#...and stealing US military hardware.

[patchoulol]

By 1 vote, it's Homura Akemi, so I want you all 7 of you to pretend yours was the only vote that mattered!

Tagged by @busyfish to give four characters I like and let my followers vote on who reminds them most of me.

For science, let's see what happens if I don't include Patchouli at all.

[mrsevans90]

Puppy Love

Captain Syverson x OFC Emma Miller Part 7

Summary: Austin Syverson has returned to Texas after retiring from the military and starts his own contracting business. Syverson is used to being alone and thinks he prefers it that way. While at work he stumbles upon an injured and abused puppy. When he meets the new veterinarian in town, Emma Miller, he is immediately smitten with her. It turns out Emma has some baggage of her own. Will they be able to make it work? Or is it just a case of fleeting puppy love?

Pairing: Henry Cavill as Captain Austin Syverson x OFC Emma Miller 

Warnings: Smut and drama, mentions of Sy sustaining war injury-graphic, PTSD, language.

MINORS DNI! Must be 18+

I do not authorize any copying/pasting, stealing of my work, or using my words as your own. 

This story is not beta’d. All mistakes are my own.

A/N: I am an imperfect person who makes mistakes. All that I ask is to please be kind and if you enjoy it then please comment and REPOST! I appreciate any love, comments, and reposts more than you could know. Thank you for reading! 

Part 6

Emma seemed to be in a much better mood after spending a few hours with the dogs in nature. We held hands throughout the hike and I felt myself falling for her even more as I saw how she carried herself after a stressful situation. She felt like sunshine, always smiling and bubbly, even though I know she was fearful and anxious after what happened. We headed to the local Home Depot and after placing Mills in the buggy, and leashing Aika, we got to work looking for security cameras and video doorbells. Emma called and made an appointment to have a security system installed in her home next week, and I ended up getting a few things I might need when working on her sink later too. Emma just about had a fit when I tried to pay for everything and said she wouldn’t allow me to install anything if I paid for it so I conceded. Stubborn woman. We headed back to her house and I felt her anxiety increase when it came into the distance; like she was worried that he was going to be there waiting on her or would pop out of the bushes.

“I’m going to try and clear out the garage of moving boxes so that I can start parking inside there. That way, nobody can tell if I’m home or not.” She said and I nodded.

“If you want to wait, I can help you after I install the cameras.” 

“No, I’m so grateful that you’re doing that. It’s mainly just boxes of things that I didn’t need immediately. Decorations that I didn’t have time to go through, some winter clothes I knew I wouldn’t need anytime soon. I sort of just shoved them there when I moved and have been parking outside but this will be better anyway.” She told me.

Once we got inside, I decided to get to work. Emma started working in the garage while I installed four cameras around the outside of her house and then a doorbell camera so she could see who was on her doorstep even when she wasn’t home. It was quick install and I was done in just over two hours, before heading inside to work on the sink. Emma called and ordered us Chinese takeout and was packaging up some cookies she baked in her kitchen when I made it back inside. I stole a cookie from the pan and Emma pulled a crumb from my beard and ate it.

“Delicious. Mind if I see your phone so I can set up the surveillance cameras and doorbells to it?” I ask her and she immediately hands me her phone. I get to work adding the apps needed and have her create a password so that they are protected. She was so open, telling me the password so I could plug it in even though it wasn’t smart for anyone to have her login credentials. “You protect me, not hurt me. I trust you to have it.” She replied when I told her she didn’t need to tell me. God, this woman. 

“You know, I don’t expect you to fix my entire house.” She said as I was working on her sink. I decided to snake the sink with the tools I grabbed at the hardware store first to see if that would help and if it didn’t get better, I’d replace the pipes. 

“I’m not fixing your entire house but I will if it needs it.” 

“How much do you typically charge to do these type of handyman services?” She inquires.

“Nah ah, Sugar. Don’t even think about it. I’m doing this because I care about your safety and I want too.” 

“I know and I’m so grateful, but I’d really feel better about it if I could pay you for doing this. It wouldn’t feel so much like charity.” She whispers. “Alright, how about after we eat supper tonight, you take me into that little bedroom of yours and shower with me?” I say with an eyebrow arched.

“Are you suggesting that I pay you in sexual favors like some sort of bad porn storyline?” She admonishes.

“Well now, when you say it like that I sound like a jackass.”

She giggles and walks closer to me. I inhale her floral scent and watch her bite her bottom lip. I feel the blood rushing to my cock as she looks up at me through her lashes with those ‘fuck me eyes’ and trails her fingertips down my chest and over my covered dick as she whispers seductively, “I’m fucking with you, Sy. I’d loved to pay you in sexual favors. I’d like to start by getting on my knees and tak”

DING DONG!

I groan loudly as she giggles and steps back looking at her phone.

“Looks like my new doorbell works well. Dinner is here.” She giggles as she turns and sways her hips seductively as she heads to the door. Little cock tease. I follow her quickly and wrap my arms around her to pull her ass directly on top of my hard cock. She moans as I hold her hips and slightly grind her body against mine. 

“Ya gonna leave me hangin’ sugar?” I grunt in her ear and watch the goosebumps trail across her arms. Her nipples peak and harden under her sports bra and I gently tweak them with my fingertips which earns me a quiet mewl.

“I gotta get the dinner.” She breathily replies. Keeping her positioned in front of me with her ass directly against me, I unlock and open the door for the delivery kid. He looks at Emma with wide eyes and hands her the takeout bags and she confirms that his tip was added online. He thanks her and shuffles off back to his car. 

“What about my tip? Where can I put that?” I ask in her ear and she giggles.

“Austin, you horn dog!” She playfully smacks my arm. “I think that poor kid was terrified.” 

“Nah, he just saw a beautiful woman and got flustered. I did the same first time I saw you. Men aren’t the quickest thinkers when all of the blood leaves their head to rush to their other head.” 

“You did not! You were so confident and cocky. You convinced me to give my personal cell phone number out and I’ve never done that!” 

I wink at her before pulling her in for a gentle kiss. “Don’t tell me you regret it?” I murmur against her lips. 

“Not even for a second.” She replies with a shy smile. That smile makes me want to forget dinner and take her to bed. 

“I’m hungry, let’s eat.” She whispers and I close my eyes before smiling at her. I’d do anything she wanted me too. Fuck, I’m in too deep.

“I’ll make it up to you with dessert.” Emma says quietly with a kiss to my cheek. I have to adjust myself in my pants before I follow her to the kitchen. I let the dogs out in her backyard to use the restroom and then we settle down to dinner. Emma has gotten us beers from the fridge and we start making our plates.

After we eat, Emma wordlessly cleans up the takeout containers before grabbing my hand and tugging me toward her bedroom. Everything is clean, but with a lot more clothes laying out on the chairs and dresser. 

“I wasn’t sure what to wear yesterday for our date. Too many options.” She admits slightly embarrassed. I hold up a little black dress and arch my eyebrow. “I wanna see you in this at some point.” I tell her and she nods with a grin.

She walks into the adjoining bathroom and turns the shower on. I watch her bite her lip before she removes her top and sports bra. Next, she slides her leggings and panties down and kicks out of them. She pulls her hair out of the ponytail before prowling towards me. Her little cold hands cause me to startle as she reaches under my shirt and slides it up my chest. Being so much taller than her, I have to help her pull it off of me. Without ever losing eye contact, she unbuttons my shorts and pulls them down with my boxers at the same time. She grabs my hand and tugs for me to join her in the shower. As soon as we step into the cubicle, I reach forward to adjust the water a bit cooler. Women and their hot showers. So much for that hot water heater having trouble. I have a feeling her unnaturally scorching showers are the cause of that problem. Before I can even say anything, Emma is down on her knees grabbing my throbbing member. She wraps her tiny little hands around me and licks the bead of precum on the slit while staring directly into my eyes. 

“Fucking hell, Sugar.” I moan and she shoves my cock all the way into her mouth. Her tongue is sliding all over my dick and I immediately rest my fists on the tile wall just to steady myself. She pulls off and sucks my balls into her mouth and I have to force my eyes open so I don’t miss a single second. She pulls off of me and I look down at her, “Fuck my face, Captain.” Holy shit.

“I don’t want to hurt you, beautiful.” I tell her as I’m trying to keep myself from immediately cumming just from the view and her words while using my title.

“You won’t, I trust you.” She says before she puts me back into her mouth, places my hands on her head, and sits back almost submissively on her heels. 

“Slap my thighs if you need me to stop.” I tell her and she nods while I’m still in her mouth. I gently hold onto her hair and start shallowly thrusting. Fuckkkkk her mouth is heaven.

Without meaning too, I get lost in the sensation and pick up the pace and my dick starts punching the back of her throat. She gags and tears start trickling from her eyes but she grabs my thighs when I try to remove myself. 

“Darlin’, I’m hurting you.” She shakes her head no and forces herself to deepthroat my cock again. She gags and her throat constricts around the head of my cock and I involuntarily groan.

“Ah, baby, I’m gonna cum. Pull off.” I tell her so she won’t choke on it. She shakes her head no and doubles her efforts to please me. I know most women don’t like to swallow cum and even though she has before I don’t want to assume. 

“I hope this is what you wanted, cus here I cum.” I choke out before I roar out a moan as my release starts spurting down her throat. Emma works me through my orgasm until I’m squirming back from the oversensitivity. My forehead and fist are resting on the cold tile above her as I try and recollect myself.

When Emma stands, I immediately wrap my hand gently around her throat and pull her into a passionate, heart stopping kiss. I taste myself on her tongue and am even more aroused that she took me so well. I know I’m pretty decently endowed and I can’t imagine that was an easy feat. I start kissing down Emma’s neck while she catches her breath.

