Category: Public Policy and National Security

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USA, China and the Weaponisation of Culture

The invasion of a sovereign state implies fighting the internal ‘resistance’. Therefore the adoption of counterinsurgency strategies is necessary. What does this mean in a Second Cold War scenario? The analysis of Andrea Monti, Adjunct Professor of Law and Order, University of Chieti-Pescara – Originally published in Italian by Formiche.net

The inoculation of values and lifestyles of an adversary civilian population plays a fundamental role in any form of conflict. Disrupting the adversary’s social structures is the prerequisite for weakening its resistance, facilitating the acceptance of the foreign presence in one’s territory in case of invasion or domination, in case of defeat.

Theoretically, the reasoning is coherent and shareable from a strategic point of view but, as counterinsurgency experts know, its concrete application in a state of waged war (even ‘by proxy’) is very complicated. Continue reading “USA, China and the Weaponisation of Culture”

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Pfizer vaccine. Does adverse reaction information back up conspiracy theorists?

Spreading news about Pfizer vaccines’ allergic reactions is dangerous. A change in a communication strategy is urgent.

By Andrea Monti – Originally published in Italian by Infosec.News

After the British patient, other people (two nurses from a hospital in Alaska) suffered an extreme allergic reaction within ten minutes after the administration of the vaccine.

The news, in itself, is not relevant because any vaccine can have side effects and, as written in another article, it is simply wrong to think that the administration of a vaccine, as of any drug, cannot have consequences ranging from annoying to lethal. Concerning the specific case of the Pfizer vaccine, then, not being an expert, it is wise to refrain from any technical consideration, and wait to read some scientific study that explores the topic. Continue reading “Pfizer vaccine. Does adverse reaction information back up conspiracy theorists?”

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Leonardo’s lesson

by Andrea Monti – originally published by Infosec.News

A note for the non-Italian readers: Leonardo is the biggest Italian defence contractor. Recently the company has discovered a massive information theft related to critical pieces of defence equipment, allegedly committed by two insiders. According to the prosecution, the exfiltration went on undisturbed for about two years before being discovered.

A great deal has already been said about the massive illegal exfiltration of data suffered by Leonardo, about the difference between the institutional narrative of cybersecurity and the dramatic situation of the Italian infosec, and about the regulatory superfetation burdening national security. However, something still lasts to be discussed: the less-than-proportional relationship between the members’ quantity of a structure and their “loyalty” to the structure itself. Continue reading “Leonardo’s lesson”

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Terrorism and the abuse of fundamental rights

Acts of terrorism in France and Austria call for reflection on the political and tactical use of human rights by States as an instrument of anti-terrorist propaganda. Is the exercise of fundamental freedoms put at risk in the name of realpolitik? The analysis of Andrea Monti, adjunct professor of Law and Order and Public Security, University of Chieti-Pescara – Originally published in Italian by Formiche.net

There is no way, at least for now, of knowing whether the murder of the French teacher Samuel Paty, the killing of three people in Nice and the massacre in Vienna are the execution of a global plan, or whether they are individual events, planned and carried out by individuals or criminal cells. We also ignore if the spark that triggered them is – once again – the satire of Charlie Hebdo (a fact certainly connected to the assassination of Samuel Paty, but not to the others). Continue reading “Terrorism and the abuse of fundamental rights”