Security news

• US government says agencies hit by massive cyberattack

  14-12-2020 13:57 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe US government issued an emergency directive to federal agencies in the wake of a major cyberattack, as multiple media outlets reported at least two departments —...
  
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• With Two Nuclear-Armed Strategic Competitors, US Modernization Top Priority

  19-09-2024 03:28 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalk“The security environment we face today is unprecedented,” said Melissa Dalton, undersecretary of the Air Force. “We face for the first time in our nation’s history, two strategic competitors that are nuclear states with large and growing nuclear arsenals. When we look at the [People’s Republic of China] and its breathtaking modernization over the last […]https://www.defencetalk.com/with-two-nuclear-armed-strategic-competitors-us-modernization-top-
  
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• UK counter-terror police drafted in after Telegraph journalist dies in Gibraltar

  12-09-2024 17:10
  
  David Knowles, who helped make Ukraine: The Latest podcast, died on holiday after suspected cardiac arrestUK counter-terrorism police are providing support to the investigation into the death of a Daily Telegraph journalist in Gibraltar.David Knowles died while on holiday on Sunday after what his employers said was believed to be a cardiac arrest. Continue reading...
  
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• Martyn’s law to require terror safety plans at venues with 200-plus capacity

  12-09-2024 16:24
  
  Bill is laid before parliament after years of campaigning by mother of Manchester Arena bombing victimPubs and clubs that can hold 200 people could be fined £10,000 if the owners fail to comply with a new law that is meant to protect against terror attacks.Martyn’s law, otherwise known as the terrorism (protection of premises) bill, will require all venues with a capacity of more than 199 people to take steps to ensure they have a plan in place in case of an attack on their premises.
  
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• Can the UK fight ‘extreme misogyny’ as if it were terrorism? I have my doubts | Samira Shackle

  29-08-2024 12:00
  
  Anti-extremism policy has a poor track record over a number of governments. Adding misogyny to the mix won’t change thisWhen riots broke out in the UK in late July, one of the most prominent voices spreading misinformation was the self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate. The riots came after a horrific knife attack in Southport – and Tate was among those tweeting, falsely, that the attacker was “an illegal immigrant arrived on a boat one month ago”. This is one
  
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• Starmer cancels appointment of Gwyn Jenkins as national security adviser

  26-08-2024 18:00
  
  Exclusive: PM’s decision seen by some in Whitehall as precursor for role going to more politically loyal candidateKeir Starmer has cancelled the appointment of one of Britain’s top generals as the national security adviser, in a move that senior civil servants fear is designed to pave the way for a more politically loyal candidate.The prime minister has overturned the decision made in April by his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, to appoint Gwyn Jenkins, then the vice-chief of the armed for
  
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• Search to begin for remains of Capt Robert Nairac, murdered by IRA in 1977

  26-08-2024 07:00
  British army officer kidnapped, then killed and secretly buried, while on undercover operation during TroublesA search is to begin for the remains of a British army captain and undercover officer who was kidnapped, murdered and secretly buried by the IRA in 1977.Capt Robert Nairac was kidnapped by the IRA while on an undercover operation in The Three Steps pub in Dromintee in south Armagh close to the border. After a struggle he was taken across the border to a field in Ravensdale woods area in
  
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• Yvette Cooper vows to crack down on promotion of ‘hateful beliefs’

  18-08-2024 17:32
  Home secretary orders review to identify gaps in system to tackle extremist ideologies including extreme misogynyThe home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has vowed to crack down on people “pushing harmful and hateful beliefs”, including extreme misogyny, as she announced a new approach to fighting extremism.The Home Office has commissioned a rapid review to inform a new government counter-extremism strategy on how best to tackle the threat posed by extremist ideologies online and offline.
  
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• Far-right disorder had ‘clear’ Russian involvement, says ex-MI6 spy

  11-08-2024 18:33
  
  Christopher Steele says officials will ‘look very carefully’ at online instigators such as Tommy RobinsonThere is “clear” Russian involvement in the far-right riots and security services will be looking closely at the instigators, a former head of the MI6 Russia desk has said.Christopher Steele, the ex-spy who compiled a notorious dossier on Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia, said that security officials would be “looking very carefully” at the peo
  
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• UK riots expose double standards on far-right and Islamist violence

  11-08-2024 17:00
  
  Severe cases of far-right violence need to be recognised as terrorism and not ‘thuggery’, write Rusi researchersThe recent riots in the UK, sparked by the Southport stabbings, have exposed troubling double standards in how society perceives and responds to far-right violence compared to Islamist extremism. This disparity calls for a serious redefinition of how we address far-right extremism, recognising it as the grave threat it truly represents.Far-right motivated violence is often
  
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• ‘Two-tier’: UK treats far-right attacks less harshly than Islamist violence, says thinktank

  11-08-2024 17:00
  
  Exclusive: Defence thinktank Rusi says rightwing violence ‘often classified as mere thuggery’ by politicians and prosecutorsThe UK has a “two-tier approach” to extremism that fails to treat far-right attacks as seriously as Islamist ones, a leading thinktank has said.The Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) says rightwing violence “is often classified as mere thuggery” by politicians, prosecutors and the security services. Equivalent acts by Islamists would
  
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• What is the UK’s Online Safety Act and what powers will it provide?

