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Wednesday, June 14, 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

China Rebukes U.S. in Tense Exchange Ahead of Blinken’s Beijing Trip.  China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang told Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a phone call that the U.S. should stop meddling in China’s internal affairs.  Reuters called the exchange a ‘tense preview’ of the upcoming visit to China by Blinken.  Neither the U.S. nor China has released details of the planned visit, but a U.S. official recently confirmed that Blinken will be in China on June 18.  The visit will mark the first time in five years that a U.S. Secretary of State has visited China and comes amid heightened tension between Beijing and Washington.  On the call with Qin, Blinken reportedly stressed the need for continued communication to avoid “miscalculation and conflict” and said that the US would continue to raise areas of concerns and to explore potential for cooperation with Beijing.  Reuters CNN Al Jazeera

Section 702 Helped Take Down Colonial Pipeline Hacker, Defend Against Other Threats, Biden Administration Says.  Senior U.S. intelligence officials told reporters that intelligence collected under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) proved vital in responding to the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.  Section 702 permits surveillance of non-Americans abroad but can pick up data on Americans they communicate with.  The officials said data from the program was used to help identify the hackers behind the Colonial Pipeline attack, which helped lead to the recovery of most of the $4.4 million ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline to them.  The officials also mentioned other instances where authorities relied on Section 702 data to help counter foreign hacking threats, drug trafficking, and cross-border crimes, though they did not elaborate on these cases.  The officials’ comments come amid debate over whether Congress should renew Section 702, which is set to expire at the end of this year.  The Biden administration has pushed for its renewal, saying the program is needed to address national security threats.  However, some congressional members have raised concerns over past compliance issues; the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday on the matter, during which past abuses of Section 702, including recent wrongful FBI uses of the program’s data, were discussed.  FBI officials at the hearing maintained that it has implemented stronger oversight measures, like a new “three-strike policy” and potential firing of officials who misuse the program’s data, to avoid repeating past mistakes.  A group of 21 privacy and other rights organizations released a joint statement on Monday ahead of the hearing calling against the renewal of Section 702 without “substantial reforms.”  One such proposed reform is a warrant requirement for searches of the program’s data related to Americans, which officials have said would significantly complicate access to information lawfully acquired by the U.S.  CyberScoop Politico Reuters 

U.S. to Approve Delivery of Depleted-Uranium Rounds to Ukraine.  U.S. officials say that the Biden administration is expected to send depleted-uranium rounds to Ukraine to arm Abrams tanks the U.S. is giving to Kyiv.  Depleted uranium is a byproduct from the enrichment of natural uranium.  It is extremely heavy and can be used to harden shells to enhance their armor piercing ability.  When a weapon with depleted uranium detonates, the blast eventually settles into a weakly radioactive dust.  The depleted-uranium rounds are regularly used by the U.S. Army and are capable of penetrating armor of Russian tanks.  The White House has debated sending the ammunition over concerns that they may carry health and environmental risks.  Britain has already sent depleted-uranium shells to equip Challenger tanks it delivered to Ukraine.  Russia condemned the British shipments, saying that the UK has provided Ukraine with ammunition containing a “nuclear component,.”  The British defense ministry has dismissed this criticism as disinformation, saying its assessments show a low risk of radiation from the shells.  Wall Street Journal

Biden Meets NATO Chief Stoltenberg, Blinken Previews ‘Robust’ NATO Ukraine Aid Package.  President Joe Biden met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Tuesday.  The two focused discussions on the Ukraine war and NATO’s wider defenses.  Biden noted that the alliance has strengthened its eastern flanks and reiterated U.S. support for NATO’s Article 5.  Stoltenberg added that Ukraine is “making progress” with its counter-offensive and emphasized that NATO will continue sending military aid for Ukraine.  He also said Europe must simultaneously commit to greater defense spending.  Before his meeting with Biden, Stoltenberg met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said a “robust” package of defense and political aid for Ukraine will be announced at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in July.  Beyond Ukraine, Stoltenberg’s visit was also dominated by speculation over who his successor will be as he is set to end his tenure as NATO chief later this year.  Neither he or White House officials indicated potential frontrunners for the position.  Politico U.S. Department of State