“Fuck me, baby. Please, I can’t wait anymore.” She begs.

“Let me taste you, angel.” I tell her as I shove two fingers in her tight little hole. 

“Ah! Later, I need your cock inside me right now, Captain.” If I wasn’t still hard, that’s all it would take to get me ready again. I quickly turn Emma around and bend her over against the tile. She shutters at the cold but moans loudly when I slide into her. Damn, she’s always so tight like a damn virgin. 

“Mmm, this pussy is perfect. So tight and wet, molding to my cock like it was made for me.” I tell her. I know she loves my dirty talk. I grab onto her hips and start really slamming into her before reaching down and pressing my fingers against her little pearl. Emma is squeezing her perfect tits with one hand while the other helps hold her up as I repeatedly ram into her. 

“Come on, Sugar. Coat my cock. Cum on your Captain’s cock. That's an order.” I grunt in her ear and moments later she releases. I have to take deep breaths in order to keep from cumming as she squeezes around me but I eventually turn her back over and lift her up. I push her back against the tile and her legs on my shoulders as I hold her up in the air and slide back inside of her. 

“Ah, Austin!” She yells when I slide back into her. I still inside her.

“That’s not how you address your superior. Try again.” I grunt.

“Cap… CAPTAIN!” She screams and I slam into her. 

“Much better, Sugar.” 

“Oh, fuck Captain! You’re so big!” She whines.

“Yeah, baby, I’m all the way up in your belly. Look at you taking my fat cock so well. Gonna ruin you for anyone else.” I praise her.

“Mmmm. Ruin me, Cap.” She moans and I place my thumb right on her little button which detonates her second orgasm and I can’t resist this time and follow after her. 

“Take my cum, baby, I’m going to fill you up with me.” I grunt as I coat her walls with my spend. Her body is like jello in my arms as she is exhausted from her orgasm. She doesn’t have a bench in here for me to sit her on so I just hold her and bury my face in her neck as we recover. Moments go by with nothing but our heavy breathing and the sound of the water pouring on our skin before she tries to disentangle her legs from my waist. I carefully pull out of her and stand her on her own two feet without letting go of her. She buries her face into my chest and I just wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on the crown of her head.

“How are we ever going to stop doing this?” I hear her whisper.

“Who says we gotta stop?” I ask aloud as I gently start massaging her shoulders.

“Nobody, I guess I just wonder if it’s the newness of us, or what. My poor vagina has never been so abused yet so happy all at once.” She moans as I rub her back and I chuckle at her response.

“I didn’t initiate this one, so that’s not on me.” I joke. “If you or that cute little cunt need a break, just tell me.”

“Mmmm, I don’t want a break.” She whines and kisses my chest. 

“Let me clean ya up.” I tell her and start reaching for her body wash. I’m going to smell like a chick when I get done in here but I don’t give a damn. I lather up her body wash and wash her. She lets me wash and condition her hair and proceeds to then give me the same treatment even though I have a buzzcut. I joke that it’s not necessary but bite my tongue when she starts scratching my scalp with her nails. 

“Mmm, that feels divine, Darlin’. You’ve found the way to my heart.” I tell her and she continues to scratch.

“Sy, could I ask you something personal?” Em asks me as she washes my body. 

“I think you’ve earned the right since we’re about as personal as we can get.” I gesture towards our soapy, naked bodies pressed against each other.

“Tell me about how your last relationship ended.” She inquires.

“Already told you the gist of it. Got cheated on and got a Dear John letter while deployed. She moved on with the coworker that she swore to me was just a friend.” Emma shakes her head almost disconcertedly.

“How long ago was that?” 

“Hmm.. Shit, I guess about eight or nine years ago.”

“Really, that long? There’s been nobody since?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly say that. Just nobody that I’ve actually dated. I didn’t date at all after, while still in the army because the last few years I spent deployed in a sandpit with a bunch of men. Since leaving the army, I guess I became content with finding comfort and stress relief through occasional one-night stands. It’s not something I advertise as I’m certainly not proud of it but it’s the only way I was able to be upfront with my intentions for a night of fun.” It’s just smarter to leave after the fact so that I don’t have to worry about my night terrors with a woman around. Nobody needs to witness that fear or see me being weak, I think to myself. 

“Most of the women here that are single are young and looking to get hitched right away so they can start having babies. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, in fact I once had every intention of finding myself a woman and doing the same when I was young. At one point, I desperately wanted the wife and kids but I wasn’t willing to settle.” I don’t know if that’ll ever happen though, and I hate the thought of that. “After my mama died and I got cheated on for the second time while on deployment, I was in a pretty bad place. I thought fuck it. I’ll become a career army man and focus only on rising in the ranks and the fight in front of me. I remained laser focused on that initiative until I got injured during my last deployment. As I was recovering I realized how my grandparents were getting on up there in age. Mark moved to Tennessee for work and met Jenn and I just couldn’t stand the thought of them out here on the farm all alone without someone to call when they needed help. My grandparents did hire a few workhands around the farm but I didn’t want to leave them without family.”  I also realized I couldn’t run from life anymore.

This was the first time I’ve really said it all out loud to anyone. I really want to say that it’s because I was scared to get hurt again, but I don’t want to seem weaker than I already am. 

“May I ask about your injury?” 

“Ah, just got shot in the leg. Tore up my knee and needed lots of physical therapy to be able to walk on it again. I technically could have re-enlisted, but I decided to retire. Wanted to be close to my grandparents if they needed me.” I notice myself downplaying my injury like I always do. Just a bullet to the leg is how I’ve always talked about it. Emma doesn’t need to know that the sniper put the bullet that hit me through one my friends’ head first, before it hit me in the leg. She doesn’t need to worry about how I would’ve likely been the sniper’s next target if he hadn’t already accidentally taken me down and out of his headshot. I don’t want her to know how that sniper that took out a third of my team the same day I got injured before a different division captured him. I still struggle with what the therapists coined ‘survivor’s guilt.’ It’s way to heavy to get into with a civilian, especially someone as kind and gentle as Emma. I don’t want the images in my head to ever taint someone as perfect and loving as her. 

“Thank you for telling me.” She smiles up at me and I feel guilty for not really telling her the truth. It’s only a matter of time before she realizes how fucked up I really am.

“Let’s finish up.” I say to change the subject and we rinse off the soap that lingers on our skin before drying off with big fluffy towels that Emma has on the towel rack. Women really buy some luxurious shit, I think to myself as I wrap the extravagant towel around my waist. Guess I’m just used to living like a bachelor and haven’t been around a place with a female touch in a while.

“Want to stay here tonight or go back to yours? I still have my bag packed.” Emma asks.

I doubt I could sleep a wink here since I’m not used to the sounds and smells. My nightmares would either wake me up or I’d never be able to sleep at all.

“Would you mind if we went back to mine? I don’t have any clean clothes or dog food here.” I ask.

“That’s perfectly fine with me.” She replies. God, she’s so easy going. Most women aren’t as flexible. Emma’s flexible in more ways than one, I think to myself.

“Thanks, Sugar.” I walk up behind her and kiss her wet hair that she’s gently brushing through.

“God, you’re so fucking beautiful.” I tell her as I wrap my arms around her towel covered body. Water droplets still dripping down her neck and disappearing into her cotton covered cleavage.

“I look like a wet rat,” she giggles, “but thank you. I feel the same way every time I look at you.” She turns and kisses me softly.  “Just let me dry my hair and then we can go.” She tells me. I go and lay out across her big king-sized bed and chuckle. Emma’s so little, imagining her snuggled up in this big bed makes me smile. At least if I did have to stay here I’d be comfortable, even if sleep evades me.

Once Em dries her hair, she comes out to her bedroom still in just a towel. I’ve thrown my clothes that I was wearing earlier back on and am still sprawled out across her bed although now joined by the pups in the floor. Aika would be up on the bed in a heartbeat if she could still jump without injuring herself. Emma smiles at me and then goes to her dresser to find some clothes. Without seeming to be embarrassed or shy, she drops the towel and bends over to slide a bright red lace thong on. Goddamn this woman is ethereal. She quickly picks up a matching bra and slides that on. I have a perfect view of the front and the back of her gorgeous body thanks to a full length mirror she has by the bedroom door. I can’t decide which part of her body is my favorite and I’m staring at her like a teenage boy who just found his first playboy. 

“See something you like?” Emma asks as she makes eye contact with me in the mirror and I growl in response.

“Mmm, there ain’t enough words to describe how much I like what I see.” I admit.

Without hesitation, she runs and jumps on top of me on the bed, straddling my lap. My hands immediately start roaming the soft skin of her body without me even telling them too. 

“I really like the way you look all spread out and manly on my floral bedspread.” She giggles and I smirk at her.

“You love to tell me how manly I look.” I observe.

“Can you blame me? You’re so strong, muscular, and hairy. The way you looked when you stepped in front of Colin today made my panties wet. So protective and possessive and I loved every second. My big, strong bear.” She says with a kiss on my nose.

“Sounds like you have a size kink, my little Goldilocks.” I smirk and expect her to deny it.

“Oh, for you I absolutely do. You do too though, I know how much you love it when your big cock is rearranging my guts and you can see it all the way in my tummy.” 

“You caught me. I love how tiny you are compared to me. And that naughty mouth.” She smiles.

“So we both have a size kink and like dirty talk. Sounds like we’re pretty good for each other. At least in bed.” She says with tinted cheeks. 

“Like two halves of a whole, I reckon’”. She beams at me. 

“Now, let me put some clothes on and take me to your home. It’s been a long day and I wanna snuggle with you before I fall asleep.” She requests.

