Nothing says Christmas week like sitting down to read about the ghosts of cybersecurity strategies past, present, and yet to come. With thanks to @lawfaremedia.org for publishing.

Two more examples: shielded Jonathan Powell from all but one begrudging private JCNSS meeting (no good reason not to appear, it’s just because he can); & recent ISC report indicates its budget/staff/remit could/should be better. Quick wins for a government serious about doing scrutiny better.

The big aid cut was always going to have international security implications, once decisions started to be made about where it fell. Is this the first reported impact on the UK’s international cyber priorities too?

Exclusive: The UK's elections watchdog says it's taken three years and at least a quarter of a million pounds to fully recover from a hack that saw the private details of 40m voters accessed by Chinese cyber spies. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

RUSI @rusi.bsky.social invited experts to discuss strengthening UK cyber defences ahead of the new cyber strategy. Dr @joedevanny.bsky.social emphasises doing more with existing resources through strategic collaboration across government, industry & international partners. 🔗Read: bit.ly/423GwQT

Dr Joe Devanny (@joedevanny.bsky.social) explains that "using #foreignfighters is a way for #Russia to increase numbers while mitigating the domestic costs of the war." However, he adds that many have been recruited through coercion and false promises. 🔗Read more: bit.ly/4mR1eeL #UkraineWar

How can #disinformation shape public perception? A report claiming Russia captured UK operatives was false. The image was AI-generated; the individuals don’t exist. "Disinformation doesn't need to be sophisticated to have an impact." - Dr @joedevanny.bsky.social. Read more: 🔗 bit.ly/4mFOdEQ

Another interesting @washingtonpost.com tech story from this weekend, this time a Catholic chatbot. www.washingtonpost.com/religion/202...

A very nostalgic read for people of a certain age, symbolising how the internet changed media consumption incredibly quickly.

💭 In this commentary for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dr Joe Devanny considers how effectively international efforts are improving global cyber diplomacy 👇 🔗 bit.ly/3ISa9xS #CyberDiplomacy #DigitalDiplomacy @carnegieendowment.org @joedevanny.bsky.social

Is Putin preparing to challenge Europe within three years? Dr @joedevanny.bsky.social highlights the deterrent effect of NATO, stating: "There is a difference between Putin being “ready” to use military force against Nato and his actually deciding to do it". Read more: bit.ly/3ZXE9Os

The SDR outlines sensible steps to improve defence in the cyber domain. But it leaves details to be developed, particularly about how the UK should operate in cyberspace, writes @joedevanny.bsky.social.

London was looking nice today from atop Bush House, for the @warstudieskcl.bsky.social undergraduate open day.

Dr @joedevanny.bsky.social explores the complex challenges facing the Omagh Bombing Inquiry: “There is huge expectation on the Inquiry, but it faces the very difficult task of making contextually complex, historical judgements." @instituteforgov.bsky.social Learn more: bit.ly/4lG3h5M

UK election interference threat grows after Trump's cyber defence cuts | Alongside others, I spoke to @richardholmes.bsky.social for this @theipaper.com article, inews.co.uk/news/uk-elec...

There is huge expectation on the Omagh Bombing Inquiry but it faces a very difficult task of contextually complex, historical judgement. Read our latest guest comment from @joedevanny.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/omag...

So it turns out a delegate from the U.S. National Security Council managed to fluster quite a few European counterparts by suggesting the U.S. might take lethal action against irresponsible spyware companies during the Pall Mall Process conference in Paris last week...

📺South Africa, like other middle ground nations, must navigate the differences in how democratic and authoritarian countries want to regulate the internet. What are its global cybersecurity policies, and what's unique about its cyber statecraft? Full video on our website: bit.ly/4iYzweH

One striking thing in memoirs from Trump 1.0 is how destabilised the admin was by vying for influence. Specifics may be surprising, but the broader trend isn’t. Which isn’t to say this trend is good. Difficult to see how any admin would benefit from this disorder.

🚨We are thrilled to share a new paper on India’s Cyber Statecraft by #EISS Technology Coordinator @apb-laudrain.bsky.social & @joedevanny.bsky.social for @carnegieendowment.org The paper is part of EPSRC-Dstl Cyber Statecraft Proj 🔗 Read the full text here: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

In a new paper with @joedevanny.bsky.social for @lawfare.bsky.social, we use the "Pacific Rim" campaign by @sophossecurity.bsky.social as an opportunity to further the understanding of norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace and counter-cyber operations (CCO)/active cyber defense (ACD). 🧵/5

Sophos, a developer of endpoint protection software, recently disclosed its active cyber defense campaign, Pacific Rim. Michael Genkin and @joedevanny.bsky.social explore why the campaign was effective and what lessons it has for responding to threat actors in the future.

Allies and cyber operations: UK implications of a reported Trump/Russia decision | A quick post about how decisions in US cyber strategy can affect UK cyber statecraft | joedevanny.substack.com/p/allies-and...

