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6:00 PM ET, Thursday, August 17, 2023

The Cipher Brief curates open source information from around the world that impacts national security. Here's a look at today's headlines, broken down by region of the world:  

The Americas

New York City Bans TikTok from Government Devices.  New York City authorities announced on Wednesday that all New York city agencies and employees have 30 days to remove TikTok from government owned devices. The announcement comes amid rising concerns over cyber threats, data intrusion, and Chinese government influence and follows other bans across the U.S. on TikTok. New York City Mayor Eric Adam’s administration stated “as part of these ongoing efforts, NYC Cyber Command determined that the TikTok application posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks and directed its removal from city-owned devices.”  The state will however continue to allow select platforms to use the app for public outreach and marketing purposes. TikTok has not responded to a request for comment on the matter.  South China Morning Post  New York Times

Millions Awarded in Orders Under Pentagon Cloud-Computing Contract.  Cloud task orders worth millions of dollars have been awarded through a Pentagon cloud-computing contract.  Lieutenant General Robert Skinner, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, said on Wednesday that “13 different cloud task orders, over $200 million worth of value over the lifecycle,” have already been awarded through Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contracts.  Skinner added that 13 more orders are already in the works.  The Pentagon announced in December of 2022 that it had selected Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle to establish cloud services for the potential $9 billion JWCC.  Skinner hailed the recent contracts as a “success story” and noted that “a whole bunch of different organizations are leveraging JWCC to date.”  The JWCC contracts are aimed to succeed the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure arrangement (JEDI), valued at $10 billion, which has since been abandoned after allegations of political interference and litigation.  Defense News

Western Europe

German Army Training Ukrainians on Leopard Tanks Outside Berlin.  The German military reportedly trained Ukrainian troops on Leopard 1 battle tanks in the German town of Klietz, just outside of Berlin.  Highlighting Ukraine’s need to train additional soldiers, German Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow told reporters on Thursday that Ukraine is focused on “the training of officers” since “professional soldiers have been at war for a year and a half now, many have been killed or wounded, and now they need supplies, including leaders and sub-leaders. And there is quite a demand for that.”  Ukrainian soldiers also spoke to reporters and said that “the training is very important for us because we receive (new) tanks with technical (systems), and the soldiers have to learn to use this equipment.”  Other Western countries, such as Britain, have also been training Ukrainian soldiers to prepare them to fight against invading Russian forces.  CNN

NATO Chief Reaffirms Only Ukraine Can Decide When to Negotiate With Russia.  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday stressed that it is up to Ukraine on when to engage in peace negotiations with Russia. This comes as Stian Jenssen, director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General made controversial comments on Tuesday suggesting that Ukraine could cede territory to Russia to achieve peace and join NATO. The remarks sparked outrage among Ukrainian officials.  Adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak called the remarks “ridiculous” and that they would only encourage Russia’s “appalling indulgences”. Speaking at a conference in Norway, Stoltenberg emphasized that if NATO allies wanted peace, “military support for Ukraine is the solution.”  CNN  Al Jazeera

Central and Eastern Europe

Ukraine Says Repelling Russian Counterattacks in Urozhaine.  The National Guard of Ukraine said Thursday that its forces were entrenched near the newly liberated village of Urozhaine in the Donetsk region and were repelling Russian attacks.  One of the National Guard's deputy directors said in a televised statement that “National Guard units have cleared and de-mined the liberated settlement.  At the moment, they have consolidated their positions and are repelling counterattacks by enemy assault groups trying to regain their lost ground.”  On Wednesday, Kyiv reported that its forces had retaken the village as a part of its counteroffensive against Russia.  Russian soldiers and military bloggers had hinted that Russian forces within Urozhaine had been in a shaky situation for some time and that it was only a matter of time until the village would fall to Ukraine given that the Ukrainians had been able to consistently attack it from several sides.  CNN

Ukraine Counteroffensive Slowly Progressing, In Part With Cluster Munitions.  For the second time in two weeks, Ukrainian marines have advanced along the southeastern lines towards the city of Mariupol.  The advance, which included the liberation of the village of Urozhaine, was reportedly partially aided by the use of cluster munitions. Drone footage showed Russian troops being shelled by what occasionally appeared to be cluster munitions while fleeing to the village’s south.  A Ukrainian company commander said that in the fighting “very many died, especially when they started to run”. The commander additionally mentioned that mortars and tanks were used to push the Russians out of their positions but would not comment on the use of cluster munitions. U.S. officials have said that the supply of cluster munitions to the Ukrainian military was preceded by great ethical debate within the Biden administration. More than 100 countries have banned the use of the weapons.  The U.S. military has said that it is supplying Ukraine with the weapons as a temporary solution to production limits and that munitions sent to Kyiv have an improved dud rate in which only 2.5% of the scattered bomblets fail to detonate. Critics have been skeptical of such claims.  CNN