U.S. Sending New Ukraine Military Aid Including Replacement Armored Vehicles.  The Biden administration confirmed on Tuesday that it is sending $325 million worth of new military aid to Ukraine.  The new package will include 15 Bradley fighting vehicles to replace ones destroyed in recent fighting, as well as 10 new Stryker infantry carriers and resupplies of artillery shells and air defense missiles.  The aid will come from the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which pulls from U.S. stockpiles.  The latest package is the first of many expected shipments experts say will be needed to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive and long-term military sustainment.  Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, criticized the new aid package, saying it pushes the U.S. “deeper into the abyss” of the conflict in Ukraine.  Politico Reuters

Mexican President Names New Foreign Minister.  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday picked veteran diplomat Alicia Barcena to be Mexico’s new foreign minister.  Barcena served for almost 14 years as executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and has been Mexico’s ambassador to Chile since September.  If Mexico’s Senate approves Barcena’s appointment, she will succeed Marcelo Ebrard, who resigned as foreign minister on Monday to focus on becoming the presidential nominee of the ruling party in the upcoming 2024 election.  Reuters

Iran’s Raisi Arrives in Nicaragua.  Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Nicaragua on Tuesday as part of his tour through Latin America. Speaking in a joint appearance with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Raisi railed against U.S. sanctions against both Iran and Nicaragua, saying the U.S. has sought to “paralyze” both countries but has failed to do so.  Nicaragua is the second stop of Raisi’s tour.  He previously visited Venezuela, where he pledged to increase bilateral trade with Iran.  After Nicaragua, Raisi is set to head to Cuba.  Reuters The Hill

Western Europe

Dutch Intelligence Tipped CIA Off to Ukrainian Plot to Sabotage Nord Stream Pipelines.  The CIA reportedly urged Ukraine not to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines after it received a warning from the Netherlands’ military intelligence agency MIVD that Ukraine was planning an “imminent attack” on the pipelines.  According to a joint investigation by Dutch and German news outlets, the alleged Ukrainian plot that MIVD discovered was to be coordinated by Valeriy Zaluzhniy, the head of Ukrainian Armed Forces, and involved a small sabotage team of divers.  The CIA received a tip from MIVD about the plan in June 2022 and raised the matter with Kyiv shortly after.  It is unclear how Ukraine responded.  In the following months, the CIA told Germany and other allies in the area that it believed Ukraine would no longer attack the pipeline, but then blasts destroyed three of the four main pipes in September.  Ukraine maintains it was not involved in the explosions and investigations into the incident are ongoing.  Western countries have concluded that the explosions were deliberate but have not determined who was behind them.  The new reports appear to suggest the U.S. and several Western allies knew of a Ukrainian plan to sabotage the pipeline for months before the explosions.  Reuters Politico Wall Street Journal

Joint Expeditionary Force Created to Protect European Critical Infrastructure.  A British-led defense alliance of European countries has been established to facilitate the sharing of tactical intelligence.  The group, known as the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK.  Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said the JEF will primarily help members share intelligence to better detect and protect against threats to vulnerable critical undersea and offshore infrastructure in northern Europe.  The forming of the JEF comes after Dutch intelligence said it found evidence that Russia was seeking to gather intelligence in the North Sea to sabotage the Netherlands’ critical infrastructure in the region.  Beyond intelligence sharing, the JEF also announced on Tuesday that it is sending a $116 million air defense package to Ukraine.  The UK said the package will include radars, ammunition and other air defense capabilities which will be provided through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU).  CNN Reuters UK Government

Germany Releases First-Ever National Security Strategy.  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government released Germany’s first National Security Strategy (NSS) on Wednesday.  The strategy includes a specific pledge for military preparedness, namely seen in the commitment to invest 2% of economic output on defense spending from next year.  The NSS also addresses threats from climate change and mentions measures to help Germany lessen reliance on other countries for commodities, such as incentives for German companies to hold strategic reserves.  Experts say the demand for Germany to produce a more comprehensive security concept arose after the Ukraine war demonstrated the poor state of Germany’s military, Berlin’s reliance on Russian energy and the vulnerability of German critical infrastructure like gas pipelines.  The strategy does not go into depth about China policy; Scholz said Germany is releasing a separate China strategy later this year.  Also, a previous proposal for a German National Security Council did not make it into the strategy since it was abandoned due to disagreements about where in the government such a body would be housed.  Deutsche Welle New York Times Reuters 

