CISAC - News Page
Russia maintains the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and the most powerful conventional military forces in Europe. Russian military units currently are deployed — uninvited and unwanted — in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.
The abject failure of Russian policy toward Ukraine over the past seven years suggests Vladimir Putin has a flawed understanding of the country.
As Russian troops gather on Ukraine’s borders, the outstanding question is whether Russian President Putin is prepared to bear the domestic and international costs of a full-scale invasion or if he’ll stop at pressuring NATO and the West for political concessions.
China’s state-linked influence operations get very little engagement on Twitter.
I have struggled to find something with which I disagree in Michael Fischerkeller’s response to my thought experiment adopting the 2018 U.S. Cyber Command (USCC) Command Vision. A couple of such points are addressed below, but for the most part I agree with him. He does make one claim that I find surprising.
Is Russia preparing for war?
As Russia builds up forces near Ukraine, it continues to insist its troops are there simply to conduct military exercises. While exercises are routine, they have also historically been used by Russia and others to prepare for war and to cover up plans for surprise attacks.
President Xi Jinping recently announced that China wants to adhere to Southeast Asia’s nuclear-free zone “as early as possible" to become the first nuclear state to join the pact. Musto finds that Xi wants to act now in order to distract from China’s nuclear build-up and, more importantly, counter the AUKUS security partnership.
US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke via video link for around two hours on December 7 in a hastily arranged virtual summit to address international concerns over a major Russian military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine.
Will Russia Invade Ukraine?
All eyes are on Ukraine (including ours). Steven Pifer, a William J. Perry Research Fellow at CISAC and former ambassador to Ukraine, joins co-host Tom Collina to discuss Putin’s motivations for Ukraine and more.
What Biden should say to Putin on Ukraine
What Biden should say to Putin on Ukraine
President Joe Biden will hold a secure video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin December 7 against the backdrop of a menacing Russian military build-up near Ukraine. U.S. intelligence believes the Russians may amass 175,000 troops near its western neighbor early in 2022.
Much of the technology now controlling US nuclear weapons was produced before the rise of the Internet. Newer technology will improve aspects of command, control, and communications related to the US nuclear arsenal. But if not carefully planned, the updating of nuclear technology could also increase risk in distinct ways that Herbert Lin explains in the following interview.
On the World Class podcast, Oriana Skylar Mastro argues that in order to set effective policy toward China, the United States needs to better understand how and why China is projecting power.
Why Do Governments Reveal Cyber Intrusions?
Germany held federal elections Sept. 26 to select the new members of the Bundestag. Neither of the leading parties secured enough seats to govern alone. While the three parties likely to constitute Germany’s next governing coalition announced are close to a deal, concerns of election meddling and cyber intrusions have made the political situation more complex.
Drew Endy is squarely focused on the potential of redesigning organisms for useful purposes. He also acknowledges significant challenges.
After months of watching hundreds of new nuclear missile silos being dug in the dirt northwest of Beijing, it is welcome news that President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping seemingly agreed at last week’s summit on the need for strategic stability talks.
Opposition lawmakers in Brazil voted in favor of charging the president with crimes against humanity for downplaying and mishandling the pandemic.
As if living in space weren’t difficult enough. The Russian military recently tested a direct-ascent antisatellite, or ASAT, missile on an old Soviet orbital, Cosmos 1408.
Countries like Belarus are counting on E.U. governments to see refugees as a security threat.
Will Putin Miscalculate?
Europe currently faces several crises exploited or instigated by Russia. Speculation runs rampant regarding what Vladimir Putin hopes to achieve. He should take care not to overplay his hand.
China’s President Xi Jinping can “100 per cent” be trusted and warned western nations would be making a “big mistake” if they didn’t take the superpower’s threats to forcefully retake Taiwan seriously, says Stanford University’s Oriana Skylar Mastro.
The US Justice Department’s arrest of several affiliates of the Russian-speaking REvil ransomware group comes a month after Washington hosted a virtual international summit on ransomware attacks. The decision to leave Russia out of the summit will inevitably limit the effectiveness of the operation.
Following a recent test in China, Cameron Tracy talks to the BBC about a new breed of hypersonic missiles and whether they will make the world a more dangerous place.
The nation spends billions of dollars on cybersecurity measures, and yet we seem unable to get ahead of this problem. Why are our computers so hard to protect? An experience with a house cat provided insights.
A Nature survey reveals that many authors of the latest IPCC climate-science report--including Paul N. Edwards--are anxious about the future and expect to see catastrophic changes in their lifetimes.