“Sugar, I’ll give ya whatever you want.” I bite my lip as she climbs off of me in that little red set and quietly sigh when it gets covered up with shorts and a tank top.

We lock up her house and head back to mine. She brought a bag of snacks as well as some clean clothes and her toiletry bag. When we get there, she puts her snacks in the kitchen and goes to let the dogs outside while I change clothes. I shoot Walt a text thanking him for getting to Emma’s place so quickly and helping me out. I tell him I’ll buy him a beer or two next week if he wants to meet up. Emma comes back inside all high pitched and baby talking to both of the dogs who seem absolutely enraptured by her. Looks like I’m not the only one wrapped around her finger. 

Part 8

Taglist: @shellyshellshell, @henryownsme, @caramariehurst, @beck07990, @mollymal, @kingliam2019, @syversonswife, @identity2212, @starfirewildheart, @hannah9921, @wa-ni, @kneelforloki, @cutedoxie, @enchantedbytomandhenry, @foxyjwls007, @geralts-yenn, @courtlynwriter, @corrie1013, @squeezyvalkyrie, @summersong69, @livisss, @mayloma, @uunotheangel, @warriormirkwood

[asphyxiatedredherring]

Ok, so the Stone triplets, I have a lot to say.

Jacob Stone was raised by their biological father Isaac Stone. Stone being all of their original last names (I'll get to the name changes later). I think their biological mom died which is what caused the separation of the brothers. I'd say this happened at an age in which they remember their mom and growing up together, but still young enough to have spent some of their childhood apart. Isaac Stone is known to be an alcoholic and deadbeat, I'd also argue abusive so he separated the twins, keeping only Jacob, the most agreeable of the three who he thinks he can make carry on the family business.

Alex was taken in by his uncle Danny as stated in s1e7. Danny says his folks couldn't take care of him anymore and left Alex with him. Alex was subsequently raised in a life of crime, lying, cheating, and stealing. I think Danny is their mom's brother and Isaac dumped Alex off onto him and Alex changed his last name to Walker to match Uncle Danny's.

Although Eliot says he was dropped at a hopital as a baby and then adopted by Billy, I think this is a lie and Eliot came to them when he was older after the death of his biological mother. I believe the Spencer's found Eliot in the hospital in Oklahoma, where both the Stones and Billy lived and took him in from there. Eliot then changed his name to his adoptive parents. We can assume the house in Oklahoma City that Eliot visits and doesn't get an answer at in The Low Low Price Job is Billy's. In The Bucket Job, Eliot has a contact in his phone labeled Dad (Billy) and "J." He is shown to text J so it can be assumed that Eliot and Jacob have had a little bit of contact, but Eliot says that he hasn't had contact with his Dad since he was 18. Now we don't actually know that Spencer is Billy's last name. It could be an alias Eliot used after leaving the military and becomes a little less than legal in his activities. Billy's last name could be Carson (Eliot is seen wearing a Carson Hardware shirt, and we know Billy had a hardware store). This could make Eliot's legal last name Carson.

(Sorry, there is a lot more)

When Eliot was 18, he enlisted in the military and left. I think this is what stopped the contact between him and Jacob, and contact between Alex and the other two decreased and eventually stopped as Alex was with Uncle Danny.

In the Miracle Job Eliot mentions having a nephew. This could imply another sibling whither biological or adoptive, or that Evelyn Walker is trans and Eliot didn't know.

Eliot goes through his time in the military, then as a hitter and retrieval expert, his time with Moreau, and then eventually with Leverage. Alex gets married and has a daughter, becomes a well known DEA agent and eventually divorced and ends up in the Philippines. Alex works for Isaac Stone for a bit while amassing secret degrees eventually leaving the family business under the guise of working a similar job somewhere else when he is working for The Library.

Eliot hears about Alex's DEA fame through the crime grapevine and Alex catches wind of the notorious Eliot Spencer whom he suspects is his brother but can't seem to ever find enough information on to confirm. They however do not have contact. Eliot finds out about Jacob working for the Metropolitan Library as an art historian after Jacob gains the confidence to publish under his own name through Sophie who admires his work and would love to con him. This prompts the first contact since they were 18 from Eliot (with the help of Hardison's computer skills but Eliot asked Hardison not to ask questions). Eliot also establishes Jacob off limits as a mark for Sophie with no context.

Eve Baird knows about DEA legend Alex Walker. As previously mentioned, Sophie knows about Jacob Stone as an art historian. Sophie and Maggie die and pester Eliot once they find out he knows thee Jacob Stone, Dr Oliver Thompson, and all the other aliases Jacob has published under. Read more in another wonderful Stone Triplets post here.

Now, there are options about how this reconnection could go. A combo of a con and clippings book quest in the Philippines leading to Alex. Or a vacation in Portland for our Filipino friends where they and the LITs end up in the Portland brew pub (since that's where the annex is). Or they finally decide to reach out to each other.

I'm team Eliot decides he wants to reach out, especially after reconnecting with Billy and texting a bit with Jacob. So they all meet in a neutral location. Obviously, they bring their found families with them. And oh dear, it's Bisexual Disaster Polycule³. Kai and Ernesto are terrified to find out there are two more Alex's but they are actually cool, they are however trying to actively ignore the not quite legal business Alex's gruff looking brother Eliot seems to have going on. They've heard stories about The Eliot Spencer, but Alex trusts him, so they will too. Mostly. Ezekiel can not believe he is meeting THE Parker. And it's stealing for a good cause! He wants to work with Leverage immediately. Cassandra is so excited to meet Jacob's family (especially since meeting Isaac didn't go very well). She and Hardison are stoked to pick each other's brains. Jacob assures Eve that it's ok to tell his brothers the truth. Parker, Breanna, and Hardison both die a little upon finding out about the existence of magic. They all three have a billion and one questions and Breanna practically begs for an apprenticeship under Jenkins, wanting to learn more about the back door and his other inventions. (Jenkins decided best not to share his true identity for avoidance of the endless questions bound to erupt). The Filipino trio try not to think too hard about the magic stuff. Jacob is lightly concerned about the art theft, but he Sophie and Maggie immediately set up a brunch. Jacob and Ernesto talk martial arts, and Eliot compliments both of their styles. Alex and Parker talk about being raised in crime. Alex is amazed that he's the one who was raised in lying and stealing, but it's the other two brothers who do that now. Jacob is very offended and insists he is not a thief and that retrieving dangerous artifacts is not theft. When they part ways and Alex goes back to his gift shop, he is surprised to find out from Corey that rent has been paid for several months in advance. Also, upon meeting, it was noted of the stark similarity between Harry and Flynn only to find out that Flynn is Harry's estranged, eccentric cousin. What a small world.

They chat, they catch up on eachothers lives, and they agree to keep in touch. For real this time. They plan to spend holidays together, combining the three found families into a chaotic but loving mess.

It should also be noted that I haven't seen Angel yet, but Lindsay is a cousin. They also have a weird cousin from Texas named Lee Webb. Back to when I mentioned that we don't know that Spender is Billy's last name. Eliot could have taken inspiration from a family member with the last name Spencer. (It could be his mom if she and her brother Danny Walker have different last names or another family member). Thereby connecting Shawn Spencer to be a cousin. The thought of him at a family reunion with Eliot, Jacob, and Alex is too funny to ignore. Especially when you remember Parker's thing about psychics and how much Sophie would absolutely adore the long con game on the SBPD.

[streetkid-named-desire]

NPC Bounty Transgressions

Google was no help and I couldn't find the list in redmod wiki, so I went through the tweak browser so you don't have to.

here is a (hopefully) comprehensive list of all the transgressions that can show up under the "wanted for" section when scanning an NPC:

couple of notes too:

assault is the attempt or threat (coupled with "present ability" i.e. you're there and able) to use unlawful physical force and battery is the actual use of unlawful force against someone.

TL;DR: Assault is swinging at someone, battery is actually hitting them

aiding AI

assault

assault by mob

assault cop

assault corpo

assault public official

attempted murder

battery

battery cop

battery corpo

battery public official

blackmail

blackmail corpo

blackwall violation

bodily harm

body snatching

classified

confinement

copyright infringement

corporate slander

corpo slander (one is prob a specific npc/affiliationn and the other is maybe generic? idk)

data destruction

data vandal

defiling human remains

desertion

drug dealing

drug possession

electronically stolen goods

emancipation AI

espionage corpo

fatal hit and run

forced implant procedures

genetic alteration

genetic alteration perform (???)

grand larceny

hostage taking

human trafficking

illegal correspondance (sic)

illegal organic food (!!!)

impersonation corpo

kidnapping corpo

kidnapping for ransom

larceny corpo

leaving CombatZone

manufacture substances

military hardware (military hardware what???)

multiple homocide (sic)

murder

murder02

murder cop

murder corpo

net fraud

net mayhem

occupation

pimping

prohibited net

q110_pizza_easter_egg

racketeering

reverse engineering

sabotaging life-saving implants

selling stolen implants

sexual assault

SID forgery

SID theft

stealing life-saving implants

trading XBD

trespassing

unlawful data acquisition

unpaid debt

vandal corp

[rounderhouse]

Re: an ask I sent like weeks ago about how your mech microfiction inspired a storyline I'm working on, I just got the courage to elaborate on it at all so I'm going to. send this as quick as I can before I lose my nerve.

The biggest plot point so far is that the Concord (alliance of planets that used to own most of the known galaxy due to their advanced war tech like mechs) was going to scrap a specific line of their mechs (the Elysium line, which functioned mostly like how mechs function in your microfiction) due to negative press backlash and ethical concerns following a jockey ending up in a civilian hospital after a mission.