France Uncovers Russian Disinformation Campaign Linked to Ukraine War.  France on Tuesday said that it has uncovered a Russian disinformation campaign in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the campaign is based on the creation of fake websites and social media accounts that impersonate media and government sites to spread disinformation through fake articles about the conflict.  At least four major French news outlets and three German media outlets were reportedly targeted in the campaign, and the French foreign ministry itself foiled an attempt to create a fake of its own website.  Colonna said that Russian embassies and cultural centers “actively” boosted misleading content from the campaign.  She also added that France is working with partners to disrupt this campaign and other Russian “hybrid warfare” efforts.  Security sources say this campaign is the second phase of Russian “Doppelganger” activities first documented in 2022 by the organization EU DisinfoLab and Meta.  CNN France 24 Washington Post

Central and Eastern Europe

Hardened Ukrainian Units Report Early Success in Offensive in Country’s East. On Saturday, three Ukrainian platoons from the 68th Jaeger Brigade took the village of Blahodante after a “methodical” firefight. Prior to the attack, men from the 68th, who had spent the last year on defense, reportedly trained themselves in house to house combat and utilized American made armored vehicles to push through Russian defenses. This victory is only one of a series that have taken place in the area after Ukrainian forces launched their counteroffensive to take back as much territory as possible from Russia. Early focuses of the operation have been in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. The first week of the counteroffensive has focused on probing Russian defenses along the front lines via small units to test for vulnerabilities. But according to some Russian soldiers, the fighting has highlighted a significant problem of low morale among the Russian military. .Several Russian soldiers who spoke to the Wall Street Journal recounted morale problems and heavy casualties. A rifleman stated that “the combat spirit of fighters on the front line has fallen” and that “we were advancing by quantity, not by quality … exchanging 10 lives for one of theirs”. Despite the early gains, a Ukrainian commander known as ‘Dolphin’ stated to his troops that “it’s too early to celebrate victory, this is just the beginning. Other villages are waiting for us”.  Wall Street Journal 

Ukraine Makes Gains and Retakes Villages in Early Stage of Counteroffensive. Reuters reporters had gained access to the newly liberated Ukrainian village, Neskuchne, confirming that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been making progress and the military has been advancing. The reporters gained access to the village in southeast Ukraine several days after Kyiv had captured it. Russia has not officially acknowledged the loss of Neskuchne and several other villages. Although buildings in the village were unscathed, 3 Russian corpses were seen by the reporters in the street, and its several hundred residents were nowhere to be seen.  This comes as some Russian reports confirm that heavy fighting is ongoing in the Zaphorizia and Donetsk regions and that the Ukrainian military is making early gains in its counteroffensive.  Reuters CNN

At Least Six Civilians Killed in Russian Missile Assaults on Odesa and Donetsk.  According to the Ukrainian military early Wednesday, at least six people were killed in overnight Russian airstrikes on civilian buildings in Odesa and the Donetsk region. Russia reportedly launched four missiles on the Black Sea port city of Odesa, two of which the Ukrainian military claimed it destroyed before striking targets. The South Command of Kyiv’s Armed Forces said that "as a result of air combat and blast waves, a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, food establishments and shops in the city centre were damaged."  Three people were killed and seven injured in a blaze at a warehouse in Odesa. According to Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, three more civilians were killed in separate attacks — two in Kramatorsk and another in Kostiantynivka. The missiles there reportedly targeted dozens of private homes and caused damage. The Ukraine Air Defenses said they destroyed nine drones and three missiles. Russia has not yet commented on the reports.  Reuters

Decorated Russian Officer Killed in Ukrainian Counteroffensive.  According to a Russian-backed official, a missile strike on Monday killed Major-General Sergei Goryachev, Chief of Staff of Russia's 35th Army, on the Zaporizhzhia front during Kyiv’s counteroffensive to reclaim territory. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet confirmed the news. Goryachev, 52 and highly honored, had led a tank brigade, fought in the Second Chechen War, and commanded Russian troops in Moldova's pro-Russian region of Transdniestria. Reuters

