1 big thing: How countries amplify COVID disinformation

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2. French authorities reveal Russian cyber espionage campaign


3. How COVID transformed the world of malware


4. Estonia warns of "silenced world dominated by Beijing"


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5. Odds and ends

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Codebook. This week, our thoughts are with those in Texas and elsewhere recovering from the recent storm.

Situational awareness: Federal investigators levied new charges Wednesday morning against North Korean computer programmers accused of wide-ranging cyberattacks, including the Sony Pictures hack and extorting more than $1.3 billion of money and cryptocurrency. Go deeper.

Today's newsletter is 1,316 words, a 5-minute read.

Axios Codebook: Countries amplify COVID misinformation — France exposes Russian campaign — Estonia vs. China

Codebook

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Decode key cybersecurity news and insights. With Sam Sabin.

Axios Codebook

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1 big thing: The risks and rewards of charging state-backed hackers

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2. Chinese hackers secretly repurposed NSA tool

3. Mysterious Mac malware stumps security researchers

4. Ransomware actor nets over $123 million in 2020

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Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Codebook. This week, we’re thinking about the memory of my Aspen Institute colleague, Savilla Pitt — and encouraging you to spread the word on a new fellowship in technology and the environment that Aspen has created in her name. 

Today's newsletter is 1,401 words, a 5-minute read.

Plus: Malware mystery and big money for ransomware

Axios Codebook: Charging state-backed hackers — Malware mystery — Big money for ransomware

1 big thing: What a hair-raising incident says about U.S. cyber risk

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2. Iranian spying operation targets dissidents

3. Researchers discover new malware from Chinese hacking group

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4. Alleged Israeli antifa hackers breach KKK website

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Codebook. This week, we’re thinking about the extraordinary life of former Secretary of State George Shultz, who died Saturday at 100.

Today's newsletter is 1,154 words, a 4-minute read.

Axios Codebook: Cyberattacks, real-world damage — Iranian spies target dissidents — China's new malware

1 big thing: The long tail of the SolarWinds breach

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2. Chinese hackers breached U.S. payroll agency via SolarWinds

3. SolarWinds breach snags court filing system

4. Internet blackouts skyrocket amid global political unrest

Hello, and welcome to this week’s edition of Codebook, where we’re heralding the return of “Axios on HBO.” Tune in on Sundays at 6pm ET/PT on all HBO platforms.

Today's newsletter is 1,323 words, a 5-minute read.

Axios Codebook: SolarWinds' long tail — Payroll agency breached — Internet blackouts rise

1 big thing: Perfect cybersecurity is a pipe dream

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2. Platform sharing makes life easy for companies — and hackers, too

3. No silver bullets for cyber defense

4. Tensions between offense and defense in cyberspace

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5. The bottom line: In cybersecurity, we'll never have it all

6. Odds and ends

Hello, and welcome to this edition of Codebook, which will be the last one for now.

It’s been an honor to be delivered to your inbox every Wednesday, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Codebook as much as I have enjoyed writing it this past year as part of a unique partnership between Axios and the Aspen Institute.

Please stay in touch at zach.dorfman@aspeninstitute.org, and stay tuned: There’s more coming soon from me on critical issues in national security, cybersecurity and intelligence, including a few long-running investigative projects.

You can keep getting technology news from Axios by subscribing to Login, a daily tech newsletter. 

And with this ultimate Codebook, we offer you a set of big-picture conclusions tied together in 1,371 words — a 5-minute read. 

Plus: Platform risks — No silver bullets — Trade-offs all the way down

Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute

Newsletter editions

Axios Codebook: Perfect cybersecurity is a pipe dream

Axios Codebook: Charging state-backed hackers

Axios Codebook: Countries amplify COVID misinformation — France exposes Russian campaign — Estonia vs. China

Axios Codebook: Cyberattacks, real-world damage — Iranian spies target dissidents — China's new malware

Axios Codebook: SolarWinds' long tail — Payroll agency breached — Internet blackouts rise