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10:00 AM ET, Thursday, August 3, 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:  

In the Americas

Former President Trump to Appear in Federal Court in DC.  Former President Donald Trump is expected to appear in federal court in DC today to be arraigned on federal charges for the second time in six weeks.  Trump is due in court at 4pm.  As of late Wednesday, a senior law enforcement official says there were no credible threats of organized efforts to disrupt the proceedings.  Officials say that security around the courthouse is likely to be among the highest ever for a court proceeding.  NY Times CNN Washington Post

Marine Corps Invests to Improve Drone Defenses. The Marine Corps has announced a new effort to develop a system capable of detecting, tracking, and zapping drone swarms for effectively. The corps says it has conducted tests with two technologies made by separate defense contractors that combine high-power microwave technology with artificial intelligence (AI) powered command and control systems. The integration and testing of the two systems were announced on July 27. Officials from the companies say that the test was a successful integration and “demonstrates the system’s ability to rapidly ingest and process inputs, including timing, radar track data, commands and more” to “effectively neutralizes targets, without harming operators nor blue force assets”. The companies also said that they will continue to partner with the U.S. military on unmanned-aerial sensors, command and control networks, and other products in order to meet the Marine Corps’ advancement goals known as Force Design 2030. These steps come as drone’s commercial availability, innovative use in the Russia-Ukraine war,  and ability to be loaded with explosives have concerned the U.S. military.  Defense News

Western Europe

Russia adds Norway to its list of “unfriendly” nations.  Russia has added Norway to a list of countries it deems as acting in an “unfriendly” manner towards Russian diplomatic missions. Countries on the list must maintain a limited number of diplomats inside of Russia.  Earlier this year Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats for alleged spying.  Russia responded to the move by expelling 10 Norwegian diplomats from Russia.  On being added to the list, Norway responded by saying that it does not believe it has acted in an unfriendly manner towards Russia and that the current situation between the countries is a direct result of Russia’s war on Ukraine.  Reuters

Central and Eastern Europe

Ukraine Says Russia is Entrenched, But Failing to Advance.  Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that Russian units have not advanced along the front lines but are embedded in heavily mined zones that have created difficulties for Ukrainian forces attempting to move east and south. Ukraine claims to have reclaimed areas close to Bakhmut, and Hanna Maliar, Deputy Ukrainian Defense Minister, said Russian units were boosting reserves and equipment in three regions in the north, and had "tried quite persistently to halt our advance in the Bakhmut sector. Without success." Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of Ukraine's Security Council told national television that “the enemy has prepared very thoroughly for these events . . . The number of mines on the territory that our troops have retaken is utterly mad. On average, there are three, four, five mines per square meter." Due to the danger to human lives, advancement cannot be rushed. Moscow claims to have repelled 12 Ukrainian assaults in the region of Donetsk, and the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed a Ukrainian naval drone in the Black Sea. The ministry also said that Russian units targeted towns surrounding Bakhmut, such as Kurdyumovka in the south and Chasiv Yar to the west. Reuters 

Russia Begins Live-Fire Naval Exercises in Baltic Sea.  The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it has commenced live-fire naval drills in the Baltic Sea, escalating the already high tensions in Europe. Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, the Russian navy’s commander-in-chief, will supervise the drills, which will assess “the navy’s readiness to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation in an operationally important area.” The ministry announced that the Ocean Shield-2023 drills will include 6,000 personnel, 30 aircraft, 30 warships and boats, and more than 200 combat exercises. Soldiers will practice how to “protect sea lanes, transport troops and military cargo, as well as defend the coastline.” In June, Moscow held mass military exercises in the region at the same time as NATO performed its own drills, just two months after Finland was granted membership to the defense alliance. Defense News Associated Press