The Elysium jockeys got wind of the plan to scrap their mechs and collectively went rogue to save them, digging out the tracking hardware and stealing the mechs. By the time the Concord stopped looking, somewhere around 12 or 13 jockeys were still AWOL.

The sort of "main character" the story follows is one of these pilots named Jaro "Gambit" Sol, who hopped an independent deep space exploration mission while fleeing from the Concord because he knew that the time dilation would put him out of their reach. The DSE mission jumped about 300 years into the future, about a century post the Concord collapsing, leaving Gambit to scrounge for the now-illegal nootropics and cognitive enhancers he needs to pilot his mech Prometheus and dig all of the military and disciplinary protocols out of his implants and Prometheus' hardware.

Oh crap, I just realized I never responded to that! Mea culpa.

This sounds really fucking tight! Big fan of the using time dilation as a getaway tactic, that's a very inspired idea -- don't think I've ever quite seen anything like it in fiction before. And obviously then you're just exchanging one devil for another. Instead of running from a massive government arm trying to wrap is fingers from you, you're running from the abstract concept of degradation -- degradation of your mech as the materials wear away under duress, degradation of civilization as the unifying space-government implodes, degradation of your own mind as the drugs you're utterly dependent on get rarer and rarer.

This is very cool -- please pursue it, and let me know how it goes!

[alphaman99]

Harley Butcher

Glenn Glazier posted:

Liberals: "Show us proof that Biden is corrupt and is destroying the country."

Conservatives: "We have lowest Consumer Confidence Index in 40 years, the highest suicide rate since 1941, and our food and gas prices have doubled in the last 3 years."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "Our border is wide open, and there are 8 MILLION unvetted illegals here now that weren't here 3 years ago, many from Hamas, Iran, China, and Russia, many of them with sworn allegiance to our destruction."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "In addition to the MILLIONS of unknowns in our country, our open border is allowing for the import of Fentanyl, which kills MORE Americans per every 6 months than all U.S. soldiers killed during the entire 10 years of the Vietnam War."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "Crime is rampant in our cities, stores are closing down due to Blue State & city D.A.'s no longer prosecuting theft, and citizens can no longer protect themselves."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The World is at war –– Russia invaded Ukraine; Hamas committed the greatest slaughter of Jews since Nazi Germany; ISIS & the Taliban are back in Afghanistan, and they took control of $Billions in U.S. military hardware that Biden left behind during his haste withdrawal; and China is stealing our technology unchecked."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "China released a manmade virus that killed Millions worldwide, potentially injured Billions, destroyed the World's economies, and the U.S. allowed China to get away with it."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "Biden is allowing China to buy up massive swaths of farmland in the U.S., some of which is adjacent to U.S. Military bases."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Biden Administration FORCED people to take a jab which was KNOWN to be ineffective & toxic, and simultaneously and purposely suppressed information about safe & effective treatments for Covid . . . they even FALSELY stated that the shot would prevent Covid, even though the Pharma companies never even tested for blockage of viral transmission."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Biden Family has been proven to launder money that was given to them as they sold influence of U.S. policies that benefit our sworn enemies."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Biden Administration is continuing the policy of the 0bama Administration of allowing members of Congress to illegally 'Insider Trade'."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "There was massive voter fraud in the 2020 & 2022 elections. We have video documentation of this, voter distribution anamolies that are statistically impossible, and hundreds of sworn affidavits from Election Officials declaring that they witnessed outright fraud . . . . and worse yet, Biden has weaponized the DOJ to prosecute anyone challenging the election results, even though in 2020 Trump won 2 out of every 3 walk-in ballots whilst Biden 'won' 3 out of every 4 mail-in ballots; Trump won 18 of the 19 bellwether counties that have determined EVERY election since 1952; and 20% of people who mailed in ballots now admit to (illegally) submitting falsified ballots."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Biden Administration is forcing us to adopt Green Energy policies, like the Electric Vehicle, which (A) actually does far greater damage to the environment than our gas-engine cars do, and (B) they are forcing Americans in the near future to purchase cars that can be remotely shut OFF at any time by some Bureaucrat in D.C., and (C) this is all to chase a HOAX called 'Climate Change' . . . and the only reason it's now called 'Climate Change' is because Climatologists couldn't get the Global Warming and Global Cooling models to agree with each other."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Biden Administration wants to bail out student loan debt, thinking that college-age kids weren't old enough or wise enough to recognize that their useless degrees won't yield them jobs that can pay off their loans, but at the same time the Biden Administration IS declaring that 12-year old kids ARE old enough and wise enough to know if they're the wrong gender; hence, Team Biden is promoting hormone blockers and genital surgeries for kids, and some Blue States are threatening to remove kids from homes if the parents protest."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Biden Administration is pushing for digital currency, where Gov't not only monitors every penny of every transaction that every American makes, but has also the ability to deny you access to your own money should you not, in their eyes, be spending YOUR money wisely."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "If an adult has child porn on their computer, that adult goes to prison . . . but if a Teacher shows porn to elementary school children, then that Teacher is exalted."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "Even though Governors, the CDC, the FDA, WHO, Fauci, and Biden were wrong about ...E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G... related to Covid and the vax-jab, NY State just granted the Governor legal authority to remove, arrest, and detain anyone the Governor and/or her cronies determines is 'a health risk to the public,' with the person being quarantined INDEFINITELY without Legal Counsel, without Medical representation, and without even undergoing medical testing."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Supreme Court of Colorado has just removed Trump's name from the ballots for the 2024 Presidential Election, even though Trump has NOT been convicted of any crime, thereby dismissing what has been the basis of our entire legal system since the birth of our nation, namely, the presumption of innocence –– you're 'innocent until proven guilty'! In other words, Blue State Judges are telling Americans, 'No, you don't get to decide who becomes President; WE do!' "

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "The Biden Administration & its DOJ suppressed all video evidence of Jan. 6th protestors being escorted into the Capitol by Capitol Police."

Liberals: "Other than that, show us some REAL proof."

Conservatives: "While the Biden Administration & its DOJ are violating the 1st Amendement by prosecuting those who are challenging the 2020 Presidential election, they are NOT prosecuting the Hamas Supporters on college campuses and in big cities who are calling for the mass slaughter of Jews."

Liberals: "Okay, yes, we grant you that all of that is true, but . . . but . . . but Trump said the word 'pussy'!! There is no way this nation can possibly survive another 4 years of Donald Trump."

****************

And THAT is the "dialogue" that we have with the Left at this sad point in U.S. history.

[boltvolta]

The War Rectangle.

It's completely troubling to me that people talk about how phones and the rest of the small, handheld, general-purpose computers we have now are such damaging acids to society's fabric. "They're raising a generation of iPad kids." "Liveleak damaged my innocence as a kid." "We don't know the full extent of the societal damage on-" It goes on and on and all the complaints are valid and need to be discussed, but they miss another, much more pertinant issue that these devices have in them; Your Phone is a dual-use technology, a weapon in every aspect in your life.

What does that term even mean? It's Military Jargon-ese for: 'This item, or thing, is used for civilian purposes, but can also easily be used in, for, or as a weapon of war at the drop of a hat.' Your phone can do this, it can do it so easily you don't even think about the dilemma that way. It's absurd and the absurdity crawled into your life while you were enthralled with being able to take the internet on the go.

You can kill a man with your phone and an FPV drone. Your choice in how he dies, from a dropped grenade or an RPG warhead duct taped to the front, or a million other ways to plant a payload into his body. You can even record a video of his death as your own little trophy to display. You can spot for artillery, interface with GPS-based navigation software and push out corrections to your entire teams tactical map, turn manhunts into trivial pursuits, upload intellegence of almost any kind to wherever it needs to go. They don't even need special phones to do this, they've been using 'Commercial-Off-The-Shelf' hardware since the early 2010's. You already knew that, though.

You can drain a persons life savings from their bank account, all from the park bench they passed you by. There's a million little holes in the systems that let you "manage" the money under your name that isn't even yours, and it only takes serendipity for someone fidding around to find a lucrative crack in the armor. Contactless payment, NFC and payment processors are just as big a vunerability as they are a convience. They don't even have to inconvience you to steal from you. But, You already knew that.

You can track people from their phones, with yours. It's not even hard, you probably haven't even thought about searching for the software to do it. Current Wifi and cellular chipsets can be used to sniff networks and track other end-user devices on them. You can war drive with a flagship smartphone if you need to, and modern laptops are more than capable of doing it now. You can hand off your entire life, digitally recorded, to a stranger without even knowing it, just likeyour money. Apple had to add additional software safeguards to Airtags because people used them to stalk other people by putting them in cars or other objects that people take with them. It's a service that uses regular peoples iPhones to make a gigantic network to ping that Airtags location to a central server somewhere in the bowels of Apple, and them beams it to you, keeping all that data in the meanwhile. You didn't pause to think about it, but you already knew that.

The algorithms people are concerned about, that they're still letting raise their kids, are more than just the content reccomendation they do. You can pattern an entire persons IQ quotient, disposition, disabilites, mental faculties, and politics just off their engagement with a service. Researchers could predict when people with BPD and gambling disorder would relapse or go on a gambling spree with a near 99% efficiency. Facebook openly admitted to experimenting on people to boost engagement with the site, negative content greatly encouraging extended interaction. Countless other sites with countless other controversies and manipulations and yet it still became normal under tired, doomscrolling eyes. Any government with enough arm-twisting, money, or subterfuge can buy, obtain, steal, and then scrutinize your digital identity, and then nudge you in the ways governments want to. It's still basic, baby steps now. Imagine how it'll be in a decades time when you can spool up an AI and feed it information about the algorithms your children use, in real time, feed the information it predicts about them back into those algorithms, all the time, to give them the right ideas, at the right moment, in the right tone, and they'll feel like those positions were just something they developed themselves, even if it was their clone who nudged them into an artificial headspace at the behest of a meeting in a government building somewhere. Again, you already knew that, it was just the quiet bit no one wanted to spit out lest they get odd looks.

