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Thursday, April 20, 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:  

Americas

U.S. Readies Troops For Potential Sudan Evacuation. The Pentagon is moving additional troops to Africa as part of ongoing contingency planning for possible evacuation of US Embassy personnel in Sudan, according to US officials who spoke to Politico under the condition of anonymity.  The troops are deploying to Djibouti, home to the US base Camp Lemonnier which already has a sizable US troop presence.  National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says that no evacuation decision has been made yet, and that the focus is on trying to get all Embassy personnel in one location. It is unclear when and how such an evacuation could occur, including for the more than 19000 US citizens currently in Sudan. Evacuations of citizens from countries, including from Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands, have been thwarted by continuous fighting at Khartoum International Airport. Sudan’s airspace is also currently closed.  Politico Wall Street Journal New York Times Associated Press

SpaceX Starship Explodes Minutes After Takeoff in Setback for Musk. SpaceX’s Starship exploded minutes after launching from its base in Texas, falling short of achieving its stated mission of a 90-minute flight to the edge of earth’s atmosphere.  SpaceX officials say that the craft, which sat aboard the company’s new Super Heavy rocket, touted as the most powerful launch vehicle on earth, experienced multiple engine failures before losing altitude and beginning to tumble and finally experiencing a ‘rapid, unscheduled disassembly’.  NASA Chief Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on twitter, saying that every great achievement in history required ‘some level of calculated risk’.  Following the mission the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the rocket was grounded pending further investigation.  Reuters Associated Press Politico

US space industry funding drops 53% in Q1.  Investment in the U.S. space industry dropped 53% to $2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2023, making it the lowest funded quarter since 2015 according to a new report by venture firm Space Capital.  The report, which tracked 89 active companies in the sector listed rising interest rates, the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and changing risk thresholds by investors as contributing factors for the drop in funding.  The report also said that of the 100 companies which had raised a total of $27 billion over the last decade, only two, Space X and Rocket Lab were still in operation, noting a ‘visible dichotomy’ between the winners and ‘everyone else’ in the sector.  Reuters 

Yellen Calls for Better US-China Relations But Says National Security Trumps Economy.  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for the US and China to work on the ‘urgent global challenges’ of the day despite the rising tensions and clear security threats Beijing presents to the US.  Her comments, during a speech at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, were described by some analysts as the most comprehensive look at the Biden strategy on dealing with China.  Yellen says that both countries can work together to advance economic progress, but that US national security concerns take priority over economic progress with China.  A Chinese Embassy spokesperson in Washington said that “a healthy and stable China-US relationship is in the fundamental interest of both peoples.”  Associated Press NY Times Wall Street Journal

US Rejects Peruvian Ex-President Toledo's Request to Halt Extradition.  A US federal judge in Washington has denied former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo’s request for a stay on his upcoming extradition to Peru, scheduled for tomorrow.  Toledo is wanted in Peru on charges of allegedly accepting bribes of more that $25 million dollars.  Toledo has denied the charges.  The judge says Toledo has not met the legal requirements for proving he has a need to stay in the US.  Prosecutors in Peru are seeking a 20-year sentence.  Reuters

Chile’s President to Nationalize Lithium Industry for Economy and Environment. On Thursday, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric announced his plans to nationalize the country’s lithium industry, transferring control of the country’s lithium reserves from privately owned companies such as SQM and Albemarle to state-owned companies. Chile currently has the largest lithium reserves in the world, and is the second largest producer of lithium. The shocking move comes as the country attempts to boost its economy, as well as protect the environment. This will pose another challenge to electric vehicle manufacturers who are trying to acquire the battery material as more countries look to nationalize their lithium reserves.  Reuters Associated Press 

