As concerns mount in the US and Australia, TikTok is trying to deflect concerns over its perceived ties to the Chinese government. Its PR moves, however, may fall short.
Friends no longer: US president Donald Trump with his then national security adviser John Bolton in 2018.
EPA-EFE/Justin Lane
The former national security adviser seems likely to be sued and could face criminal liability.
A young man in Ontario (not pictured) affiliated with incel culture has been charged with terrorism, which may pose problems for how we understand national security.
(Shutterstock)
The decision to charge an incel youth with terrorism reinforces worrying trends in counterterrorism.
Dan Coats, left, then director of national intelligence, told Congress in 2019 about the potential danger of a pandemic.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Warnings about major disease outbreaks are supposed to come from national and international medical intelligence and surveillance agencies that most Americans have never heard of.
Under a new national security test the foreign investment review board will have to be notified by foreign investors hoping to secure a ‘sensitive national security business.
Some changes in the new security bill submitted to parliament last week are welcome, but others require careful scrutiny, especially when the rights of children are at stake.
Air raid wardens in Washington, D.C., conduct a practice air raid.
Office for Emergency Management, Office of War Information/National Archives
Since the Cold War, Americans have shifted from engaging in active self-rescue to passively waiting for help from a centralized, bureaucratic federal emergency response.
Mike Burgess, the head of ASIO, warns there are more foreign agents operating in Australia than at the height of the cold war - and many of them have the capability, intent, and persistence to cause significant harm.
A soldier stands guard at the damaged entrance to Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida, Oct. 11, 2018, after Hurricane Michael.
AP Photo/David Goldman
Charles Kurzman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Immigrants from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania constitute less than 1% of terrorism cases in the United States, and none of the cases in the last two years.
America lags when it comes to being able to speak more than one language.
Monopoly919/Shutterstock.com
Better job prospects and richer lives are among the many reasons to learn a foreign language, an expert on foreign language instruction writes.
Facebook’s initiative places the company in a complicated situation, as increased user privacy, while positive, could come with potential impunity for offenders.
SHUTTERSTOCK
Facebook is planning to put end-to-end encryption on all its messaging services soon. But governments aren’t happy about it, as it could make it harder to catch criminals.
The “blackout” campaign by media outlets attracted much attention, but the government’s mindset appears to be fixed.
Kelly Barnes/AAP
Even if the government was willing to bend on media freedom, the mindset within the public service remains fixed on secrecy and the control of information.
Nick Warner, the new director general of the Office of National Intelligence, has sounded the alarm about Australia’s lack of preparedness to counter cyber-threats.
Alan Porritt/AAP
We have not been able to develop an intelligence workforce that can keep up with the speed of advancing technologies and their threat to our national security.
Climate change is expected to increase the severity of natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region, straining Australia’s ability to respond through humanitarian missions and fuelling more climate migration.
Vlad Sokhin/UNICEF handout
A Senate report recommended several measures the government should take to prepare for climate-fuelled migration, natural disasters and conflicts. The response so far has been underwhelming.
The Christchurch attack is a clear signal we need to change our approach to both hateful extremism and toxic political discourse in Australia.
David Alexander/AAP
To understand the threat better, we need to devote more resources to monitoring and tracking far-right forums and social networks and a national database tracking hate crimes.
A lack of understanding between American and Middle-Eastern culture is a national security risk.
Lightspring/shutterstock.com
National security isn’t just about warding off physical attacks. It’s also about understanding cultural forces that drive a society to think, feel and act in certain ways, a political scientist says.
Bernard Collaery’s whistleblower trial will be a key test of the National Security Information Act and the restrictions it places on defendants and the courts.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The purpose of the NSIA is to protect national security information from being disclosed in courts. But this can undermine a defendant’s ability to argue his or her innocence.
Australia has enacted 20 new anti-terror laws since 2014. Several more bills have been introduced by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and are now before parliament.
James Ross/AAP
Australia now has one of the most comprehensive ranges of anti-terrorism laws of any Western democracy. It’s time to think creatively about solutions, rather than continually reworking old strategies.
Blowing the whistle carries major risks.
BlueSkyImage/Shutterstock.com
In many instances, whistleblowers find the abusive power they have revealed turned against them, both ending their careers and harming their personal lives.