Kaspersky Lab’s research exposed an ongoing U.S.-led counterterrorism spying operation, CyberScoop reports. According to current and former U.S. intelligence officials, the operation was focused on ISIS and al-Qaeda.
What happened: Kaspersky announced a malware campaign called “Slingshot," an advanced, persistent threat, indicating it may have state-backing, earlier this month. They said the malware was on thousands of devices in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Turkey, and Yemen. Current and former U.S. intel officials told CyberScoop that Slingshot is a program that is run through the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command.
Russian government officials and businessmen helped Venezuela launch the world's first state-issued cryptocurrency last month, which is intended to help sidestep U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, TIME reports, citing anonymous officials familiar with the issue.
The backdrop: TIME's report comes a day after President Trump signed an executive order prohibiting U.S. citizens from buying the newly created 'Petro.’
President Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin this afternoon, and congratulated him on winning re-election on Sunday. After the call, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked whether Trump felt the election had been free and fair, and said it wasn’t up to the U.S. to “dictate" how Russia holds elections.
The bottom line: Trump is not alone in congratulating Putin — leaders in France, Germany and elsewhere have done so this week, as Barack Obama did in 2012. But past administrations certainly have seen it as America’s role to call balls and strikes when it comes to elections abroad, and weigh in when democratic institutions are being undermined. A departure from that approach would be welcomed not only by Putin, but other leaders of pseudo democracies around the world.
A Senate Intelligence draft report proposing an election cybersecurity strategy is getting good reviews from security experts.
What they are saying: "Wow. That is a very good set of initial findings," said Joseph Lorenzo Hall, chief technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology who consulted on voting machine security in three states, via email.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a decision by President Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal might lead to the collapse of the agreement and, as a result, could lead to a regional war. German officials told me Merkel made this position clear when she met Netanyahu at the world economic forum in Davos Switzerland on January 24th.
Why it matters: The meeting between Merkel and Netanyahu took place two weeks after Trump announced he'd withdraw from the nuclear deal if Germany, France and the U.K. couldn't agree on significant changes to the deal by May 12th. Since then, senior diplomats have been engaged in intense negotiations to save the deal. The Europeans now believe the chances of finding a formula which will satisfy Trump are very slim.
Today's press briefing centered around President Trump's congratulatory phone call to Vladimir Putin, which Sen. John McCain had criticized, saying, “An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections."
Asked whether the election had been free and fair, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the U.S. can't "dictate how other countries operate." She also said there were "no specific plans made at this time" for a meeting between Trump and Putin. Trump had said earlier Tuesday they'd be meeting in the "not too distant future."
President Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin for his re-election in a phone call Tuesday.
Why it matters: Putin removed all serious competition ahead of what was essentially a sham election. Still, the leaders of Germany, France and now the U.S. have congratulated Putin for securing six more years in office, as Barack Obama did in 2012. The U.K., in the midst of its diplomatic crisis with Russia, has said it will wait until the election has been assessed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe before commenting.
Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, landed in Taiwan Tuesday for a three-day trip. He's the first U.S. official to visit Taiwan since President Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act, which "encourages visits between officials of the United States and Taiwan at all levels."
A visit at this level is far from unprecedented, but while Wong's area of expertise is security issues in the region, past visits have tended to focus on issues like trade. Wong will attend a dinner during the visit at which Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is also expected to be present.
Why it matters: China is fiercely opposed to the travel act, claiming it "severely violate[s] the one-China principle." American and Taiwanese officials have said the timing is unrelated to the act.
In an Oval Office meeting with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Tuesday, President Trump said he wants to meet Vladimir Putin in the "not too distant future" to discuss the "arms race" and North Korea. Trump also said he spoke with the Russian president earlier today and congratulated him on his recent election victory.
Vladimir Putin cruised to victory in Russia's presidential election Sunday, gaining 76.7% of the vote in a contest widely condemned for ballot stuffing and a lack of genuine competition. Nonetheless, leaders around the world have publicly and privately congratulated Russia's strongman as he embarks on his 18th year as head of state.
Why it matters: Putin's list of congratulations give a window into the geopolitical state of play in Europe and around the world. It's worth reading into the language of the leaders who chose to reach out — and, perhaps more notably, those who didn't.
In their meeting last Thursday in Berlin, U.S. and European diplomats tabled drafts for an agreement which will not nix the Iran nuclear deal or renegotiate it but still substantively turn on the pressure on the Iranian regime. A senior European diplomat who participated in the talks told me that the gaps between the U.S. and the three European powers are actually closing.
But, but, but: The French, Germans and the Brits think the chances of finding a formula which will satisfy Trump are very slim. This assessment is shared by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior figures in Washington like Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet with President Trump at the beginning of a multi-city U.S. tour. His agenda is expected to range from geopolitics and security to energy and investment, in addition to his signature reforms: expanding the private sector while shrinking a bloated government bureaucracy, diversifying the economy, promoting arts and entertainment, introducing taxation and loosening restrictions on women.
Why it matters: While these reforms have found support in the U.S., other Saudi initiatives, such as its involvement in the Yemeni Civil War, face serious pushback, especially from Congress.
A new addition to President Trump's legal team — Joe diGenova, a former U.S. attorney who is well-known in Washington and has argued for the president on Fox News — reflects three White House realities.
The state of play: (1) The White House is digging in for a fight that looks to be longer and messier than officials had expected. (2) This is another example of the president responding to televised cues. Trump has spent most of his adult life in litigation, and obsesses about legal positioning in the same way that he is consumed by his press coverage. (3) It's another pugilistic voice at the table, and suggests that this weekend's attacks on Mueller won't be the last.