Putin Publicly Raises Possibility of Second Russian Attempt to Take Kyiv.  Russian President Vladimir Putin told a gathering of 18 Russian reporters in Moscow that there was currently no need for further mobilization to increase Russia’s military, but that ultimately it would depend on what Moscow’s goals in Ukraine are.  In a wide ranging conversation, Putin admitted that Russia’s military faced shortages of precision munitions and some types of communications equipment and that Russia faced security challenges on its border with Ukraine, but said Russia had successfully established control over "Novorossiya" (New Russia), a Tsarist-era term for a large swathe of Southern Ukraine.  Notably, Putin used the word “war” several times and rhetorically asked the question whether Russia should attempt to retake Kyiv.  Russia’s military tried and failed decisively to take Ukraine’s capital in the early days of Russia’s invasion.  To his question on attempting to retake Kyiv, Putin said, “Only I can answer this myself”. Reuters CNN Associated Press

Belarus to Receive First Russian Tactical Nuclear Weapons, Lukashenko Says.  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed into Belarus “in several days.”  Lukashenko reiterated that the deployment of the weapons will act as a deterrent against potential aggressors, adding that he asked for them and that Russia had not “imposed” the deployment on him.  He also reportedly said Belarus is working to ensure it can house longer-range Russian strategic weapons like the Topol intercontinental ballistic missile, though he said the tactical weapons are “enough for me for now."  His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia will start transferring the tactical nuclear weapons now that Belarusian storage facilities for them are completed.  Reuters

Prigozhin Questions if Wagner Group Will Remain in Ukraine Conflict.  Wagner Group Founder Yevgeny Prigozhin says he is unsure if Wagner Group will continue to operate in Ukraine.  His comments come amid a public row with the Russian Ministry of Defense following the Saturday decree from Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shougui that all Russian private military groups come under the control of Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MOD).  Prigozhin has so far refused the demand for Wagner Group to sign a contract with the Russian MOD.  Wagner Group fighters have proven to be some of the most effective in battle to date for Russia, and it is unclear how serious Prigohzin was being, as he is often known to make bold and sarcastic statements to the media.  Some media reports suggest that any attempt by Prigohzin to disengage from the Ukraine conflict would be viewed as treasonous by Moscow.  Prigohzin’s latest statements reflect the bitter dispute with senior Russian military leadership.  Reuters CNN

Asia and Oceania

Taiwan Foreign Minister Starts Europe Tour, Meets Czech State Speaker.  Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu began a tour of Europe with a stop in the Czech Republic, where he met with the head of the upper house of the Czech parliament.  Ahead of Wu’s trip Beijing cautioned European nations not to have official exchanges with Taiwanese officials.  Despite this, Wu is expected to meet with other Czech officials, including Czech President Petr Pavel, during his visit.  He is also expected to later visit Brussels.  The Czech Republic does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is reportedly looking to upgrade ties.  Reuters

Taiwan Releases Handbook on Response to Conflict With China.  Taiwan’s defense ministry on Tuesday issued a comprehensive handbook with instructions for Taiwanese civilians on what to do in the event of a conflict with China.  The Civil Defense Contingency Handbook includes “peacetime preparation” advice, such as locations of shelters and guidelines on what to pack in survival kits, and “wartime response” information, such as instructions on how to confront enemy soldiers and how to deal with loss of communications services.  The handbook also includes instructions on how to survive missile and nuclear attacks.  The ministry said the handbook was partially informed by lessons learned from the Ukraine war.  It also said the handbook is an update to past guidance, which critics said did not adequately prepare Taiwanese for a potential war with China.  South China Morning Post

NATO Upgrading Ties With Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea.  Nikkei Asia reports that NATO is seeking to deepen collaboration with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea — collectively known as the Asian-Pacific partners (AP4).  The report says NATO will work on an Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP) with each of the AP4 countries to guide collaboration on issues like maritime security, cybersecurity, space, countering disinformation, and climate change.  Some NATO officials have suggested the proposed NATO liaison office in Japan be characterized as a facility to implement the ITPPs.  Such a move is aimed at allaying concerns that the office will escalate tensions with China and pressure ASEAN countries to pick between Beijing or the West.  Nikkei Asia

