Forget Guerrillas and IEDs - The Next Asymmetric War Will Be Engineered

The next asymmetric war isn’t guerrillas and IEDs - it’s engineered through AI, biotech, and code. @davevenable.com on synthetic asymmetry in @thecipherbrief.bsky.social www.thecipherbrief.com/asymmetric-war

Europe is moving ahead with a “Drone Wall.” Not concrete, but a layered defense of sensors, jammers, and interceptors across NATO’s eastern flank. Its goal: make hostile drones costly, risky, and ineffective. #DroneDefense #NATO #HybridWarfare

ISRS is thrilled to congratulate Admiral McRaven, commander of Joint Special Operations Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, for receiving the America's Future Series' Magelles Award last night! Well deserved. We were incredibly honored to be a part of it.

NATO’s Eastern Sentry at a Glance A quick breakdown of how the alliance responded to Russia’s drone incursion in Poland: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/natos-re...

Russia’s drone incursions over Poland aren’t just kinetic, they’re cognitive. The goal? Confuse, normalize, divide. ISRS breaks it down: * Grey-zone airspace pressure * GNSS jamming + narrative fog * Article 4 meets ambiguity warfare www.isrs.ngo/fpb/poland-r...

🇻🇪 The Caribbean heats up: Venezuela's militia massing, U.S. destroyers off the coast, and drone bans cloaking visibility. It’s not just kinetic, it’s cognitive. New ISRS Flashpoint Briefing: Synthetic asymmetry WFP pullback Lawfare moves www.isrs.ngo/fpb/venezuel...

ISRS’s Mykola Volkivskyi will speak at the UN World Information Transfer on Global Geopolitics After the Alaska Summit. Open to the public via Zoom 27 August, 12:00 EST zoom.us Meeting ID: 881 7964 5785 Passcode: 240207

🇺🇦 Strength. Freedom. Resilience. Today we celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day and honor the people who embody the unshakable spirit of liberty. ISRS stands with Ukraine, today and every day, as it defends sovereignty and builds a brighter, democratic future.

The next great power contest isn’t over land or oil, it’s over AI. ISRS unpacks Trump’s AI Action Plan, Europe’s regulatory push, & global risks ahead. www.isrs.ngo/fpb/the-next...

Don’t miss it: ISRS’s Mykola Volkivskyi goes live on TRT World in 20 minutes to discuss the Trump–Zelenskyy talks. www.youtube.com/live/_G7iMuW...

AI is moving into military & diplomatic decision making. Studies show LLMs can escalate crises, even simulate nuclear first strikes. The risks are real. The time for safeguards is now. Read more: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/escalati...

Trump & Putin meet in Alaska without Ukraine at the table. ISRS maps 4 alternative futures, from a freeze-in-place armistice to renewed escalation, with fresh indicators to watch. Full FPB: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/trump-pu... #Ukraine #Geopolitics #ISRS #Diplomacy

Russia’s cognitive warfare playbook is live in Moldova: Telegram bots, fake scandals, and dark money ahead of September’s election. www.isrs.ngo/fpb/moscows-...

Why can’t China afford a Russian loss? Because if Moscow loses, the U.S. can pivot fully to Asia, and Taiwan moves to center stage. This isn’t neutrality. It’s strategy. www.isrs.ngo/fpb/why-chin...

“It’s not just code, it’s credibility.” Secret Blizzard disguised its malware as Kaspersky, exploiting a banned brand to slip into high-value systems Threat intel expert Jake Warren says "it’s about exploiting trust" Read the full Flashpoint Briefing: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/secret-b...

The UK’s Online Safety Act was meant to protect users. But it may be doing the opposite. @mrr3b00t.bsky.social weighs in, urging policymakers to form a challenge advisory board of practitioners in cyber, intel, and privacy to prevent unintended consequences. www.isrs.ngo/fpb/how-the-...

China is exporting more than fiber to Central Asia. They’re embedding digital control -- surveillance, telecom lock-in, and hidden backdoors. ISRS calls it digital soft-colonialism. Here’s what’s at stake → www.isrs.ngo/fpb/chinas-e...

From hacktivists to criminal proxies, the line between combatant and civilian is blurring fast: lieber.westpoint.edu/non-state-cy...

Spain just gave Huawei access to its wiretap systems. This isn’t just a tech contract, it’s a trust crisis. In @thecipherbrief.bsky.social, we explain why Europe needs serious intelligence guardrails. Read here: www.thecipherbrief.com/huawei-spain... #Huawei #CyberSecurity #Europe #IntelFailure

🧵 Russia’s drones aren’t just made in Russia. They’re powered by China. Engines. Electronics. Even HW‑T8‑80F pick‑and‑place machines building the circuit boards that guide kamikaze strikes on Ukraine. Let’s break down the hidden supply chain /1

North Korea’s freelance IT operatives are infiltrating global companies. ISRS Advisory Council member @malwarejake.bsky.social warns: “If these ops are revenue-driven, you’re highly unlikely to detect DPRK actors through technical means alone.” Read more: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/north-ko...