U.S. Defense Secretary Says Washington and Allies “Will Not Allow Anything to Fracture Unity”. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today that the U.S. and its allies “will not allow anything to fracture our unity”, during opening remarks at the 11th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, likely in reference to recent U.S. intelligence assessment leaks about the war in Ukraine. Experts assess that Austin’s objective at the meeting will be to convince Kyiv that U.S. confidence in their ability to defeat Russia remains unbroken. One unnamed senior DoD official said that while Austin’s role as leader of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is already challenging, “there are no signs that job has gotten any harder in the last few weeks”, suggesting that the intelligence leaks have not yet harmed Austin’s credibility. European security officials are reportedly not disturbed by the leaks or what they contain, and that they do not change the bigger picture of what the allies are trying to accomplish together. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are reportedly expected to begin training on American M1 tanks in coming weeks, according to U.S. defense officials, with about 31 tanks set to reach the battlefield by fall – thought to be a considerably accelerated timetable.  Politico Washington Post  NYT

Western Europe

Dutch Envoy to Ukraine Quits over Comments in Book. The Netherlands Foreign Ministry announced that Ambassador Ron van Dartel would step down effective immediately, less than three weeks after he was appointed. Van Dartel, who was appointed to assist in Dutch involvement in the reconstruction of Ukraine, will be replaced by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher. According to the government, Van Dartel resigned over comments that he reportedly made about Russia in a book. The comments, which included the words “Ukrainians are also Russians”, were made prior to his appointment, but the book was not published until after.  Associated Press

Danish Authorities Lift Maritime Ban Around Nord Stream Pipeline Area. Investigations on the alleged Nord Stream Pipeline sabotage continue as Danish authorities eased some sailing restrictions. The authorities are still restricting fishing, anchoring, and seabed work within 1 nautical mile of the leak positions because of underwater obstacles. The explosions happened while the pipelines were not operational due to diplomatic disputes, and earlier this month Swedish prosecutors argued a state actor was the most likely culprit. Associated Press

Germany to Purchase Israel's Missile Defense System. Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that it had begun talks with Germany to sell an advanced missile defense system to them. According to the announcement, the ministry had begun “advanced negotiations” to sell Germany the Arrow 3 missile system. The system is designed to intercept long range missiles that are shot outside of the atmosphere. This comes two weeks after Israel announced that they would sell a missile defense system to Finland.  Associated Press 

British Deputy Prime Minister Resigns Following Internal Investigation. British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned today after an independent investigation and report concluded that he had bullied his staff and other civil servants while serving in high office. He had previously promised to resign if the report upheld the bullying allegations. Raab criticized the investigation for having low thresholds of what bullying entails, and warned it could encourage “spurious complaints”. Raab served as both deputy prime minister and justice minister, and previously worked as a foreign minister and as a Brexit minister. He was viewed as a close political ally of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. His resignation is expected to result in a ministerial reshuffle in the near future. Washington Post

Central & Eastern Europe

NATO Chief in Kyiv Says Ukraine’s “Rightful Place” is With NATO.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg for Ukrainian membership to the alliance and for more military equipment.  His comments came during Stoltenberg’s visit to Kyiv, his first since Russia’s invasion.  Stoltenberg, who has invited Zelenskiy to the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania struck what some analysts called a defiant tone and told reporters that Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in NATO.  Stoltenberg’s visit to Kyiv comes at a critical time for Ukraine, which has endured constant Russian assaults throughout the winter, and as an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive is thought to be in the near future.  Reuters Associated Press

Ukraine Pilots Push Aging Helicopters to Their Limits in Daring Assaults.  The Wall Street Journal is out with a report that examines the role the Ukrainian helicopter units are playing in helping the military defend against Russia’s constant assaults.  In one recent example, Ukrainian helicopters flew a daring, low level mission to assault a Russian command center in the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, but were forced to land quickly on the return when they got word they were being pursued by Russian fighter aircraft.  The aging fleet of Ukrainian helicopters, which mostly date to before the fall of the Soviet Union, are not equipped with modern equipment like radar or encrypted communications, but are yet another example, according to Ukrainian military officials, of Ukrainians getting the most out of the equipment they have.  Additional roles beyond the assaults, which are increasingly frequent as Ukraine conserves much needed artillery ammunition, include shuttling senior military staff and supplies to the front line.  Wall Street Journal 