Japan to Host Meeting With U.S., South Korean, Philippine Security Advisors.  According to a report from Japan’s Jiji news agency, Japan is expected to host a meeting in Tokyo of security advisors from the US and South Korea on Thursday.  Japan will then host a second meeting of security advisors with the U.S and the Philippines on Friday. No further details were provided.  Reuters

New Zealand, Fiji Agree Sign Defense Pact.  New Zealand and Fiji signed a defense agreement on Wednesday morning.  New Zealand Defense Minister Andrew Little said the agreement aims to strengthen bilateral military training, disaster response coordination and maritime security.  This agreement comes as New Zealand, Australia, and other countries in the Pacific seek to counter China’s expanding influence amongst Pacific island nations.  Reuters

China Pledges ‘Chinese Wisdom’ on Israel-Palestine Conflict.  The Chinese foreign ministry said that Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki in Beijing on Tuesday and told him that China will continue to support Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and offer “Chinese wisdom” on the matter.  The ministry added that Qin also said that Beijing has consistently believed in the Palestinian people's cause to reestablish their legitimate rights. The meeting came as part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s ongoing state visit to China, during which he is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.  Analysts say Palestine wants to bolster Chinese support, while Beijing is reportedly seeking to expand influence in Palestine, likely mainly through infrastructure projects, as part of its push into the Middle East.  Reuters 

Middle East and Northern Africa

Bahrain, Iran to Reestablish Diplomatic Ties, U.S. Diplomat Says.  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said Tuesday that she expects Bahrain to reestablish diplomatic ties with Iran.  Bahrain severed ties with Iran in 2016 after Saudi Arabia did the same over attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.  Saudi Arabia and Iran have since restored diplomatic relations, with Riyadh reopening its embassy in Tehran last week.  Leaf said this rapprochement likely means Bahrain will soon follow in suit.  Reuters 

Syria Says Israel Launched Missile Strike on Damascus.  Syrian state news agency SANA reported that Israel launched a missile barrage on Damascus, injuring one Syrian soldier.  SANA said Israel launched the missiles from the Golan Heights, and Syrian air forces managed to intercept some of them.  For years, Israel has targeted Iran-linked targets in Syria.  Reuters

Israel Exported $12.5 Billion in Defense Products in 2022.  The Israeli Defense Ministry reported Tuesday that Israel exported $12.556 billion of defense products in 2022.  Notably, 24% of exports went to Arab nations who agreed to the U.S.-backed Abraham Accords. The UAE and Bahrain are signatories to the accords, and Israel views Morocco and Sudan as part of them too.  Regarding the rest of the defense exports, 30% went to Asia and the Pacific, 29% to Europe, and 11% to North America. Drones, missiles, rockets and air defense systems were the primary products exported, with drones accounting for 25% of the exports last year. The 2022 figures marked a 50% increase in defense over the last three years. Reuters 

Kuwait Signs $367 Million Drone Deal With Turkey’s Baykar.  Kuwait on Tuesday signed a contract with Turkish defense firm Baykar to acquire $367 million worth of the company’s Bayraktar TB2 drones.  The Kuwaiti army announced the deal but did not provide details on how many drones have been ordered or when they will be delivered.  Kuwait is the 28th state to purchase the Bayraktar TB2 drones.  Demand for the drones has risen substantially after their use in conflicts in Syria, Libya, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.  Reuters 

Sub Saharan Africa

US Lawmakers Urge Moving Regional Summit Out of South Africa Over Ties to Moscow. According to a letter obtained by the New York Times, a group of U.S. lawmakers have called for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) summit to be moved from South Africa due to the country’s ties with Russia. The AGOA is a U.S. investment and trade program in sub-Saharan Africa. Members of Congress also called into question South Africa’s benefits from AGOA. According to Reuters, South Africa’s exports reached $1 billion making it the second largest beneficiary of the program. Despite claimed neutrality in the Ukraine war, South Africa has continued to build a close relationship with Moscow. Both are parties of the economic alliance BRICS and have cooperated on a military level.  U.S. officials have even accused South Africa of supplying weapons to Russia during the Ukraine war, which South Africa denies.  South Africa is also scheduled to host a BRICS leadership during the summit this year which could include a visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest over his role in alleged crimes against humanity from Russia’s war in Ukraine.  Kyiv Independent New York Times