Russia Targets Ukraine's Danube Port, Making Global Grain Prices Soar and Halting Ships. Russia on Wednesday launched a drone assault against Ukraine’s primary inland port across the Danube River from Romania, destroying infrastructure in the port of Izmail, stopping dozens of international vessels as they readied to load Ukrainian grain, and causing global food prices to surge. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov reported that the drone attacks damaged nearly 40,000 tons of grain, which were bound for China, Israel, and nations in Africa. On Facebook, Kubrakov said that “Izmail suffered the most damage, including the terminal and infrastructure of the Danube Shipping Company." In his nightly video message, President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow for "waging a battle for a global catastrophe.” He added that “in their madness, they need world food markets to collapse, they need a price crisis, they need disruptions in supplies." RIA, Russia’s state news agency, claimed that the port and grain infrastructure targeted had been housing military hardware and foreign mercenaries, but provided no evidence. Reuters could not confirm this assertion. RIA also said Russia purposefully struck a naval ship repair yard. There were no casualties, according to Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper. Footage from the scene showed several devastated buildings, two destroyed grain silos, and emergency workers fighting a blaze in a building.  Reuters Al Jazeera  

EU Warns that Russia Seeks to Form “New Dependencies” with Cheap Grain. According to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday, the European Union has cautioned developing nations that Russia is offering grain at low prices "to create new dependencies by exacerbating economic vulnerabilities and global food insecurity.” Josep Borrell, EU foreign policy chief, wrote a letter to developing and G20 countries on Monday pressing them to use “a clear and unified voice" to urge Russia to reaccept the Black Sea grain deal and to cease attacks against Ukraine's agricultural infrastructure. Borrell warned that Moscow is treating “food as a weapon,” and is currently “approaching vulnerable countries with bilateral offers of grain shipments at discounted prices, pretending to solve a problem it created itself.” Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin told African leaders that Moscow would send grain to the continent to replace Ukrainian exports.   Reuters

Wagner Fighters Seek to destabilize NATO’s eastern flank, Polish PM says.  Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says that Wagner Group fighters are “extremely dangerous” and are being moved close to the Polish border to “destabilize” the NATO alliance.  His comments came following a meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in eastern Poland.  Nauseda says that the number of Wagner fighters in Poland could be as high as 4000 and says contingencies must be planned for if the situation worsens, including the closing of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia’s borders with Belarus.  Reuters Al Jazeera

Asia and Oceania

Mongolia to Strengthen Cooperation with US on Rare Earths   On a visit to Washington, Mongolian Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene said Wednesday that the two nations will strengthen collaborations to mine rare earth minerals. He also cautioned that a new “Cold-War” between the US and China would damage the world’s economy. Mongolia’s rich deposits of rare earth minerals and copper are crucial for defense equipment and high-tech applications. The Prime Minister also warned against tensions between Washington and Beijing, saying, “I fear that the new Cold War will be very different and (more) difficult from the first Cold War” and urges major world powers to remain “responsible” and avoid "drastic negative effects on many countries around the world." He also mentioned interest in potential investments and cooperation with Tesla, and said he planned to meet with Chief Executive Elon Musk in the future.  Reuters 

Middle East and Northern Africa

IRGC Performs Naval Exercises in Persian Gulf.  Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) launched a surprise military drill around contested islands in the Persian Gulf. This comes as the U.S. military has increased its presence in the region following recent ship seizures by Iran. Iran’s state-run news reported that the drill was mainly focused around Abu Musa Island and the Greater Tunb Island. Footage of paratroopers, swarms of small boats, drones, and truck launched surface-to-air missile systems, aired on the state-run television. Gen. Hossein Salami, Commander in Chief of the IRGC, said “we always try for security and tranquility; it is our way, our nation is vigilant, and it gives harsh responses to all threats, complicated seditions and secret scenarios and hostilities” and that “there is absolutely no need for the presence of America or its European or non-European allies in the region”. The USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall ships are on their way to the Persian Gulf and the U.S. has already sent the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, and additional fighter aircraft to the region. The Pentagon said that the deployment of these forces is “in response to recent attempts by Iran to threaten the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters''.  Defense News

Israel Says U.S. Has Approved Missile Defense Sale to Finland. According to the Israeli Defense Ministry on Wednesday, the United States has approved the $345.80 million sale of a co-developed missile air defense system to Finland. The sophisticated system is known as David’s Sling, which was jointly developed by the U.S. Raytheon Technologies Cooperation and the Israeli contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Israeli and American industries will develop the Finnish version of the system, in partnership with Finland’s industries.  Reuters Jerusalem Post 