Leaked Docs Reveal Ukraine Defended Bakhmut Despite U.S. Warnings of Likely Failure. The U.S. warned of the potential encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut and suggested Kyiv should let that city go, according to previously unreported classified U.S. intelligence documents allegedly leaked by Airman Jack Teixeira and obtained by the Washington Post. The top secret assessment said that “steady” Russian advances in Bakhmut since November “had jeopardized Ukraine’s ability to hold the city”, increasing the risk of encirclement. The Ukrainian commander overseeing the fight for Bakhmut, Col. Pavlo Palisa, said he was never formally briefed on the U.S. intelligence. He credited a combination of classic urban warfare and advanced drone reconnaissance as pivotal for his ability to hold parts of Bakhmut for months longer than predicted. Still, commanders say that the front line has become increasingly unstable in recent days; Russian forces are now within a few hundred meters of the main supply route used to bring munitions in and evacuate the wounded. In a statement Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces “foiled the enemy’s attempts to counterattack” or deploy reinforcements north and south of Bakhmut. The Washington Post

G-7 Nations Debate Possibility of Near Total-Ban on Exports to Russia. According to Japan’s Kyodo news, the G-7 is reportedly discussing the idea of an outright ban on most exports to Russia in advance of a May summit in Japan, and aims to include European Union member states in the ban’s execution. Reports cited Japanese government sources. Such a move would dramatically alter the current sanctions regime against Russia, which currently bans all exports unless exempted. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government “refrained from commenting on exchanges among G7 countries and like-minded nations about possible further sanctions on Russia”. Reuters Al Jazeera Bloomberg 

Russian Military Commandant who Controlled Ukraine’s Balakliia Identified. Reuters is the first to publicly reveal the identity of the Russian military commandant who was the most senior military officer in Balakliia as Valery Sergeyevich Buslov, a 46-year-old Lieutenant Colonel in Russia’s military police. During their six-month occupation of the town, Russian forces unlawfully detained at least 200 civilians and in some cases administered torture. Dozens of detainees from Balakliia and the surrounding area reportedly remain unaccounted for. Town residents only knew Buslov by his call sign of “Granit”. The Ukrainian Security Service and two of Buslov’s Russian servicemen colleagues confirmed that is Granit’s real name. The Kremlin did not respond to requests for comment. Russia’s Ministry of Defense and Federal Security Service (FSB) also did not respond. Reuters

Russia Bomber Jet Unintentionally Fires into Belgorod, Destroys Buildings.  On Thursday evening a Russian warplane, an Su-34 twin-engine fighter-bomber,  accidentally discharged a weapon in the southern Russian city of Belgorod. According to Tass, quoting the Russian Defense Ministry, the blast not only caused an explosion but leveled structures, and a probe has begun. The explosion injured two women, left a 20-meter wide crater in the middle of a central street, and damaged vehicles. The region of Belgorod has seen several explosions and shellings since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.   Reuters CNN 

Russia Extends War Recruitment Push with Ad Urging for 'Real' Men to Enlist. In a new video campaign made to attract professional soldiers and potential troops, the Russian military urges their citizens to become “real” men, challenging them to “leave their lives” for the honor and excitement of the Ukrainian war. The advertisement, released already on Russian social media sites, does not disclose the estimated 43,000 Russian deaths and focuses on comparing the strength and opportunity of the battlefield to the waste of a civilian life. Russia is reportedly attempting to recruit 400,000 volunteers, and posters calling for men to “defend the Motherland” have appeared all over the capital. Reuters

Asia

Xi Welcomes World Leaders, Gives U.S. Cold Shoulder. In recent weeks China’s President Xi JinPing extended warm welcomes to international leaders to chip away at U.S. influence, while ignoring the U.S. attempts at diplomacy. This cold-shoulder is paired with renewed rhetoric ridiculing and critiquing the U.S. and Western democracy. Xi has brushed off the Biden Administration's attempt to re-engage conversations over Taiwan, which all points to China’s hardening posture in response to  U.S. military exercises in the Philippines, weapons sales to Taiwan, and high-level meetings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials. While both countries have discussed creating “guardrails” to the relationship to prevent unintended conflict, Beijing clearly wants to retain some ambiguity that leaves Washington guessing.  The New York Times 

