ASD contributes long and short form research products and analysis to inform and engage our audience on a range of issues related to malign foreign interference. In addition, we develop policy recommendations and strategies to close vulnerabilities and safeguard institutions from authoritarian threats.
Focus Areas
Threat Actors
All Posts
May 2021
The Good Web: Is There an Authoritarian Model for the Internet?
What Countries Buy Into When They Buy Authoritarian Technologies In February 2021, ASD held a security and geopolitics workshop as part of the Good Web project entitled “Authoritarian Models, Practices, and Threats,” in which participants discussed [...]
The Good Web: Democratic Values, Practices, and Procedures
In December 2020, ASD held a security and geopolitics workshop as part of the Good Web project entitled “Democratic Values and the Internet.” Participants included experts in cyber policy, cybersecurity, foreign policy, law, human rights, and intern [...]
Coordinating the War on Corruption
Executive Summary The Biden administration has a historic opportunity to unify U.S. domestic and foreign policy through an aggressive mission to combat corruption and kleptocracy. Middle-class Americans are frustrated by perceptions of corruption [...]
Introducing the 2021 German Elections Project
Germany’s federal election in September this year will mark a critical change not only for Germany but for Europe as a whole. Chancellor Angela Merkel has led Europe’s largest country and economic powerhouse since 2005, long before the specter of th [...]
China’s State-Backed Messengers See Opportunity in India’s Coronavirus Woes
Overview China's state-backed messengers are using India's health crisis to denigrate the United States and encourage India to step back from its deepening partnership with the United States and other democracies. According to data from the Johns Ho [...]
April 2021
How to Structure a Foreign Malign Influence Center
On Monday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) confirmed to Politico that it is working to establish a Foreign Malign Influence Center. The center, which was first authorized as part of the 2020 Defense Authorization bill, wil [...]
Regulating Beneficial Ownership for National Security
Key Point Beneficial ownership reform offers a historic opportunity—if strongly implemented—to build resilience against what has become a leading national security threat: malign actors funded by and weaponizing the proceeds of kleptocracy to harm t [...]
Enhancing the Alliance for Healthy Infosphere: How to Build Transnational Resilience Against Information Manipulation
The infodemic that accompanied the spread of the coronavirus looms large, complicating efforts to contain the virus. Civil society, tech companies, media organizations, and governments must tackle it with the same deliberateness that they bring to c [...]
Multi-Stakeholder Insights: A Compendium On Countering Election Interference
Introductory Letter Governments, civil society and industry recognize the importance of a secure, stable and accessible cyber and digital information space, especially in today’s challenging and unpredictable environment. In November 2018, the Fr [...]
If the Election Software Works, Use It and Audit the Results
The Netherlands is a tech-savvy nation that has scaled back the use of technology in its elections over the past decade-plus as part of its efforts to reduce the likelihood that autocratic actors, such as Russia, are able to interfere in the technic [...]
Adversarial Avenues: Ten Bipartisan Ways to Make a Bill Like S. 1 Close Loopholes Autocrats Exploit to Meddle in U.S. Politics
Introduction and Summary In his push for bipartisan efforts on voting rights legislation, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) warned that “the lack of transparency in many campaign finance rules provides multiple avenues for foreign and national adversaries [...]
How to Hold an Election During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Lessons Learned from Portugal
In January, less than two weeks before Portugal’s presidential election was scheduled, a new wave of the coronavirus threatened to overwhelm hospitals and led the Portuguese government to put the country back under lockdown. But unlike other countri [...]