The #FBI has shut down its #ForeignInfluence task force. #CISA has ended its efforts to expose #disinformation. And this week the #State Dept put employees who tracked global disinformation on leave, shutting down the effort that had publicized the spread of #Chinese & #Russian #propaganda.

Almost 3 months into #Trump’s 2nd term, the guardrails intended to prevent #NationalSecurity missteps have come down as the new team races to anticipate & amplify the wishes of an #unpredictable president.

In the past, US #cybersecurity agencies would counter such campaigns by calling them out to raise public awareness. The #FBI would warn #socialmedia companies of inauthentic accounts so they could be removed. And, at times, #US #CyberCommand would try to take #Russia #TrollFarms that create #disinformation offline, at least temporarily.
But #Trump fired Gen Timothy D. Haugh, a 4-star general w/years of experience countering Russian online #propaganda, from his posts leading #CyberCom & the #NSA.

…last Sept #US authorities charged 2 #RT employees w/ allegedly funneling $10M to bankroll *unknowing* pro-#Trump #influencers to publish thousands of videos that pushed #Kremlin #propaganda. Dual Russian-American citizens Dimitri Simes & his wife, Anastasia, were charged w/ violating economic sanctions, in part for his paid work for another #Russia state television network.…

…AG #PamBondi shut down the #FBI task force investigating #ForeignInfluence….

Russ Handorf, who served in the #FBI for a decade in various #cybersecurity roles, also reviewed Berulis' extensive technical forensic records & analysis….

"All of this is alarming," he said. "If this was a publicly traded company, I would have to report this [breach] to the Securities and Exchange Commission…."

For #cybersecurity professionals, a failure to log activity is a cardinal sin & contradicts best practices as recommended by the National Institute of Standards & Technology [#NIST] & the #DHS's #CISA, as well as the #FBI & the #NSA.

"That was a huge red flag," said Berulis. "That's something that you just don't do. It violates every core concept of security & best practice."

The #whistleblower believes that the suspicious activity warrants further investigation by agencies w/more resources, like #CISA or the #FBI.

#Labor #law experts…fear that if the data gets out, it could be abused, including by private companies w/cases before the agency that might get insights into damaging testimony, #union leadership, #legal strategies & internal data on competitors — #Musk's #SpaceX among them….

The #Trump administration’s demand for loyalty, as well as its removal of prosecutors & #FBI officials deemed not supportive of the president’s agenda, goes against that tradition, outside analysts said. So too does #Trump’s directive that #PamBondi “seek sanctions” against attorneys & law firms that the administration believes are engaging in “frivolous, unreasonable & vexatious litigation against *the United States* [trump].” 

#law #ethics #felon47

Law enforcement agents from the #FBI, the #DEA, the #ATF, & #DHS have been given a list of questions to ask the minors & their sponsors during the *welfare checks*….The form directs agents to question sponsors about who asked them to sponsor the child, if any payment was made during the sponsor process, what info they provided in their application, whether the sponsor has ever been arrested, where the sponsors do their banking & where the sponsor works.