For decades, U.S. cyber exploits were notoriously lawyer-ridden, to the point where it became a key element in attributing US cybertools. But it looks like those days are gone. Today, Israel has matched and surpassed U.S. cyberwarriors on this essential measure. Nate Jones reports on an attack claimed by a vague "hacktivist" group but widely attributed to Israel. The hackers shut down several Iranian mills in a flood of sparks and molten steel. But the most interesting thing about the attack was the video pre-roll, which went out of its way to note that the mills were under international sanction and that the attackers had sent workers warnings to avoid casualties. Some of that was prudence; when you're escalating in cyberspace, it's a good idea to emphasize the limits you're observing. But a lot of it was lawyers advertising the attack's compliance with the law of armed conflict. Coming after an earlier campaign that cut off gasoline supplies but also warned emergency medical and fire services to gas up in advance, it sure looks as though some of the best cyber attacks now come with a phalanx of lawyers.
China, meanwhile, is putting resources into exporting its Fifty Cent Army to the United States. Sultan Meghji and Maury Shenk cover a Chinese social media campaign to turn American rare earths processing into an environmental controversy. In this case, I argue, China is taking a leaf from the Russian playbook; the Russians worked hard to make fracking controversial in the US because it was holding down the price of Russian oil. I urge someone to figure out just how many of those fake American accounts are also on TikTok, and how TikTok's algorithm is treating them.
Speaking of Chinese propaganda, Maury tells us that a well-known Chinese cybersecurity firm is accusing the U.S. of planting Trojans in hundreds of important Chinese information systems, a charge that might be interesting if the report actually provided some details.