Sub Saharan Africa

US Orders Temporary Evacuation of Embassy in Niger.  The State Department announced on Wednesday that it has ordered all “non-emergency” personnel to leave its embassy in Niger.  A state department spokesman says the move is out of “an abundance of caution” and that the embassy will remain open for limited services.  The US says it remains diplomatically engaged in Niger and that it remains committed to Nigerien democracy.  Al Jazeera

Niger Junta says it will not back down in spite of economic sanctions.  Adbourahamane Tiani, the self-declared leader of Niger said on Wednesday that the junta would not crumble to pressure to reinstate ousted President Mohaed Bazoum, intensifying the standoff with the West African bloc which has threatened to intervene in the situation. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions on Niger and said it could authorize the use of force if the Niger Junta does not reinstate Bazoum to the presidency within a week from last Sunday. ECOWAS sent a delegation to Niger Wednesday to negotiate with military officers, hoping to find a diplomatic solution. In response to ECOWAS sanctions, Tiani said that the junta “rejects these sanctions altogether and refuses to give into any threats, wherever they come from. We refuse any interference in the internal affairs of Niger”. In response to the situation in Niger, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affair, Peace, and Security Abdel-Fatau Musa said “the military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality”, leaving the door open to possible use of force. Since the coup, Nigeria has cut all power supplies to Niger and trucks have been halted at closed borders, early signs of the effects of ECOWAS sanctions. ECOWAS has taken its hardest position yet against the coup in Niger prompting both Mali and Burkina Faso, countries also ruled by juntas, to say that any military intervention would be considered a declaration of war. Reuters 

World Bank suspends disbursements to Niger.  The World Bank Wednesday said suspended disbursements to Niger until further notice, exempting private-sector partnerships. It also said that “the World Bank believes that peace, stability, and rule of law are fundamental for creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet. We are alarmed by efforts to overthrow the democratically elected government in Niger, as a result, the World Bank has paused disbursements for all operations until further notice other than private sector partnerships which will continue with caution”. Niger has one of the largest World Bank portfolios in Africa, totaling to $4.5 billion. It has additionally received $600 million in budget support from the World Bank between 2022 and 2023. The World Bank added that it “[is] driven by the ambition to improve the quality of life and opportunities for the people of Niger”.  Reuters

Cyber and Tech

National Cyber Adviser Speaks on Balancing AI Risks, Benefits; Chinese Cyber Challenge.  Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, was interviewed in early June by CyberScoop on key security implications of AI technology.   In light of recent warnings by prominent AI researchers about AI’s potential dangers, Neuberger said, “the key for us is to carefully parse through and think about what are the most significant risks” and then develop thoughtful ways of approaching them.  She observed that “most technology is dual purpose,” with great benefits and significant risks.  “Our goals,” she said, “are to try as much as we can to understand the most significant risks and shape policy in an agile way to respond to those and to respond quickly.”  On the risk side of the equation, Neuberger pointed to AI’s ability to enable malware design, produce ever-more convincing deepfakes and other forms of disinformation, and empower hacker tactics and applications.  Turning to China, Neuberger described China’s cyber capabilities as “a very serious threat to critical infrastructure in the United States and critical infrastructure around the world.”  She made a distinction between cyberespionage and critical infrastructure attacks, describing the latter as something the administration is “incredibly focused on.”  Neuberger noted that there is no practical difference “between military and civilian critical infrastructure” and went on to describe “two lines of Chinese effort.”  The first, she said, is a potent cyberespionage program to “steal research and technology, military, commercial, and really advance Chinese capabilities.”  The second involves Chinese state-sponsored threat actors working to bring about “compromised infrastructure and using that to compromise critical infrastructure for potentially disruptive or disruptive operations in the future.”  CyberScoop

