Who hacked Poland's opposition?

The phones of dissident lawmakers and an opposition prosecutor have been hacked using the Pegasus spyware. Poland's government, however, shows little interest in finding the culprits.

   

Computer experts say there is no protection against spyware such as Pegasus

In July 2021, an international consortium of journalists published an in-depth investigation revealing how the Israeli Pegasus spyware had been used by a range of autocratic states such Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda and Morocco to snoop on politicians, correspondents and human rights activists. The only EU country known to have utilized the software was Hungary.

Now, half a year later, details are emerging that suggest Poland's incumbent government, led by the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, may be mired in a Pegasus scandal of its own. Krzysztof Brejza, a leading lawmaker with the opposition Civic Platform (PO), said in late December 2021 that his smartphone had been hacked 33 times between April and October 2019.

It was during this time that Brejza directed his party's election team ahead of the parliamentary polls on October 13, 2019. During this period Polish public broadcaster TVP accused Brejza of waging a vitriolic campaign against his political enemies, citing fake emails to back up the claim. Brejza thinks the timing of the accusation was "no coincide." The 38-year old says emails were downloaded from his phone during this time and later manipulated to cast him in a bad light.

Brejza says his phone was hacked numerous times to discredit his opposition work

Brejza was not the only Polish politician to have come under surveillance. Roman Giertych, a prominent opposition lawyer, who once served as interior minister, says his phone was hacked 18 times. Traces of six hacks between June and August 2021 were also detected on the phone of Polish prosecutor Ewa Wrzosek, who had criticized the Polish government over its controversial plans to introduce postal voting for the 2020 presidential election, and who also works for the opposition Association of Polish Independent Prosecutors, "Lex Super Omnia."

What is Pegasus?

The Pegasus spyware was developed by Israeli technology firm NSO. It is sold to states around the world to aid their fight against terrorism and organized crime. Pegasus is capable of snooping on iPhones and Android-based smartphones in real time, it can record conversations, register Geo data and secretly active cameras. Computer experts say there is no protection against such spyware.

NSO is based in Herzliya, Isreal

Brejza learned he had been hacked from an Associated Press (AP) report; Wrzosek found out her device had been compromised from smartphone-maker Apple. Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at Toronto University, confirmed the hacks. Polish opposition figures are calling this a "Polish Watergate" movement, and are demanding a special parliamentary inquiry, fearing previous elections could have been compromised.

Government denies any knowledge

The government, meanwhile, says it is unaware of any wrongdoing. Speaking with journalists in late 2021, Deputy Justice Minister Michal Wos said "I do not know which system you are asking about, I do not know what system this is." Wos added that Justice Minister and Public Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro was similarly unaware of any illegal surveillance measures of this kind. Indeed, the public prosecutor's office has shown conspicuously little interest in the affair. Opposition lawmaker Brejzas' attorney has filed charges but so far no proceedings have been launched. Wrzosek, who has also sought legal action, has her case dismissed, with authorities citing a lack of evidence.

In early January, Deputy Justice Minister Wos made light of the affair on Twitter, posting a picture of a PlayStation gaming console with the caption: "This is the Pegasus I bought in the 90s." Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, meanwhile, has alluded the phone hacking scandal could have been the work of foreign intelligence agencies, of which "there are many in the world."

Top-level deal

Recently, however, a spate of documents have surfaced shedding yet more light on the spyware affair. On December 3, 2021, Polish left-wing-liberal dailyGazeta Wyborcza revealed how back in July 2017, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Poland's then-Prime Minster Beata Szydlo and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The newspaper reports that this is when the decision to buy the Pegasus spyware was reached.

Hungary is the only EU country known to have used the spy software

Gazeta Wyborcza reports the Polish government sought to conceal the 25-million Zloty ($6 million, €5.5 million) purchase by taking the money out of a fund for crime victims, overseen by the Justice Ministry, instead of having the CentralAnti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) foot the bill. To make this possible, Polish parliament had to change the fund's status. The paper says Deputy Justice Minister Wos submitted the request to the financial committee. Lawmakers were never, however, informed the funds were earmarked to buy spyware, says Gazeta Wyborcza.

