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10:00 AM ET, Tuesday, August 1, 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

Space Command HQ to Stay in Colorado Springs.  According to a U.S. military spokesperson, President Joe Biden selected Colorado Springs as the permanent location for the U.S. Space Command headquarters, overturning a decision by the Trump administration to move the command to Huntsville, Alabama.  The Pentagon said that Biden’s decision would ensure “peak readiness” of the command during a critical period and help it “effectively plan, execute and integrate military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression and defend national interests.”  Experts have said that keeping the base in Colorado would avoid a lengthy and complicated transition to Alabama.  This decision comes as Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville continues to block hundreds of military appointments in protest to the Pentagon’s reproductive health policies.  Associated Press New York Times Reuters

US Holds Talks with Taliban.  The U.S. and Taliban held their first official talks since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan two years ago.  Representatives from both sides met in Qatar.  The Afghan foreign ministry said the talks covered confidence-building measures, like lifting sanctions on Taliban officials and returning frozen Afghan central bank assets, and counternarcotics efforts and human right issues.  The U.S. State Department said U.S. officials reiterated concerns about “deteriorating” human rights in Afghanistan and said Washington is open to further discussions on economic stability.  The U.S. delegation specifically called on the Taliban to reverse the ban on girls’ secondary education and women’s employment, and to release detained Americans.  No country has formally recognized the Taliban since its return to power in Afghanistan.  Al Jazeera Reuters

U.N. Presses Nations in Haiti's Region to Join Kenya in International Security Force.  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday praised Kenya’s offer to lead an international security force to aid Haiti’s struggling police in countering gang violence, and urged other nations near Haiti to join the effort.  On Saturday, Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said Nairobi was prepared to deploy 1,000 police officers to train and help Haiti’s security forces "restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.”  Last year, the Haitian government requested international security assistance, and in October, Guterres proposed that member states send a "rapid action force."  U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists Monday that Guterres "values Kenya's consideration" and “reiterates his call to the Security Council to support such a non-U.N. international operation.” A State Department spokesperson said Monday that the U.S. and Ecuador would write a U.N. Security Council resolution permitting the deployment of an international security force to Haiti. Reuters Al Jazeera Associated Press

U.S. Sanctions Four Bosnian Serb Officials for Compromising Peace Agreement.  The U.S. on Monday sanctioned four top Bosnian officials for threatening the U.S.-sponsored Dayton peace accords, which ended the Bosnian War in the 1990’s.  The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Bosnia’s presidency member Zeljka Cvijanovic, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic and Justice Minister Milos Bukejlovic for sabotaging the execution of the Dayton accords by facilitating the passage of a law that undermines the Bosnian constitution.  Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said the Bosnian officials’ action “threatens the stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the hard-won peace underpinned by the Dayton Peace Agreement” and further weakens the nation’s “future trajectory and successful integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions."  Stevandic said he considered the sanctions "decoration for consistency, steadfastness and non-indulgence in the face of blackmail and threats from those considered powerful.”  Reuters Al Jazeera

Clashes Between Gangs, Police in Colombia Kill at Least 20.  Colombian authorities said Monday that at least 20 people were killed as military personnel clashed with members of splinter groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Clan del Golfo crime gang in different parts of the country.  Fighting in the Cauca province, against dissident FARC rebels, killed 12 combatants.  In the Choco province, seven members of the Clan del Golfo, also known as the Gaitanista Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), were killed when Colombian troops assaulted one of their camps.  A military spokesman said Colombian forces reportedly seized long ranged weapons, ammunition, and communications equipment in the attack.  Reuters  