  08-08-2024 20:05
  New laws expected to come into force in 2025 are under spotlight after online planning of far-right riots in EnglandOnline Safety Act not fit for purpose, says Sadiq KhanThe Online Safety Act is back in the spotlight after a week of violence driven in part by far-right groups coordinating online, using a mixture of services including Telegram, TikTok and X.“There need to be amendments to the Online Safety Act,” the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, told the Guardian on Thursday. “I
  
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• MI5’s posthumous discovery of Stakeknife files alarms inquiry chief

  07-08-2024 19:00
  
  Release of intelligence year after death ‘casts doubt’ on security service’s previous claims about British spy in IRA accused of murdersThe police chief investigating murders allegedly carried out by Freddie Scappaticci, a British agent in the IRA known as Stakeknife, has expressed alarm that hundreds of pages of files providing “new investigative leads” have been found by MI5 a year after Scappaticci’s death.Sir Iain Thomas Livingstone, a former head of Polic
  
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• Immigration lawyers ‘at risk’ amid far-right threats to target advice centres

  06-08-2024 21:09
  
  Police chiefs announce deployment of extra 2,200 riot officers as list of 60 immigration centres circulated onlineUK riots live – latest updatesImmigration lawyers have been warned to take extra security measures or stay away from work amid far-right threats to target their firms, with legal groups blaming political attacks on the profession for fuelling abuse.The Law Society and Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) said their members were at risk, after a list of up to
  
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• Worst far-right violence should be treated as terrorism, says ex-police chief

  05-08-2024 21:28
  
  Neil Basu, former head of UK counter-terrorism, condemned rampaging rioters as ‘bullies and cowards’The worst of the far-right violence seen in England this weekend should be treated as terrorism, a prominent former police chief has said, amid warnings over a new wave of unrest targeting migration lawyers.Police have made 378 arrests since the violence broke out last week, with rioters setting fire to a library, looting shops and storming hotels housing asylum seekers.Australia, Nige
  
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• Conservatives left UK wide open to far-right violence, says former adviser

  04-08-2024 23:59
  
  Exclusive: Dame Sara Khan, who advised May, Johnson and Sunak, says recent administrations failed the countryThe Conservative government left the UK wide open to the far-right violence erupting across parts of the country by ignoring red flags and stoking fires with a culture war agenda, a senior adviser on extremism to Tory prime ministers has said.Dame Sara Khan, who was Rishi Sunak’s independent adviser for social cohesion and resilience until May this year and acted as counter-extremis
  
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• Anjem Choudary gets life sentence for directing terrorist organisation

  30-07-2024 16:52
  
  Islamist preacher will serve at least28 years after being found guilty of directing al-MuhajirounA judge has jailed the Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary for life with a minimum term of 28 years for running a banned terrorist organisation, telling him: “I cannot foresee a time when you will cease to be dangerous.”After a trial at Woolwich crown court in south London, Choudary was convicted last week of having a “caretaker role” in directing al-Muhajiroun (ALM) from 2014, a
  
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• UK ‘desperately exposed’ to cyber-threats and pandemics, says minister

  29-07-2024 08:00
  
  Science secretary Peter Kyle says national resilience suffered ‘catastrophically’ under ToriesThe UK science secretary has warned Britain is “desperately exposed” to cyber-threats and the upheaval of another pandemic, claiming that national resilience suffered “catastrophically” under the previous government.Deep public spending cuts under the austerity programme diminished the NHS and other local and national services, and hampered pandemic preparedness exerc
  
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• Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary guilty of directing terrorist organisation

  23-07-2024 14:15
  
  Choudary convicted of having ‘caretaker role’ in al-Muhajiroun and drumming up support onlineThe Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been found guilty of directing the terrorist group al-Muhajiroun (ALM) and drumming up cross-border support for the banned organisation online.After a trial at Woolwich crown court in south London, Choudary was convicted of having a “caretaker role” in directing ALM. Continue reading...
  
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• Iranian TV presenter stabbed in London moves abroad for safety

  16-07-2024 16:30
  Exclusive: Pouria Zeraati ‘no longer felt safe in UK’ as Tehran regime steps up threats and attacks on critics in exileAn Iranian television presenter, who was attacked in London by men believed to be acting for the Tehran regime, has moved abroad, saying that he no longer felt safe in the UK.Pouria Zeraati said the UK’s approach to the threat posed by Iran on British soil could not guarantee his safety. Continue reading...
  