Kupiansk Shelling Kills One.  Ukrainian officials in the Kharkiv region say Russian shelling near the village of Kupiansk killed one woman and injured another on Thursday.  Officials added that a separate attack in Kupiansk seriously wounded a 55-year-old man who eventually died in the hospital.  Separately, officials said the State Emergency Service of Ukraine has inspected more than three hectares of territory and defused 81 explosive devices in the region in the last 24 hours. Kupiansk has been under heavy Russian shelling since Ukraine has pursued its counteroffensive attempting to break Moscow’s land bridge between Crimea and Donetsk.  CNN

Ukraine Says Downed Russian Helicopters Had Foreign Components.  Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said Russian assault Ka-52 helicopters shot down in Ukraine on Thursday were found to have “high-tech components” from “Western and Asian countries” such as chips and processors.  Yermak said the finding shows that sanctions against Russia need to be toughened to deprive the Russian defense industry from accessing technology.  Kyiv says Moscow continues to be able to procure foreign components for weapons despite current sanctions.  CNN

Russia Says it Destroyed Stryker Armored Vehicles in Ukraine.  Russia’s Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that its forces hit four U.S.-supplied Stryker armored personnel carriers.  The ministry said the carriers were destroyed when Russian troops repelled a Ukrainian attack near the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region.  The ministry claimed that in addition to the Stryker vehicles, attacking Ukrainian forces lost 195 troops, several other fighting vehicles, howitzers and an artillery system.  It is the first time Russia has claimed to hit the U.S.-supplied Stryker vehicles.  CNN could not verify the ministry’s claims.  CNN

Russian Vocational Schools to Train Drone Operators.  Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov announced on Thursday that the country’s vocational schools will now be training operators on “unmanned aircraft systems with a maximum take-off weight of 30 kg or less”. Kravtsov did not provide a timeline for when these training programs will commence. The announcement comes after analysts from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) reported in July that Russia was building a drone manufacturing facility with the help of Iran.  Drones have become a critical asset in the Ukraine war for both sides.  CNN

Belarusian President Says Ukraine War Was Avoidable, Moscow Not Pushing Minsk to Join War.  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that the Ukraine war was “avoidable” and that “it can be stopped now.”  He said he was “familiar with the issues” ahead of the war because he acted as liaison between former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Due to his involvement in engagement ahead of the war and Belarus’ “interests there,” he added that Minsk should have a role in peace talks about Ukraine.  He also said any peace talks should first consider “preconditions” and discuss all issues, including Crimea and other occupied areas in Ukraine.  Lukashenko also affirmed that Russia is not pushing Belarus to join in the Ukraine war, saying that as long as Ukrainians “do not cross our border, we will never participate in this war.”  Though he maintained that Belarus will “always help” its ally Russia and that Belarus will respond to any aggression.  Regarding affairs in Russia, he said Putin has fulfilled his goals in Ukraine since Kyiv “will never behave so aggressively towards Russia after the end of this war, as it did before the war.”  He also said claims that the Wagner rebellion weakened Putin are “total nonsense” and that “nobody will overthrow Putin today.”  CNN

Russian General Dismissed for Ukraine Failings Dies.  Russian state media announced the death of Russian Army General Gennady Zhidko on Wednesday after what was described as “a long illness.”  General Zhidko served as Russia’s Eastern Military District commander between May and October of last year and was reportedly the overall theater commander in Ukraine during Moscow’s offensive against Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in the summer of 2022.  No official announcement of General Zhidko’s death has been made.  CNN Politico

Russia Developing Iranian Drones.  Documents provided by an anonymous source within a factory in Russia’s industrial hub of Alabuga provided to the Washington Post show Russian engineers are attempting to improve Iran’s dated manufacturing techniques in order to produce their own version of the Shahed 136 drones. Furthermore, these engineers are attempting to improve the Iranian drones, including its capability to carry out swarm attacks. Researchers at the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington estimate that the work at the facility in the Republic of Tartarstan’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone is at least a month behind schedule and has only manufactured no more than 300 drone bodies. The documents call this project “Project Boat” and is dated between winter of 2022 to spring of 2023. The documents include factory-floor blueprints, technical schematics, personnel records, memorandums provided by Iranian counterparts and presentations given to representatives of Russia’s Defense ministry on the status of the project.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the use of Iranian drones in Ukraine but has called for an increase in domestic production of drones.  Reuters Washington Post 

