridor’s full potential across the region. – https://jamestown.org/program/organization-of-turkic-states-advances-eurasian-trade-connectivity/

31,068 miles: Meta plans world’s longest subsea cable to connect 5 continents

(Abhishek Bhardwaj – Interesting Engineering – 17  February 2025) Meta has announced its most ambitious subsea cable project – named Project Waterworth – which will reach five major continents. The multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment project was announced through a blog post by the company. Meta says that it will strengthen the scale and reliability of the “world’s digital highways by opening three new oceanic corridors with the abundant, high speed connectivity needed to drive AI innovation around the world.” – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/meta-subsea-cables-project-waterworth

Beyond DeepSeek: How China’s AI Ecosystem Fuels Breakthroughs

 

(Ruby Scanlon – Lawfare – 14 February 2025) In mid-January, leading U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) companies were sent reeling. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, unveiled its R1 model, a new chatbot of comparable quality to OpenAI’s GPT-4. While many analysts rushed to scrutinize DeepSeek’s technical capabilities, a more fundamental question loomed: How did a Chinese lab achieve such an impressive feat? The answer lies not just in DeepSeek’s top engineers or innovative training techniques, but in the vast political and financial ecosystem China has built to accelerate AI innovation. Over the past decade, the Chinese government has made AI development a national priority, directing considerable sums of money, policy incentives, and public-private partnership opportunities toward ensuring that Beijing can compete—and ultimately lead—in AI. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/beyond-deepseek–how-china-s-ai-ecosystem-fuels-breakthroughs

DeepSeek’s Background Raises Multiple Concerns

(Matthew Gabriel Cazel Brazil – The Jamestown Foundation – 14 February 2025) DeepSeek and its parent company, High-Flyer, are embedded in the vibrant—and heavily state-subsidized—“Hangzhou Chengxi Science and Technology Innovation Corridor,” which aims to create a Chinese answer to Silicon Valley in the companies’ hometown. DeepSeek claims that its models are not trained on GPUs illegally imported to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but data indicates that PRC firms could be acquiring banned chips rerouted via Singapore, though Singapore denies this. DeepSeek’s operational code is open source, but it has released no training code, making it impossible to verify the hardware used to train its latest model. Evidence of the app sending data packets back to the PRC and to PRC-owned servers, despite claims by DeepSeek to the contrary, adds to growing security concerns about the company and its products, as does the models’ censorship of topics sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party. – https://jamestown.org/program/deepseeks-background-raises-multiple-concerns/

After Paris: Are the US and UK leaving Europe behind on AI?

(Chatham House – 14 February 2025) Birgitte Andersen, Lord Tim Clement-Jones and Alex Krasodomski join the podcast to discuss the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris. – https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/02/independent-thinking-after-paris-are-us-and-uk-leaving-europe-behind-ai

The AI-Nuclear Nexus: New CNAS Report on Managing Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Weapons amid U.S. Rivalry with China and Russia

(Center for a New American Security – 13 February 2025) Following Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Paris Artificial Intelligence Action Summit and ahead of the Munich Security Conference, the Center for a New American Security released an important new report, ‘Averting AI Armageddon: U.S.-China-Russia Rivalry at the Nexus of Nuclear Weapons and Artificial Intelligence’ by Jacob Stokes, Colin H. Kahl, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, and Nicholas Lokker. The authors argue that the nuclear order among major powers has fundamentally shifted. In particular, the People’s Republic of China is building up its nuclear arsenal to make it numerically larger and technologically more sophisticated. As a result, the bipolar nuclear order—led by the United States and Russia—has started to give way to a more volatile tripolar one. That shift is taking place concurrently with rapid advances in artificial intelligence, including for military applications. Those two trends converge in what this report calls the “AI-nuclear nexus.” – https://www.cnas.org/press/press-release/the-ai-nuclear-nexus-new-cnas-report-on-managing-artificial-intelligence-and-nuclear-weapons-amid-u-s-rivalry-with-china-and-russia

IA : vers une domination énergétique des GAFAM ?

