What's going on in the World Today 130805

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USA

With Embassy Closures, the U.S. Errs on the Side of Caution

U.S. Naval Update Map: Aug. 1, 2013

July 31, V3.co.uk – (National) NASA cloud computing use blasted for security and management failings. A report published by the U.S. Office of Inspector General determined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s cloud services did not meet critical IT security requirements and the administration did not perform annual tests of security controls, creating the potential for serious disruptions to operations.

July 30, CSO – (National) Universities putting sensitive data at risk via unsecure email. A survey conducted by Halock Security Labs determined colleges and universities put the financial and personal information of students and parents at risk when they allow them to submit such data to the school through unencrypted email. The vulnerability is more prominent in smaller schools and community colleges as larger universities tend have better security measures in place, according to the report.

July 31, Denver Post – (Colorado) Former Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic employee stole patient information. Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic in Lone Tree, Colorado, notified 532 patients after a former employee created a document containing their personal information and sent it to her personal email account. The former employee was immediately fired and told police she did not share the information and immediately deleted the document after sending it.


August 1, The Register – (International) Gmail, Outlook.com, and e-voting ‘pwned’ on stage in crypto-dodge attack. Researchers demonstrated a man-in-the-middle attack at the Black Hat 2013 conference which can allow unauthorized access to email by preventing logout requests. The attack could also be used against certain electronic voting systems.

July 28, St. Helens Chronicle – (Oregon) OHSU notifies patients of ‘cloud’ health information storage. Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) notified 3,044 individuals that their OHSU health information was stored on a cloud computing system, and although the service is password-protected and has security measures in place to protect stored information, the terms of use indicate the data could potentially be used for promotional and development services by the provider.

AFRICA

The Role of Jihadists in Tunisia's Unrest

ASIA

Cambodia's Ruling Party Under Siege

Problems Facing Taiwan's Transition to an All-Volunteer Military

Taiwan: Mass Protest Held In Taipei Over Military August 3, 2013

More than 100,000 people protested in Taiwan on Aug. 3 in response to the death of a young conscript who was allegedly abused in the military, AFP reported. The rally took place in a square near the presidential office in Taipei. The march was the second such protest since Corporal Hung Chung-chiu died of heatstroke July 4, allegedly after being forced to exercise excessively as punishment for taking a smartphone onto his base. High costs and low recruitment and retention are affecting the military's modernization plan.

EUROPE

The European Crisis Catches Up to Nordic Europe

In Spain and Italy, Corruption Scandals Threaten Stability

MEXICO/LATIN AMERICA

The Politics of Argentine Agriculture

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan Update: Avoiding the U.S. "Zero Option"

Afghanistan: Indian Consulate Attacked August 3, 2013

Three suicide attackers assaulted the Indian Consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Aug. 3, killing six people and wounding another 22, Indian officials and local police said, Reuters and AP reported. Police fired on the militants as they approached a checkpoint, prompting one of them to set of an explosive-laden car. Following the 10 a.m. blast, gunfire was heard in the area for an hour. All three assailants died. On Aug. 1, the United States announced that 21 of its embassies and consulates around the world, including its mission in Kabul, would be closed Aug. 4 due to al Qaeda-related security threats.

CHINA

Interpreting the Discrepancies in China&'s Statistics

The Uncertain Future of the Sino-Myanmar Pipeline

Energy Pipelines Between China and Myanmar

The Post-China 16: Ascendant Manufacturing Countries

EGYPT

Egypt: Army Destroys Hidden Fuel Tanks In Sinai August 1, 2013

Border guards and the Egyptian army destroyed 38 underground fuel tanks discovered on the northeastern Sinai border, an army spokesman said Aug. 1, MENA reported. Ten of the tanks contained gasoline and had a storage capacity of 2,600,000 liters, and the remaining 28 tanks had a capacity of 634,000 liters and were used to store diesel. The tanks were found as part of the recent operations to fight militants in the Sinai Peninsula.

IRAN

U.S., Iran: Why They Will Now Likely Negotiate

Iran: New President Assumes Office August 4, 2013

Newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took the oath of office in Tehran on Aug. 4, and is expected to name his Cabinet later in the day, Reuters reported. The election of Rouhani, who has pledged to pursue less confrontational policies abroad in order to ease sanctions against Iran, has provided Iranian leaders with an ideal opportunity to engage with the United States to forestall further economic decline.

