Category: Information Security

Civic technology: defending democracy in the digital age

     

  Unless we take action, chatbots could seriously endanger our democracy, and not just when they go haywire, notes Jamie Susskind, a past fellow of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet… Read more »

Factory of lies: Russia’s disinformation playbook exposed

     

Authorities on the democratic island of Taiwan say they are battling an influx of disinformation from sources backed by the Chinese Communist Party, ahead of local elections later this month,… Read more »

Digital authoritarianism grows, net freedom declines, democracy ‘withers’

     

Democracy is “withering” under the influence of growing digital authoritarianism, with China especially culpable for its efforts to export its Great Firewall of internet censorship, a watchdog group warned today…. Read more »

A force multiplier for advancing democracy, cybersecurity in the digital age

     

McAfee, a more than 30-year old company traditionally known for is anti-virus software, just became the latest cybersecurity firm to release research into the spread of false information that could influence elections,… Read more »

Facebook ‘war room’ counters disinformation (but tech has corroded democracy)

     

Facebook is reportedly delighted with the performance of its anti-disinformation “war room” during Brazil’s presidential election. But despite Facebook’s stronger and more organized coordination of its effort to improve election-related… Read more »

Civil society ‘plays crucial role’ in spreading – and combating – disinformation

     

Facebook is working on building a war room (both in the physical sense and in the staffing sense) to protect elections, POLITICO reports. More than 300 people across the company are… Read more »

Russia and the West fighting a ‘disinformation-age battle’

     

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused Russia on Monday of attempting to influence the outcome of a referendum in Macedonia on changing the country’s name that would open the way… Read more »

Why Technology Favors Tyranny

     

The emergence of liberal democracies is associated with ideals of liberty and equality that may seem self-evident and irreversible. But these ideals are far more fragile than we believe. Their… Read more »

Disinformation: Facebook uncovers new active influence operation

     

Facebook said Tuesday that it had discovered a sophisticated coordinated disinformation operation on its platform involving 32 false pages and profiles engaging in divisive messaging ahead of the U.S. midterm… Read more »

Combating Disinformation: The Case for Stepping Up the Fight Online

     

  Social media firms should establish “specialized Russian-focused teams” staffed with experts in Russian language, culture, and internet practices, according to a new report. “Combating Russian Disinformation: The Case for… Read more »