(Frédéric Jeannin – Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques – 10 February 2025) « L’intelligence artificielle (IA) est la nouvelle électricité ». Cette phrase prononcée par le chercheur Andrew Ng en 2017 illustre l’envergure qu’a prise l’intelligence artificielle dans nos sociétés. Non sans appréhension, elle a progressivement pris une place prépondérante dans nos processus de production et nos divertissements, jusqu’à devenir quasi vitale sur des questions de santé ou de défense. Cette citation est aussi éloquente quant au lien qu’entretient l’IA avec la transition énergétique, car face à la complexification de nos réseaux électriques, seuls les outils numériques les plus perfectionnés semblent en mesure de conjuguer l’intermittence des renouvelables avec nos besoins accrus en énergie. – https://www.iris-france.org/vers-une-de-domination-energetique-des-gafam/

Frontiers

China’s new nickel superconductor works above threshold of -387°F at normal pressure

(Mrigakshi Dixit – Interesting Engineering – 20 February 2025) Physicists in China report the creation of a new nickel-based high-temperature superconductor at room pressure. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that this development comes from researchers at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China. For this, the team created a nickel oxide thin film. Reportedly, this nickel-based superconductor can achieve superconductivity above -233°C (minus 387 Fahrenheit) at “normal pressure.” This is a rare achievement, with only cuprates and iron-based materials previously demonstrating this breakthrough. – https://interestingengineering.com/science/china-nickel-superconductor-works-above-threshold

Bio-hybrid drone with moth antennae boosts odor tracking for rescue missions

(Sujita Sinha – Interesting Engineering – 20 February 2025) Traditional drones rely on visual sensors for navigation, but these systems struggle in low light, dusty, or damp environments. This limitation makes it difficult for drones to function effectively in disaster-stricken areas where visibility is compromised. Researchers from Japan have developed a bio-hybrid drone that integrates silkworm moth antennae with robotic technology to enhance odor tracking and navigation capabilities. This innovation leverages biological sensory mechanisms to improve drone performance in various applications, including gas detection, disaster response, and environmental monitoring. By combining the natural odor-sensing abilities of insects with advanced robotics, the research team aims to address the limitations of conventional drone technology. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/drone-with-silkworm-moth-tech

Figure unveils first-of-its-kind brain for humanoid robots after shunning OpenAI

(Kapil Kajal – Interesting Engineering – 20 February 2025) In a significant move in the AI world, California-based Figure has revealed Helix, a generalist Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model that unifies perception, language understanding, and learned control to overcome multiple longstanding challenges in robotics. Brett Adcock, founder of Figure, said that Helix is the most significant AI update in the company’s history. “Helix thinks like a human… and to bring robots into homes, we need a step change in capabilities. Helix can generalize to virtually any household item,” Adcock said in a social media post. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/figure-launches-helix-ai-robots

Microsoft debuts new superconductor chip designed for quantum computing

(Alexandra Kelley – Nextgov – 19 February 2025) Microsoft unveiled a new type of computing chip on Wednesday that will specifically help enable advancements in practical, fault-tolerant quantum computing. The chip, called Majorana 1, is the world’s first quantum chip powered by a specific Topological Core architecture. The proprietary technology is designed to leverage Majorana particles to create robust topological qubits that are resilient to external errors, often referred to as “noise.” – https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2025/02/microsoft-debuts-new-superconductor-chip-designed-quantum-computing/403088/?oref=ng-homepage-river

Security

Salt Typhoon hackers exploited stolen credentials and a 7-year-old software flaw in Cisco systems

(David DiMolfetta – NextGov – 20 February 2025) Internet routing giant Cisco disclosed Thursday that the Salt Typhoon hacking group predominantly made use of stolen victim credentials — and in one instance exploited a seven-year-old, known vulnerability in its software — as part of a widespread hacking campaign where the group burrowed inside troves of telecommunications systems in the U.S. and around the world. – https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/02/salt-typhoon-hackers-exploited-stolen-credentials-and-7-year-old-software-flaw-cisco-systems/403146/?oref=ng-home-top-story

Europol publishes framework for ethical technology in law enforcement

(Europol – 20 February 2025) Today, Europol is publishing a new report, Assessing Technologies in Law Enforcement: A Method for Ethical Decision-Making, providing law enforcement agencies with a structured approach to evaluating new technologies while upholding fundamental rights and public trust. – https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/europol-publishes-framework-for-ethical-technology-in-law-enforcement