In today’s @kauppalehti.bsky.social, I discuss how access to IT should not be taken for granted. We need to consider the possibility that access to IT will also be utilized as a tool for great power politics. @warstudieskcl.bsky.social @mikaaaltola.bsky.social @joedevanny.bsky.social

Interesting to think through the decision from Trump’s perspective. Vetoing this deal doesn’t exclude a future deal, so is there reason to think a future deal would likely be worse for the US, or that Starmer’s string of negative hypotheticals would likely occur in the meantime?

Can already recommend this as a cyber diplomacy teaching resource. We discussed Michele Markoff’s chapter today in our @warstudieskcl.bsky.social debate on the evolution of the UN cyber norms process.

Humbled and excited to be appointed as Visiting Professor @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social @warstudieskcl.bsky.social ! Links to LinkedIn video in comments. @mikaaaltola.bsky.social | @vpkivimaki.bsky.social www.kcl.ac.uk/people/valtt...

This short thread points out really well some of the conceptual historical challenges the Omagh Inquiry faces.

Hearing first from the bereaved and survivors is a very moving and powerful way to start the public hearings of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry. Reading the inquiry’s terms of reference, I was struck by how historically challenging some of its judgements will be for the Inquiry to make.

Personalising this - particularly around Lammy on the UK end - is likely to lead you into error. The piece itself is more nuanced and runs though the areas where the UK will be waiting to see what Trump wants to do next.

This is an important point: not just the “facts” but the cited sources themselves can be fabricated. Thorough checking is indispensable.

The fate of the State Department’s cyber bureau under Trump was something we discussed today in the first @warstudieskcl.bsky.social Cyber Diplomacy class of the semester. This exit interview with Nate Fick highlights some key points to watch out for in Trump’s international cyber strategy.

Safe to predict that this will be a really interesting event about ransomware and countering it.

Well worth reading the insightful thread below on the underlying assumptions of a ransomware payment ban. I'll just add to it here these paragraphs from yesteryear (therecord.media/uk-urged-to-...) in a story about calls for a more proactive approach to disrupt those behind the attacks.

The UK consultation on ransomware payment bans, restrictions and reporting rests on a victim-focused theory of change: if fewer UK victims pay, then fewer criminals will target the UK.

If you’ve been reading the various administration exit interviews/profiles, including re: Sullivan, I would definitely recommend adding this to your list.

There’s quite a lot about this negotiation that the UK could and should have communicated more clearly and quickly. This seems a case in point.

There are three recent decisions, all of which bear on UK foreign policy, that I’ve been thinking about today: the China gamble; the Chagos deal; and Tulip Siddiq. I think they each say something different about Starmer’s government.

Honestly baffled they took so long to get to this point. Genuine question about how much worse this was politically than if the ‘resign to avoid distraction’ card had been played, say, before Christmas. It’s now much more reactive than it would have been earlier.

It surprises me that the government seems unable to clearly explain their urgency to wrap this up pre-Trump. Would it be so bad if they fail? Is the status quo untenable for another 4 years? Would the terms be any worse if we tried again at a later date? Their rush just seems odd & poorly explained.

Compare to deflating the story with early resignation, then bringing her back once exonerated. It’s odd to me that they are doing it this way. Unless, I guess, they are confident of the outcome of the review, that this will shut the story down, & that weeks of bad press are a price worth paying.

Starmer seems willing to endure on-going negative press for a relatively junior minister. Under Blair, you would have thought ‘resign so as not to be a distraction’ would have happened by now, in part not to cede the initiative to opposition calls for it to happen.

“Rather than hankering after the imagined common values of a bygone age, U.S. allies and partners would do well to regard the foreign policy of Trump’s second administration as a return to the natural position of the United States,” writes Bilahari Kausikan.

The text (political content redacted) of this week’s UK Foreign Secretary speech. Some interesting notes, mostly different emphases from previous admin. Lammy pledges an upgraded data science unit will be at FCDO’s core. Something for the Select Committee to follow up? www.gov.uk/government/s...

📺Exerting influence in cyberspace means states must embrace cyber statecraft. But what is 'cyber statecraft'? And why do we need another cyber-related concept? @abarrinha.bsky.social (@uniofbath.bsky.social), explains below - full video on our website: bit.ly/4fKpCLe

Alex has been following this from the very beginning & this is a great stocktake of Pall Mall 1 Year On. Problems obvious now were obvious at the outset, both intrinsic to the process, & the US elephant in the room. I don’t think PMP does any harm, but it does little to address the core problems.

Not the main issue here, but from Musk’s perspective, surely his strategic goal should be Labour losing the election, not changing its leader prior to that? Unless he sees a link - i.e. victory lies in Lab disarray. But who’s to say a post-Starmer leader wouldn’t do better?

A mixed bag of ideas in this oped from UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Still trying to make “progressive realism” a thing. Sceptical about his prominent stress on sanctions, & would like to hear more about his plans to reform FCDO to deliver better domestically. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

@virtualroutes.bsky.social is looking for a Senior Researcher to join our team and contribute to projects at the intersection of cybersecurity, emerging tech, and multilateralism. virtual-routes.org/job-board/se...