US government launches 'strike force' to combat Chinese and Russian technology threats

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the Disruptive Technology Strike Force will use intelligence and analytics to target illicit actors.

The U.S. government is stepping up its effort to combat threats from foreign technology investments, data acquisition and cyberattacks with a new collaboration between the Departments of Justice and Commerce, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Thursday.

Speaking at the Chatham House in London as part of a conversation on disruptive technologies by nation states and malign actors, Monaco announced the “Disruptive Technology Strike Force,” to fight the ability of autocrats seeking “tactical advantage through the acquisition, use, and abuse of disruptive technology, innovations that are fueling the next generation of military and national security capabilities.”

The U.S. government has traditionally used the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) to screen foreign investment in U.S. companies, and DOJ has used that committee to address the exploitation of American assets and technology, but it’s not enough, Monaco said.

“But CFIUS began nearly 50 years ago in an era of brick-and-mortar transactions,” Monaco said. “But today, the greatest risks come not from investment in our physical assets, but from transactions where datasets, software, and algorithms are the assets.”

The strike force will “use intelligence and data analytics to target illicit actors, we will enhance our public-private partnerships to harden supply chains, and we will identify early warning of threats to our critical assets, like semiconductors,” Monaco said. “Our goal is simple but essential — to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon off our best technology.”

The effort is a continuation of the work the government has done to be more aggressive in confronting state-aligned threats. In April 2022, for instance, the U.S. and British governments proactively disrupted a Russian military-controlled botnet known as Cyclops Blink. The two governments have also been proactive in attacking ransomware infrastructure, such as last month’s operation that took down servers connected to the Hive ransomware group.

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Government

• FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• The G7 tells industry to hurry up and prep for post-quantum encryption

• Jail time for Maine child in 764 marks turning point in federal law enforcement

Technology

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

• The Collective Cyber Defense letter wrote your next vendor questionnaire

Threats

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Russian national extradited to US for alleged involvement in bank-account takeover scheme

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

• Dogged Russia-based botnet dismantled after 23-year run

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure