In this week's Security Sprint, Dave and Andy talked about the following topics:

Opening:

• WaterISAC to host H2OEx regional exercise to strengthen sector preparedness & WaterISAC merch!

• The Gate 15 Interview EP 66: Chris Camacho: Cyber Risk, Building Communities, Nirvana, and Peruvian Chicken

• Nerd Out EP 66. Terrorism trends and hacktivism in the current geopolitical environment, plus Nerd Movie review

Main Topics:

Rules of Engagement: safety, security and resilience considerations after Minneapolis and the murder of Alex Pretti

Severe Weather Planning & Resilience:

• Winter storm kills 11, leaves more than 800,000 without power as cold tightens grip

• The massive storm has passed, but deep cold remains a danger

• Storm-related power outages (U.S.)

• PowerOutage.us

AI-Powered Disinformation Swarms Are Coming for Democracy (Wired, 23 Jan 2026; Analysis/Commentary) – Wired examines how coordinated “disinformation swarms” powered by generative AI are shifting influence operations from single narratives to adaptive, multi-persona campaigns that probe, learn, and re-target in real time. Rather than pushing one false claim, these swarms test thousands of micro-messages across platforms, identify which narratives gain traction with which audiences, and dynamically reinforce them using synthetic text, images, and increasingly video. Researchers warn this model overwhelms traditional fact-checking and moderation, exploits algorithmic amplification, and blurs the line between foreign and domestic influence, particularly when paired with real grievances.

Quick Hits:

• CISA budget bill would require agency to maintain ‘sufficient’ staffing levels and Congressional appropriators move to extend information-sharing law, fund CISA

• Acting CISA chief defends workforce cuts, declares agency ‘back on mission’

• What to do when your organization has been compromised by a cyber attack (ITSAP00009)