Ed. Note:  This is something we should be discussing now and falls into the realm of Cognitive Security.  Before we grant such surveillance powers to the state, we should consider how they will be withdrawn when not absolutely necessary.  Hopefully, we won’t need to have this conversation. As Coronavirus Surveillance Escalates, Personal Privacy Plummets Tracking...Read More

Ed. Note – Although IPA members have been preaching about the implications of “volume, speed and uniquity” in the information environment for many years, it’s still nice to see an adaptation of that repeated even if the concept is now old.  The advice in this column is “to rise above the disinformation battle and seize...Read More

Ed. note: In the last few months, new opportunities have emerged from the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and private entities focused on countering foreign influence and disinformation. Here is a sample of those efforts, and IPA will continue to monitor new calls and solicitations as they emerge. Department of Homeland Security, National...Read More

Ed. note: The campaign of misinformation from foreign outlets and leaders regarding COVID-19 continues to alarm U.S. leaders, while their requests that Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms tighten policies regarding misinformation from Chinese Communist Party leaders have been largely met with resistance. Republican House and Senate leaders have not only asked social media...Read More

Ed. Note – This very thing occurred in the past year in my own local area as ‘unnamed external actors’ attempted to undermine a city’s attempts to have 5G installed in the city center providing broad-band wireless internet to a large portion of the city’s residents.  In the end, it was approved but not until...Read More

Ed note – Makes sense.  You export what you’re good at and the Russians have made a name for themselves in this area. CNN reports: Russian election meddling is back — via Ghana and Nigeria — and in your feeds An excerpt: Accra, Ghana (CNN)The Russian trolls are back — and once again trying to...Read More

Ed. note – IPA takes a comprehensive view of Cognitive Security; we also try to look forward to issues likely to confront policy- and law-makers in the future.  In the recent past, we’ve discussed the consequences of the surveillance state already constructed in China; now we have to confront what may be an expansion of...Read More

Ed. note:  A new normal?  As a result of the current crisis, What will be the shift in tactics regarding the use of information to undermine an opponent?  I hope someone in DoD/CIA/State is thinking about this now. China takes a page from Russia’s disinformation playbook Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian Photo Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Drew Angerer/Getty Images...Read More

Ed. Note: Social media is still somewhat the Wild West when it comes to rules and regulations, but it is troubling that public figures are given exceptions to post unsubstantiated information. The Hill reported today that Twitter refuses to remove posts by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lijian Zhao implying the U.S. military may...Read More

A great summary of the past weeks disinformation and efforts to destabilize the west using the public’s fear over COVID-19 below.  This is from the folks at the Pell Center of Salve Regina University.  You can sign up for their newsletter here. Here are the top stories we’ve seen this week: Coronavirus Russia Aims to...Read More