Today’s Headlines and Commentary

I’ll continue in the same vein as Raffaela’s focus yesterday on everything cyber. The New York Times reports that Gen. Keith B. Alexander, head of the NSA and the U.S. Cyber Command said that “there had been a 17-fold increase in computer attacks on American infrastructure between 2009 and 2011.” CNN’s Security Clearance blog tells us that he gave the country a 3 out of 10 in its preparedness in dealing with a cyberattack. Yikes! Paul Stockton, assistant secretary for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs at DoD said that the vulnerability of the U.S. electrical grid is a huge risk, according to CNN’s Security Clearance blog. The Washington Times also reports on the Senate’s decision to move forward on cybersecurity legislation. And the Politico describes the challenges the cybersecurity bill still faces in the Senate. The other big news topic of the day comes from our new favorite African nation: Mali. The Wall Street Journal informs us that officials are considering measures to prevent the northern part of the country from becoming a safe haven for Al Qaeda. CNN’s Security Clearance blog reports that Michael Sheehan, assistant secretary for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflicts at DoD, said that the U.S. needs to “accelerate” the effort to help Mali. In other news from African terrorists, the Washington Times says that Somali group Al Shabab has made many changes in its chain of command. Here’s hoping the new brass is all incompetent and terrible at the new jobs. Meanwhile, Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, the Saudi student convicted of plotting to use a weapon of mass destruction, has asked for a new trial. The Associated Press has more. The Times has the story on the deal the U.S. struck with Pakistan to re-open the NATO supply routes. Here is an account from the Post of new details that have emerged about Dr. Shakil Afridi’s role in the CIA’s Osama bin Laden operation. And, if you thought you had seen it all when it comes to drones, think again. Today’s Moment of Zen was brought to me by our intern, Michael Soyfer, who was inspired by Ben’s drone flying around the office yesterday. Wonder how these guys would do in the Lawfare Drone Smackdown? For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter, visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief, Fordham Law’s Center on National Security’s Morning Brief, and Fordham Law’s Cyber Brief. Email us noteworthy articles we may have missed at wakeman.lawfare@gmail.com and  singh.lawfare@gmail.com.