Security & Defense

Who Decides What’s Secret?

By James Joyner

Glenn Greenwald, the civil-liberties columnist who broke the story about the National Security Agency’s massive collection of metadata on U.S. phone and Internet usage patterns, contends that, despite its being classified Top Secret, “There’s not a single revelation that we’ve provided to the world that even remotely jeopardizes national security.”

Will the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty Be Effective?

By Alex Ward and Morgan Timme

Earlier this month, states that participated in the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty last March were allowed to sign the document. The ATT—designed to curb the sale of small arms and ammunition to terrorists, criminal gangs, and organizations committing human rights violations or genocide—passed a UN General Assembly vote with 154 in favor, […]

Inside the NSA’s Ultra-Secret Hacking Group

By Matthew M. Aid, Foreign Policy

US and China Explore New Relationship

By Robert Manning

It will be some time before the full consequences of the California summit meeting between US President Barack Obama and China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, are revealed. Nixon-Mao it was not. Nevertheless, the well-timed and much-needed unscripted discussion focused on fundamental questions about the US-China relationship which has reached a new level of tension because […]

US Helps Allies Trying to Battle Iranian Hackers

By Thom Shanker and David Sanger, New York Times

US and Israel Worried About How Quickly Iran is Improving its Cyber Warfare Arsenal

By Thom Shanker and David Sanger, New York Times

From Thom Shanker and David Sanger, New York Times:  Israeli and American intelligence officials have been concerned by Iran’s swift advances in its computer weaponry, particularly its ability to disrupt existing infrastructure.

Baltic Spirit

By Julian Lindley-French

Having dinner with the Lithuanian Chief of Defense Staff Lieutenant General Pocius was a moving experience. Listening to the story of his family’s struggle for freedom left with me with the profound sense that every NATO and EU leader should visit the Baltic States at least once a year to remind themselves of the importance of […]

Obama Orders US to Draw Up Overseas Target List for Cyber-Attacks

By Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, Guardian

From Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, Guardian: Barack Obama has ordered his senior national security and intelligence officials to draw up a list of potential overseas targets for US cyber-attacks