Author: VLADIMIR TSAKANYAN
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The CBDC Gambit: How Digital Currencies Are Becoming the New Tool of Financial Cyber Warfare
Over 130 countries are developing digital currencies, creating a highly centralized yet vulnerable financial infrastructure. The digital yuan, specifically, aims to bypass Western financial systems, making sanctions less effective. Central bank digital currencies pose significant cybersecurity risks, with potential attacks threatening system integrity and public trust, marking a new era in financial warfare.
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The Market for Secrets: Inside the Cyber Mercenary Economy
Since 2011, at least 74 governments have employed private hackers, raising concerns about the intelligence transfer and its subsequent vulnerability. The cyber mercenary market, now valued at $12 billion, facilitates hidden operations while posing significant risks, such as human rights abuses and data breaches, without adequate regulatory frameworks.
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The Fortress Rises: Europe’s 2026 Strategic Pivot
The European Union is undergoing a significant military transformation, transitioning from a “peace dividend” to a “war economy” by 2026. With defense spending targets increasing and initiatives like “Military Schengen,” Europe aims for enhanced readiness and unity in defense. The push is driven by threats from Russia and uncertainties in U.S. support.
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The Invisible Shield: What Happens if America’s Biggest Spy Tool Shuts Down?
The debate surrounding Section 702 of FISA intensifies as its April 2024 expiration approaches. While an immediate intelligence blackout is a myth, losing this surveillance authority would disrupt U.S. cybersecurity, complicate threat detection, and necessitate cumbersome procedures. The conflict lies between privacy concerns and the need for national safety.
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The Mythos of Mythos: What Anthropic’s AI Security Claims Really Tell Us
Anthropic’s Claude Mythos claims to have found vulnerabilities across major operating systems and browsers based on extrapolated data, raising fears to bolster its market position. While it demonstrates advancements in AI-assisted vulnerability discovery, the framing serves business interests more than public safety. Genuine policy discussions on AI governance remain essential.
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Slopaganda: What Generative AI Has Done to the Economics of Lying
Generative AI has transformed disinformation campaigns, making them cheaper and faster, fundamentally altering the information warfare landscape. The rise of “slopaganda” reflects the overwhelming volume of low-quality, synthetic content, complicating efforts to manage and counteract misinformation. Current regulatory frameworks struggle to address adversarial state-directed disinformation effectively.
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The Cognitive Battlefield: Why Information Warfare Has Become the West’s Most Dangerous Blind Spot
On February 28, 2026, disinformation flooded social media concerning US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. This saturation of AI-generated content shaped political narratives rather than altering military outcomes. As cognitive warfare tactics evolve, Western responses struggle to adapt, highlighting a critical gap in strategic understanding and coordination against these threats.
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After the Summit: Why Digital Diplomacy Produces Declarations but Not Security
In March 2026, the UN established a permanent Global Mechanism for cybersecurity governance amid ongoing state-sponsored cyber operations. Despite extensive diplomatic efforts, binding commitments from major cyber powers remain absent, creating a gap between ambition and reality. Effective digital diplomacy requires binding agreements, real-time crisis management, and genuine integration of norms and capabilities.
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The Chip and the Treaty: Technology Sanctions as the New Language of Digital Statecraft
China’s 15th Five-Year Plan omits key terms like “lithography machine,” signaling a strategic shift towards AI and digital economy over chip manufacturing. Meanwhile, U.S. semiconductor export controls have unintentionally accelerated China’s capabilities, creating diplomatic tensions and unregulated technology diplomacy, with risks compounded by the absence of a governance framework.
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The Data Embassy: How Small States Are Reinventing Sovereignty in the Digital Age
In response to historical threats, Estonia established a data embassy in Luxembourg to safeguard its government data under diplomatic immunity. This innovative approach transcends traditional concepts of sovereignty tied to territory, reflecting a new model for state continuity amid digital governance challenges. However, legal frameworks to support this model remain underdeveloped.