Spoiled for choice

Israel has reportedly reduced to number of states licensed to use Pegasus from over 100 to a mere 37. Hungary and Poland are among the countries who had their license revoked. Poland's opposition, however, doubts this will put and end to the surveillance program.

"In the coming days, we will learn the names and phone number of more surveillance victims," says Grzegorz Schetyna, a founding member of PO, who once served as interior and foreign minister. Security expert Piotr Niemczyk, meanwhile, points out that other spyware alternatives are already on the market: North Macedonia-based Israeli cybersecurity company Cytrox has developed Predator, a pendant to Pegasus.

On Dezember 27, 2021, PiS leader and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski assuaged the Polish public when he said "I'm only half joking when I tell you to use a phone like mine: an old, used device, that records videos, if you know which button to push." It is well known that Kaczynski is deeply skeptical of modern technology.

This article was translated from German.

How the rich are profiting from the water crisis

Dec 31, 2021


DW Planet A

More and more regions around the world are running out of water. At the same time, companies and their investors are getting richer the drier it gets. Can we fix this? We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

Herd the moos? Latvia's symbolic blue cow back from the brink

by Imants Liepinsh

Driven to near extinction during the Soviet era, the Latvian blue cow has made a comeback 

over the last few decades.

Once a rarity, cows with light blue or dark ultramarine hides may again be glimpsed grazing on the Latvian countryside among the regular brown, black or white spotted cattle.

The unique and hardy breed, driven to near extinction during the Soviet era, has made a comeback over the last few decades as an unlikely symbol of Latvian national identity.

"Their worst days are over," said Arnis Bergmanis, head of the Ciruli animal park in the village of Kalvene, which serves as a breeding facility for the cattle.

"Blue cows are unique and wonderful. I'm glad we can help them thrive," he told AFP while examining a baby calf.

In 2000 there were only 18 blue cows in Latvia, but today they number around 1,500—thoroughbreds as well as hybrids.

Originally found only on the Baltic coast in the Kurzeme region, they are increasingly popular in central areas too.

"We are happy to help every new farmer or guesthouse owner get their own special blue cow," Bergmanis said.

Rural innkeepers acquire the cattle as a tourist attraction, while farmers include a token blue cow in their herd for its strong maternal instinct.

"If a calf of any colour loses its mother or gets separated, the blue cow will take the calf and raise it as its own," Bergmanis said.

'Their worst days are over,' says Arnis Bergmanis, head of the Ciruli animal park in the 

village of Kalvene, which serves as a breeding facility for the blue cow.

Cultural symbol

Blue cows evolved on the coast, where they led a spartan lifestyle, able to subsist on bush branches and dune grass—fodder considered inedible by other cattle.

Legend has it that they get their colour from the sea, though in fact they are born almost beige. Their coat soon turns blue however and gets darker with the years.

The pigment also influences the muscular tissue, producing beef that is exceptionally dark, though their numbers have always been too low for meat sales on a mass scale.

When the communists came to power under the Soviet occupation, they put an emphasis on mass production of beef and dairy. They favoured more generic cattle, causing the blue cow to almost go extinct.

But theatre, of all things, saved the day.

Following the highly popular 1970s play "The Blue One" by Latvian playwright Gunars Priede, the special cattle returned to public consciousness, becoming a symbol of vanishing national identity.

Under the Soviets, emphasis was placed on mass production of beef and dairy, favouring 

more generic cattle and causing the blue cow to almost go extinct.

In 2006, farmers, scientists and enthusiasts founded the Blue Cow Association to safeguard the breed.

The government meanwhile offers special subsidies for owners of blue cows.

'Strong, independent'

Blue cows provide less milk than your average cattle—around 5,000 litres (1,300 gallons) per cow per year compared to 8,000 for the Holstein breed—but the milk is healthier and more nutritious.

They also stand out for their ability to thrive in harsh conditions, according to Daiga Simkevica, head of the Blue Cow Association.

"The strong, independent and robust blue cow can live all year round outdoors, even during the winter frosts, which many other cattle breeds can't endure," she told AFP.

The Blue Cow Association organises seminars for farmers, keeps meticulous records to avoid inbreeding, works to keep the population growing and also does research on the cattle.

Thanks to a highly popular 1970s stage play, the blue cow returned to public consciousness

, becoming a symbol of vanishing national identity .

