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A Cavalcade of Paranoia

Cyberlaw Podcast fans, please be reminded that episode 400 will air live via audio and video with audience participation at noon Eastern on March 28th 2022. Mark your calendar now and, when it’s time, you can join our audience by clicking this link:

https://riverside.fm/studio/the-cyberlaw-podcast-400

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Nothing can bring out paranoia or mistrust like a serious shooting conflict. And the Russian invasion in Ukraine is creating mistrust among all.

Everybody expected the Russians to launch a more devastating cyberattack, but no one is sure why. Dave Aitel explains some of the options. Cyberattacks take planning, and Russia’s planners may have believed they wouldn’t need to use large-scale cyberattacks—apart from what appears to be a pretty impressive bricking of the Viasat terminals used extensively by Ukrainian forces. The war is accelerating, and the Russians may need additional cyber weapons to attack Ukraine. All of this is no comfort for the Western nations that have placed sanctions. Their infrastructure makes them a good target and could be under fire soon, if American intelligence warns are true.

Matthew Heiman reported that cyber defenses are being bolstered, and this is causing paranoia. Is it possible that the UK’s defense ministry has banned WhatsApp use due to Russian hacking? Maybe. WhatsApp is well-known for its security issues, so it might be possible to reduce its military use. Telegram usage is growing in Russia because of mistrust and ambiguity, Dave Aitel said. This could be because either the Russians are able to manage it, or they don’t know how.  You can choose your favorite.

A German security agency suddenly found out that Kaspersky products were causing mistrust.  Dave suggests that you have good luck in finding them since they are white-labeled to other software companies. Although he is sympathetic to the agency’s actions, despite years of ignoring U.S. warnings on Kaspersky, he does not feel any sympathy.

Although governments don’t use software to subvert them, war produces products that are not trustworthy. A popular open-source tool was made into a data wiper by an open-source contributor. It can be used on any computer that is Russian- or Belarussian-looking. This plan is so simple, what could go wrong?

Meanwhile, advocates for stricter cybersecurity regulation have been lauded by the press as a way to increase our defenses.  Although it’ll be helpful, it won’t solve all of the problems and will lead to more. TSA’s attempt to regulate cybersecurity in pipelines is the best. It has struggled for years to get on its feet, while being criticized by an industry hostile from the beginning.

China has the greatest impact of war. Jordan Schneider examines the ways in which China and Chinese businesses are reacting to Russian sanctions. Jordan argues that Chinese companies will follow their economic interests and adhere to sanctions – at least where it’s clear they’re being watched – despite online hostility to sanctions among Chinese digerati.

Matthew and I believe more attention must be paid to Chinese governments’ efforts to inflict terror on Americans and other Chinese overseas. For one, the Justice Department is attentive; several Chinese government agents have been arrested.

Jordan discusses China’s latest guidance for AI algorithm developers. I offer grudging respect to the breadth and value of the  topics covered by China’s AI regulatory endeavors.

Dave and myself are dissatisfied by the surprise package contained in FY 22 Omnibus Appropriations Act. On page 2334, you will find a whole smorgasbord regulation that applies to intelligence agency workers who leave the intelligence community and go in search of work.  The revised version of the draft is much better than the one before, but it was primarily for the intelligence agencies. left out in the coldWhen revisions were made.

Matthew updates us on the story of the peanut butter sandwich spy who sold nuclear subsecrets to an unknown foreign power at the time. This country is now known. Brazil is the country chosen, apparently because the spies were unable to bring themselves help an enemy.

Finally, my proposal to impose the most nerdy sanctions possible on Putin is here. As a fan of the Soviet Union, he would love to see the Soviet Union gone from the Internet. It’d be appropriate for him to remove the last trace of it on the Internet.  My upcoming opinion article on the subject is available in WIRED magazine.

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