Intelligence Notification: Violent online communities threaten children

(Europol – 20 February 2025) Europol today issues an Intelligence Notification calling attention on the rise of violent online communities dedicated to the serious harm of children. This strategic document focuses on online grooming cult groups dedicated to normalising violence and corrupting minors, advocating for the collapse of modern society through acts of terror, chaos and violence, and spreading ideologies that inspire mass shootings, bombings and other acts of crime. These communities recruit offenders and victims on a global scale and function as cults formed around charismatic leaders who use manipulation and deception to lure and control their victims. The communities’ hierarchy is based on the amount of content shared, with the most prolific contributors earning higher rankings. Community members share extremely violent content, ranging from gore and animal cruelty to child sexual exploitation material and depictions of murder. – https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/intelligence-notification-violent-online-communities-threaten-children

Major Australian IVF provider investigating cyber incident

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record – 20 February 2025) Australian fertility services provider Genea is investigating a potential data breach after detecting suspicious activity on its network. The company confirmed on Wednesday that an unauthorized third party had accessed its systems but said it was still determining whether personal information had been compromised. It did not specify the nature of the cyberattack or the identity of those responsible. – https://therecord.media/australian-ivf-provider-cyber-incident

Cryptominer hidden in pirated games lands mostly on Russian computers

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record – 20 February 2025) Suspected Russian-speaking hackers are using malicious versions of popular pirated games to install cryptomining software known as XMRig on their victims’ devices, researchers have found. The attacks, conducted by a previously unidentified threat actor, mostly affected users in Russia, with additional cases observed in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Germany, and Brazil, according to a new report by Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. – https://therecord.media/xmrig-cryptominer-pirated-video-games-russia

AI and Cyber: Could the War of the Robots be the Next War in the Wires?

(Tom Johansmeyer – RUSI – 19 February 2025) Fear of AI-driven cyber threats is growing, but history shows exaggeration can lead to misguided policy. A measured approach is crucial to avoid unnecessary escalation. – https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/ai-and-cyber-could-war-robots-be-next-war-wires

North Korea’s Kimsuky Taps Trusted Platforms to Attack South Korea

(Robert Lemos – Dark Reading – 19 February 2025) North Korea-linked threat groups are increasingly using living-off-the-land (LotL) techniques and trusted services to evade detection, with a recent Kimsuky campaign showcasing the use of PowerShell scripts and storing data in Dropbox folders, along with improved operational security. In the campaign, dubbed “DEEP#DRIVE” by security firm Securonix, the threat group used fake work logs, insurance documents, and crypto-related files to convince users to download and run a zipped shortcut file that gathers system configuration information and then executes PowerShell and .NET scripts. The attack tools upload the system data to Dropbox folders and then download additional commands and capabilities for further compromise. – https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/north-koreans-kimsuky-attacks-rivals-trusted-platforms

Thailand to take in 7,000 rescued from illegal cyber scam hubs in Myanmar

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record – 19 February 2025) Around 7,000 people rescued from illegal call centers in Myanmar are awaiting transfer to Thailand amid a crackdown on cross-border scam operations, Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Wednesday. The crackdown is part of growing regional efforts to combat cyber scams run by criminal syndicates in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, which have forced thousands into fraudulent online schemes. Thailand is a key transit point for victims trafficked to these compounds. – https://therecord.media/thailand-to-take-in-7000-rescued-from-scam-hubs-myanmar

Recent Ghost/Cring ransomware activity prompts alert from FBI, CISA

(Joe Warminsky – The Record – 19 February 2025) A ransomware group known as Ghost has been exploiting vulnerabilities in software and firmware as recently as January, according to an alert issued Wednesday by the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The group, which is also known as Cring and operates from China, focuses on internet-facing services with unpatched bugs that users could have mitigated years ago, according to the agencies. Cybersecurity researchers first began warning about the group in 2021. – https://therecord.media/ghost-cring-ransomware-activity-fbi-cisa-alert

Sanctioned entities fueled $16 billion in cryptocurrency activity last year, report says

