⭐️ What We Learned ⭐️

1: 2020, a thread. Like everyone, B4B faced countless curve-balls in 2020. Here are some things we learned, that helped us increase our influence in the toughest year we have lived through /

2: Act quickly: As Covid fears grew, we had a contingency plan ready by March 2, long before lockdown was a threat. By March 12, work from home was a thing, and on March 15 we closed the office completely /
3: Put the team first: In a crisis, you need the team more than ever. We got our staff from overseas back home early, trialled work-from-home early, put health (inc mental health) and working policies in place early, so everyone was clear what was happening /
4: Use the tech. Our team was already using Zoom, Slack and various other tools but they really came into their own to do the heavy lifting of working remotely, before the Covid nervousness became a full-blown crisis /
5: Keep the team vibe: Daily team Zooms – a huddle to get things going in the morning, an update in the afternoon, & always a willingness to use some of the time for social chit-chat & the small-talk that we take for granted in an office. /
6: Don’t wait for the Govt to act: a) Because, you know, sloooowness b) You’ll find yourself in a mad rush with everyone else in the Last Minute Lounge /
7: Spot the opportunities: With Westminster bars and coffee shops shuttered, everyone was trying to find a ‘new normal’. We worked hard to become part of that new normal /
8: Look out for each other: It’s good to talk, as they say. And, when it’s your turn to struggle a little, work should ease the pressure, not ramp it up /
9: Have a support network: If you work by yourself anyway, all of the above applies, but of course you‘ll need to have an external support network – FB groups, regular work contacts, whatever it takes not to disappear into a communications hole /
10: Biscuits: They’re the answer to so many problems /ends

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In the Spring of 2017, after a deep dive into the Fake News phenomena, the security team wanted to publish an update that covered what we had learned. At this point, we didn’t have any advertising content or the big IRA cluster, but we did know about the GRU model.

This report when through dozens of edits as different equities were represented. I did not have any meetings with Sheryl on the paper, but I can’t speak to whether she was in the loop with my higher-ups.

In the end, the difficult question of attribution was settled by us pointing to the DNI report instead of saying Russia or GRU directly. In my pre-briefs with members of Congress, I made it clear that we believed this action was GRU.