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.
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April 2018
Russia’s Efforts to Destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina
More than 20 years have passed since the United States brokered the Dayton Peace Accords to end the conflict that ravaged Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) after the collapse of Yugoslavia. The peace agreement ended the war, but the country remains bede [...]
Ten Legislative Proposals to Defend America Against Foreign Influence Operations
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s February 16 indictmenthttps://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download. of the Internet Research Agency, along with 13 key individuals and two related entities, was another reminder for Americans of the coordinated at [...]
Tracking Illicit Russian Financial Flows
Trillions of dollars in capital flows into the United States annually, and trillions of dollars in payments are cleared through New York daily. No one knows exactly whom the funds belong to, where they are held, or how they are deployed. No one know [...]
It’s Not Just Facebook: Countering Russia’s Social Media Offensive
Russian influence operations exploit the vulnerabilities of social media platforms to disseminate false narratives and amplify divisive content in order to undermine democracies, divide societies, and weaken Western alliances. In conducting these o [...]
The Oligarch Designations: Assets in the West are on the Table
In freezing the assets of seven Russian oligarchs on April 6 under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and other Russia sanctions authorities, the U.S. government went after individuals with a sizeable economic footprint in th [...]
A New Model for Unified Response to Putin
WASHINGTON, DC — The coordinated moves last week by 27 countries as well as NATO to expel over 150 undeclared Russian intelligence agents from their soil sent a loud and clear message — this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. The response was n [...]
March 2018
Estonian Regulators and European Central Bank Move Forcefully Against Russian Money Laundering
Estonia’s financial regulator, Finantsinspektsioon, announced on March 26 that the European Central Bank (ECB), acting at Estonia’s request, had revoked the license of Versobank AS, a small Estonian bank catering to clients based in Russia and Ukrai [...]
Responsible Reporting in an Age of Irresponsible Information
In Brief: Disinformation and misinformation seem to be everywhere. They are often spread by foreign actors like the Russian government who aim to stoke tensions within the United States. Other state or non-state actors may already be starting to co [...]
February 2018
National Security Officials Letter in Support of the Secure Elections Act
Dear Senators, We write to express our strong support for the Secure Elections Act (S. 2261). This legislation, introduced by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), a [...]
January 2018
So What Did We Learn? Looking Back on Four Years of Russia’s Cyber-Enabled “Active Measures”
Americans continue to investigate, deliberate, and wallow in the aftermath of Russia’s rebirth of “Active Measures” designed to defeat their adversaries through the “force of politics rather than the politics of force.” Kremlin interference in the 2 [...]
How to Respond to Russia’s Attacks on Democracy
On Wednesday, the Alliance for Securing Democracy hosted U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), U.S. Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX), and former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff for a discussion of Russia’s continued assault on democracies [...]
Congressman Will Hurd on Securing Democracy Against Russia’s Attacks
Editor’s Note: The German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy recently hosted a discussion on Responding to Russia’s Attacks on Democracy featuring Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Will Hurd, and former Secretary of Homeland Security Mich [...]