Flashpoint Briefing: China’s naval provocations are no longer confined to the South China Sea. From lasers in the Red Sea to standoffs in the Yellow Sea, Beijing is testing global boundaries: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/china-es... #Geopolitics #MaritimeSecurity #ISRS

🇺🇦 “This call reaffirms U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.” ISRS Board Member Mykola Volkivskyi spoke to AlQahera News about the Zelensky–Trump call & Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure. Watch: youtu.be/shlCRwI6_3A?...

🇫🇷 “France must lead on energy security—because no one else can.” ISRS’s Brigham McCown outlines why France is critical to securing Europe’s future at Les Rencontres Économiques in Aix. www.lesrencontreseconomiques.fr/en/debats-id... #EnergySecurity #Geopolitics #LesRencontresEconomiques #EU

Iran launched missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar. No casualties. Maximum message. Read the full breakdown from ISRS: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/iran-ret... #FlashpointBriefing #ISRS #Geostrategy

U.S. strikes Iran. Enrichment at 60% = no civilian use. This was about deterrence. ISRS Flashpoint Briefing: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/us-strik...

The ICC doesn't really even have the option to run email securely on-prem with Exchange anymore as MSFT phases it out. I just read this article from @davevenable.com on diversifying your dependencies and it sure feels relevant to the ICC right now: www.thecipherbrief.com/cyber-critic...

New from ISRS Chair @davevenable.com for @thecipherbrief.bsky.social The next war won’t target cities, it will target chokepoints. Critical infrastructure is now the frontline of strategic disruption. Read why resilience is the new deterrence: 🔗 www.thecipherbrief.com/cyber-critic...

ISRS's Brigham McCown is speaking at #LesRencontres2025 in Aix-en-Provence. We’re proud to contribute to shaping the dialogue on global security, economic stability, and infrastructure resilience

Here's what you need to understand about the Israel-Iran Escalation: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/flashpoi...

🇺🇸 Honoring 250 Years of Service 🇺🇸 The ISRS team is incredibly honored to join senior leadership at Fort Bragg to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It was a powerful reminder of the enduring importance of transatlantic unity, defense cooperation, and strategic resilience.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 -- 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺𝗶𝗰? Ukraine’s recent drone strike campaign revealed more than military capability, it exposed a strategic shift in how war is planned, fought, and won. New Flashpoint Briefing: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/flashpoi...

🛰️ 117 drones. 5 airbases. A new era of asymmetric warfare. Our latest 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴 breaks down how low-cost, high-impact tactics are redrawing the lines of deterrence, vulnerability, and military power. Read more: www.isrs.ngo/fpb/fpb1

Exciting News! ISRS Board Member Brigham McCown will join Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy in a fireside chat at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference on June 3, 2025, in Anchorage. Together, they’ll explore the intersection of sustainable energy, national security, and strategic infrastructure.

Today, ISRS participated in strategic intelligence and security discussions with the Spanish Senate. We are working together for a safer, more resilient future.

We are proud to announce that our Chairman, @davevenable.com, has been selected to join the United States delegation for high-level security discussions at the Spanish Senate in Madrid, May 2025.

Fascinating read on “the memetic upstream of mainstream opinion” sriramk.substack.com/p/group-chat...

Our ISRS lapel pins are ready, and so are we. Stay tuned for upcoming events where global security, resilience, and leadership take center stage.

As I testified to congress, I’m worried about TP-Link products! Breaking: DOJ “criminal antitrust investigation into pricing strategies by TP-Link Systems Inc, a California-based router maker with links to China whose equipment now dominates the American market” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Authoritarianism doesn’t announce itself, it creeps in. From captured media to silent courts, subtle shifts erode the foundations of democracy long before collapse is visible. 🔎 Swipe through the 5 signs of democratic backsliding, and learn how to spot the danger early.

Not all cyber threats are created equal. 🔍 Cyber espionage is stealthy, strategic, and often state-sponsored. 💥 Cyber attacks are loud, disruptive, and immediate. They are designed to damage, destroy, or coerce. Understanding the distinction shapes how nations prepare, respond, and defend.

Great read from Christian Baghai: christianbaghai.medium.com/the-war-you-...

We use reconstruction as an opportunity to leap ahead.

Real security demands more than reports. It demands results.

ISRS partners with local institutions to build sustainable peace and resilience after conflict. Rather than rebuilding, our philosophy is to use technology and innovation to transform recovery into a bold act of creation and use it to leap ahead without constraint.

In today’s interconnected world, defending cyberspace is defending democracy. At ISRS, we develop strategic approaches to strengthen cybersecurity and protect the integrity of information across borders. Our work bridges policy, technology, and international cooperation to secure what matters most.

The Institute for Strategic Risk and Security (ISRS) is a Geneva-based nongovernmental organization dedicated to fostering global security and stability, and focused on Resilience, Cyber, and Post-Conflict.