Western Europe

Sweden Boosting Security After Quran Burnings.  The Swedish government says it will strengthen security measures to address increased threats following recent demonstrations that included Quran burnings.  The incidents which have occurred in Sweden and Denmark over the last few weeks have prompted outrage across Muslim countries.  Both Nordic countries say they are looking for wars to legally limit further burnings to de-escalate tensions while not violating freedom of speech laws.  Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says Sweden will temporarily strengthen border and internal security controls and give police wider authority to stop and search people in response to heightened threats.  He also urged Swedish people to practice freedom of speech respectfully, saying that such a right entails a “great degree of responsibility” and that “everything that is legal is not appropriate.”  The move by the Swedish government comes a day after the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened an extraordinary session to condemn the Quran burnings and call for appropriate action in countries where the burnings are taking place.  Reuters 

EU Sees No Risk from Potential Loss of Access to Niger Uranium.  EU nuclear agency Euratom said on Tuesday that a loss of access to uranium from Niger poses no immediate risk to European nuclear power production.  While the agency noted that Niger was the second-largest supplier of natural uranium to the EU last year, it maintained that the bloc has enough uranium inventories to fulfill nuclear power needs for three years.  The EU’s executive European Commission added that in the medium and long-term, the bloc has enough access to uranium deposits available “on the world market,” which Euratom said includes sources from Kazakhstan, its main supplier in 2022, as well as Canada, Australia and Namibia.  The reassurances come amid concern over cuts to imports of Nigerien uranium following the military coup in the West African country last week.  Reuters

Germany Suspends Aid to Niger.  The German foreign ministry announced on Monday that Berlin is suspending financial aid and halting cooperation with Niger following the military coup in the West African country last week.  A ministry spokesperson said all direct support payments to Niger’s central government have been suspended until further notice.  Officials add that Germany, which helped train Niger troops and provided humanitarian aid to the country, is watching how the African Union and West African bloc ECOWAS will respond to decide next steps.  Germany’s move comes after the EU suspended financial and security support for Niger last week.  Al Jazeera

Central and Eastern Europe

Drone Again Hits Tower in Moscow’s Business District.  Drones hit a high-rise building in Moscow’s business district for the second time in three days on Tuesday.  The tower that was struck is called the “IQ quarter” and houses three Russian government ministries, including the ministry of economic development, the digital ministry, and the ministry of industry and trade.  Tuesday’s attack damaged the glass facade of the building but did not cause casualties.  The building was also damaged on Sunday in a similar drone attack.  Russia’s defense ministry said it thwarted an “attempted terrorist attack” and downed two drones in the area, with one going “out of control” after being neutralized with jamming equipment and crashing into the building.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that “a threat exists” and that “measures are being taken.”  Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the attack, but expressed satisfaction with it, with Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak tweeting that “Moscow is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war” and that Russia should expect “more unidentified drones, more collapse, more civil conflicts, more war.”  Al Jazeera BBC Reuters

Russia Claims to Repel Ukrainian Assault on Black Sea Navy Ships.  TASS cited the Russian Defense Ministry as saying on Tuesday that three Ukrainian sea drones were intercepted and destroyed after assaulting two Russian Black Sea navy vessels that were on patrol south of Sevastopol. This incident was the first confrontation between the Russian navy and Ukrainian sea drones in the Black Sea, though in the past Kyiv has employed drones to attack Russia’s Crimean navy base and the bridge connecting the peninsula to the mainland. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that the Sergei Kotov and Vasily Bykov ships continued to perform their tasks in the Black Sea.  Later the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that it had also destroyed submersible drones that were targeting Russian civilian transport vessels that were heading towards the Bosphorus Strait in the southern Black Sea. A Ukrainian official from the office of the President denied that Kyiv had targeted civilian vessels and said the allegation was “fictitious and do not contain even a shred of truth”. Reuters  Al Jazeera

Russian Drone Strike Hits Kharkiv.  Ukrainian officials report that Russia launched drones at the northeastern city of Kharkiv early on Tuesday.  Kharkiv’s mayor Ihor Terekhov said the attack hit populated areas of the city and damaged two floors of a college dormitory.  Local officials say at least one person was injured in the attack.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least five Shahed drones were used in the strike.  CNN Reuters