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• Labour unlikely to rush into proscribing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

  08-07-2024 20:13
  Exclusive: Lammy said to be looking at creating new category of state-sponsored terrorism to allow restrictions to be imposedLabour is unlikely to rush into proscribing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and will instead examine whether a new category of state-backed terrorism needs to be devised.David Lammy, the foreign secretary, will also consult colleagues on the implications for Iranian foreign policy of the election at the weekend of a reformist-backed president, Masoud Pezes
  
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• Skripals do not want to appear at inquiry into Salisbury novichok poisonings

  21-06-2024 17:49
  
  Former Russian spy Sergei and his daughter, Yulia, fear for their safety if they give evidence at hearing into death of Dawn Sturgess, says barristerThe former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, do not want to appear at an independent inquiry on the Salisbury novichok poisonings because they worry that their security could not be assured, it has emerged.At a preliminary inquiry hearing, it was also made clear that the family of Dawn Sturgess, who died after being exposed to the
  
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• Skripals ask not to appear at Salisbury novichok poisoning inquiry

  21-06-2024 17:49
  
  Former Russian spy Sergei and his daughter, Yulia, fear for their safety if they give evidence at hearing into death of Dawn Sturgess, says barristerThe former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, do not want to appear at an independent inquiry on the Salisbury novichok poisonings because they fear their security cannot be guaranteed, it has emerged.At a preliminary inquiry hearing, it was also made clear that the family of Dawn Sturgess, who died after being exposed to the nerve
  
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• Former head of GCHQ praises Labour’s defence and security plans

  18-06-2024 09:44
  
  David Omand says pledges on nuclear deterrent shows party can be trusted ‘to stick to serious defence policy’Labour’s position on national security has been endorsed by a former head of the UK intelligence agency, GCHQ, who said the party can be trusted to “stick to serious defence policy.”The backing by Sir David Omand is a boost in a key area for Keir Starmer, who has sought to promote Labour’s security as a way of emphasising how the party has changed since
  
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• MI5 alert about alleged Chinese mole may have been to distract from Partygate, tribunal hears

  17-06-2024 18:23
  
  Ex-Labour MP Barry Gardiner told Christine Lee, who is bringing action against Security Service, of suggestion it was trying to shift attention from scandalA former Labour MP and key ally of Jeremy Corbyn claimed it had been suggested MI5 issued a rare alert notice about a lawyer who the Security Service believed was a Chinese mole as a distraction from Partygate, a tribunal has heard.The Security Service issued an interference alert against Christine Lee in 2022, the day after Boris Johnson apo
  
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• UK not heeding warning over China threat, says ex-cybersecurity chief

  22-05-2024 17:43
  
  Ciaran Martin says US warning that China is targeting key infrastructure should be taken more seriouslyThe UK is not paying enough attention to a “gamechanging” shift in China’s cyber-espionage tactics towards infiltrating critical infrastructure including energy and communications networks, a former head of Britain’s cybersecurity agency has warned.Ciaran Martin, the ex-chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, said a warning from the US this year that Chine
  
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• How a Labour MP became a rightwing figurehead – and enabled the clampdown on protest | Andy Beckett

  22-05-2024 17:24
  
  The transformation of John Woodcock exposes the authoritarian potential that can lurk in Britain’s centre leftDuring the final, beleaguered stages of the last Labour government, one of the stern young party functionaries who used to cluster protectively around the prime minister, Gordon Brown, on his visits to public places was John Woodcock, then one of Brown’s special advisers. Despite the government’s disintegrating poll ratings, Woodcock still had that New Labour cockiness,
  
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• Who are the real extremists? The people challenging injustices or those trying to shut down our rights? | George Monbiot

  22-05-2024 09:00
  
  Look at a new report proposing horrifying clampdowns on protest – and ask where the threat to our society truly lies It’s not hard to spot the extremists inflaming public passions in Britain and disrupting our lives. They play an active role in politics, and sometimes claim to be running the country. But I’m not sure many people have understood just how far they are prepared to go.The new report by the government’s “independent adviser on political violence” a
  
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• Russia directing hackers to attack UK and west, says director of GCHQ

  14-05-2024 14:18
  
  Anne Keast-Butler ‘increasingly concerned’ by growing links between Russia and proxy hacker groups that pose risk to UKRussia is increasingly seeking to encourage and direct hackers to attack British and other western targets, the director of GCHQ has said in her first keynote speech as head of the British intelligence agency.Anne Keast-Butler, said her agency was “increasingly concerned about growing links” between the Russian intelligence services and proxy hacker group
  
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• BAME people about 70% of those held at UK ports under terror laws, data shows

  12-05-2024 17:03
  
  Campaigners say logs since 2021 show disproportionate targeting of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgroundsAbout 70% of the thousands of people stopped at UK ports under anti-terrorism laws since 2021 were from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, according to figures, which have fuelled concerns that counter-terrorist policing is institutionally racist.The figures from police logs released to the Guardian under freedom of information laws also show that fewer tha
  
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