(James Reddick – The Record – 19 February 2025) Sanctioned entities and jurisdictions were responsible for nearly $16 billion in cryptocurrency activity last year, driven in part by a resurgence of activity in the mixing service Tornado Cash and a spike in the use of crypto in Iran. In a report released on Wednesday, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said that despite sanctions against Tornado Cash in 2022 by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the “core infrastructure of the platform has proven difficult to shut down.”. Separately, individual Iranians moved more money out of the country’s beleaguered financial system and into cryptocurrency in 2024 than ever before, the report said. – https://therecord.media/sanctions-cryptocurrency-iran-tornado-cash-chainalysis-report

Economic cyber-espionage: a persistent and invisible threat

(Gatra Priyandita, Bart Hogeveen – ASPI The Strategist – 19 February 2025) 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. As more states use cyber tools to secure economic and strategic advantages, a growing number of countries, particularly emerging economies, are vulnerable. In response, G20 members agreed in 2015 that no country should engage in cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property (IP) for commercial gain. – https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/economic-cyber-espionage-a-persistent-and-invisible-threat/

Multiple foreign intelligence agencies plotting to murder dissidents in Australia, warns security chief

(Alexander Martin – The Record – 19 February 2025) Mike Burgess, the head of the domestic-focused Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), revealed on Wednesday that multiple foreign states had unsuccessfully attempted to murder dissidents living in the country. In the Director-General’s Annual Threat Assessment, Burgess said: “ASIO investigations have identified at least three different countries plotting to physically harm people living in Australia. In a small number of cases, we held grave fears for the life of the person being targeted.” – https://therecord.media/australia-asio-report-foreign-intelligence-murder-plots

Zero Trust Must be a Cybersecurity Priority for the Trump Administration

(Niranjan Shankar – Infosecurity Magazine – 19 February 2025) With President Trump taking office soon after China-backed actors hacked the US Treasury and several telecommunications companies, cybersecurity is an immediate and pressing national security priority for the new administration. Despite President Biden’s extensive efforts to bolster America’s digital defenses, the recurring cyber-attacks and intrusions conducted by cybercriminals and nation-state-linked threat groups over the last several years demonstrate that US systems remain highly vulnerable. As geopolitical tensions increase, such attacks will only become more frequent and sophisticated. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/zero-trust-priority-trump/

Hundreds of US Military and Defense Credentials Compromised

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine – 19 February 2025) Some of the most sensitive corporate and military networks in the US could be at risk of compromise, after researchers revealed widespread credential theft via infostealer malware. Hudson Rock said its analysis of cybercrime marketplaces revealed compromised credentials for sale from Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Honeywell, as well as the US army and navy, the FBI and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/us-military-defense-credentials/

The double-edged sword of artificial intelligence in security sector governance

(Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance – 17 February 2025) Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, but its rapid evolution is reshaping industries in unprecedented ways – and the security sector is no exception. As AI’s capabilities grow, its potential applications are both exciting and concerning, leaving a landscape filled with both opportunities and challenges. AI-driven systems transform the security sector by optimizing resource allocation, minimizing routine tasks, and enabling real-time threat detection. But how can AI be aligned with democratic principles and human rights? – https://www.dcaf.ch/double-edged-sword-artificial-intelligence-security-sector-governance

Munich Cyber Security Conference 2025 – Estonian spy chief: ‘Hybrid schmybrid, what’s happening is attacks’

 

(Alexander Martin – The Record – 17 February 2025) The head of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service has criticized the “misleading and soft” word “hybrid” being used to describe Russian acts of sabotage and subversion across the continent. In a late panel discussion on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, Kaupo Rosin protested the use of the word which has been applied to a range of hostile activities that are deemed to be deniable or below the threshold justifying an armed response. – https://therecord.media/estonian-spy-chief-russia-hybrid-attacks-are-real-attacks

Munich Cyber Security Conference 2025 – Police risk losing society’s trust in fight against cybercrime, warns Europol chief

(Alexander Martin – The Record – 14 February 2025) Law enforcement agencies risk losing the trust of the societies they protect unless those societies understand why new powers are needed to tackle surging levels of cybercrime, Europol’s chief warned on Thursday. Speaking at the Munich Cyber Security Conference, Catherine De Bolle — who took the reins at the agency in 2018 — defended law enforcement’s need to be able to lawfully access encrypted data amid controversy over one such attempt by the United Kingdom. – https://therecord.media/eurpol-chief-cybercrime-law-enforcement-powers-society-trust