Chinese FM Qin Gang Claims Each Side of Taiwan Strait Belong to China, Denies Disrupting Status Quo. Earlier today at the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang denied Chinese claims on the Taiwan Strait upended the status quo, says both sides of the strait belong to China and that such rhetoric is “absurd” and “dangerous.” He continued to characterize the ‘status quo’ rhetoric as a tool of hegemonic bullying and warned “those who play with fire on Taiwan will eventually get themselves burned.”Reuters 

S.Korea Summons Chinese Ambassador over “Diplomatic Discourtesy” after Yoon's Taiwan Words.  South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol recently characterized the tensions over Taiwan as “a global issue” and is not only “between China and Taiwan.” The Chinese spokesperson harshly denounced Yoon’s comment, which prompted South Korea to summon the Chinese Ambassador. Although South Korea has been cautious to anger its largest trade partner, it has recently been more vocal and aligned with the U.S. over growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Reuters

US Congressional War Game on Taiwan Reveals Need to Bolster Island’s Defenses. The House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led by Republican Mike Gallagher, conducted a tabletop exercise on Wednesday evening with the thinktank the Center for a New American Security. Rep. Gallagher said the war game showed the need to arm Taiwan “to the teeth” after the exercise suggested the U.S. needs to boost its production of long-range missiles and that businesses would almost certainly experience economic consequences. The exercise reportedly also suggested that resupply of the island would be impossible once a conflict between Taiwan and China begins. Rep. Gallagher said that the U.S. must fulfill a $19 billion weapons backlog, conduct joint training with Taiwanese military forces, and reinforce its own military positions in the region. Taiwan’s representatives in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Reuters

Vietnam Resists China's Annual Fishing Ban in Contested South China Sea Waters. On Thursday, Vietnam called China’s annual ban on fishing in a vast area of the South China Sea a violation of its sovereignty, and urged Beijing “not to complicate matters”. China says the ban, which it has imposed since 1999, will apply from May 1 to August 16 and is meant to promote sustainable fishing and improve marine ecology. The ban includes parts of Vietnam’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone as well as the Paracel islands, which the two countries have both occupied and contested for decades. Reuters

Japan PM Vows to Lead G-7 Nations in Urging for Protection and Safety of Journalists. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday that he would lead the G-7 and push for greater protection for journalists and the release of Russian political prisoners, including wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Mr. Kishida will host a G-7 leaders summit from May 19 to May 21 in Hiroshima. Mr. Kishida visited Ukraine in March, and also said in the interview yesterday that he was calling on world leaders to join the G-7 in opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal 

Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Visit India for Shanghai Cooperation Organization Meeting. In what will be the most senior-level visit in seven years, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister will travel to India next month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) foreign ministers meeting, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday. Diplomatic relations have been particularly contentious between the two countries since 2016, when militants attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir. The SCO is an eight-member regional security and economic group led by China, and includes countries such as India, Pakistan, and Russia. CNN

Suspected Rebel Attackers Kill 5 Indian Troops in Kashmir. The Indian military said that suspected separatist rebels killed five soldiers and seriously injured another in disputed Indian-administered Kashmir after ambushing an army truck on Thursday. The vehicle caught fire “due to likely use of grenades” near the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. There was no independent confirmation of the incident. Indian security forces are actively searching for the attackers. Al Jazeera Associated Press 

Middle East & Northern Africa

Iran Claims they Forced U.S. Submarine to Surface in Strait of Hormuz; U.S. Denies, Claims “Disinformation.” Iran claims its navy forced a U.S. submarine to surface as it entered the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet denies such an incident occurred and called the claim “disinformation that does not contribute to regional maritime security and stability”. The U.S. Navy said earlier this month that the Florida, a nuclear-powered, guided-missile submarine, was operating in support of Fifth Fleet operations in the Middle East. Reuters

Two Men Injured in Shooting near Jerusalem Holy Site in Suspected ‘Terror Attack,’ Claims Israeli Police. The Israeli police said that two men were wounded on Tuesday in what the police say was a suspected “terror attack” in a largely Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, where tensions between Palestinians and Jewish settlers have increased. The neighborhood in which the attack took place is considered by most of the international community to be Israeli-occupied territory. The attack comes alongside escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence; this year is on pace to be the deadliest for both Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and for Israelis in nearly two decades. CNN