"In the future we hope to carry out full DNA analysis to identify those genes that are unique to the blue cow," Simkevica said.

"We've never had a blue cow catch the bovine leukosis virus, therefore we hope to identify genes that might benefit all other cows too."More interaction with humans means smaller brains for cows

© 2022 AFP

Taiwan LGTBQ community buoyed by court adoption ruling

Taiwanese activists said Wednesday a court decision allowing a married gay man to adopt his husband's non-biological child offered hope but they called for the government to grant adoption equality to all same-sex couples.

© Sam Yeh

 Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement in Asia and became the first place in the region to legalise marriage equality in 2019

Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement in Asia and became the first place in the region to legalise marriage equality in 2019.

But same-sex couples still face restrictions others do not.

They can only adopt a partner's biological child and can only wed foreigners from countries where gay unions are also legal.

In the first favourable ruling of its kind in Taiwan, a family court in Kaohsiung city allowed a 34-year-old man to become the legal guardian of his spouse's daughter, who his husband adopted before they married.

The ruling, made public on Tuesday by activist groups after it went into effect, only applies to the couple.

But activists hope the decision will encourage other courts and local officials to follow suit and add to pressure on Taiwan's government to pass new legislation for full equality.

"I am happy that my spouse is also legally recognised as the father of our child... but I can't feel all that happy without amending the law," Wang Chen-wei, one of the claimants, told AFP.

"It's really absurd that same-sex people can adopt a child when they are single but they can't after they get married," the 38-year-old added.

Wang said he and his partner Chen Jun-ru would like to adopt a second child, but would have to go through the entire court process again.

Activist Jennifer Lu said the ruling offers "a ray of hope" but she noted that Taiwan's courts are inconsistent on the matter -- similar requests filed by two other same-sex couples were previously rejected.

"We hope the rulings serve as a reminder to government officials and lawmakers that the current unfair legal conditions need to be changed," said Lu, executive director for rights group Taiwan Equality Campaign.

The group has received enquiries from over 500 same-sex families interested in adopting non-biological children, she said.

Taiwan is home to a thriving LGBTQ community: a record 200,000 people attended a pride march in Taipei in 2019 to celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

At least 6,000 same-sex couples have wed since then.

That law came about after Taiwan's top court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

But same-sex marriage proved deeply divisive and the law contained restrictions that conservatives pushed for.

In May, a Taiwanese-Macanese gay couple won a similar court ruling that allowed them to wed even though Macau does not recognise gay marriage.

But like the adoption ruling, it only applies to their individual case.

aw/jta/dva

AFP

Thousands protest Argentina oil exploration project

AFP

Thousands marched Tuesday along the beaches of Argentina's Mar del Plata to protest an oil exploration project off the Atlantic coast.

© Diego Izquierdo The protesters marched along the beaches of Argentina's Mar del Plata

Carrying placards reading, "Oil is death", "A sea without oil tankers" and "No to pollution", demonstrators marched to drums, while classical dancers performed.

The group oppose a recent decision by center-left President Alberto Fernandez's administration authorizing seismic exploration studies by the Norwegian oil company Equinor, the Argentinian public firm YPF and Anglo-Dutch company Shell.

The work will take place in offshore areas of the Argentine Sea around 300 kilometers (186 miles) from beaches that attract millions of tourists.

These explorations "kill marine animals," said demonstration organizer Julieta, who declined to give her last name.

"If there is an accident, the oil spill could reach neighboring Uruguay," she added.

Surfer and lifeguard Juan Manuel Ballestero told AFP that he was against the exploration due to "disastrous data on oil spills in Brazil and Mexico."

Rallies were also staged in other Argentinian coastal cities.

Argentina holds extensive shale oil and gas deposits -- including the world's second-largest shale gas formation -- which the government hopes could be a driver of economic growth as it struggles to rebound from the pandemic.

dm/atm/llu/nzg/ybl/lb/axn

Ecuador, Colombia slam use of wild animal species after MasterChef episode

AFP - Yesterday

 

Capybara 

© STRINGER



Ecuador on Tuesday warned would-be wild animal eaters of possible prison time and Colombia launched an investigation after a competitive cooking TV show featured shark, alligator and capybara as ingredients.

