Actuarial Association of Europe’s Post

The Past, Present, and Future of Government Secrecy—And History Itself  The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America’s Top Secrets. by Matthew Connelly Extract “#Secrecy is a form of #government regulation,” a 1997 bipartisan statutory commission on the problem of state #secrets explained, but unlike government control in other areas, “the #public cannot know the extent or the content of the #regulation.” How this system came about is one of the most curiously underexamined aspects of modern U.S. #history. The contemporary secrecy #regime is a behemoth that creates, stockpiles, and jealously guards classified #information. There are twenty-eight million cubic feet of locked government files, unknown numbers of digitized secrets, approximately five million Americans with a security clearance, and over one million with access to the highest-level “Top-Secret” category. The United States spends over $18 billion a year to keep all those secrets safe. This, Matthew Connelly explains in his fascinating study, has resulted in a “#dark #state” that has allowed generations of executive officials to operate in the shadows and evade #accountability. Yet Connelly has not produced an entirely dystopian tale. Charting the rapid growth of secrets from World War II to the present, he aims to show how exploring this history can help curb excessive secrecy. Moreover, working alongside data scientists and social #scientists, he employs digital tools to delve into a vast database of declassified documents to deliver lessons for the present and #future. What kinds of secrets should remain secret? What could safely be released? What is missing from the official record? The method may be new, but The Declassification Engine seeks to strike a balance that officials, legislators, scholars, and activists have sought for years: the sweet spot between upholding national security, by protecting truly important secrets, and ensuring democratic accountability, by allowing greater public access to information. This innovative approach, Connelly asserts, can help ordinary citizens “to turn the tables” on “a system that has spun out of control” and “keep our government accountable” (34, 96). His project is part scholarly contribution, part civic call—he has widely promoted the book in #media appearances, including with the likes of Jon Stewart and David Pakman. https://lnkd.in/eHUUtPZ6

💥 Reforming the Flawed Classification System and the Emergence of the 'British Disease' in the US Economy 🎤 Dr. Turki Faisal Al Rasheed Comments at #Washingtonpost 📍 The United States' classification system is in urgent need of repair, as highlighted by the recent investigation into President Biden's handling of classified material. The investigation revealed concerning details about his memory and the storage of sensitive files, but this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the flaws within the national security secrets system. The main issue lies in the excessive volume of classified information, much of which is unnecessarily classified at high levels of secrecy. Moreover, the process of declassifying documents that no longer require secrecy is slow and inefficient, hindering officials who require timely access to information and undermining accountability, oversight, and comprehensive historical analysis. Amidst these concerns, there is a question of whether former President Trump will accelerate the spread of what is referred to as the "British disease" in the US economy. The US economy is already burdened by political polarization and the lingering aftermath of a financial crisis. Similar to post-World War II Britain, the United States finds itself trapped in a cycle of sluggish growth, which may compel a scaling back of international commitments. This could create opportunities for emerging powers and introduce geopolitical uncertainty on a global scale. A key factor in this decline was the slow transition from traditional industries that formed the backbone of the first Industrial Revolution to modern sectors. The failure to embrace precision machines powered by electricity, coupled with the emergence of new economic forces, led to significant job losses and reduced competitiveness. A similar trend is emerging in the United States today. After enjoying years of prosperity, the country is drifting away from the practical and innovative mindset that initially propelled its wealth creation. The brightest minds are increasingly drawn to higher-paying yet less productive fields like law, consulting, and non-profit activities, rather than pursuing industry and innovative projects. This shift was aptly described by David Brooks in The New York Times. The US must recognize the historical connection between Britain's fate and its current situation, which is not solely an economic issue but also rooted in deep political causes. It is crucial to address these concerns to avoid the consequences of exploiting the people's wealth. https://lnkd.in/grH7ZmMh

'...While the existence of disinformation is not new, the digital age and its ability to spread any narrative so rapidly (and from any voice, whether authentic or synthetic) is amplifying the reach and virility of false information – often more quickly than what is true. According to one study, false news is about 70% more likely to be reshared by people than true news, which proliferates false narratives and often leads to confirmation bias or confusion about the current state of events. By all signs so far in 2024, the disinformation threat landscape is becoming even more complex. With more than 60 countries around the world participating in elections this year, awareness of disinformation’s use by various actors and the ability to separate truth from falsehoods is paramount. AI-generated content has already led to serious election-related disinformation concerns, with the number of deepfakes being created increasing by 900% this year alone. With such rampant disinformation, the legitimacy of the election process and newly elected governments is being put into question. This risk is only heightened and multiplied by the recent advances and growth around Generative AI (Gen AI), which helps create realistic content more quickly and amplifies the effects of disinformation across social networks and other channels... ...the World Economic Forum has named disinformation the number one global risk in 2024. https://lnkd.in/ewUHtair

