Ideas

Best of 2019: Editor's Choice

Even with several best-of lists, it's hard to choose among the thousands of articles we published this year. Here are a few notables that we haven't noted elsewhere.

Ideas

Best of 2019: Ideas

Revisit some of the best op-eds and commentary we had the privilege of publishing over the past year.

Ideas

Best of 2019: Defense One Radio

Review the year that was — and consider what's next — with episodes from our award-winning podcast.

Threats

Ep. 61: Influence operations in 2020

In 2016, Moscow sowed division with fake news. Today, Russian agents simply reflect the things Americans say about each other.

Threats

Who’s Really to Blame for the ‘Ukraine Did It’ Conspiracy Theory?

Judging on the basis of public evidence, the narrative about Ukraine was propagated first and foremost by Americans, not Russian disinformation puppeteers.

Ideas

GOP Lawmakers Used to Oppose Trump's Embrace of Russia. No More.

High-ranking Republicans are now defending the president with debunked claims that national security experts say play right into Putin's hands.

Threats

Britain’s Secret War With Russia

The poisoning of a double agent sparked an intelligence and PR battle between London and Moscow, the details of which are only now emerging.

Science & Tech

Energy Dept. Has Thousands of 'Critical' Cyber Security Gaps, Auditors Say

Their review, which included locations operated by the National Nuclear Security Administration, revealed multiple cybersecurity weaknesses recurring year after year.

Policy

China’s Largest Telecom May Sue You For Criticizing It

Huawei is trying to use French libel laws to punish a Western researcher. Will it work?

Ideas

'Some of You on this Committee Appear to Believe' That Russia Didn't Meddle in 2016

In testimony, a former senior director for European and Russian affairs on Trump's National Security Council tells lawmakers to stop spreading Moscow's lies.

Science & Tech

Russia Will Test Its Ability to Disconnect from the Internet

The nascent RuNet is meant to allow the country to survive an attack — and Putin to monitor and control the population.

Ideas

LIVESTREAM: 2019 Global Security Forum Day 2

The two-day conference will explore the security challenges of modern disinformation and its implications for an increasingly interconnected world.

Ideas

LIVESTREAM: 2019 Global Security Forum Day 1

The two-day conference will explore the security challenges of modern disinformation and its implications for an increasingly interconnected world.

Ideas

New Tech Aims to Help Societies Learn to Spot Fake News

Qatar’s QCRI and Finland’s Faktabaari make tools that help users from all over the political spectrum realize when they’re getting played.

Ideas

To Fight Disinformation, Rethink Counterintelligence

For too long, the focus of U.S. counterintelligence has been safeguarding government secrets and corporate intellectual property.

Ideas

The Magpies and the Cuckoos: A Disinformation Fable

The magpies have a complex and vigorous society. What happens when two conniving cuckoos come to town?

Science & Tech

Fight Deepfakes with Cyberweapons and Sanctions, Experts Tell Congress

Social media companies and the federal government must help fight hyper-realistic misinformation, witnesses told the House Intelligence Committee.

Ideas

Vetting Foreigners’ Facebook Feeds Won’t Make Americans Safer

The federal government wants visa applicants to cough up their social-media handles.

Science & Tech

Telegram: Hackers in China Disrupted Service During Hong Kong Protests

Bogus signals inundated an encrypted-messaging service that helped demonstrators coordinate, the company says.