Sub Saharan Africa

Ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr Holiday Fails to Hold in Sudan. Gunfire continued to rock Khartoum today, despite calls from the international community for a 72-hour ceasefire in honor of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. In his first public remarks since the conflict began last Saturday, Sudan’s Army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also serves as the current President of Sudan, did not say whether the army would commit to a 72-hour ceasefire that its rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it had agreed to. The ceasefire was due to start at 6 am local time today. The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) are reportedly deployed on foot for the first time in Khartoum, and have engaged the RSF in the north, west, and center of the city, including during this morning’s call to prayer. Residents in several neighborhoods in Khartoum have reported intense gunfights in the streets. General Burhan said yesterday that he “saw no other option but the military solution” to the ongoing power struggle, and that “there would be no armed forces outside (of) the military system”, suggesting that the SAF will not negotiate with the RSF while they remain in Khartoum. The World Health Organization said at least 413 people have been killed and thousands injured; tens of thousands have fled into neighboring Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Reuters Al Jazeera New York Times

At Least 320 Sudanese Soldiers Flee into Chad. At least 320 soldiers have fled into Chad amid continued fighting in Sudan, according to Chadian authorities. Chad closed its 870-mile border with Sudan after clashes erupted in Khartoum on Saturday. Although N’Djamena has publicly stated its neutrality in the conflict, analysts expect the Chadian government to support the Sudan Armed Forces, with whom they have historically cooperated with in a joint border force near Sudan’s West Darfur region and in the border area between Sudan and northern Central African Republic. An estimated 20,000 Sudanese refugees have also fled into eastern Chad this week. Associated Press 

U.N. Attempts to Protect Congo Humanitarian Helicopters by Painting them Orange. The United Nations, which historically operates white helicopters, aircraft, and vehicles, has painted its two World Food Program helicopters in eastern Congo bright orange in an attempt to distinguish them from other UN aircraft and protect them from militia attacks. A Congolese rebel group known as the M23 – one of many active militias in the region – has been waging an offensive in eastern Congo since last year, which has at times included attacks on humanitarian operations there. Eight peacekeepers from the UN mission in Congo, also known as MONUSCO, were killed in a helicopter crash last March, for which the Congolese government blamed the M23. Reuters

Cyber & Tech

Pro-Russian Hackers Attack Europe’s Air-Traffic Control Agency. Europe’s air-traffic control agency said on Thursday that it was under attack by pro-Russian hackers, increasing concerns that Moscow will target the region’s critical infrastructure amid increasing tensions between Russia and Europe. According to the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, also known as Eurocontrol, the cyberattack on the agency’s website started on Wednesday; it is not affecting the agency’s air traffic control activities. Systems used for aviation safety have strict cyber-protection protocols and are not connected to external networks that are used by hackers. Eurocontrol advised airlines to not use its online system to file their flight plans and to use “other channels” if possible, according to its operations website. Airline operations have thus far been unaffected by the attack. Killnet, a Russian hacking group, shared a post on their Telegram channel on Wednesday night announcing an attack on Eurocontrol, which they said would last 100 hours. Wall Street Journal

UK Cybersecurity Agency Issues Warnings of Widespread Spyware, Russian Hackers.

Britain's National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) released a report Wednesday documenting a dangerous trend toward abuse of surveillance software and growing use of mercenary hackers.  The report noted that thousands of people have been targeted each year.  The NCSC assessment also cautioned that necessary oversight of the spyware industry will be complicated by a lack of international consensus, difficulties in enforcement, and the presence of “political and commercial influence.”  A related NSCS advisory alert document added a warning about “a new class of Russian cyber adversary” that has emerged over the last 18 months. BleepingComputer Reuters TheRecord

UK Technology Review Says Britain Must Reduce Chip Imports from High-Risk Countries. A long-delayed UK government review of the country’s position in semiconductors has concluded that Britain must reduce its dependence on imports of semiconductor from “geopolitically sensitive parts of the world such as Taiwan.”  The government strategy, which is expected to be released within weeks, will also call for subsidies of domestic chip R&D and manufacture and will urge closer supply chain relations with stable foreign counterparts.  Britain is home to two leading chip design companies that account for 40 percent of intellectual property development worldwide.  Britain also hosts multiple firms involved in the development of compound semiconductors that are made of materials other than silicon.  Financial Times