Munich Cyber Security Conference 2025 – Putting the human back into AI is key, former NSA Director Nakasone says

(Dina Temple-Raston – The Record – 14 February 2025) A roster of officials from government, academia and industry gathered here Thursday to discuss how future workforces must marry the power of artificial intelligence with expertise only a human can provide. “Looking at the next generation of national security professionals, I want policy people who can code and coders who can do policy,” said the former head of the National Security Agency General Paul Nakasone at the Munich Cyber Security Conference. “Five years ago Baby Boomers were replaced by Gen Z’ers, and five years from now it’ll be people born in 1997 — and it’s a workforce that understands data, large language models and speaks a lot of languages, including computer languages.” – https://therecord.media/putting-the-human-back-into-ai-is-key-nakasone

Munich Cyber Security Conference 2025 – India could play a key role in AI development, Infosys co-founder says

(Dina Temple-Raston – The Record – 14 February 2025) Indian billionaire and chairman of tech giant Infosys Limited Nandan Nilekani said that the country is poised to emerge as one of the biggest users and developers of artificial intelligence as it rapidly adapts to the digital world. “Every Indian has a digital ID that can be authenticated online and a lot of thought went into how to have an inclusive approach,”  said Nilekani at the Munich Cyber Security Conference on Friday. “There are obvious use [AI use] cases for us because we have developed technologies at scale.” – https://therecord.media/india-could-play-key-role-in-ai-development

Munich Cyber Security Conference 2025 – Ukraine warns of growing AI use in Russian cyber-espionage operations

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record – 14 February 2025) Russia is increasingly using artificial intelligence to analyze data stolen in cyberattacks, making its operations more precise and effective, according to Ukrainian cyber officials. For years, Russian hackers have exfiltrated vast amounts of data from Ukrainian government agencies, military personnel, and ordinary citizens. However, analyzing and utilizing these large datasets has posed a challenge. Now, AI is helping to bridge that gap, according to Ihor Malchenyuk, director of the cyberdefense department at Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (SSCIP). – https://therecord.media/russia-ukraine-cyber-espionage-artificial-intelligence

 

Munich Cyber Security Conference 2025 – Ukraine struggles to counter Russian disinfo without US support, local cyber official says

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record – 14 February 2025) The U.S. foreign aid freeze and a “dramatic” shift in the Trump administration’s approach to countering disinformation are leaving European nations increasingly vulnerable to Russian influence operations, a Ukrainian security official says. American funding has been instrumental in supporting Ukraine’s cybersecurity and counter-disinformation initiatives, said Natalia Tkachuk, head of cyber and information security at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. – https://therecord.media/ukraine-russia-disinformation-us-foreign-aid

Munich Cyber Security Conference 2025 – Taiwan using AI to fight disinformation campaigns, former minister says

(Dina Temple-Raston – The Record – 14 February 2025) Taiwan’s first-ever minister of digital affairs, Audrey Tang, told an audience at the Munich Cyber Security Conference on Friday that the island nation is using AI to battle disinformation on social media. She said that the technology is helping officials pre-bunk Chinese influence operations targeting the island before they spread online. Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said the number of pieces of false or biased information distributed by China increased 60% in 2024, to 2.16 million from 1.33 million in 2023. According to a report released last month, the NSB said Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, were the main conduits for disinformation, along with platforms that explicitly target young people such as TikToK. – https://therecord.media/taiwan-using-ai-to-fight-disinformation

The Pacific needs greater cyber resilience as malicious actors break into networks

(Blake Johnson, Fitriani Jocelinn Kang – ASPI The Strategist – 14 February 2025) Samoa and Papua New Guinea’s recent experiences with cyber intrusions are the latest reminders of the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity resilience in the Pacific. What’s needed is capacity building and coordinated response initiatives. On 11 February Samoa’s Computer Emergency Response Team (SamCERT) issued an advisory warning about APT40, a Chinese state-backed hacking group operating in the region. Days later, reports emerged that Papua New Guinea had suffered an unattributed cyberattack on its tax office, the Internal Revenue Commission, in late January. – https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-pacific-needs-greater-cyber-resilience-as-malicious-actors-break-into-networks/

