Britain is abuzz today with news of the long-awaited release of the Parliament’s report [.pdf] into Russian meddling in British politics. The report is the work of the Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. The report makes for uncomfortable reading indeed. It shows that, not just British, but Western intelligence agencies as a whole, remain incapable of combating online psychological operations from foreign state actors —primarily Russia— aiming to influence Western politics on a mass scale.
The British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Russia shows that the Internet, and social media in particular, have been major conduits of Russia’s psychological operations in Britain. This means that America’s 2016 presidential elections formed but a single step in Russia’s broader tactic for political destabilization of key Western nations. Additionally, whereas Western intelligence agencies have used social media to collect information, the Russians have developed an expertise in using these platforms to influence politics on a mass scale. The lack of understanding of social media dynamics by Western spies, who are usually older and not online-savvy, has added to their inability to stop Russian advances.
More importantly, the report offers clear evidence that British spy agencies —and to some extent those in leadership positions— have underestimated the degree to which Britain has been a target of Russian intelligence in recent years. This is an important realization in two ways: first, it shows that the Russian spy services have the manpower and technical capability to target many countries at once —something they had lost for a while in the 1990s. Second, it shows that other countries should take heed. If Britain has been a systematic target, chances are that Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, and many others, have also been subjected to Russia’s online influence operations.
The report also shows that British spies have been so overwhelmed by this problem, that they don’t even know how to start tackling it. Doing so would take a fundamental rethinking of how to conduct intelligence in an increasingly networked and globalized world, where disinformation is quickly becoming a weapon in the hands of malicious state actors. This is completely uncharted territory, and no-one in the West is quite sure how to respond to these novel challenges.
Senior United Kingdom officials have said the country will seek to “modernize” its laws on counterespionage, after a long-awaited parliamentary report criticized the government for failing to stop Russian spy operations. Some government officials said the government now plans to implement a new Espionage Bill, which is currently in the drafting stage, and is expected to provide the authorities with more powers to combat foreign espionage.
Additionally, Whitehall is considering initiating a large-scale review of the Official Secrets Act and redrafting it so as to include a foreign agent registration clause. The proposed clause would resemble the Foreign Agent Registration Act in the United States, which requires those working or lobbying on behalf of a foreign government —except accredited diplomats— to register with the authorities.This would allow British authorities to arrest, deport or imprison those found working on behalf of foreign powers, even if they are never caught committing espionage or transmitting classified information to a foreign entity.
Ian Allen
https://intelnews.org/
The British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Russia shows that the Internet, and social media in particular, have been major conduits of Russia’s psychological operations in Britain. This means that America’s 2016 presidential elections formed but a single step in Russia’s broader tactic for political destabilization of key Western nations. Additionally, whereas Western intelligence agencies have used social media to collect information, the Russians have developed an expertise in using these platforms to influence politics on a mass scale. The lack of understanding of social media dynamics by Western spies, who are usually older and not online-savvy, has added to their inability to stop Russian advances.
More importantly, the report offers clear evidence that British spy agencies —and to some extent those in leadership positions— have underestimated the degree to which Britain has been a target of Russian intelligence in recent years. This is an important realization in two ways: first, it shows that the Russian spy services have the manpower and technical capability to target many countries at once —something they had lost for a while in the 1990s. Second, it shows that other countries should take heed. If Britain has been a systematic target, chances are that Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, and many others, have also been subjected to Russia’s online influence operations.
The report also shows that British spies have been so overwhelmed by this problem, that they don’t even know how to start tackling it. Doing so would take a fundamental rethinking of how to conduct intelligence in an increasingly networked and globalized world, where disinformation is quickly becoming a weapon in the hands of malicious state actors. This is completely uncharted territory, and no-one in the West is quite sure how to respond to these novel challenges.
Senior United Kingdom officials have said the country will seek to “modernize” its laws on counterespionage, after a long-awaited parliamentary report criticized the government for failing to stop Russian spy operations. Some government officials said the government now plans to implement a new Espionage Bill, which is currently in the drafting stage, and is expected to provide the authorities with more powers to combat foreign espionage.
Additionally, Whitehall is considering initiating a large-scale review of the Official Secrets Act and redrafting it so as to include a foreign agent registration clause. The proposed clause would resemble the Foreign Agent Registration Act in the United States, which requires those working or lobbying on behalf of a foreign government —except accredited diplomats— to register with the authorities.This would allow British authorities to arrest, deport or imprison those found working on behalf of foreign powers, even if they are never caught committing espionage or transmitting classified information to a foreign entity.
Ian Allen
https://intelnews.org/
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