Doomscroll News

Tag: threat

  • The Real Threat Isn’t AI, It’s Email and Things Like It

    The Real Threat Isn’t AI, It’s Email and Things Like It

    The panic over the Claude AI being used for cybercrime is misplaced. The AI isn’t the problem. The real threat is our ancient and fundamentally insecure communication platforms, with email being the worst offender.

    Email lacks the basic security verification, like the padlock on websites, that we should expect for critical communications. It was never built to be safe, which is why criminals find it so easy to fake identities and send fraudulent messages. The AI is simply a new tool that helps them exploit this old weakness more efficiently.

    This isn’t just about email. Even supposedly secure apps like Signal have shown major design flaws, proving we can’t just trust brand names or marketing.

    The mission is clear. America needs to stop patching these broken systems and lead the way in building secure replacements. These new systems must have real verification built in from the start.

    https://www.anthropic.com/news/detecting-countering-misuse-aug-2025

    https://archive.is/k1t6W

  • Precision Doctrine: Re-evaluating Digital Assets from Peacetime Liability to Wartime Strategic Reserve

    Precision Doctrine: Re-evaluating Digital Assets from Peacetime Liability to Wartime Strategic Reserve

    David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 12, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

    Executive Summary

    This report argues that the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act represents a fundamental misinterpretation of digital asset technology’s strategic value. The Act integrates stablecoins into the peacetime financial system to foster innovation. However, this policy creates a significant national security liability. It strengthens a global infrastructure that adversaries exploit for illicit finance and sanctions evasion.

    The core argument is that the technology’s decisive value is not in peacetime commerce. Instead, its highest and best use is as a strategic military asset reserved for times of declared conflict. This analysis examines the GENIUS Act, the arguments of its proponents and opponents, and the extensive evidence of security threats posed by the peacetime proliferation of cryptocurrencies.

    As an alternative, this report proposes a “Wartime Digital Asset Act.” This framework would restrict the peacetime use of public cryptocurrencies. It would simultaneously develop the underlying technology as a strategic military reserve. This capability would be activated only upon a declaration of war by Congress for critical applications. These include resilient command and control, secure logistics, and wartime finance.

    The report concludes that true technological leadership requires the precise application of innovation to its most decisive purpose. In this case, that purpose is to serve as a reserved instrument of national power.

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  • The Sentinel Initiative: A Non-Invasive Technological Moonshot to Secure America’s Health Against Airborne Threats

    The Sentinel Initiative: A Non-Invasive Technological Moonshot to Secure America’s Health Against Airborne Threats

    This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.

    David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

    Executive Summary

    The resurgence of measles in the United States signals a critical failure in our national public health strategy. We face a highly contagious airborne virus and an environment of deep public distrust. Because of this, traditional methods that rely on universal compliance are no longer sufficient.

    This report proposes the Sentinel Initiative. It is a national “moonshot” project to develop and deploy a nationwide, non-invasive early warning system for airborne pathogens.

    The proposed solution is a two-pronged technological strategy. It focuses on situational awareness, not surveillance.

    • The first pillar is an Atmospheric Surveillance Grid. This network of advanced biosensors in critical public infrastructure (e.g., transit hubs, schools) will detect airborne threats in real time.
    • The second is the development of Personal Early Warning Systems. These wearable devices would function as personal “Geiger counters” for viruses.

    Crucially, this initiative is founded on the principle of empowerment through information. It is fundamentally non-invasive: it detects pathogens in the air, not people. It does not track individuals, collect personal data, or mandate behavior. By providing objective, real-time alerts, it empowers individuals and public health officials to make informed decisions. This complements—not replaces—vaccination efforts.

    The Sentinel Initiative represents a strategic investment in national resilience. It offers a new layer of defense that protects public health, ensures economic stability, and enhances individual liberty in the face of 21st-century biological threats.

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  • An Unmitigated Threat: The National Security Case for the Prohibition of TikTok in the United States

    An Unmitigated Threat: The National Security Case for the Prohibition of TikTok in the United States

    David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

    With over 170 million users in the United States, TikTok is more than a social media phenomenon; it is a deeply embedded component of American digital life and commerce.1 This ubiquity, however, masks a critical vulnerability. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the national security threat posed by the social media application TikTok, operated by its parent company, ByteDance Ltd. It argues that due to ByteDance’s inextricable links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the application functions as a dual-threat vector for sophisticated data espionage and algorithmic influence operations against the United States.

    Executive Summary

    This report analyzes the national security threat from TikTok, an application operated by ByteDance Ltd. The company’s deep connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allow the app to function as a tool for data espionage and algorithmic influence against the United States.

    This report’s central thesis is that mitigation efforts cannot neutralize this threat. The application’s core architecture, corporate governance, and legal obligations are inextricably linked to the CCP, a designated foreign adversary. Therefore, a complete prohibition on its operation within the United States is the only effective policy solution.

    The report deconstructs ByteDance’s opaque corporate structure. It highlights the CCP’s control mechanisms, such as the “golden share” held by a state-backed entity, which make any claims of operational independence untenable. It also details warnings from top U.S. intelligence officials, including the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence, who define TikTok as a tool that a foreign adversary can leverage.

    Furthermore, the report dismisses mitigation efforts like the $1.5 billion “Project Texas” as flawed security theater. Evidence shows this project failed to sever data flows to Beijing or neutralize the threat of algorithmic manipulation. The core issue of adversarial ownership remained unaddressed.

    After refuting key counterarguments—related to the First Amendment, economic impacts, and false equivalencies with U.S. tech firms—the report concludes that partial measures are insufficient. The unique nature of the threat, rooted in ByteDance’s subservience to the CCP, demands a structural solution. The only policy that fully addresses these inherent risks is the swift enforcement of a ban on TikTok and any successor applications, as provided by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA).

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