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In the twenty-first century, effective security strategies demand more than sophisticated military might. Social and information technologies have transformed the character of conflict, compelling democracies to expand their defenses beyond traditional military domains. Adversaries now wield unprecedented influence over the minds of individuals, leaders, and decision-makers across the security enterprise and society at large. The Chinese Communist Party wages a comprehensive and calculated political warfare campaign, exploiting cognitive weaknesses and harnessing social media platforms to subvert democratic values and advance its strategic aims. While Beijing poses an internal threat, democracies possess the means to fortify cognitive security within their societies and security frameworks. The United States and its allies must prioritize investment in and exploitation of the unique strengths of their diverse populations, while revitalizing the bedrock principles of free speech, free markets, and inherent human rights, which face renewed assault from totalitarian regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an update on events since Edward Snowden, an employee of a National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, stole and released thousands of classified documents in 2013, revealing that the U.S. government was engaged in a massive secret cybersurveillance operation that was amassing information about people all over the world, including U.S. citizens. In the U.S., Snowden’s revelations sparked a spirited debate regarding privacy rights, and in particular whether the U.S. cybersurveillance operation was appropriate in a democratic system. This article describes the scope of the cybersuveillance program, and examines how the courts and Congress responded to the Snowden revelations, and (in particular) how U.S. society evolved in the following years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]