THREAT REPORTS
THE SKINNY ON VIRTUAL KIDNAPPING
The growth of interconnectivity – especially low or no-cost communication around the world has led to many efficiencies. For example, individuals can work on projects with team members that spread all over the world and families with a loved one serving in military can video chat using a service such as Skype of Google Hangouts. The growth, however, is not all positive. As individuals found with e-mail as it matured, scammers and other criminal perpetrators take advantage of new technologies to expand their scope of operations and to seduce unwitting individuals into sending them money. A new dark trend, virtual kidnapping, has emerged and authorities are cautioning the public as it has already ensnared some who have been left poorer and emotional distraught at the experience.
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The Most Dangerous Cities In The World // 2018
Individuals traveling overseas often check the travel advisories from the Department of State prior to traveling to unfamiliar countries to determine if additional safety precautions must be taken or if specific areas or regions ought to be avoided. The State Department also offers a convenient color-coded map to provide guidance to travelers.
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Macron's Cybersecurity Pact
Cybersecurity – to most who follow the news or are in any sensitive industry – is acknowledged as a significant issue for private organizations, individuals, and states. There are significant concerns about state actors working with affiliated hacking or cyberespionage organizations to either attack other nations, the critical infrastructure of other states – numerous states in the former Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union have experienced attacks against infrastructure in recent years – or to act on behalf of local companies – sometimes state-owned – and engage in corporate espionage to steal intellectual property (IP) or other research and development materials. On the public side, nations seek to keep confidential material as such and to protect the integrity of public institutions; many democratic societies – notably the United States – are extremely concerned about the integrity of democratic processes as allegations surface against other countries engaging in social media activity to sow dissension; moreover, concerns exist about the integrity of elections themselves as cybersecurity research efforts detail the credible security gaps in election infrastructure.
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