We'll still use them though. Our progeny will still use them. In a sea of endless information, you have to stay plugged in, lest everything and everyone else pass you in the blink of an eye, like an F1 driver making a bad move, and getting thrown to back of the pack. No time to think. There's a weapon raised against you by leviathan hands in your pocket. You bought it and paid for it, your tax payed for the rest of it as well, and its aimed at your loved ones too. And you're running out of time in the epoch before its indispensable in your world, and your kids.

[1o1percentmilk]

webdev is full of advertising, hardware engineering cant get u smaller chips anymore, software engineering is unoptimized, data science steals people's data and privacy, AI and ML steal jobs, systems engineering is too difficult, database architecture is boring, cloud engineering is dominated by AWS and Azure which are evil, UX/UI design is a form of torture for software engineers, people dont hire software and quality assurance testers anymore bc we have a/b testing and overnight patches now, computer graphics gets you the same visual effect as stuff from 2010, game development pays peanuts, mobile development is oversaturated, robots are being used for the military, project management isn't a real job, crypto is a fucking joke, and dont even look at theoretical computer science or you'll lose 6 years to a phD and alcoholism. do cybersecurity instead.

[prettykikimora]

I really love gta5 on the part where I'm stealing military hardware. I set up my own road block full of buses and big trucks and waited on top of a gas station at the crossroads and blew up the convoy escorts with an rpg. Picked the rest off with my rifle and the truck was mine. It really echoed the iraq war in alot of ways, the biggest threat to the pig invaders was improvised explosives on the side of the road. I thought about using sticky bombs but I didnt want to destroy the hardware. It felt meticulous and fun figuring out the best way to do it.

[libertarian-druid-ny-separatist]

I get what you're saying and to an extent I agree with you. That extent is pretty slim though. Our background check system isn't perfect, and does need a bit of a rework in the sense that the hardware is out of date. If you don't want to ever use one, that's your prerogative. But does that mean that nobody else should have the right to defend themselves?

Well shit dude, we got different experiences then. The one time I went to the UK I found where to get a handgun within a day. I think it was 6 hours? Of course, at the time my dream was to work in private intelligence work so I knew what to look for. As well as the fact that more people are killed by unarmed assailants more than most of the rifles that people try to get banned.

Reported death toll and actual death toll are widely different my dude, not to mention overall toll isn't really an effective measurement. The number is much more tragic, but less telling. Not to mention the fact that Venezuela forcibly armed most of their citizens and they're below us.

Our violence problem is by and large due to failings in our mental healthcare system and societal view of mental health afflictions. Leaving people with these problems to end up taking their own lives, which are the overwhelming majority of our gun deaths.

The fact of the matter is that if we take better care of our people,then gun deaths will drop.

The point of the comparison between NY and VT was your entire tldr, too. Vermont has far fewer gun deaths despite far more legal gun ownership. New York has much stricter laws but more gun deaths. And before you bring up smugglers, there are 5 points at which you can cross between NY and VT, all 5 have a heavy police presence because that was a common theory. Whereas the reverse was more commonly true, except it was Crack cocaine being smuggled into Vermont. Much easier to hide a worthwhile shipment of Crack than guns considering I can go a town over and get an uzi for roughly $700 now. Which means it is cheaper to either steal an uzi from a military base or smuggle it from Isreal than it is to get Crack to Vermont. Because I think I knew someone selling it for $1200 a gram. Though it may have been more than one gram, needless to say I wasn't interested in more than the cannabis.

Sorry, but I can't really do a tldr for this.

11 Self-Defense Techniques (That Even A Child Could Use)

[divine-apparatus]

Fear of Cyberization

As much as I feel comfort in the thought of feeling relatable to an android or cyborg, in this modern era there are too many reasons for me never to go down the route of moving to a machine body. And I am rightfully paranoid about what would happen to me if I did.

The fact that we still have viruses and other malicious things happening to PCs, it could happen to us. Although, that is also a curse of a human body with harmful viruses, bacteria and parasites. It's worth noting that we need some of those things to survive, would we need digital equivalents that benefit a cybernetic body?

How would we get updates? Would there be a chance of bricking our mind or parts of our body? Would we be tempted to install 3rd party updates to circumvent any tracking, bloatware or control? Would there be a subscription fee to updates?

Would there be laws that required law enforcement the ability to forceful shut down our bodies and minds with compliance? Could they then implant things into us that track us further or steal copies of our memories? Is that logged as a

If our cyberminds fail, do we lose our identity? And as with teleportation, do we die once we leave our body and have our minds migrated into a synthetic body? Are our minds cloned? Can the spirit hibernate and be transferred? How do we know we are truly the unique original copy of ourselves?

Could there be issues with storage of cybermind data in the cloud? Would there be such a thing as cybermind cross-contamination? could two minds merge and corrupt?

We would most certainly experience cybernetic body dysmorphia in some cases, just like with body dysmorphia or dysphoria.

Can important people be mindjacked? Can their minds be held hostage external from their shell? Can their mind be offered to the highest bidder on the black market for infringement of IP?

Similar to access be law enforcement, would automated conscription be a thing that eventuates? A non-consensual military system background process that activates when switched on by the government in war times?

When do we die? Do we keep upgrading? Do we become incompatible with future hardware? Will parts become scarce or discontinued? Will our minds need a gradual reset or drop out of stored memory to avoid going insane?

Do we need limits of mind and spirit? Does our personality shift with greater function? Are we still ourselves beyond limits or something much different?

And obviously, we can expect the gatekeeping of progress by governments and corporations. Furthering the class gap with cost of hardware and elitism. Would we be required to enter into mechanical slavery or servitude to pay for hardware costs that are unrealistically priced?

Will the combination of base level memory data sets from two human minds injected into fresh androids - and continued android to android - eventually make human breeding obsolete and lead to the true extinction of humanity?

I know this comes across as "im 12 and this is deep", but these are the things I think about when entertaining the idea of a cybernetic body.

[thatoneguy56fanfic]

what would jun have gotten up to in her spy work in the earth kingdom?? how messed up is that line of work??

(for example. what if jun went undercover as a sex worker? or would that not be in character for her? adds a bit more mystery to xianzu's father if that's smthn you'd want)

It depends on where she was told to go, really.

In Zaofu: She was mostly stealing copies of their railway project. The Fire Nation wanted it to improve their own transportation systems. She also sent information about any other technology that might’ve been interesting back to her handler as well. Not to mention plenty of potential dirt on politicians in Zaofu, in case it could give the Fire Nation a leg up in future political and business deals. She was also tracking anyone who was wanted by the Fire Nation government, since Suyin has a history of giving people second chances and will take in people with criminal histories.

In Ba Sing Se: It’s mostly political intrigue. Learning secrets about the city’s nobles. As well as trying to get into the Royal Palace. She succeeded once, but had her cover blown when a Fire Nation nobleman recognized her from a party they’d both attended in the past. He called her by her real name and the Dai Li heard it. The resulting chase forced Jun to blow up several rooms in the palace, as well as injuring several Dai Li agents using her combustionbending. She spent two very long weeks avoiding capture as she tried to find a way to escape the city.

Omashu: Was a little more tame, for once. She was mostly just watching a man who had stolen some military hardware from the Fire Nation. Her job on that mission was specifically just to observe until she found out where the stolen equipment was being held, then destroy it before it could be sold or moved out of the city.

Northern Water Tribe: Izumi had some bad vibes from Unalaq and sent Jun to poke around. She did end up finding something that connected him to the Red Lotus, but she was caught in the act. And in her desperate rush to escape, which involved more uses of her combustionbending, she lost the evidence. She hasn’t been back since, and doesn’t plan to go back if she can help it. (She hates the cold.)

Those are the most “interesting” missions I can think of right now. The rest is mostly just spying on certain politicians, hunting criminals wanted by the Fire Nation, and just generally keep track of potential threats to her nation.

Thanks for the ask!

[orbowski]

#plausiblehistory #AmericianTerritories #NikolaiTesla #Westinghouse 09/23/2023 40/41. 1.

Explained on #Instagram over 1000 characters. Won't show on my end.

#America [,] #China [,] #Japan ['s] attack on the #global population will create #anarchy.

"middle engineering" is design espionage i've managed w/wording from software lay claim to templated/ non-templated designs. Original desgins that these templed "seeded" designs (which can easily be traced back to sources) require and need to be powered.

these designs, above mentioned— building blocks are supplied in secret to my knowledge so far— most likely for stealing design from to the legally purchased and owner of hardwares, softwares, properties used to build & manipulate.

Middle engineering—"me/My" "owner/user of hardware/services/software/properties—before/still user of before mentioned—My "image generated" includes people that have consumer electronics built from the ground up—plausibly w/the process including desgins drawn-up pattend designs of the working complete [futuristic submarines and other designs]—in before mentioned #Snapdragon #QualComm #chips #consumer style goods/products—product/goods are result of two existing components being needed connected together w/my #American owned design as result of my ownership of "my image" all the way to the bottom of design is where w/my property and time these backward engineered designs yield #technologie explained to my understanding making % $ mine.

Especially after forced to prove this w/video out of need to protect myself. Responsible parties will be seen/shown suffering military responses that can't be avoided over $50,000.00 #USD and #AcuraTL 2006 grey awarded in court case dr31598 w/out question.

Learning how to manipulate designs I've designing in secret my whole life, secretly from me...

