The Parliamentary Intelligence Security Forum (PI-SF) gathers international Parliamentarians to improve understanding and collaboration in order to address global security and technological challenges. Founded by former Congressman Robert Pittenger, sponsor of the major reform Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), CTT founders John Strand and Roslyn Layton serve on its Steering Committee. Over 250 Parliamentarians and advisors met in Washington last week at the National Archives to discuss critical issues such as illicit finance and human trafficking. They also heard keynotes from current Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and former Sen. Larry Pressler and the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, who described his country’s progress in the transition from a narco-state to becoming the enterprise logistics hub of Central America.
The panel on Neurocognitive Warfare featured Dr. Steve Bennett, Director of the Global Government Practice at SAS and former Director of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who offered a brief history on the topic and provided examples of how U.S. enemies weaponized information to disrupt elections and sow discord. Dr. Robert McCreight, professor at George Mason and National Defense Universities, described Havana Syndrome, an emerging form of passive warfare, which has afflicted dozens through non-kinetic radio attacks. John Strand showed how the entrance barrier to create chaos is increasingly lowered as the dual-use tools of attack can be acquired easily online and can be magnified through proliferation of next generation networks. He applauded the recent passage of the Secure Equipment Act and reiterated the importance of improving network security by removing vulnerable network equipment from PRC vendors like Huawei, Lenovo, and DJI. Scroll to 1 hour and 17 minutes in the video to watch the panel.
Rep. David Rouzer, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Highways & Transit of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, introduced the panel on “Abusive Practices in Global Expansion.” He described the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the greatest national and economic security threat to the United States and the world. The panel featured Former Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger, who provided a concise history of U.S.-China relations in the last generation, international arbitrator Milos Ivkovic, and Roslyn Layton who provided an overview of recent U.S. policy to address the China tech threat. She specifically discusses three key pieces of legislation that, if used to their full extent could counter this threat. She notes the need to add companies like Lenovo and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) to the list in order to curb the U.S.’ unintended a role in Chinese Military-Civil Fusion. Scroll to 4 hour and 20 minutes in the video to watch the panel.