In the offending episode, contestants of MasterChef Ecuador cooked up tollo, a small shark, as well as a type of wild deer and a capybara, a large rodent that can weigh up to 80 kilograms (175 lbs).

The National Animal Movement of Ecuador warned that the use of such ingredients on TV would "normalize the consumption of protected animals, whose ownership contributes to the trafficking of wild animals and the destruction of ecosystems."

Neither the channel nor the producers of the program responded to the charges leveled against them, though the show's chef and judge, Carolina Sanchez, claimed the meat was "from a farm."

In response to the program, which was filmed in Colombia, Ecuador's environment ministry said it "rejects the promotion and dissemination of graphic or audiovisual content that encourages the purchase and consumption of wild species or their constituent elements."

It also warned that crimes against wild flora and fauna can be punished with prison sentences of up to three years.

In Colombia, Environment Minister Carlos Eduardo Correa announced an investigation.

He said authorities "are verifying information circulating on social networks about the use of wildlife by-products in television programs.

"Trafficking and marketing of wildlife is a crime in Colombia," he wrote on Twitter.

MasterChef Ecuador, which is in its third season, is recorded in Colombia and broadcast on the privately owned national channel Teleamazonas.

pld-sp/jh/lb/ssy

Hi-tech AI-powered robots are replacing recycling centre workers in Finland

Image shows an AI-powered zenrobotics recycling robot at work. - Copyright zenrobotics

By Euronews and AP • Updated: 31/12/2021

On the outskirts of Finnish capital Helsinki, new technology is making recycling easier.

A recently-opened, 35-million-euro plant, owned by Finnish firm Remeo, can process up to 120,000 tonnes of construction waste, including wood, plastics, and metals.

It is said to be the most advanced recycling plant in Europe.

"We have thousands of thousands of customers, all industries," said Johan Mild, CEO of Remeo, which operates eight plants across Finland.

"From shopping malls, from production sites, from all over our customers, with our lorry it comes here."

An educational robot interacts with students at a Gaza school.

A fleet of 67 driverless 'robotaxis' have begun taking paying customers in Beijing

According to the European Union, the average European produces about five tonnes of waste a year, but only 38 per cent of that gets recycled. Over 36 per cent of all EU waste comes from construction.

Recycling waste is complicated due to the limited information on materials' content and quality.

"Unpure" items often cannot be recycled and reused as raw materials.

In several European countries, including Finland, some waste that can’t be recycled is sent to incineration plants, which produce power and heat, but also add to greenhouse gas emissions.

These arms, they never get tired and also they never get bored, and that makes them quite superior for a job like this. And frankly, given the amount of hazardous objects on the belt, it's really not a good place for people to put their hands on these kinds of sharp edges and other dangerous materials.
Harri Holopainen
CTO, ZenRobotics

"The whole industry basically has had the challenge that a lot of the waste goes for incineration," said Mild. "So, it's burnt up and that's not good for the nature and for the whole planet. So basically, what we now do is we try to raise the level of recycling."

This is where these quick-thinking AI-powered robots come in.

Several ZenRobotics heavy picker robots are helping sort wood from plastic, and metals from stone. The 12 robotic arms help capture valuable pure materials to boost recycling rates.

"The key thing for these robots is that they actually identify the waste objects on the belt," said Harri Holopainen, chief technology officer of Helsinki-based ZenRobotics, a company which has robots across 35 sites in around 20 countries.

"They look at each and every object that comes on the belt and then figure out whether it's wood, whether it's wood that has some nails in it, tiles or concrete, and then they put it in the correct chute for later processing."

Stanford engineers have taken a leaf out of nature’s book to build this bird robot

How robots and AI are besting humans at restoring ancient Roman masterpieces

How does it work?

A unit scans the waste with cameras, a 3D sensor system and a metal detector.

Its AI-powered brain then recognises and identifies the objects and determines the best gripping point.

Its machine vision has been trained on thousands of images of waste, meaning it can recognise over 350 "fractions", a term used to describe the various different types of waste.

The robot's dexterous arm - which can lift up to 30 kilos - then picks and drops the waste down specified chutes. It has billions of potential picking motions. Almost every pick planned by its software is unique.

"These arms, they never get tired and also they never get bored, and that makes them quite superior for a job like this," Holopainen said.