Cyber and Tech

UK Receives Advanced Access to AI Giants’ Foundational Models for AI Safety Research.  UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic are giving the UK “early or priority access” to their foundational AI models to support AI safety research.  He added that the UK is committing 100 million pounds to its AI Taskforce to lead this AI safety research.  With access to these models, the UK is set to lead research into developing AI evaluation and audit techniques.  However, it also may put the AI giants in a position to shape future UK AI rules and how it applies to their products and services since the country is predicating its AI safety research on how much access the companies provide.  Experts say that while support from the AI giants is important, the most comprehensive AI safety efforts must also involve independent researchers, civil society groups and those most at risk of harm from AI.  TechCrunch

Pentagon Working to Improve Tech Transfers to Allies, Partners.  U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed relevant officials and agencies to assess how to improve the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process to better facilitate the transfer of critical technology to allies and partners.  The order came after an internal DOD review found shortcomings and systemic challenges in the current FMS process.  The Pentagon said the move aims to lower barriers to the export of key technology by improving the efficiency of the review and release of technology.  To achieve this, the Pentagon will establish a Defense Security Cooperation Service to oversee tech transfers.  It will also work to improve the interagency process for FMS.  More widely, the Pentagon is also calling for the expansion of U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) capacity to produce needs for foreign partners, as well as for the U.S. military.  A Continuous Process Improvement Board (CPIB) will monitor efforts to ensure Tiger Team recommendations are implemented.  DefenseScoop U.S. Department of Defense

CISA Orders Federal Agencies to Secure Internet-Exposed Network Devices.  CISA on Tuesday ordered all U.S. federal civilian agencies to secure misconfigured or Internet-exposed networking devices within 14 days.  The order applies to networked equipment with Internet-exposed management interfaces (such as routers, firewalls and proxies).  Agencies must restrict access to the relevant equipment’s interface to internal networks or implement Zero Trust measures to enforce access control to the interface.  The order is CISA’s first Binding Operational Directive (BOD) of the year.  CISA added that it will update the directive within two years to adapt to changes in the cybersecurity landscape and improve implementation procedures.  Bleeping Computer

CISA Director Says Ukraine War Lessons Could Help Counter Chinese Cyber Threats.  CISA Director Jen Easterly said that intelligence sharing ahead of the Ukraine war could be a “great model” for preparing for potential Chinese cyberattacks.  Easterly said declassification of sensitive information about possible Ukrainian and U.S. targets of Russian cyber operations leading up to Moscow’s invasion in February 2022 successfully helped potential victims prepare for and counter Russian attacks.  She argued that similar preemptive warning of potential U.S. targets of Chinese cyber operations, especially critical infrastructure providers, could produce similar results against cyber threats from China.  Underscoring this suggestion, she said CISA’s “Shields Up” cyber readiness campaign, which was particularly helpful during the Ukraine war, will eventually be extended to threats from China.  Her comments came as part of a warning that a conflict with China would be coupled with Chinese cyber actions aimed at disrupting U.S. critical infrastructure.  Easterly’s remarks were echoed by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the ranking member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, who said that “radical disclosure and radical sharing” help counter Russian cyber threats, adding that this approach should be applied to “any adversarial regime.” CyberScoop

Researchers Report on Widespread Phishing Email Campaign.  Israeli cybersecurity firm Sygnia released a report on a massive email phishing campaign that has potentially impacted dozens of organizations.  The report said hackers behind the scam acted in a “worm-like fashion,” using compromised email accounts from one company to pursue targets in other companies.  The report added that domains linked to fraudulent emails have been updated as recently as June 2, suggesting an ongoing campaign.  The report came after the FBI warned that business email compromises (BECs) are on the rise and have been used in 275,000 attacks between 2013 to 2022 linked to $50 billion in actual and attempted losses.  CyberScoop

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