Asia and Oceania

China Protests to U.S. about 'Wrong and Dangerous' Military Support for Taiwan.  China said Tuesday that it has protested to the U.S. about a weapons aid package to Taiwan, pressing Washington to avoid taking a “wrong and dangerous” path.  Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said the U.S. must cease engaging in “military collusion” with Taiwan, after Washington on Friday revealed a weapons aid package worth up to $345 million for Taipei.  Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of assistance for the self-governing island as a part of the budget for 2023.  In a statement, Tan asserted that “the Taiwan issue concerns China's core interests and is a red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations.” Reuters

China’s State Security Ministry Calls for Expanding Counterespionage Efforts.  China’s Ministry of State Security made its first social media post on Tuesday and called for increased measures to strengthen China’s counterespionage efforts.  In a post on its WeChat account, the ministry said that a system that makes it “normal” for the entire nation to participate in counterespionage must be established.  Calls for bolstering counter spying efforts follow an expansion of China’s counterespionage laws that took effect in July.  Reuters

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi Granted Partial Clemency.  Former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi was reportedly granted a partial pardon by Myanmar’s ruling military junta, two years after the military coup that overthrew her elected government.  According to media reports, she was pardoned in five of the nineteen offenses for which she was convicted and sentenced to 33 years in jail.  She has denied all charges, which range from election fraud and incitement to corruption.  Over 7,000 other prisoners were also granted clemency as part of an amnesty marking Buddhist Lent.  A source told Reuters that Aung San Suu Kyi would remain under house arrest despite the pardons, and another said “she still has to face 14 cases.”  Ex-President Win Myint also reportedly had his sentences shortened.  Al Jazeera Reuters

Middle East and Northern Africa

Clashes in Egypt’s Sinai Kill At Least Four.  At least four security personnel were killed at a police compound in the city of El Arish in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, according to two security sources.  The clashes reportedly broke out Sunday when a group of detainees seized weapons inside the El Arish Central Security compound and attacked police forces there.  Sources say a police colonel was among the dead and six other people were also wounded.  Egypt has long battled Islamist militants in northern Sinai and has recently gained control over the coastal area running between the Gaza strip and the north end of the Suez canal.  Police maintain a heavy presence in the region, though northern Sinai has still experienced occasional attacks.  Reuters

Sub Saharan Africa

France Says Evacuation Plans Underway for EU Nationals, French Citizens in Niger.  The French Foreign Ministry announced in a statement Tuesday that it has begun to evacuate French citizens and European nationals from Niger days after President Mohamed Bazoum was removed from power in a military coup.  The ministry said that “considering the situation in Niamey, the violence against our embassy the day before yesterday and the fact that the air space is shut and our citizens cannot leave by their own means, France is preparing the evacuation of its citizens and (other) European citizens who want to leave the country.” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that the “Italian government has decided to offer our fellow citizens in Niamey the chance to leave the city on a special flight to Italy.”  In 2022, there were less than 1,200 French nationals in Niger, according to the French Foreign Ministry’s website.  Al Jazeera France 24 Reuters

Militants Behead at least 10 farmers in Nigeria’s Borno State.  Islamist militants reportedly beheaded at least 10 farmers in the northern Nigerian state of Borno after attacking their farms, according to witnesses.  This comes in the wake of several other attacks in Borno state,  where 25 people were killed and others wounded last week.  Survivors of the Monday attack said that the militants attacked their farms in the morning on motorbikes carrying rifles.  Residents say they suspect Boko Haram to be behind the attack and warned that disruptions to their farms from the violence could lead to increases in food prices in a country already struggling with high inflation.  Reuters