"And frankly, given the amount of hazardous objects on the belt, it's really not a good place for people to put their hands on these kinds of sharp edges and other dangerous materials."

Industries are coming under increasing pressure to raise recycle rates. In Europe, an strategy set to be adopted in early 2022, aims to boost textile recycling.

Dancing mini robots are helping to teach children in Seoul kindergartens

Meanwhile, China, which had long been the world's largest destination for paper, plastic, and other recyclables, phased in import restrictions in 2018.

Remeo's Mild says the new technology has allowed them to raise recycling rates from around 50 to up to 90 per cent, in some cases.

"In construction waste already last year, we had in Finland a regulation that says that construction waste needs to be recycled 70 per cent, and with the traditional way that's really difficult to get," he said.

"But now, the robots doing it or the machines doing it, we can (get) much more higher than even 70 per cent."

In the battle against global waste, these robots are lending a helping hand.

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Conviction of Pain Doctor


NEWS PROVIDED BYAssociation of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

Dec 30, 2021

TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), together with Jeffrey Singer, M.D., has filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the conviction of Dr. Xiulu Ruan, who is now serving a 21-year sentence in federal prison for prescribing controlled substances "outside the usual course of professional practice."

The key question presented, on which the circuit courts are deeply divided, is whether a physician can be convicted without regard to whether, in good faith, he "reasonably believed" or "subjectively intended" that his prescriptions fall within that course of professional practice.

"Lengthy incarceration without proving criminal intent is tyrannical," states the brief. "A 21-year imprisonment for medicating pain deters all physicians against fully treating patients who suffer. Undertreatment of pain inevitably results when a robust good faith defense is denied. Dr. Ruan acted in good faith as shown by an unsuccessful undercover sting operation against him, but that evidence and testimony by supportive patients were all withheld from the jury."

If an Eleventh Circuit Court decision is allowed to stand, "nearly any physician who treats pain is at risk of an arbitrary 21-year imprisonment based on a small fraction of his prescriptions," the brief argues.

In its decision, the Eleventh Circuit "begins its characterization of Dr. Ruan not by analyzing his mens rea or even his medical decisionmaking, but by citing how much money he made over nearly a half-decade, which was not extraordinary on an annual basis given the high cost of becoming a physician."

Nothing in the War on Drugs justifies blocking a good-faith defense, or permitting the exclusion of exculpatory evidence, AAPS concludes.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943. Its motto is omnia pro aegroto (everything for the patient).

SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)
Related Links

http://www.aapsonline.org

CYBERWAR

Why the US should fight Russia, China in the ‘gray zone’

By Joe Gould and Mark Pomerleau
Jan 4, 2022
A squad of U.S. Navy SEALs participates in special operations urban combat training at an undisclosed location. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Meranda Keller/U.S. Navy via AP)


WASHINGTON ― China has achieved a military buildup in the South China Sea, stole billions of dollars worth of American intellectual property and is launching ongoing cyberattacks, while Russia interfered in U.S. elections, used masked “little green men” in Ukraine, and actively promotes mis- and disinformation.

Now it’s Washington’s turn to get serious about the “gray zone,” especially when it comes to cyber and information warfare, says a new report from the Atlantic Council. The term is used to describe competitive actions that occur below the threshold of conflict.

The think tank’s recommendations come as the Biden administration finishes its National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, which are expected to be published within weeks and address gray-zone or hybrid warfare.

“The DoD needs to compete now and engage in offensive hybrid warfare actions. The United States must respond where competition with China and Russia is taking place today, primarily by playing an enhanced role in gray-zone competition,” read the report, which was led by the Atlantic Council’s Clementine Starling, Air Force Lt. Col. Tyson Wetzel and Christian Trotti ― with former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The report called for new strategic competition coordinators on the National Security Council with direct access to the president, as well as a new whole-of-government messaging strategy aimed at countering anti-American narratives and reinforcing the rules-based international order. The Pentagon would play a supporting role, “executing offensive and defensive hybrid warfare activities that comport with U.S. values.”

Already, Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said last month that the Defense Department’s overarching “integrated deterrence” concept ― a key part of the forthcoming National Defense Strategy ― expands “across the spectrum of conflict from high-intensity warfare to the gray zone.” That includes other instruments of national power: intelligence, economic, financial, technological and alliances, Kahl has said.

