#202 Genia Simkin on Bypassing DNS Blockades
10/08/24 • 62 min
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.
During this episode, Genia Simkin discusses his firm’s Samizdat technology which makes it possible to bypass DNS blockades set up by autocratic regimes.
Recording Date: 5 Aug 2024
Research Question: Genia Simkin suggests as interested student examine OSINT practices. For example, would it be possible to get an accurate sense (census, poll, survey, etc.) of how various populations that live in fear of and under the repressive rule of governments like those in Russia, Iran, or China feel about their governments' various policies and other important geopolitical questions so as to better understand what kinds of propaganda that they're subjected to is effective and they're able to see past?
Resources:
- Samizdat Online makes it possible to bypass the DNS blockades set up by autocratic regimes. Through Samizdat Online, you will be able to access censored media from around the globe and share freely, without VPN.
- Samizdat = the clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, especially formerly in the communist countries of eastern Europe.
- Yevgeny Simkin Bulwark site
- Alfred North Whitehead Quote: “Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them.”
- I, Pencil: My Family Tree by Leonard E. Read
- Wayback Machine
- Fact Checks and Context for Wayback Machine Pages by Mark Graham
- I Love Russia: Reporting from a Lost Country by Elena Kostyuchenko, Bela Shayevich, Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse
- Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West by Catherine Belton
Link to full show notes and resources
Guest Bio:
Yevgeny (Genia) Simkin is a technologist, analyst, comedian, musician, and entrepreneur who fled with his family to the US from the former Soviet Union in 1978, during the mass Soviet Jewish exodus of the 70s.
Over the last 25 years, Simkin has developed a multitude of software products for the likes of CBS News, YouTube, USA Today, and, many other global media and tech companies. Additionally he's a regular contributor to The Bulwark and has intended but failed to find the time to write multiple insightful and arguably books on the ways in which humanity has failed to realize its potential.
Last year, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Yevgeny co-founded Samizdat Online, an anti-censorship media platform that uses unique IP to make it possible to bypass Internet blocking commonly practiced by autocratic regimes such as Putin’s.
About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.
For more information, please contact us at [email protected].
Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.
During this episode, Genia Simkin discusses his firm’s Samizdat technology which makes it possible to bypass DNS blockades set up by autocratic regimes.
Recording Date: 5 Aug 2024
Research Question: Genia Simkin suggests as interested student examine OSINT practices. For example, would it be possible to get an accurate sense (census, poll, survey, etc.) of how various populations that live in fear of and under the repressive rule of governments like those in Russia, Iran, or China feel about their governments' various policies and other important geopolitical questions so as to better understand what kinds of propaganda that they're subjected to is effective and they're able to see past?
Resources:
- Samizdat Online makes it possible to bypass the DNS blockades set up by autocratic regimes. Through Samizdat Online, you will be able to access censored media from around the globe and share freely, without VPN.
- Samizdat = the clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, especially formerly in the communist countries of eastern Europe.
- Yevgeny Simkin Bulwark site
- Alfred North Whitehead Quote: “Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them.”
- I, Pencil: My Family Tree by Leonard E. Read
- Wayback Machine
- Fact Checks and Context for Wayback Machine Pages by Mark Graham
- I Love Russia: Reporting from a Lost Country by Elena Kostyuchenko, Bela Shayevich, Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse
- Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West by Catherine Belton
Link to full show notes and resources
Guest Bio:
Yevgeny (Genia) Simkin is a technologist, analyst, comedian, musician, and entrepreneur who fled with his family to the US from the former Soviet Union in 1978, during the mass Soviet Jewish exodus of the 70s.
Over the last 25 years, Simkin has developed a multitude of software products for the likes of CBS News, YouTube, USA Today, and, many other global media and tech companies. Additionally he's a regular contributor to The Bulwark and has intended but failed to find the time to write multiple insightful and arguably books on the ways in which humanity has failed to realize its potential.
Last year, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Yevgeny co-founded Samizdat Online, an anti-censorship media platform that uses unique IP to make it possible to bypass Internet blocking commonly practiced by autocratic regimes such as Putin’s.
About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.
For more information, please contact us at [email protected].
Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Previous Episode
#201 John Bicknell on Cognitive Indicators and Global Competition
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.
During this episode, Doug Abdiel "reverse-interviews" John Bicknell, the CEO|Founder of More Cowbell Unlimited and traditional Cognitive Crucible podcast host.
John discusses More Cowbell Unlimited's cognitive indicators and related technology that the US Army is prototyping in order to create effects, maintain Information Advantage, and compete globally.