China Proposes New Regulations To Limit Hours of Youth Access to Online Platforms.  The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Wednesday issued draft regulations that would introduce a “minor mode” to limit children’s access to mobile phone and Internet usage.  The new measures are aimed at combating what Chinese authorities regard as Internet addiction among youth.  The limits on access would extend to smartphones, tablets, watches and other devices and would be based on the user’s age.  Teens between 16 and 18 would be restricted to two hours of mobile usage each day and all devices running “minor mode” would be blocked from the Internet between 10 pm and 6 am.  Manual overrides of some of the restrictions would be open to parents. The CAC draft regulations make online platforms responsible for enforcing the new requirements.  No specific penalties were mentioned for companies that do not comply.  Bloomberg reported that the new rules could rock massively popular platforms like Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance’s Douyin (the Chinese counterpart to TikTok). The CAC requests public feedback on the draft rules by September 2.  TheVerge   Bloomberg   South China Morning Post   Reuters

Russian SVR Hackers Conducting Cyber Espionage Campaign Using Microsoft Teams Lures.  A hacking component of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has used Microsoft Team chats as phishing lures in carrying out social engineering attacks, according to Microsoft security officials.  Identifying the threat actor as Midnight Blizzard (also known as Cozy Bear or APT29), Microsoft said the hackers use previously compromised Microsoft 365 accounts to create new domains masquerading as technical support sites.  The company’s Threat Intelligence unit explained in a blog post that from these compromised domains, the hackers use Teams messages to send lures attempting to steal credentials from target systems.  Espionage, according to Microsoft, is the likely goal of the campaign based on the organizations targeted, which includes government, NGO’s, IT services, technology, and media sectors.”  The hackers, Microsoft disclosed, have either “obtained valid account credentials for the users they are targeting, or they are targeting users with password less authentication configured on their account.”  TheRecord   BleepingComputer

 Russia-Linked Hackers Employ New Infrastructure in Credential, Data Theft Attacks.  The tactics of a Russia-linked hacking group dubbed BlueCharlie and associated with past attacks on government systems are changing due to scrutiny by cybersecurity experts and threat intelligence units of tech companies. Researchers have noted that since March BlueCharlie has built new infrastructure to launch multiple cyberattacks.  BlueCharlie has been focused on data and credentials theft as well as hack-and-leak attacks against Ukraine and its Western allies.  Recorded Future’s Insikt Group reported that 94 new domains have been established as part of the hacking group’s new infrastructure.  BlueCharlie appears to be “evolving its operations,” researchers said, as the tactics observed in the recent campaign “depart from past activity.”  “This shift in tactics away from trailing URL structures to the new hyphenated, random-word naming convention has stymied the identification of victims and targeting by the group in this most recent campaign,” researchers said.  The threat group’s new infrastructure appears designed to enable “phishing campaigns and credential harvesting.”  Researchers add that the group uses open sources to prepare hacking campaigns and improve chances for success in its spearphishing operations.  TheRecord

Tenable CEO Says Microsoft Negligent in Handling Platform Vulnerability.  Amit Yoran, CEO of the Tenable cybersecurity firm, wrote in a blog post Wednesday that Microsoft delayed fixing a critical vulnerability in its Azure cloud computing platform, describing the tech giant’s response as a negligent approach to security.  Yoran said that as head of a company that helps organizations manage cybersecurity weaknesses, he is involved in activities to disclose and patch vulnerabilities.  Microsoft, Yoran maintains, consistently fails in its protective responsibility and does not “professionally” address vulnerabilities.  Yoran told a CyberScoop interviewer that “in Microsoft’s case you have a culture which denies the criticality of vulnerabilities.”  After Tenable researchers identified a critical vulnerability in Microsoft’s Azure platform, they informed the company only to see the flaw left unaddressed.  Yoran’s blog post and rare public criticism described Microsoft’s approach to addressing the issue as “grossly irresponsible, if not blatantly negligent.”  Yoran said that many vulnerable organizations “still have no idea they are at risk and therefore can’t make an informed decision about compensating controls and other risk mitigating actions.”  A spokesman for Microsoft did not immediately reply to a request for comment.  CyberScoop

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