Russia-linked Hackers Surge Attacks on East European Energy Sector. In the first quarter of the year, Russian state-linked groups have intensified cyberattacks on East European energy facilities.  Phishing campaigns aimed at Ukrainian users made up over half of the observed attacks.  However, one of the most dangerous threats was directed at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which controls one of the largest oil pipelines in the world.  Multiple attacks have targeted energy sector organizations in Eastern Europe using bogus Windows update packages hosted by a domain masquerading as the CPC.  TheRecord

Poland Issues Warning on Belarus-linked Disinformation Campaign. The Polish Defense Ministry has issued a warning concerning a new disinformation campaign that is linked to a Belarusian hacking group known as “Ghostwriter.”  According to the alert, the hacking group sent bogus messages to Polish citizens to recruit members to the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade, which conducts peace-keeping missions.  The hackers falsely claimed that the brigade will participate in Ukraine-based military operations.  The campaign was detected on April 18, just after the beginning of mandatory assessments of certain Polish citizens for military service. TheRecord

Mandiant Confirms Unprecedented Linked Software Supply Chain Attack by North Korea. Mandiant researchers have concluded that North Korea-affiliated hackers carried out the first documented instance of one software supply chain attack leading to a follow-up supply chain attack.  The case involved the 3CX video conferencing platform.  A 3CX staff member downloaded a compromised software application that allowed the hackers to infiltrate the platform with malware.  Charles Carmakal, a Mandiant CTO consultant, underscored the significance of the linked attack:  “This is the first time that we’ve seen a software supply chain attack lead to another software supply chain attack.  This is very big and very significant for us.” CyberScoop BleepingComputer  TheRecord 

March 2023 Sets Ransomware Attack Records with 459 Incidents. According to the NCC Group, ransomware attacks in March 2023 reached 259, a 91 percent increase over February and 62 percent more compared with March 2022.  The most targeted sector in March 2023 was "Industrials," which includes commercial services, aerospace and defense, engineering, and transport services.  Industrials experienced 147 attacks.  NCC Group reported that ransomware gangs also paid “significant attention” to sectors it describes as Technology, Healthcare, Basic Materials, Financials, and Educational Services.  BleepingComputer

D.C. Health Link Breach Traced to Cloud Server Misconfiguration. Mandiant has concluded that a poorly configured Amazon Web Services server permitted the breach of the D.C. health insurance exchange that exposed personal data of tens of thousands of clients, including members of Congress and staffers. According to Mandiant, the misconfigured system allowed unauthenticated users to download files and read associated logs.  Although the files were password protected, Mandiant discovered a reused password “in logs accessible by an unauthenticated user.”  StateScoop TheRecord

NRO Plans Space-based Sensor Prototype to Track Ground Moving Targets by Next Year. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) intends to launch a space-based sensor in the next year capable of tracking ground-based moving targets.  NRO Director Christopher Scolese told a Space Foundation symposium this week that “we’re in the process of actually manufacturing, and we’ll start launching within the next eight to 12 months.”  NRO is collaborating with the Space Force to develop Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) technology capable of discriminating moving targets, such as enemy tanks and mobile missile launchers, from stationary objects.  BreakingDefense C4ISRNet   

FBI Joins Global Task Force in Urging Meta to Halt Encryption Plans. The Virtual Global Task Force, a consortium of 15 international law enforcement agencies, has appealed to Meta to suspend plans to employ end-to-end encryption of Facebook and Instagram messages.  The request is prompted by concerns over shielding of communications involving child sexual abuse.  According to the Task Force, Meta’s encryption plans are “an example of a purposeful design choice that degrades safety systems and weakens the ability to keep child users safe.”  Meta issued a statement in response to the Task Force appeal, which read in part:  “As we continue to roll out our end-to-end encryption plans, we remain committed to working with law enforcement and child safety experts to ensure that our platforms are safe for young people.”  ArsTechnica