Asia and Oceania

China Building Runway on Disputed Island.  Satellite images from the European Space Agency show China appears to be building a new runway on a disputed island in the South China Sea.  Construction of the airstrip appeared to begin in mid-July on Triton Island, the southernmost and westernmost of the Paracel Islands, which China, Vietnam and Taiwan all claim.  Triton Island is the closest in the Paracels to Vietnam’s east coast.  The runway on the island is around 2,000 feet long, which is much shorter than airstrips China has built on other islands in the region, limiting the size of warplanes that can use it.  The foreign ministries of Vietnam and China have not commented on developments on Triton Island.  China has a history of building military facilities on disputed islands and artificial islands in the waterway to assert its territorial claims.  South China Morning Post

Chinese Defense Minister Visits Belarus.  Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu arrived in Belarus on Wednesday following a trip to Moscow.  Li met his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin in Minsk, marking their second meeting this year.  Li reportedly told Khrenin that ties between Belarus and China are “steadily developing and moving forward,” noting the “comprehensive strategic partnership” and strong military cooperation and trade ties between the two countries, which he said shows their “truly fraternal relations.”  Li will reportedly discuss expanding bilateral military cooperation and visit Belarusian defense facilities.  Li’s visit to Minsk is the first by a Chinese defense minister to Belarus since the start of the Ukraine war.  It also comes after Li attended the Moscow Conference on International Security in Russia.  Li affirmed at the conference that China will boost cooperation with Moscow and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which Belarus is set to join next year.  South China Morning Post  Associated Press

Taiwan VP Visits San Francisco.  Taiwanese Vice President William Lai visited San Francisco for a transit stop on Thursday following a visit to Paraguay.  Lai promised at a banquet in San Francisco to “lead Taiwan continuously forward with peace as the lighthouse and democracy as the compass.”  Lai noted that “during the good times and bad times, Taiwan has been closely standing together with democratic societies in the past decades. Taiwan has never been alone.”  Lai also said that U.S-Taiwan relations were “unprecedentedly good.”  Laura Rosenberger, chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a U.S. government non-profit that handles unofficial relations, attended the banquet, where she underlined the Biden administration’s commitment to expand Taiwan’s engagement with like-minded partners and affirmed “Taiwan is a crucial partner in U.S. efforts to maintain global peace and stability,” adding that Washington will work to ensure “Taiwan's self-defense capacity is rock solid.”  Taiwanese officials warn that China will likely conduct military drills around Taiwan in the coming days to protest Lai’s trip.  Lai is the leading presidential candidate in elections next year.  Observers say China will use his U.S. trip to pressure Taiwanese voters and make them “fear war.”  Reuters

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Says Indo-Pacific Seeking Larger American Presence Amid China Tensions.  U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emmanuel asserted on Wednesday that countries in the Indo-Pacific are “desperate” for a stronger American presence in the region over concerns about an “unanchored and untethered China.”  Emmanuel’s comments came in response to China’s criticism of an upcoming trilateral summit between the heads of the U.S., Japan and South Korea.  Chinese state media described the meeting as a step towards a “mini-NATO” and part of U.S. efforts aimed at dividing Asia and “undermining the post-Cold War economic integration process” in the region.  Emmanuel countered that the meeting is part of a “restructuring” and “strengthening” of U.S. alliances in the region.  He also said China “will never win the award for the good-neighbor policy” due to its territorial and economic disputes with others in the region.  Kurt Campbell, the White House national security coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, echoed that U.S. involvement in the region is “here to stay” since Asian countries see China as a threat to their security and view the U.S. as a key countering actor to “maintain peace and stability” and order based on “rule of law, freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution.”  South China Morning Post

North Korea Preparing Military Action Over U.S.-Japan-South Korea Summit.  South Korea’s intelligence agency warned that North Korea may launch an intercontinental ballistic missile or take other military action in protest of a trilateral summit between the U.S., South Korea and Japan on Friday.  Pyongyang has called the summit a step towards making an “Asian version of NATO.”  A South Korean lawmaker added that the agency will also be tracking further Russian and North Korean defense cooperation, including the potential transfer of nuclear missile technology from Moscow to Pyongyang.  The lawmaker, citing the agency, also said that North Korea could also potentially attempt to launch another spy satellite in the second half of the year.  U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, added she didn’t have “anything specific” on the South Korean warning, though she said “we’re prepared for the unexpected.”  Reuters

Middle East and Northern Africa

Iranian Foreign Minister Says Relations With Saudi Arabia ‘On the Right Track.’  Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Thursday that rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia is “on the right track.”  His comments came during a visit to Riyadh, where he met his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.  Amirabdollahian said talks were “successful” and that “progress” has been made on several fronts.  Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed ties through a China-brokered deal in March.  Reuters Al Jazeera

