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New White Paper on GRU Online Operations Puts Spotlight on Pseudo-Think Tanks and Personas
Today the Stanford Internet Observatory published a white paper on GRU online influence operations from 2014 to 2019.
Evidence of Russia-Linked Influence Operations in Africa
Russia’s global strategy for reasserting itself as a geopolitical superpower has led to an increased presence in Africa, where it has broadened efforts to shape the continent’s politics and pursue new economic opportunities to allay the effects of sanctions.
Libya: Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Scene Setter
Political context
Libya has seen continuing violence for several years, with rebel General Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces, controlling large swaths of the country and aiming to take control of Tripoli.
Kosovo Blue Lives Takedown
In the course of assisting reporter Judd Legum of Popular Information on an investigation into a Ukraine-based network of Facebook Pages (recently taken down), SIO researchers uncovered a similar network that appeared to be operating from Kosovo. This network, consisting of approximately 9 pages with 312,000 followers, focused predominantly on “Blue Lives Matter” content – an American social movement that expresses support for police officers.
Should We Be Worried About Election Interference in 2020? Probably, says Facebook’s Former Chief Security Officer
Alex Stamos is “extremely worried” that the upcoming U.S. presidential election will see some kind of interference from foreign adversaries.
“It’s too late for legislation — we start voting in the primaries in February,” Stamos told Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, on the World Class podcast. “And it’s really unfortunate that we as a society watched the ball fly over the plate on this one.”
Kelly Born to Join Cyber Policy Center as Executive Director
The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) is pleased to announce that Kelly Born has been named the first executive director of the Cyber Policy Center.
Taiwan: Presidential Election 2020 Scene Setter
This is the first of a series of pieces we intend to publish on societies and elections at risk from online disinformation. Our goal is to draw the attention of the media, tech platforms and other academics to these risks and to provide a basic background that could be useful to those who wish to study the information environment in these areas.
Stanford Internet Observatory Seeks to Detect Internet Abuse in Real Time
$5 million gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies will support new program, led by computer security expert Alex Stamos
As Calls for Regulation Mount, What’s Next for Tech Companies and the U.S. Government?
As the internet has increasingly been used to weaponize information, governments and technology companies have begun to grapple with new issues surrounding free expression and privacy.
Talking Election Security in the Nation’s Capital
Is the 2020 presidential election vulnerable to the same kind of foreign interference that took place in 2016? For a group of scholars at the new Stanford Cyber Policy Center at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the answer is undoubtedly “yes.”
The 2020 Election is a Big Test for Democracies Worldwide
Did the Russian-affiliated groups that interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election want to be caught?
'Securing American Elections' Report Offers a Policy Road Map
Despite the severity of the attack on the 2016 U.S. presidential election, there has been no bipartisan, independent commission to investigate what can be done to prevent election interference in the future — until now.
Facebook’s Former Chief Security Officer Weighs in On the Mueller Report
Former Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos is relieved that the Mueller Report has finally been released, he confessed to Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI), on an episode of the World Class podcast.
Michael McFaul Testifies Before House Intelligence Committee
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held a public hearing on Thursday, March 28, 2019, as part of its investigation into Russian influence during and after the 2016 election campaign.
The hearing, "Putin’s Playbook: The Kremlin’s Use of Oligarchs, Money and Intelligence in 2016 and Beyond” included testimony by Michael McFaul, former U.S.
Cyber Initiative grantees in the News, February 2019
Here is a selection of Cyber Initiative grantee and researcher publications and citations for February 2019:
1-30-2019: Larry Diamond “Chinese Influence, American Interests” in The Diplomat.
1-30-19: Michelle Mello “Stanford’s Michelle Mello on Latest Measles Outbreak” in SLS Blogs.
Stanford Applied Cybersecurity Student Team Places First at CPTC Nationals
Midterm Election Hacking Concerns
Voter registration systems provide an additional target for hackers intending to disrupt the US midterm elections; if voting machines themselves are too disperse or too obvious a target, removing voters from the rolls could have a similar effect. in Esquire, Jack Holmes explains that election security experts consider this one of many nightmare scenarios facing the American voting public—and thus, American democracy itself—on the eve of the 2018 midterm elections. (Allison Berke, Executive Director of the Stanford Cyber Initiative, quoted.)
FSI scholars join high-level commission on democracy in the digital age
The Kofi Annan Foundation has tapped four Stanford scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) to help advance one of its top priorities: to shed light on the rapidly-changing role of technology in elections around the world and to recommend ways of ensuring that digital tools strengthen—not undercut—democracy.
Cybersecurity: Media Roundtable Eyes Threats
Whether it’s foreign government meddling or corporate hacking, every day brings a new challenge in cybersecurity for the United States, said experts at a recent Hoover Institution media roundtable.
Cybersecurity expert Alex Stamos joins Stanford University as fellow
Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Hoover Institution announced today the appointment of Alex Stamos as a William J. Perry Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Cyber Initiative fellow, and Hoover visiting scholar.
Stanford scholars discuss the benefits and risks of using talking software to address mental health
Interacting with a machine may seem like a strange and impersonal way to seek mental health care, but advances in technology and artificial intelligence are making that type of engagement more and more a reality. Online sites such as 7 Cups of Tea and Crisis Text Line are providing counseling services via web and text, but this style of treatment has not been widely utilized by hospitals and mental health facilities.
Facebook and Congress Must Create Regulations Together
Featuring Eileen Donahoe, executive director of the Global Digital
Cyber Initiative Fellow Jonathan Mayer on Government Hacking
The United States government hacks computer systems for law enforcement purposes. This Article provides the first comprehensive examination of how federal law regulates government malware, and argues that government hacking is inherently a Fourth Amendment search. Noted privacy scholar and Cyber Initiative fellow Jonathan Mayer explores the legal questions behind government use of hacking tools.