IRAQ

Iraq: Troops Ordered To Search For Prison Escapees In Baghdad August 1, 2013

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has instructed anti-terrorism, Baghdad Operations Command and ground forces to launch raids in several areas in and around Baghdad, All Iraq News reported Aug. 1. The raids and searches are meant to find escapees from the Abu Ghraib prison. Militants attacked two prisons in Iraq on July 21 and freed between 500 and 600 prisoners.

ISRAEL

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

RUSSIA

Tajikistan Extends Russia's Military Presence

Russia: Muslim Cleric Killed In Dagestan August 4, 2013

An unidentified gunman shot and killed a Muslim cleric in the Russian province of Dagestan, police said Aug. 4, AP reported. The province has seen a rise in a more radical form of Salafist Islamism that has conflicted with the region's more traditional Sufi Islam, as seen by the recent targeting of several clerics in the region for being "too moderate".

Russia: North Caucasus Islamists Should Not Come To Syria, Syrian Warlord Says August 1, 2013

North Caucasus Islamists should not join the war in Syria but should continue jihad in Russian cities outside the North Caucasus, a Syrian jihadist warlord said in a video message dated July 30, RIA Novosti reported Aug. 1. In the video, the speaker, identified as the leader of a group called az Zubair, sits in a wheelchair and is wearing a T-shirt bearing the name of Russian Islamist group Caucasus Emirate. The speaker said that North Caucasus Islamists should target the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In May 2012, Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee accused the Caucasus Emirate militant group and its leader, Doku Umarov, of planning an attack against the Olympics in Sochi.

SYRIA

Syria: Intense Fighting Erupts In Damascus, Activists Say August 3, 2013

Syrian rebels clashed with government troops in the Barzeh district of Damascus on Aug. 3, activists with the opposition Local Coordination Committee said, Xinhua reported. The intense fighting was ignited when government troops tried to storm the district with the support of heavy shelling on the area, the activists said. Heavy shelling was also reported in the eastern suburbs of Jobar and Hamorieh. Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that rebels, including members of al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, seized three arms depots in the town of Qaldoun, near Damascus, after intense fighting overnight.
Syria: Rebels, Including Jihadists, Seize Arms Depot, Activists Say August 3, 2013

Syrian rebels captured and arms and ammunition deport in the Qalamun area near Damascus on Aug. 3, gaining access to anti-tank weapons and rockets, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, AFP reported. Several groups, including the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, were involved in the seizure, which was achieved following several overnight clashes. Though Washington will take several steps to limit the distribution of weapons sent by the West into extremist hands, at least some will likely end up in the extremists' control

MIDDLE EAST GENERAL

The Latest Attempt at Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks

Pakistan: The Ramifications of a Prison Break

Turkey's Options to Manage Syrian Kurds and Jihadists

France: Interpol Issues Global Security Alert Over Prison Breaks August 3, 2013

Interpol issued a global security alert Aug. 3 in response to a series of recent prison breaks in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan, which the France-based agency said it is examining for links, Reuters reported. The alert follows a U.S.-issued worldwide travel alert on Aug. 2 warning Americans that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. The alert was based on the same intelligence that prompted the State Department to close 21 U.S. embassies and consulates on Aug. 4, an unnamed U.S. official said. The United Kingdom, France and Germany announced plans to temporarily close their embassies in Yemen the same day. While the al Qaeda core has been crippled, other portions of the jihadist movement are thriving.

MISC

Geopolitical Calendar: Week of Aug. 5, 2013

Canada's Evolution in Oil

Technology's Impact on Geopolitics

August 1, The Register – (International) Hackers induce ‘CATASTROPHIC FAILURE’ in mock oil well. Researchers with Cimation demonstrated how to exploit widely deployed supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems to spoof data to the operator and remotely control equipment such as pumps in oil pipelines. A programmable logic controller was remotely controlled to send signals to devices on the simulated pipeline, allowing researchers the ability to turn pumps on and off, causing the mock oil pipeline to rupture.

Except where noted courtesy STRATFOR.COM