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Interfor’s Weekly Digest | Global Security and Policy Insights – May 16, 2023
Global Security Matters
National Security
- After being detained in China for more than two years, a 78-year-old US citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges. John Shing-Wan Leung holds a permanent residence in Hong Kong and was detained in 2021 by China’s counterintelligence agency and $70,000 of his property was confiscated. The sentence comes as multiple Americans were detained on similar charges in Russia.
Foreign Affairs
- After his arrest, Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, called for nationwide “freedom” protests on Sunday. Khan’s detention was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court on Friday and he was freed on bail. Supporters set fire to government buildings and damaged military property. The unrest resulted in at least nine deaths.
- The White House said Monday that the US is seeing more indications that Russia and Iran are expanding a defense partnership that will help Russia prolong the war in Ukraine. Iran is providing Russia with one-way attack drones and has provided over 400 since August. National security adviser John Kirby said the US will be announcing additional designations targeting increased military cooperation between Russia and Iran.
Maritime
- The White House announced that the US Navy will begin to strengthen its defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf region in response to Iran’s increased harassment of commercial vessels. Iranian state media announced that Iranian forces have taken control of a third tanker. The US reports that 15 internationally flagged commercial vessels have been harassed, attacked, or interfered with by Iranian forces. In response to Iran’s unlawful activity, members of US House of Representatives and Senate have introduced a bill that calls on the US Department of Defense to develop a strategy with Middle East allies to counter maritime threats in the region.
Cyber
- The Justice Department announced the completion of a court-authorized operation, code-named MEDUS. The FBI disrupted a network of hacked computers which were reportedly hacked through sophisticated malware called “Snake” by Russian spies from a unit within Center 16 of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). The FSB has allegedly been using this malware for 20 years to steal sensitive information from over 50 countries.
- FBI data highlights that cybercrime against children rose by 20% in 2022. Between 2015 to 2022 more than 14,000 children were victimized online, resulting in $2.9 million in costs. The data, cited by cybersecurity analyst Surfshark, suggests that seven underage victims are at risk per day.
Covid-19 & Pandemics
- The coronavirus pandemic, officially ending this week, killed a staggering 1.13 million Americans.
- The Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is no longer available in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Resources:
- US Department of State Travel Advisories
- CISA: nation-state cybersecurity threats and other resources for cybersecurity matters.
- Our most recent blog post looks at what the Pentagon leaks can teach about protecting classified information.