That mission is going to become more important as nations hostile to U.S. interests increasingly operate below the threshold of traditional conflict to challenge international rules and norms, particularly at flashpoints in the Taiwan Strait and Ukraine, the authors argued. The DoD has taken significant steps to compete in the gray zone, but the authors called for “a departmental paradigm shift” and for the military to go on the offense.

“The department has begun to focus more on countering our strategic competitors’ hybrid warfare efforts, but what I also see is an inherent conflict between competing now and the sexier thing, which is buying new equipment, getting ready to fight the war of the future; and sometimes, under the weight of that effort, competing today loses out a little bit,” Wetzel, who is also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Defense News.

“Everybody agrees we need to defend in the gray zone, but we really wanted to focus on the fact that we can take the offense as well,” he added.

For instance, as Russian President Vladimir Putin masses troops along Ukraine’s border and claims Ukraine and the West are the aggressors, the U.S. government ― under a more proactive approach to gray zone warfare ― would communicate more consistently and more often that Putin is the sole antagonist.

“Just on the information domain, we need to control the narrative, we need to counter false narratives a lot clearer,” Wetzel said.


A Ukrainian soldier takes a break near a fighting position on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels, in the Donetsk region on Dec. 30, 2021. (Andriy Dubchak/AP)

The broader Atlantic Council report, drafted with expert input over the last year, made recommendations aimed at deterring or winning a conventional conflict as well as gray zone activities. Among the report’s other conclusions:

The DoD needs guiding principles for hybrid warfare. The department should be part of unified interagency efforts, invest in “below-threshold” capabilities and training, engage only where strategically important, go on the offense to reinforce the international rules-based order, use strategic messaging, and stick to American ideals.

Washington needs a hybrid warfare toolkit. That means establishing diplomatic norms as well as naming, shaming and sanctioning bad actors ― all the while, the DoD can show presence, launch distributed denial-of-service attacks, and conduct kinetic or non-kinetic actions against proxy or mercenary forces.

Hybrid operations can improve conventional deterrence. Adversaries will use hybrid warfare until they can acquire a coercive deterrent against the U.S. and its allies. Containing engagement with China and Russia to cooperation and competition for as long as possible is in America’s interest ― but the U.S. “must get better at proactively engaging in and shaping the gray zone.”

The State Department’s Global Engagement Center needs a funding boost and authorities to “lead whole-of-government strategic messaging and offensive information operations campaigns, and it needs to lead whole-of-nation efforts to engage with social media companies, and with allies and partners to create a coherent and effective campaign for countering mis- and disinformation.”

Shown are some of the 220 Chinese vessels that showed up at Whitsun Reef on March 7, 2021. The Philippine government expressed concern after spotting the fishing vessels it believed were crewed by militias. (Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea via AP)

Investing in gray zone competition could mean acquiring more cyber tools as well as building an organization for “information operators,” who would quickly attribute and respond to misinformation or disinformation, said Trotti, assistant director of the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense project.

“What they would ask for in terms of capabilities they need, I don’t know, but we do think there needs to be a focus, and a unit or units, that are really focused in that area,” Trotti said. “They would start to develop the tactics, techniques and procedures that will be used in gray zone operations or hybrid warfare operations.”

To compete with adversaries who already see conflict as part of a continuum (as opposed to binary war and peace), the DoD and its armed services have sought to embrace the tenets of information warfare by competing daily below the threshold of armed conflict.

Waiting to respond to an event after it occurs is too late, officials and experts have asserted over the last few years. Forces must be constantly engaged in the region and against malicious actors to contest their activity and collect the proper intelligence and access needed in case circumstances escalate.

The DoD and the armed services have also reorganized themselves to better align and integrate those various disciplines; they are currently developing new doctrine along this vein.

If the National Defense Strategy does prioritize gray zone conflict, it wouldn’t be the first time. In 2019, the DoD created an amendment to the National Defense Strategy focused on irregular warfare, with one of the five core themes of the annex aimed at operations in the information environment.