Cyber and Tech

Pentagon Investigates ‘Critical Compromise’ of Air Force Communications Systems.  A “critical compromise” of communications systems involving 17 Air Force facilities is being linked to an Air Force engineer who allegedly removed radio technologies from the base where he worked for his own use.  The engineer assigned to Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee reportedly took equipment worth nearly $90,000 to his home, where a police raid revealed that he had “unauthorized administrator access” to radio communications technology “affecting 17 DoD installations.” According to authorities, the engineer was operating radio programming software encompassing “the entire Arnold Air Force Base (AAFB) communications system.”  A search warrant examined by Forbes also provided evidence of a possible breach of FBI communications by the same employee.  A forensics document on technologies seized from the engineer’s home indicated he had a USB device containing “administrative passwords and electronic system keys” for the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) radio network.  “Local law enforcement radio programming files” were also found on seized flash drives.  Installer files recovered during the home search displayed a "CONFIDENTIAL RESTRICTED" pop-up when opened.  Forbes said it is withholding publication of the engineer’s name because he has not been charged.  He did not respond to requests for comment and neither the Department of Defense nor the Air Force responded to requests for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment.  Forbes

Cloud Company Cloudzy Accused of Supporting State-Sponsored Hacking Groups.  Cybersecurity firm Halcyon reports that an obscure cloud service company called Cloudzy has been providing server space and other internet services to at least 17 different state-sponsored hacking groups from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.  Halcyon, which said it mapped Cloudzy’s digital footprint to link it to threat actors, estimated that half of the cloud company’s clients are malicious, including two ransomware groups.  Cloudzy CEO Hannan Nozari disputed the assessment, telling Reuters that he estimates only 2% of his firm’s clients are malicious and likening the situation to blaming a “knife factory” if a criminal “misuses” one of their knives.  Halcyon researchers add that social media postings from Cloudzy employees “almost certainly” point to the firm being a front for internet hosting company abrNOC, which Nozari runs from Tehran.  Nozari says the companies are different, though he acknowledged employees support both firms.  Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which was not involved in the research, said it has not seen evidence that state-sponsored hackers use Cloudzy, but it did say there is cybercriminal activity connected to the company.  Reuters

Impact of U.S. Controls on Advanced Tech Exports Seen in 2023 Chinese Customs Data.  Chinese customs data indicate U.S. export restrictions on advanced semiconductors are impacting Chinese companies as supplies of key components and equipment continue to tighten.  Imports of semiconductors fell by 22 percent during the first six months of 2023 compared with the same period last year while chip-manufacturing equipment fell by 23 percent.  Forty percent of the drop in chip imports can be attributed to Taiwan, with another third represented by drops in imports from South Korea.  One remedy to shortages that China has employed is to remodel chipsets so that they fall within U.S. export rules; however, this workaround is now threatened by the possibility of additional U.S. restrictions.  China also is facing difficulties in developing domestic alternatives to foreign semiconductor technologies.  And despite Beijing’s substantial investments in domestic technology companies to reduce reliance on foreign sources, the timeline for relief from that quarter is longer-term.  Inspur, China’s leading maker of servers used for AI development, has warned investors that because of tight supply, it is facing obstacles to obtaining chips needed for server production.  Without the latest chips, AI developers are in danger of falling further behind in a global sector Beijing set out to lead by 2030.  Still, some Western companies are benefiting from China’s attempts to increase domestic chip production.  The Dutch manufacturer, ASML, posted a 27 percent increase in second-quarter revenue, partly because of growing sales to China of less-advanced lithography machines that are not subject to sanctions.  In addition, U.S. chip makers Nvidia and Intel have modified product specifications to meet export control criteria for chips destined for the Chinese market.  Wall Street Journal