Zooming out from foreign information manipulation and interference for a moment, we should invest more time and money in making sense of the information environment as a whole. Only then can we hope to unlock the full range of tools needed to counter information manipulation and other ails of that omnipresent environment. Kamya Yadav and Samantha Lai lay out (some of the) much-needed building blocks to finally nail down the idea of information integrity, a promising but ill-defined concept used in these discussions – accuracy, consistency, reliability, fidelity, safety, and transparency. https://lnkd.in/eYM8pQKh

Have you ever wondered about "Safeguarding Financial Data in the Digital Age" where cybercrimes are skyrocketing and user safety is the most promising challenge? Dr. Farah Amir and I are pleased to announce the "Call for Chapters" on the same challenge of safeguarding financial data in the digital age! As financial transactions increasingly migrate to digital platforms, the need for robust strategies to protect sensitive financial information becomes paramount. ✋ ✋ We invite scholars, researchers, and experts in the fields of finance, cybersecurity, and technology to contribute insightful chapters that address emerging challenges, innovative solutions, and best practices in safeguarding financial data. 👨💻 👩💻 Topics may include but are not limited to encryption methods, risk management frameworks, regulatory compliance, emerging technologies, and case studies illustrating successful implementations. 📰 📜 Important Dates: 📢 January 28, 2024: Proposal Submission Deadline February 11, 2024: Notification of Acceptance March 31, 2024: Full Chapter Submission May 5, 2024: Review Results Returned May 26, 2024: Final Acceptance Notification June 2, 2024: Final Chapter Submission We look forward to your novel contributions and welcome the proposals for approval 🤗 🤗 🤗 Sunway Business School Sunway University #Call_For_Chapters #Editor #Book #Financial_Data #Risk_Management

Be wary of using the term "nation state" to characterize broad scale attacks funded by governments and interest groups. In political science from which it is borrowed, "nation state" is a precisely defined term, but when transferred into the cybersecurity context, it is often misused to evoke a vague fear of nationalism-motivated attacks and reprisals.   Most countries are nation states, so a precise reading of this term excludes and exculpates a small number of countries, effectively stating that "these aren't the attackers". For example, India and Bosnia and Herzegovina aren't nation states. What's more, the status of some countries on the nation state-multinational state dichotomy is vague and depends on whom you ask. So trying to read the term precisely actually does more to muddy the water than to clarify things.   Crucially, tacking the "nation" bit in front of "state" – without clarifying the attackers' true motives and aims – intentionally evokes the specter of nationalism, reminiscent of Cold War tactics, serving to separate the "us" from the unknown, diffuse, and undefinable "them". It invites us to project our own fears, and it feeds into the divisive worldview that's so prominent nowadays. For this reason, using "nation state" in such a vague way is disingenuous at best and scaremongering at worst.   Instead, we can just say "large-scale attack", or if we really want to involve politics, "foreign government-funded attack" is an option.  

This article shows what businesses may be facing in trying to protect heir data in the coming year. Give it a read, then give our team a call. We can help you go into 2024 with confidence. https://oal.lu/p8gae

This article shows what businesses may be facing in trying to protect heir data in the coming year. Give it a read, then give our team a call. We can help you go into 2024 with confidence. https://oal.lu/04siQ

Anyone who has worked in the Intelligence Community has classified an email asking a colleague to lunch. Harmless, right? Better to be safe than sorry? Well, it's a costly--and lazy--practice-- one that stops us from viewing unclassified output as anything other than a risk to be avoided. There’s a 400 million-page backlog of documents waiting to be declassified, and the classification system itself costs more than $18 billion a year. We can avoid adding to that backlog by determining what information shouldn’t be classified in the first place, and this bipartisan bill, introduced by Sens. Cornyn and Peters, is a great place to start. https://lnkd.in/e-BrygNm

This article shows what businesses may be facing in trying to protect heir data in the coming year. Give it a read, then give our team a call. We can help you go into 2024 with confidence. https://oal.lu/DGb08