Cyber Czars, cyber counterespionage, and multidomain ops: notes from three continents. CISA wants to keep Einstein. Securing elections.

At a glance.

• More on the proposed US cyber czar.
• Tokyo police go on the alert for cyberespionage.
• Multidomain operations for the Royal Army.
• CISA wants to keep, and improve, its Einstein tool.
• Spies, propagandists, and cyber ward heelers: a look at the US ICA on foreign election influence.

Cyber leadership in the US. 

The Hill reports that US President Biden is facing mounting pressure to fill the open national cyber director role created by the National Defense Authorization Act as the Administration mulls the proper responses to Holiday Bear and Hafnium. A representative of the President said the appointment is “complicated” but “a priority.”

Federal News Network reiterates that delays in senior cyber nominations and the emerging problem of many hands are raising “alarm” in Congress. Additional unfilled positions include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency directorship; Energy Department Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response assistant secretariat; State Department Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues; and a handful of cabinet Chief Information Officer roles. 

Senator Portman (Republican of Ohio) commented, “I’m concerned that…there is the opportunity for duplication, confusion and…lack of accountability.” An Administrative official explained one reason for the holdup in finalizing the cyber czar office as concern about “overlap” with existing responsibilities. Portman wondered whether a cyber czar was necessary given this overlap, while others seconded his worry about “who is in charge” if the czar role is just another among many leadership positions. 

Tokyo police take on developing foreign cyber threats.

Faced with growing offensive, espionage, and intellectual property theft campaigns from Pyongyang and Beijing, the Public Security Bureau of Japan’s Metropolitan Police Department is restructuring its foreign affairs teams for the first time in two decades, according to The Mainichi. A unit dedicated to Southeast Asia, China, and North Korea will split off its North Korea experts into a new division, allowing more “specialized” attention to the evolving threat landscape. 

Britain’s military gets a modern makeover. 

The Independent says Britain’s Army is creating a special operations training and combat brigade to address emergent foreign threats in the “most contested environments.” Post-Brexit, the UK is planning to deploy troops “more frequently and for longer periods,” while decreasing the total number of personnel.  

The forces will also enhance offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, using an app called Atak, for example, and innovative drone technology. Strike Command principal General Saunders commented that the UK must confront the “grey zone” of space and cyber conflict that threatens the country’s “strategic advantage.” 

(By the way, for those Americans who think the 75th Infantry is the only Ranger Regiment out there, the Royal Army has one, too, and its lineage also goes back to French and Indian Wars, just like yours.)

CISA thinks Einstein is worth improving (and keeping).

MeriTalk details Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Acting Director Wales’ view on Federal network monitoring tool EINSTEIN’s worth in the wake of Holiday Bear. Wales said the $6 billion system could use upgrades that would “look inside the network for threats,” claiming the program executes its intended function—namely, defending network perimeters from known threats—well. 

Spies, propagandists, and cyber ward heelers: a look at the US ICA on foreign election influence.

The US Intelligence Community last week released the unclassified version of its report on foreign interference in the 2020 Federal elections. The investigation found no evidence of foreign attempts to manipulate vote counts or other “technical aspects” of the election. We were able to exchange questions and answers with Blake Moore, VP of Strategy and Operations at Wickr, who also shared some thoughts on how the US Government might better secure future elections.