Recording Date: 26 Sept 2024
Research Question: John Bicknell suggests an interested student or researcher examine:
- How can information professionals use complex system communication channel noise levels to improve goal pursuit?
Resources:
- Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
- More Cowbell Unlimited
- YouTube: More Cowbell SNL Skit
- The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information by George A. Miller
- Maxwell's Demon and the Golden Apple: Global Discord in the New Millennium by Randall L. Schweller
- Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
Link to full show notes and resources
Guest Bio: John Bicknell founded More Cowbell Unlimited to help America remain a beacon of hope and strength on the world stage. America must adopt Process Dominance as a core capability in order to innovate and survive in the Information Age. His vision is for process technologies to be as ubiquitous as processes are.
John is a national security thought leader and passionate analytics visionary. He has written extensively on national security matters related to information warfare, critical infrastructure defense, and space situational awareness. John leads software and business development efforts for More Cowbell Unlimited.
John is a retired Marine Corps officer who served worldwide. He led enterprise-level process-intensive human resources supply chain projects designed to discover inefficiencies, architect solutions, and re-purpose manpower savings. In his corporate career, he operationalized an Analytics Center of Excellence for a large EdTech firm, among other accomplishments.
John is also Vice President for the Information Professionals Association and host of The Cognitive Crucible podcast. His Master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School emphasizes econometrics and operations research.
About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.
For more information, please contact us at [email protected].
Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Next Episode
#203 Scott Hall on Synchronizing Effects in the Information Environment
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.
During this episode, MAJ Scott Hall discusses his paper: Enhancing Mounted Maneuver Operations by Setting Conditions of Advantage through Information Environment Effects Synchronization, which is getting published in Armor magazine in the Fall 2024 edition.
Recording Date: 26 Sept 2024
Research Question: Scott Hall suggests interested students examine:
- What are the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating Information Operations across all domains and services, and how can joint forces Information forces coordination and application be improved?
- How can the DIME (Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic) framework be leveraged to achieve a more comprehensive and integrated approach to Information Operations?
- What role can artificial intelligence and machine learning play in processing vast amounts of data and identifying patterns and trends in Information Advantage Dimensions?
Resources:
- Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
- Enhancing Mounted Maneuver Operations by Setting Conditions of Advantage through Information Environment Effects Synchronization by Scott Hall
- Large Language Model Course of Action Analysis
- Dynamic Generative Large Language Model for Continuous Situational Awareness
- Stratagem: Deception and Surprise in War by Barton Whaley
- The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War by Thaddeus Holt
- Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War by P. W. Singer and August Cole
- Unrestricted Warfare by COL Qiao Liang and COL Wang Xiangsui
Link to full show notes and resources
Guest Bio: MAJ Scott C. Hall is the U.S. Army Cyber (ARCYBER) G-39 Influence Branch and ARCYBER Trans-Regional Information Advantage Detachment (TIAD) Lead Information Advantage Planner, Fort Eisenhower, GA. His previous assignments include: U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command (USAREUR-AF) G-5 Plans Eastern Campaign Branch, Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany, Squadron Executive Officer, 1st Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, Fort Benning, GA. National Training Center (NTC) Live Fire Combined Arms Battalion Lead "Dragon 11," Operations Group, NTC Combined Arms Battalion Company OC/T “Scorpion 11”, Operations Group NTC, Fort Irwin, CA., Troop Commander, Havoc Troop (HHT), 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd IBCT (Airborne), Grafenwöhr, Germany, Aide-de-Camp to the Deputy Commanding General – Maneuver, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX and Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan, Platoon Leader, 3rd Platoon, C Company (Tank), 2nd Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX and Baghdad, Iraq. MAJ Hall’s military education includes; US Army Cyber Operations Planner Course (COPC), Joint Cyber Operations Planner Course (JCOPC), Joint Information Operations Planner Course (JIOPC), US Army Space Cadre Basic Course, US Army Special Technical Operations Planner Course, Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) Special Operations Forces (SOF) Information Advantage and Intelligence Integration Course, JSOU SOF Influence and Operations in the Information Environment, Joint Military Deception Training Course (JMTC), US Army Theater Army Staff Course, Information Operations Officer Qualification Course, Command and General Staff College, US Air Force Joint Firepower Course, NTC OC/T Certification Course, US Army Jumpmaster Course, US Army Pathfinder Course, Maneuver Captains Career Course, Combative Level 1, US Army Airborne School, US Army Armor Officer Basic Course, and US Army Air Assault School. MAJ Hall holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Project Management from Grand Canyon University and a bachelor’s degree in Military History from Norwich University, VT. MAJ Hall’s awards includes; a Bronze Star, Merito...
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