Category: Public Policy and National Security

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The responsibility of media and intellectuals for the power of big-tech and the safety of Institutions

Media and intellectuals no longer anticipate reality, but merely follow it. The building of a civil conscience pays the price by Andrea Monti

After Twitter decided to close former US president Trump’s accounts, Italian media and intellectuals  “discovered” the power of technological platforms and launched a “democracy alarm”.

They come good last and more than twenty years late (better late than never) on such an issue desperately signalled at international level by civil rights associations such as the American EFF, in Europe by EDRI) and, in Italy, since 1994, by ALCEI. Continue reading “The responsibility of media and intellectuals for the power of big-tech and the safety of Institutions”

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The assault on the US Capitol and the culture of law and order

The handling of the assault by former President Trump supporters has provoked strong criticism of the American security apparatus, responsible for not having foreseen what would happen. Ensuring public order, however, requires means, but also a philosophical choice in the management of security by Andrea Monti Professor of Law and Order, University of Chieti-Pescara – Originally published in Italian by Formiche.net

The scenes of the assault on the American Capitol evoke images more suited to other latitudes than that of the country universally accredited as a flagship democracy. Leaving aside why such a disconcerting event happened, and therefore disregarding the political consequences of having triggered a violent protest, it is worth making a few considerations on “how” the public order emergency looks from an Italian perspective. Continue reading “The assault on the US Capitol and the culture of law and order”

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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”