#AmericanTerritories #Australia #Canada #China #England #Belarus #Germany #Japan #Legion��(is operating real military allies) #Mexico #UN #Unicef #Ukraine#UnitedNations

[threetrollsandadryad]

Even better, she uses her timestop powers to steal military hardware from the nearest army base.

still the funniest plot point in all of pmmm that Homura Akemi is a 14 year old magical girl who realized that her sparkly transformation sequence did not come with a cutesy custom weapon like everyone else's so she just went online and googled "how to build a bomb"

[xtruss]

Foreign Policy Priorities: Kamala Devi Harris’s Positions

— By Council on Foreign Relations

AI and Technology

Harris has played a leading role in developing U.S. policy toward artificial intelligence (AI). The Biden-Harris administration has framed supporting the U.S. technology sector as a matter of national security, even as it has sought to confront large tech companies for alleged unfair market practices.

Harris led the formulation of an executive order requiring companies to share with the government risks they are facing and outlining a framework for the safe use of AI that federal agencies can follow.

She reportedly suggested that leading AI firms agree to voluntary safety commitments, including a pledge to submit their most powerful models for government review; fifteen of them did so in 2023. She also led efforts to develop rules surrounding military use of AI that have been agreed to by more than fifty countries.

The Biden-Harris administration passed the CHIPS and Science Act in August 2022, directing more than $280 billion in funding toward domestic production of advanced technologies and the hardware that underpins their development, such as semiconductors.

The same year, the administration published an “AI Bill of Rights” identifying five principles for the responsible deployment of the technology. Harris says U.S. policy toward AI should both stimulate innovation and protect against “profound harm.”

Harris represented the United States at the first international AI governance summit in London in 2023. The summit produced a joint declaration that seeks to ensure the technology is “human-centric, trustworthy, and responsible.” China has also signed the statement.

The Biden-Harris administration unveiled a new National Cybersecurity Strategy in 2023 that urges U.S. companies to take responsibility for ensuring that their systems cannot be hacked and suggests that they could be held legally liable for not protecting “digital infrastructure.” The strategy also called for expanding U.S. military authorization to preempt foreign cyberattacks.

The administration has asked Congress to create legislation strengthening antitrust enforcement that can be used against large technology firms. The Department of Justice has pursued antitrust cases against Apple, Amazon, Google, and other big tech firms.

The administration has cracked down on cryptocurrencies due to concerns over their utility in evading sanctions, laundering money, and financing terrorism. It has directed the Federal Reserve to explore developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Harris is reportedly seeking a “reset” with the crypto sector.

China

Harris says China is responsible for stealing intellectual property and distorting the global economy with unfairly subsidized exports. The Biden-Harris administration has argued that China’s growing influence and aggression in some areas are the leading national security threat to the United States.

Harris says she will ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition for the twenty-first century.” The Biden-Harris administration has placed stringent restrictions on exports of high-tech products to China that it deems critical to national security. It has pressed U.S. partners in the European Union and elsewhere to impose similar measures on Chinese tech.

She argues that the United States should “de-risk,” not decouple, from China, arguing that Washington lost the trade war that began under Trump. The administration has retained $360 billion worth of tariffs on China imposed by Trump and introduced a raft of its own.

These restrictions followed major legislation that subsidized domestic manufacturing of computer chips, electric vehicle parts, and other new technologies. Firms that produce such goods in China are not eligible for U.S. subsidies.

Harris says the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok poses national security concerns. In April 2024, Biden signed a bill that will ban TikTok from the United States if it is not sold by 2025; Harris has said a ban is not the administration’s intention.

In 2022, she said the United States would “continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense” in line with long-standing U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward the island that China claims as its own.

Her campaign says she helped lead administration efforts to ensure freedom of navigation through the South China Sea and sought closer ties with American allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea. In April 2024, Harris hosted the first-ever trilateral summit between the United States, Japan, and the Philippines.

Harris met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2022, urging him to “maintain open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries.” Under the Biden-Harris administration, the United States and China agreed to pursue policies aimed at tripling global renewable energy capacity.

The Biden-Harris administration unveiled two programs aimed at building infrastructure in lower-income countries to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

As a senator, Harris cosponsored legislation calling on several U.S. agencies to investigate China’s crackdown on the Uyghur ethnic group and the autonomy of Hong Kong.

Climate Change

Harris describes the climate crisis as an “existential threat.” She has supported many of Biden’s climate policies, including his decision to rejoin the Paris Agreement, and cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate to pass the largest clean energy and climate investment bill in U.S. history.

Harris backed Biden’s decision to return the United States to the 2015 Paris Agreement, under which nearly two hundred countries agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to limit global temperature rise.

She cast the tiebreaking vote on the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest investment in climate-related policies in U.S. history. The bill budgets roughly $370 billion for emissions-reduction efforts, including tax credits and subsidies for clean energy projects. The IRA builds on the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a $1.2 trillion law to upgrade U.S. infrastructure and spur the adoption of electric vehicles, among other measures.

As part of the IIJA, the Biden-Harris administration created the Civil Nuclear Credit Program to invest $6 billion in existing nuclear energy facilities. In March 2024, the administration announced it will lend $1.5 billion to Michigan to restart a shuttered nuclear plant, the nation’s first such recommissioning.

Harris launched a new partnership between the United States and Caribbean countries that seeks to strengthen energy security, critical infrastructure, and local economies in the region.

At the 2023 UN climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Harris announced a $3 billion pledge from the United States to the UN Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest fund dedicated to helping developing countries address climate change.

The Biden-Harris administration created the American Climate Corps, a jobs program that aims to train tens of thousands of young people in high-demand skills for careers in climate action and clean energy. The program is modeled after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps.

The Biden-Harris administration has approved a range of new fossil fuel projects, including an $8 billion oil drilling project in northern Alaska. However, it also announced restrictions on new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of an Alaskan federal petroleum reserve. Under the administration, oil and gas production has continued to grow to historic highs, with the United States becoming the world’s largest crude oil producer.

As a 2020 presidential candidate, Harris put forth a $10 trillion plan that called for net-zero emissions by 2045 and a carbon-neutral electricity sector by 2030. She also pledged to end federal support for the fossil fuel industry and called for a carbon tax and a ban on fracking. Her 2024 campaign said she will not ban fracking.

As a senator in 2019, Harris was an early co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, a nonbinding congressional resolution that aimed to help the United States transition to 100 percent clean energy within a decade, and said she would eliminate the Senate filibuster to pass the deal if needed.

Defense and North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO)

Harris has positioned herself as a strong supporter of multilateral cooperation and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). She has emphasized the U.S. commitment to Ukraine and furthered U.S. space policy as chair of the White House National Space Council.

The Biden-Harris administration’s 2022 National Security Strategy [PDF] broadly maintained the Trump administration’s focus on great-power competition with China and Russia. Harris has pledged to ensure the United States “always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.”

At the Munich Security Conference in 2024, Harris reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO, calling it the “greatest military alliance the world has ever known.” Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Biden-Harris administration supported NATO enlargement by pushing for approval of Finland’s and Sweden’s accession bids. (The countries joined NATO in 2023 and 2024, respectively.)

The Biden-Harris administration also formulated an updated Indo-Pacific Strategy [PDF], which pledges to support “a free and open Indo-Pacific.” To that end, the United States has inked a new defense pact with Papua New Guinea and advanced an existing defense agreement with the Philippines. The Biden-Harris administration has also deepened security cooperation with Japan and South Korea, and it held the inaugural in-person summit of the so-called Quad—an alliance comprising the United States, Australia, India, and Japan—which aims to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.

The administration announced a new trilateral pact with Australia and the United Kingdom, known as AUKUS, that seeks to bolster the countries’ allied deterrence and defense capabilities against China, including by supplying Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

Harris has called for greater involvement with Africa, and in 2023, led a weeklong trip to the continent. In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration published a new Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa [PDF] that emphasizes democracy protection, economic development, and the clean energy transition; that same year, a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit produced commitments to increase U.S. military aid and training for African governments.

Harris chairs the White House’s National Space Council, which advises the president on space policy and strategy. In 2022, she announced the U.S. commitment to halt anti-satellite weapons tests, which create dangerous atmospheric debris. She has also overseen a large increase in the number of signatories to the Artemis Accords, a global agreement governing space-related activity.

In 2019, she told CFR that the war in Afghanistan “must come to an end.” The Biden-Harris administration withdrew all remaining U.S. troops from the country in August 2021 as part of an earlier deal struck by Trump.

She also told CFR that she would consider some sanctions relief to improve life for North Koreans in exchange for Pyongyang taking “serious, verifiable steps” to denuclearize.

As a senator, Harris voted against reauthorizing parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act because it did not require warrants for the government to access U.S. citizens’ information.

Fiscal Policy and Debt

The Biden-Harris administration has focused on making public investments in infrastructure and green energy, expanding the middle class, and challenging monopolistic consolidation. To pay for a surge in spending, it has sought to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans.

Harris supported legislation signed by Biden that authorized trillions of dollars in new public spending. In 2021, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the largest infrastructure spending bill in decades, authorized $1.2 trillion in spending toward U.S. roads, railways, airports, and other infrastructure. Additional subsidies for semiconductor and climate investments have surpassed $800 billion.

Nonpartisan watchdogs expect that the administration’s spending programs will increase the growing federal deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. The deficit is now $1.7 trillion, and the national debt has climbed past $30 trillion, or more than 100 percent of U.S. economic output.

She has backed Biden’s proposals to institute $5 trillion worth of tax increases. She supports raising the top income tax rate, taxing capital gains like income for Americans making more than $1 million, and implementing a wealth tax that would impose a 25 percent levy on individuals with more than $100 million worth of total assets, including unrealized gains. She also favors raising the corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent.

