Recent analysis

Programs

The Atlantic Council Technology Programs comprises five existing efforts—the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), the GeoTech Center, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, the Democracy + Tech Initiative, and the Capacity Building Initiative. These operations work together to address the geopolitical implications of technology and provide policymakers and global stakeholders necessary research, insights, and convenings to address challenges around global technology and ensure its responsible advancement.

Content

In the News

Jul 24, 2020

The geopolitics of digital identity: Dr. David Bray and Lord Tim Clement Jones

By Atlantic Council

Lord Tim Clement Jones, Geotech fellow, and Dr. David Bray, director of the Geotech Center, discussed the issue of digital identity in a recent event at the IdentityNorth Summit. Lord Jones pointed out how technologies for securely connecting an individual’s digital presence to their identity are not new, but have yet to be applied at a national scale, or in a universal manner that would be necessary to maximize their impact. He recognized, though, that certain applications of digital identity technology might be of concern to ordinary people; though he might be comfortable using his digital identity as part of the United Kingdom Parliament’s new system for MPs to vote, the average citizen might take concern with their votes being tabulated digitally, or being connected to other facets of their online identity.

Cybersecurity Digital Policy
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#AlertaVenezuela

Jul 22, 2020

#AlertaVenezuela: July 22, 2020

By Atlantic Council's DFRLab

Representatives aligned with Luis Parra, Maduro’s illegitimately installed National Assembly president, announcing on July 19 that he had been hospitalized after “apparent pneumonia.” Pro-Maduro accounts used Parra’s name to convey news about his condition and to promote Maduro regime’s hashtags on Twitter. “Luis Parra” trended as a keyword on Venezuela between July 19-21, 2020.

Disinformation Venezuela

UkraineAlert

Jul 22, 2020

Russia’s MH17 web of lies looks set to unravel in court

By Georgiy Kent

Ever since flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in summer 2014, Russia has denied responsibility. However, international efforts to prove Moscow's guilt have gained momentum in 2020.

Conflict Disinformation

In the News

Jul 15, 2020

Dr. David Bray: Can people, data, and technology help build a shock-resistant planet?

By Atlantic Council

The WebIT Virtual Thought Summit recently brought together a number of GeoTech experts, including GeoTech Commissioner Dr. Vint Cerf, and GeoTech fellows Daniella Taveau and Dr. Divya Chander, for a panel discussion co-moderated by Dr. David Bray, Director of the GeoTech Center. These leading experts provided their own perspectives on how the world, in responding to COVID-19, might consider certain technologically enabled solutions to predict and protect against future crises. Importantly, the panel pointed out how these technologies must be intentionally designed with people’s needs at the center, lest open societies see well-intentioned innovation evolve into tools for a surveillance state.

Cybersecurity Digital Policy

Event Recap

Jul 15, 2020

Event recap | The future of trust and sensemaking online and in digital transactions

By Hannah Biggs

On July 15, 2020, the GeoTech Center hosted a discussion on ways to best increase trust and sensemaking online and in digital transactions.

Cybersecurity Digital Policy
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#AlertaVenezuela

Jul 14, 2020

#AlertaVenezuela: July 14, 2020

By Atlantic Council's DFRLab

Brazilian assets removed by Facebook for “coordinated inauthentic behavior” used the economic and health crisis in Venezuela, which has been exacerbated by the Maduro regime, to promote anti-socialist sentiment in Brazil. The DFRLab also found some of the assets shared memes supporting a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. The same message had been shared before by Rumbo Libertad, a Venezuelan far right and libertarian movement whose members have appeared in pictures with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his sons in the past.

Disinformation Venezuela

In the News

Jul 14, 2020

Allen and Rodriquez in Foreign Policy: The US government needs to regulate social media

By Stephen Rodriguez

Army intelligence officer T.S. Allen and Scowcroft Center Senior Advisor Stephen Rodriguez argue that Washington has a unique responsibility to protect social media and prevent election interference.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Jul 13, 2020

East Ukraine’s European roots and the myths of Putin’s Russian World

By Alvydas Medalinskas

Moscow has sought to justify the war in eastern Ukraine by claiming it historically belongs within the "Russian World", but this ignores the region's deep Ukrainian roots and cosmopolitan heritage.

Conflict Disinformation

Event Recap

Jul 10, 2020

El dilema electoral y la desinformación en Venezuela

By Alfredo Graffe

La discusión se centró en un análisis sobre operaciones de manipulación en redes sociales dentro del contexto de crisis humanitaria compleja que vive Venezuela y sus posibles repercusiones en eventuales elecciones parlamentarias.

Disinformation Spanish

Event Recap

Jul 10, 2020

Trust in elections and disinformation in Venezuela

By Alfredo Graffe

Area kicked-off the conversation by summarizing the recent actions of the Nicolás Maduro regime to promote parliamentary elections slated for later this year after the Venezuelan Supreme Court unconstitutionally appointed a new board to the Electoral Council and replaced the leaders of the two main opposition with regime-friendly politicians.

Disinformation Venezuela

Experts