Sub Saharan Africa

Ambush, Helicopter Crash Kills 36 Nigerian Soldiers.  Nigeria’s military announced that at least 36 Nigerian soldiers were killed in operations against armed gangs in Nigeria’s north-central state of Niger.  A Nigeria defense spokesperson said three officers and 22 soldiers were killed in an ambush near Kundu village in the Shiroro local government area on Monday.  An Air Force Mi-171 helicopter sent to rescue survivors then crashed near Chukuba village in Shiroro, killing others.  The spokesperson did not say why the helicopter crashed, but military sources say it was downed by gang members who shot at it.  Nigeria’s military is investigating the incident.  Nigerian gangs have caused turmoil in northern Nigeria as the country’s military is stretched thin dealing with Islamist groups and farmer-herder violence.  Reuters  Associated Press

Libya Commander Seized by Rival Faction Returned to His Unit.  Mahmoud Hamza, the commander of Libya’s 444 Brigade, was returned to his unit on Wednesday.  Hamza was seized by the rival Special Deterrence Force (SDF), which sparked fighting in the capital Tripoli that killed at least 55 people.  The violence ended after the SDF agreed to hand over Hamza to a third faction, the Stabilization Support Apparatus, which released Hamza to 444 Brigade.  Reuters

Cyber and Tech

November Date, Draft Agenda for UK-Hosted Global AI Summit Released.  A UK government spokesperson announced that Britain will host a global summit on AI safety at the start of November, with AI use in cybersecurity and military applications among the topics to be discussed.  Representatives of “like-minded” governments will be invited to the gathering at Bletchley Park along with leading academics and executives from AI companies such as Google’s DeepMind, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic.  There has been uncertainty over the summit’s scheduling as the UK and the Biden administration have worked to find a date acceptable to both sides.  According to the UK spokesperson, the goal of the summit will be “to drive targeted, rapid international action and to build on developing the regulatory guardrails we need for the safe and responsible development of AI.”  World leaders sharing democratic values are expected to attend although invitations have yet to be sent out.  The UK is considering a separate forum for discussions with China.  The summit will address broad issues of AI safety issues rather than focus solely on generative AI.  Agenda topics will the ethics of using AI systems and guardrails to build around them, potential solutions to misinformation ahead of upcoming elections, and the need to design secure AI software that can resist threat actors, sources said.  AI applications in warfare and the availability of specialized AI semiconductors are also on the draft agenda.  Financial Times

White House Demands Full Federal Compliance with Cybersecurity Standards.  National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan notified Cabinet secretaries that a number of Federal departments and agencies have not fully complied with an executive order issued in 2021 establishing critical cybersecurity standards and practices.  The failure to meet the requirements, a memo from Sullivan stated, exposes the U.S. government “to malicious cyber intrusions…undermining the example the Government must set for adequate cybersecurity practices.”  The memo calls for “full compliance” with the executive order by the end of 2023.  Some U.S. officials claim much better visibility into cyber threats to their networks, but implementation of protections has lagged behind White House expectations. In the memo, Sullivan asked agencies to provide a “detailed plan” for implementing the executive order by the end of September.  CNN

Digital Expert Panel Urges Further Administration Steps To Tighten Cybersecurity.  The Washington Post’s panel of digital security experts from government, industry, and research organizations – The Network – has weighed in with a new survey reflecting a consensus that while the Biden administration has made further progress that its predecessors in promulgating cybersecurity rules, more needs to be done.  Nearly a majority, 49 percent, of those surveyed thought cyber regulators could expand rules while just over a third said the administration is achieving the correct balance.  A minority of 15 percent expressed the view that regulators have gone too far.  The current survey, the Post explained, follows up on Network responses of two years ago when a large majority of respondents answered “yes” when asked if government should require critical sector companies to meet minimum cybersecurity standards.  Comments from Network participants in the latest survey included an observation from Jeff Greene, Aspen Institute cybersecurity programs director and former staffer in the Biden White House, who said, “We have fifteen years (or more) of experience with the industry-driven voluntary approach to critical industry cybersecurity, and it has failed miserably.  It is time for Congress to give agencies the authority they need to establish the cybersecurity baselines that all Americans deserve.”  But the type of regulation, such as incident reporting requirements for industry, are also a sticking point, according to Megan Stifel, chief strategy officer at the Institute for Security and Technology:   “The emphasis on timeframes for reporting is misplaced or at the least imbalanced … more must be done to reduce the security up charges…to move towards secure by design and default and develop a market focused on digital sustainability, not near term profit for long term pain.”  Jeremy Grant, Venable’s director of technology business strategy, said, “by and large, I think they are striking the right balance — especially in that many are constrained by existing authorities in just how far they can go.”  Washington Post

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