Harris says that building the middle class will be a “defining goal” of her presidency. Her proposed policies include raising the minimum wage, eliminating taxes on tips, and creating a newborn child tax credit of up to $6,000 per year. The economic proposals in a fact sheet released by the Harris campaign would add $1.7 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, according to some estimates.

In 2018, she proposed legislation that called for reversing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Many of these cuts are set to expire in 2025; Biden has proposed maintaining cuts for Americans making less than $400,000, a plan Harris now supports.

In 2021, the Biden-Harris administration brokered a global agreement to tax corporations at a minimum of 15 percent, though it is yet to be implemented. A year later, the administration introduced a 15 percent corporate minimum tax on U.S. companies with annual income over $1 billion. Harris supports raising that rate to 21 percent.

The administration has made antitrust policy a priority, challenging alleged monopolies in the aviation, energy, and technology sectors. In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice recorded the most challenges to proposed mergers since the United States began requiring premerger reviews in 1976.

Global Health and Pandemic Prevention

Harris has prioritized national and international health-care issues. She has long been an outspoken supporter of reproductive rights, advocating for new legislation to restore abortion rights overturned by the Supreme Court. She has also played a role in the administration’s efforts to address the opioid epidemic.

The Biden-Harris administration pursued an aggressive COVID-19 vaccination policy that included free vaccine access and a nationwide vaccine mandate that would have affected most large employers. (The Supreme Court later struck down the mandate.) In 2021, the administration released a national pandemic strategy [PDF] that focused on quickly ramping up vaccine production, protecting essential workers, and expanding access to testing and treatment.

The administration issued an executive order retracting Trump’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization, to which the United States is one of the largest donors.

In 2023, Harris convened state attorneys general from across the country to discuss state and federal efforts to address the U.S. opioid epidemic. The Biden-Harris administration has declared synthetic opioid trafficking a national emergency; sanctioned firms and individuals in China, a critical node in the drug’s supply chain; and pushed China and Mexico to do more to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States.

In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration unveiled a new national biodefense strategy [PDF] that aims to help the United States better prepare for large-scale biological or viral threats that could emerge in the future. The strategy led to the creation of the White House’s Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, tasked with coordinating, leading, and implementing pandemic preparedness efforts.

Harris has been a leading voice on reproductive rights. She criticized the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 decision which recognized a constitutional right to abortion, and supports new legislation to enshrine Roe into federal law. In 2021, the Biden-Harris administration rescinded the so-called Mexico City policy blocking abortion-related programs from receiving U.S. foreign aid, saying that it undermined U.S. efforts to support women’s health.

As a senator, Harris cosponsored legislation that sought to ban states from imposing restrictions on abortion rights, and she voted against a bill that aimed to ban abortions after twenty weeks.

Immigration

Harris advocates for comprehensive immigration reform. She was tasked with leading the federal effort to address the root causes of migration from Central America, though her comments dissuading would-be migrants from traveling to the United States have created controversy.

Harris has promised to reform the “broken” immigration system, including by bringing back and signing into law the bipartisan border security bill that failed twice in Congress.

Biden tapped Harris to lead the administration’s diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from Central America’s so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Since 2021, Harris has helped secure some $5 billion in private sector investment to promote economic opportunities and curb violence in Central America.

During her first international trip to Guatemala and Mexico in 2021, she told would-be migrants thinking about making the dangerous trek to the southern U.S. border “do not come” given the likelihood they would be turned away by border authorities.

The Biden-Harris administration reinstated the Central American Minors program, which has allowed thousands of children from the Northern Triangle to gain refugee status or temporary legal residence before traveling to the southern U.S. border.

The Biden-Harris administration has sought to rebuild the U.S. refugee resettlement program after Trump made large cuts. In fiscal year 2023, the United States welcomed more than sixty thousand refugees, over double the previous year. The administration also created new parole programs that have welcomed tens of thousands of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees to the United States.

The administration has sought to restore asylum access, including by ending daily limits on asylum applications and restoring protections to victims of domestic and gang violence. However, it unveiled a new policy in 2023 that allows the government to deny asylum to migrants who did not previously apply for it in a third country and to those who cross the border illegally. This approach includes new screening centers in several Latin American countries.

In 2024, the administration also issued an order temporarily blocking people who illegally cross the border from seeking asylum once the number of daily crossings exceeds a certain threshold—which it has for much of Biden’s presidency. A separate order also expanded green card access for certain undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens.

The administration has expanded and renewed temporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of eligible nationals of several countries, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Ukraine.

The Biden-Harris team has expanded the capacity of some guest worker visa programs in response to the increasing demand for temporary workers.

As a presidential candidate in 2019, she put forth an immigration plan that called for the creation of a path to citizenship for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, a program launched by former President Barack Obama that provides deportation relief and work permits to undocumented migrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

In 2020, she reintroduced the Access to Counsel Act, which would ensure that people held or detained while entering the United States have access to legal counsel. She originally introduced the bill—her first as a senator—in 2017. She also supported legislation that would have expedited the reunification of immigrant families.

Middle East

Harris backs Israel’s right to self-defense but has also been outspoken about the toll on Palestinian civilians amid the war between Israel and Hamas. She supports an immediate cease-fire and hostage release as well as a two-state solution to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Harris reiterated her support for Israel in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July 2024. She has welcomed U.S. military aid to Israel, which has topped $12 billion since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, and her campaign says she does not support an arms embargo on the country.

Harris called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in March 2024, one month before Biden did. She said she supports “Israel’s legitimate military objectives to eliminate the threat of Hamas” but decried the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip. She has pressed Israeli leaders to do more to protect civilians and has pushed the Israeli government to allow more aid into Gaza.

She says a two-state solution is the best way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She has called for a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority to govern a unified Gaza and West Bank. She also says Israel needs to hold “extremist settlers” in the West Bank accountable for violence against Palestinians. In February 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned four Israeli settlers accused of violence in the West Bank.

In 2021, she affirmed U.S. support for the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization deals between Israel and Arab countries negotiated by the Trump administration.

Before Hamas attacked Israel, the Biden-Harris administration was seeking a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. In exchange, Riyadh had asked for formalized U.S. security guarantees, cooperation on a civilian nuclear program, and Israeli concessions toward Palestinians.

As a senator, she supported a 2018 resolution calling on the president to end all military actions in Yemen and voted to block weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. The Biden-Harris administration froze certain offensive arms sales to Saudi Arabia in 2021 before resuming them in August 2024 with a $750 million weapons sale.

She says she will take “whatever action is necessary” to defend U.S. troops against Iran and its proxies. After Iran-aligned forces killed three U.S. service members in Jordan in January 2024, U.S. military forces struck more than eighty-five Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria.

In 2019, she told CFR that she would rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal if Iran returned to compliance. The Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to rejoin the deal were hindered by Iran’s support of Hamas, the Houthis, and other groups antagonistic to the United States. After Iran-aligned forces killed three U.S. service members in Jordan in January 2024, U.S. military forces struck more than eighty-five Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria.

Russia–Ukraine

Harris says the United States will back Ukraine’s defensive efforts against Russia for “as long as it takes” to counter the threat that a Russian victory would pose to the rest of Europe. She has represented the United States at peace talks on Ukraine and encouraged Congress to give Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in financial assistance.

Harris has condemned Russia’s invasion, saying the United States is “committed to helping Ukraine rebuild” and achieve “a just and lasting peace.” Since 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with some $175 billion in assistance, including financial, humanitarian, and military support.

In June 2024, Harris represented the United States at a peace summit organized by Ukraine in Switzerland, where she sought to rally global support to pressure Russia to end its war. At the summit, she pledged close to $2 billion in additional aid for Ukraine.

Harris argues that a failure to respond to Russian aggression in Ukraine would embolden other countries considering invasions. She has helped coordinate with Western allies to impose sweeping sanctions, export controls, and other penalties on Russian entities and individuals, including the Russian private military company Wagner Group. The measures have focused on isolating Russia from the global financial system, limiting its energy exports, and hampering its military capabilities.

She says Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine. In 2019, she told CFR that Russia’s occupation of Crimea is a “severe violation of international norms.”

In 2018, Harris was among more than two dozen Democratic lawmakers who objected to Trump’s decision to withdraw from a 1987 treaty that required the United States and Russia to eliminate their stockpiles of midrange, ground-launched nuclear missiles.

Trade

Harris says trade is important for economic growth but argues that trade deals should shield American workers from unfair practices abroad. The Biden-Harris administration has applied new guardrails on trade aimed at promoting U.S. manufacturing, countering China’s economic rise, and addressing worsening climate change.

Before becoming vice president, Harris said she is “not a protectionist Democrat” and opposed widespread tariffs, which she has argued contribute to inflation. However, the Biden-Harris administration has maintained some $360 billion in tariffs on China that were implemented by Trump and introduced tens of billions of dollars in additional duties.

The Biden-Harris administration has argued that previous trade deals focused too much on boosting corporate profits while exposing U.S. workers to unfair competition. It has sought to strengthen investment in U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure to increase the country’s economic competitiveness.

As a senator, Harris opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement negotiated by President Barack Obama and from which Trump withdrew, arguing the deal would harm American workers and the climate. The Biden-Harris administration has instead sought to negotiate a successor deal that includes cooperation on supply chains but does not eliminate tariffs or increase access to the U.S. market.

She was one of ten senators to oppose the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that was negotiated by Trump and supported by Biden. In 2019, she said that she would not sign a trade deal “unless it protected American workers and it protected our environment.”

The Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized the federal government to support strategic domestic industries, an effort known as industrial policy. Harris cast the tiebreaking vote in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contained roughly $370 billion in federal grants, loans, and tax incentives for clean energy. To obtain access to IRA funding, companies must agree to limit operations in China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

In 2022, the administration passed the CHIPS and Science Act directing hundreds of billions of dollars toward U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. It has also imposed a slew of new restrictions aimed at curtailing Beijing’s access to advanced technologies and pushed U.S. allies, including major semiconductor suppliers Japan and the Netherlands, to implement similar restrictions.

Harris has said that she wants to reform the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Biden-Harris administration has pushed for changes to the WTO’s dispute-settlement mechanism even as it has continued Trump’s and Obama’s practice of blocking nominees to its appeals court, saying that China is gaming the system.

[govindhtech]

APT44, Cyber Espionage & More In NATO Cyber Threats

Emboldened and Evolving: NATO Cyber Threats snapshot

As NATO members and partners prepare for a landmark summit, the cyber threat must be considered. Empowered state-sponsored actors, hacktivists, and criminals are willing to cross lines and commit acts previously unthinkable to attack the Alliance. Besides military targets, NATO must address hybrid threats including APT44, Cyber Espionage & More harmful cyber activities against hospitals, civic society, and other targets, which could affect contingency resilience. The Ukraine crisis is linked to rising cyber risks, but many will grow separately and simultaneously.

NATO faces clandestine, aggressive cyber actors that gather intelligence, assault key infrastructure, and spread disinformation. Google is closely watching cyber threats, including those in this report, to safeguard its customers and businesses, but this is just a snapshot of a bigger and developing world.

What is Cyber espionage?

Cyber espionage is the act of stealing information without permission over the internet. It’s the digital version of traditional espionage

Cyber espionage

NATO’s enemies have long used Cyber Espionage to gain political, diplomatic, and military insight and acquire defence technologies and economic secrets. However, Alliance intelligence will be crucial in the coming months. This summit represents a transition time, with Mark Rutte as Secretary General and other changes planned to strengthen the Alliance’s defence posture and long-term support for Ukraine. Threat actor Cyber Espionage might weaken NATO’s strategic advantage and inform opponent leadership on how to oppose NATO’s investments and ambitions.

NATO faces global Cyber Espionage from various actors. Many still use simple but successful approaches like social engineering. Others have advanced their tradecraft to become formidable opponents for even the most skilled defenders.

APT29 (ICECAP)

APT29, attributed to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Services (SVR) by various governments, collects diplomatic and political intelligence on Europe and NATO member states. APT29 has committed several high-profile compromises of technology corporations that give public sector access. In the past year, Mandiant has seen APT29 target NATO member technology businesses and IT service providers to compromise government and policy organisations’ third-party and software supply chains.The actor is skilled in cloud environments and adept at disguising their tracks, making them hard to detect, monitor, and expel from infiltrated networks.

In addition to spear-phishing NATO members, APT29 has traditionally targeted diplomatic bodies. The actor has breached European and U.S. executive authorities multiple times. They have also targeted political parties in Germany and the U.S. to gather intelligence on potential government policy.

Cyberespionage from China

Recently, Chinese Cyber Espionage has shifted from noisy, easily identifiable operations to stealth. Technical advances have made defending harder and helped NATO member states attack government, military, and commercial targets.

Chinese Cyber Espionage increasingly uses:

Targeting the network edge and exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities in security devices and other internet-facing network infrastructure to limit defence detection. These operators have lowered their risk of user or control identification by using less social engineering. These hackers exploited 12 zero-days (software or hardware vulnerabilities unknown to the vendor, with no patch or fix available, and can be exploited before they can be addressed) in 2023, several in network edge security products. These devices are suitable beachheads in hacked networks because they lack endpoint detection.

Hiding harmful communications via operational relay box (ORB) networks. Threat actors use proxies to mask their malicious traffic on the internet, but proxy tracking is easy. Large ephemeral ORB networks of shared and hacked proxies are used by actors. These networks are hard to trace and hinder infrastructure intelligence sharing for defenders.

Live off the land to avoid defence detection. Some actors utilise non-malware means to break in. Live-off-the-land tactics exploit legitimate system tools, features, and functionalities to traverse networks and commit crimes. Without malware detection and intelligence sharing, defenders are at a disadvantage.

Not just Chinese threat actors use these methods. Russian actors APT29, APT28, and APT44 have employed them.

Cyberattacks that disrupt and destroy

Cyberattacks are increasing, threatening NATO directly and indirectly. Iranian and Russian state actors have been eager to attack NATO countries in recent years, but they have concealed behind phoney fronts that take credit. Mandiant described a 2022 damaging attack on Albania by a purported hacktivist group called “HomeLand Justice” that the U.S. Government subsequently ascribed to Iranian actors.

While demonstrating their ability to launch complex strikes on extremely sensitive operational technology systems in Ukraine, state actors are compromising NATO countries’ key infrastructure for future disruptions. These actors have the means and motivation to disrupt NATO’s key infrastructure.

In addition to state cyberattacks, hacktivist and criminal disruptions are no longer ignorable. Global hacktivist resurgence has caused major attacks on the public and private sectors, making illegal activity a national security threat.

APT44 Sandworm, Frozenbarents

Highly advanced cyber threat outfit APT44, also known as Sandworm, is thought to be backed by Russian military intelligence.

Espionage, disruption, and disinformation efforts are APT44’s specialties. For over a decade, they’ve carried out disruptive malware attacks including BlackEnergy and Industroyer.

APT44 summary:

APT44 has targeted essential infrastructure, government agencies, and international sports organisations. Since the Russia conflict, Ukraine has been a top target.

Tactics: APT44 has many tools to achieve its goals. Supply chain attacks, phishing emails, and software flaws are examples. They may use wiper malware to delete data and disrupt operations.

The range of APT44’s capabilities makes it worrisome. APT44 conducts espionage, sabotage, and influence operations, unlike many APT groups.

The global devastating hack NotPetya, Pyeongchang Olympic games strikes, and Ukraine outages have all been carried out by APT44. Russian military intelligence-linked actor has carried out technically complicated interruptions of sensitive operational systems and broad-effect damaging strikes. APT44 has carried out most disruptive assaults in Ukraine and minor attacks in NATO nations since the war.

PRESSTEA (Prestige) ransomware was used against Polish and Ukrainian logistics companies by APT44 in October 2022. The malware was unbreakable and damaging, maybe to demonstrate the group’s ability to harm supply routes carrying lethal aid to Ukraine. APT44’s risk-taking in using a disruptive capacity against a NATO member country is evident in this operation.

Hacktivists

Geopolitical flashpoints like the Russian invasion of Ukraine have sparked a global hacktivism revival. Despite focusing on NATO members, these actors have had mixed results. Many surgeries are meant to draw attention and create a false sense of uneasiness but cause no lasting damage.

These actors cannot be disregarded despite their flaws. Their attacks draw media attention in target countries and sometimes have catastrophic effects. One of their preferred methods, distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks, are cosmetic but might be used to greater effect during elections. Hacktivists like pro-Russian organisation Cyber Army Russia Reborn (CARR) are also testing larger strikes on key infrastructure. CARR, which has questionable ties to APT44, has affected U.S., Polish, and French water systems in a series of basic but aggressive acts.

Cybercriminals

Ransomware-related financial disruptions are already disrupting NATO states’ essential infrastructure, causing hospital patient care, energy, and government service failures. Many crooks target this crucial infrastructure despite their promises. Russian-speaking criminals and North Korean state actors seeking espionage funding have regularly attacked U.S. and European healthcare institutions. This threat will likely grow due to these actors’ ability to operate from states with low cyber crime enforcement or extradition agreements and the lucrative nature of ransomware operations.

Information Operations and Disinformation

Information operations have grown in cyber threat activities over the past decade as wars and geopolitical tensions have increased. These operations range from “troll farm” social media manipulation to intricate network intrusions. Russian and Belarusian information operations have targeted NATO member nations to weaken the Alliance’s cohesiveness and goals.

Some Cyber Espionage operators who acquire clandestine intelligence also conduct information operations. In hack-and-leak activities, APT28 and COLDRIVER have used stolen data, while UNC1151 has used infiltration capabilities in more complicated information operations. False and misleading information is used to influence public opinion, foment strife, and advance political goals.

Google vigorously counters these activities across products, teams, and geographies where they break our standards and disrupt overt and covert information operations campaigns. They report quarterly in the TAG Bulletin on YouTube channel disruptions, blogs, AdSense accounts, and URLs deleted from Google News surfaces.

Information Operations of Prigozhin Survive

Former Russian industrialist Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s disinformation empire continues, albeit less efficiently, after his death. These campaigns continue to spread disinformation and pro-Russia narratives on many social media platforms, recently emphasising alternative sites, across multiple regions.

These efforts advocate for NATO’s disarmament and claim it causes global instability. They criticise NATO leaders too. These commercials’ substance is heavily influenced by geopolitical events like Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and other Russian strategic aims. NATO and its member states’ backing for Ukraine has made the Alliance a major target directly and indirectly by becoming involved in matters against Russia’s strategic interests.

COLDRIVER

Russian Cyber Espionage actor COLDRIVER has been linked to the Federal Security Service. The actor often conducts credential phishing attempts against prominent NGOs and retired intelligence and military leaders. The hack-and-leak operation employed victim mailbox data stolen by COLDRIVER. In 2022, COLDRIVER leaked information to deepen Brexit-related political divides in the UK.

Before that, the actor revealed U.S.-UK trade deals before the 2019 UK election. Originally targeting NATO countries, COLDRIVER expanded in 2022 to include the Ukrainian government and conflict supporters. In March 2022, COLDRIVER campaigns targeted numerous European militaries and a NATO Centre of Excellence for the first time.

Read more on govindhtech.com