Defense, Intelligence, and Warfare

The US ‘Iron Dome’: Eyeing an advanced shield against hypersonic threats

(Manoj Joshi – Observer Research Foundation – 20 February 2025) On 27 January, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to build an Iron Dome-style missile defence system to shield the United States against the “threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks.”  He called on the Pentagon to submit a comprehensive architecture of the programme within 30 days. The ‘Iron Dome’ analogy is slightly misleading considering the eponymous Israeli-US anti-missile shield is designed to only defend a relatively small area against short-range, low-flying missiles and projectiles. Its real forebear is the ‘Star Wars’ shield that President Ronald Reagan had sought to build in the 1980s to intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles aimed at the US and its allies, travelling seven times faster. Responding swiftly, the US Missile Defence Agency (MDA) hosted an “Industry Day” on 18 February to gather market intelligence and assess the technological readiness of this programme. – https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-us-iron-dome-eyeing-an-advanced-shield-against-hypersonic-threats

 

US first drone killer suit that zaps UAVs 4-mile away with Terminator-like gun revealed

(Kapil Kajal – Interesting Engineering – 19 February 2025) California-based DZYNE Technologies has introduced a new counter-drone solution, the Dronebuster Detect, Track, Identify, Mitigate (DTIM) Kit, during the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) held in the UAE. This compact and portable system addresses the growing need for effective counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) in modern military operations. With conflicts increasingly highlighting the importance of drone detection and mitigation, the U.S. Army has recognized the necessity for a soldier-level system that enhances situational awareness and offers reliable protection against hostile drones. – https://interestingengineering.com/military/us-first-drone-killer-suit

Saronic unveils plans for autonomous shipyard

(Courtney Albon – Defense News – 18 February 2025) Texas-based Saronic Technologies announced Tuesday it raised $600 million in private funding to build an autonomous shipyard it’s calling Port Alpha. The company plans to use the facility to grow its fleet of medium- and large-class autonomous surface vessels amid demand from the Pentagon for more drones of all kinds, including ships. – https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2025/02/18/saronic-unveils-plans-for-autonomous-shipyard/

Build defence ‘Indic’ AI-language models in India

(Jui Marathe, Chaitanya Giri – Observer Research Foundation – 14 February 2025) The Ministry of Defence (MoD) started 2025 by deeming it the ‘Year of Reforms’. This year, it has pledged its focus on emerging technologies, especially robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI). The theme, of course, is an organic continuation of its 2024 theme, the ‘Year of Technology Absorption, Empowering the Soldier’. The usual perception is that the soldier needs only to be empowered on the battlefield and during combat; But that is not entirely true. Assisting the soldier in diverse non-battlefield use-cases – internal administration, allocation of business rules, logistics, command and brigade level procurement, personnel re-education and training, wargaming, disaster search and rescue, military doctrine and technology ethics – goes a long way in making the military more efficient. Artificial intelligence (AI) absorption has already begun within the Indian Armed Forces for non-battlefield use cases. But it cannot be merely users of AI; its ability to cultivate and enhance national AI capabilities must be exploited. – https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/build-defence-indic-ai-language-models-in-india

Assessing National Information Ecosystems

(Alicia Wanless, Samantha Lai, John Hicks – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – 11 February 2025) Often driven by misunderstanding, fears abound over how new technologies will change an information ecosystem. They might, and they might not. Either way, it’s extremely difficult to know what those changes will be without first understanding what an ecosystem was like before the introduction of those new technologies. In other words, to know how a system has changed, one must first know what constitutes the system and its prior state. This paper proffers factors that can constitute baselines for assessing national information ecosystems that can be measured across decades, geographies, and cultures. Assessing these factors over time and comparing them among countries can foster understanding of the impacts of new regulations, conflicts, and technologies. Perhaps more importantly, such an approach offers an objective analysis of information ecosystems, which is much needed in these politically charged times. The framework can also be used to identify existing gaps in knowledge, guiding policymakers and researchers on funding and research priorities to establish baselines of national information ecosystems. As those baselines are established and maintained, comparative analysis between ecosystems can generate insights on policy interventions to redress threats within them. – https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/02/assessing-national-information-ecosystems?lang=en