In the most recent defense policy bill, signed into law Dec. 27, Congress asked the DoD for a report on the implementation of the irregular warfare strategy. Some members of Congress have also expressed skepticism regarding progress in the information warfare sphere, questioning who is in charge of certain areas and how the department will oversee activities to ensure success.

“I am concerned the department leadership has been slow to adapt to the changing nature of warfare in this domain,” Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who chairs the House Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems, said during an April 30 hearing.

“Too often, it appears the department’s information-related capabilities are stovepiped centers of excellence with varied management and leadership structures, which makes critical coordination more difficult. Further, the Pentagon has made limited progress implementing its 2016 Operations in the Information Environment Strategy, which raises questions about the department’s information operations leadership structure.”

U.S. airmen from the New York, Washington and Maryland Air National Guards monitor aircraft during the Global Information Dominance Experiment 3 at the 601st Air Operation Center on Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., on July 15, 2021. (Staff Sgt. Nicholas Byers/U.S. Air Force)

Though Congress directed the creation of a principal information operations adviser in 2020, some in Congress are worried it isn’t materializing as intended.

“Unfortunately, this position was layered below the undersecretary of defense for policy, contrary to congressional intent. This position was not created as another bureaucratic layer, but as an agile, single role with the mandate to guide each service’s efforts,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, said during the same hearing.

Other outside experts worry the DoD is not doing enough to compete and win on a daily basis against sophisticated adversaries.

“Where we’ve fallen short is accounting for the risk that China and Russia will conduct hybrid warfare-style operations against the United States itself,” Paul Stockton, former assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, told Defense News. “I’m not talking about little green men pouring across our borders — that’ll never happen — but the use of combined information and cyberattacks to disrupt U.S. defense operations at home.”

Stockton, who recently authored a paper titled “Defeating Coercive Information Operations in Future Crises,” did note that the DoD has made progress in collaborating with NATO allies and partners in Asia to be prepared to counter gray zone threats.

However, he added, the U.S. must strengthen its deterrence by developing information operations response options that would credibly threaten Russia and China if they conduct such operations as part of a gray-zone or hybrid warfare approach.

About Joe Gould and Mark Pomerleau

Joe Gould is senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry.

Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.

i
Ed Sheeran Plans to Rewild the UK, Starting With His Yard

Ed Sheeran is being a friend of the environment. The English singer has plans to rewild the UK, beginning at home estate in East Suffolk.

BY KAT SMITH | JANUARY 4TH, 2022

Ed Sheeran has plans for the environment: he aspires to rewild as much of the UK as possible.

The English musician told BBC Radio London late last month: “I’m trying to buy as much land as possible and plant as many trees as possible. I am trying to rewild as much of the UK as I can. I love my county and I love wildlife and the environment.”

The “Shape of You” singer explained that this is in order to make up for the carbon footprint caused by his job as an entertainer, which is not “a hugely sustainable job” due to the travel requirements. That said, Sheeran announced plans last month that he will most likely be calling it quits on major tours so that he can spend more time with his wife, Cherry Seaborn, and his 16-month-old daughter, Lyra.

In addition to buying up land for rewilding, the 30-year-old Grammy winner said that he is turning his East Suffolk estate, called “Sheeranville,” into a wildlife meadow. This also includes a “massive beehive” and a large pond, which will help to support native wildlife such as newts, salamanders, hedgehogs, and snakes.

How Ed Sheeran’s rewilding plan helps the environment

“The thing with sustainability and being a public figure is when people support it, suddenly people try and find things to call them out on,” said Sheeran. He added that together, “we can all make a difference.”

Rewilding is extremely beneficial to the environment. Ecosystems such as meadowlands, woodlands, moorland, and peatlands serve not only as homes to a wide variety of plants, animals, and fungi, but also as carbon sinks. And, the species that make their homes in these lands help to keep them healthy and thriving.

However, as a result of hundreds of years of farming, industry, and building, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe. Since the 1970s, roughly 41 percent of species have declined, and many are at risk of disappearing, according to the Natural Biodiversity Network. Certain species, such as the hedgehogs that reside at Sheeran’s estate, have faced a population loss of about 95 percent.

Rewilding projects like Sheeran’s or projects led by conservationists, such as reintroducing keystone species like bison or ecosystem engineers like beavers, can help to reverse the destruction of nature and in turn, help the UK to lower its carbon footprint.