EU Imposes Sanctions on Multi-Pronged Russian Disinformation Network.  The EU has announced sanctions for a Moscow-controlled news distribution operation that circulated disinformation aiming to undermine the West’s support for Ukraine.  The Recent Reliable News (RRN) operation was established soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and was first exposed by France in June.  RNN included the InfoRus news agency, the Institute of the Russian Diaspora and two other entities, all of which were included in the sanctions.  RRN managed fake social media accounts and websites that posed as EU government agencies as well as local media outlets to circulate Russian propaganda.  The European Council linked the extensive operations to Russian government and intelligence services.  The EU sanctions follow similar measures taken by the U.S., Britain, Canada, and Australia against the RRN network.  A European official noted that the sanctions are "sending a signal to those engaged in information manipulation and interference.”  The EU has actively pursued new strategies to deal with foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) activities, including developing a common framework to monitor, analyze and respond to these operations.  The Record

Senegal Shuts Down Country-Wide Mobile Internet Access Following Opposition Arrest.  In the wake of the arrest of an opposition leader, the Senegalese government closed down mobile internet access throughout the country on Monday.  Ousmane Sonko was detained Friday after being involved in an argument with armed soldiers stationed outside his home.  Sonko is a respected politician who has been held under house arrest by the government.  He was scheduled to run against current President Macky Sall in next year’s elections, but his convictions will likely prevent that.  Sonko’s supporters believe the charges against him are politically motivated.  As a number of internet access organizations reported massive dips in mobile connectivity, Senegal’s Communications and Telecommunications Ministry confirmed a temporary suspension of mobile internet.  The ministry explained the action, announcing it was triggered by “the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages relayed on social networks in a context of threat of disturbance to public order.”  Alp Toker, director of global internet monitor NetBlocks, said that Senegalese consumers, like many across Africa, rely heavily on cellular service in the absence of landline infrastructure.   The Record

FAA Official Notes Challenge of Accelerating Technologies for Aviation Cybersecurity.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been a leader among Federal agencies in incorporating AI and other leading technologies to the benefit of aviation operations and safety.  In processing masses of data, the FAA’s AI-enabled systems can quickly and accurately identify security risks and anomalies while its use of automation helps streamline air traffic management.  In carrying out these activities, the FAA employs a zero-trust approach to cybersecurity, assuming possible compromise of devices, users, and networks and enforcing strict access controls and other measures to block unauthorized access.  But there are mounting challenges, such as cyberattacks targeting aviation infrastructure, which are further complicated by the interconnections among various systems, making them vulnerable to cascading failures in the event of a system compromise.   Luci Holeman, the FAA’s air traffic cybersecurity manager, described the accelerating pace of technological change as “one of the biggest challenges” the agency faces. “We usually adapt to whatever technology comes our way,” she said, but “the new entrants that are coming in” will require “some culture change” and the way the FAA does business.  Noting that past operations were primarily point-to-point, Holman pointed to the increasing linkages between systems both within and outside the U.S. Consequently, she said, “the biggest challenge is really mostly around the speed and how quickly we can adapt.”  Forbes

‘Worm-Like’ Malware Seen Targeting Widely Used Data Storage Tool.  A novel strain of malware employed by an unidentified hacking group is being used in attacks against Redis, a widely used data storage tool whose clients include Amazon, Hulu and Tinder.  Cado Security Labs researchers said that the malware appears to be a worm, which after breaching a system can self-replicate without human activation.  The researchers have dubbed the worm, P2Pinfect, and report that they were surprised by its ability to spread “to other vulnerable Redis deployments.”  A Cado spokesperson told Recorded Future News, “it's not clear who is behind this or their ultimate goal.”  Cado said the malware could be “a placeholder for a crypto miner ready for when the threat actor wants to distribute it.”  The company described the malware’s performance of internet scans to detect vulnerable Redis servers and its self-replication in a “worm-like” manner.  “Replication,” the researchers noted, “allows instances of Redis to be run in a distributed manner, in what’s referred to as a leader/follower topology,” which allows follower nodes to perform as exact replicas of the leader.   The malware, according to Cado, prevents compromises of a Redis server by other threat actors while continuing its apparent normal operations so owners do not suspect an issue.  The Record BleepingComputer

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