Few people would dispute that the United States is in the cross-hairs when it comes to cyber attacks. After all, the U.S. is the country that is the most dependent on the Internet as a component of our critical infrastructure.
Cyber attacks on our critical infrastructure have evolved over the years and pose a substantial threat that should concern everyone. Keep reading →
We have entered a new age of modern conflict. This new age is different from those we have experienced in the past and perhaps even more challenging. The military has dubbed cyber as the 5th domain and have embarked on establishing the capabilities for offensive, defensive and intelligence collection and analysis in this domain.
However, many are attempting to address this threat as they did traditional forms of conflict. Some have gone as far as to compare what has been called a cyber arms race to the cold war. Recent conversations and witnessed actions are cause for concern. Keep reading →
Conventional arms transfers – Exports (US$ millions – 2005; 1990 prices). Refers to the voluntary transfer of weapons destined for the armed forces or intelligence agencies of another country. It includes ships, aircraft, missiles, artillery, armored vehicles and guidance and radar systems. It excludes trucks, services, ammunition, small arms, support items, components and component technology. SOURCE: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The 193 United Nations diplomats are driving a treaty that would be the first legally binding global treaty that would regulate the international arms trade. This treaty is expected to promote transparency and accountability in the arms trade. This is not new! Keep reading →
Cyber investigators looking at the Stuxnet code determined that on June 24th the sophisticated cyber weapon would stop operating and remove itself from the systems it had infiltrated.
This function was identified long ago and cyber researchers have patiently waited to see what if any implications this will have on the tens of thousands of computers in more than 155 countries the sophisticated cyber weapon had infected. By all accounts this is a self-destruction, an unusual function not often seen embedded within malicious code. The inclusion of this function is a strong indicator that those behind this cyber attack did not believe that Iran would discover the malicious code. Keep reading →
Cyber intelligence comes in a variety of forms and from many places and sources. For years intelligence organizations look at routine communications by organizations they target to gain insight from the communications that the targeted group or organization has with its members.
For a while now intelligence organizations have been monitoring an online magazine known as Inspire which is said to be produced by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Keep reading →
The discovery of the Stuxnet computer worm in 2010 and the more recent spyware attack known as Flame – both of which specifically targeted the Iranian nuclear development program – has led to wild speculation by subject matter experts from almost every discipline imaginable.
But the common thread that binds the analysis of these experts together (in a not-so-flattering way) has been the conclusion that the great “cyber wars” of the 21st century have begun. Keep reading →
You can tell when a market is heating up by the projections of analysts and forecasts by market report writers. That is certainly the case when it comes to the cyber security market. Some research suggests that the 2012 global market for cybersecurity products and services ranges between a pessimistic view of about $55 billion USD and an optimistic view of nearly $70 billion USD with an average annual increase of $5 billion USD. With 26 million new strains of malware identified in 2011 it is easy to justify this level of security product and service sales. Keep reading →
The big news reverberating through cybersecurity circles last week, reported by the New York Times, that the U.S. was behind the Stuxnet cyber attack on Iranian nuclear enrichments back in 2010 has set off a new firestorm of concern about the likelihood of retaliation.
The news report was based on information provided by “unnamed participants in the program.” In the article it states that the information in the piece was called an “account of the American and Israeli effort to undermine the Iranian nuclear program is based on interviews over the past 18 months with current and former American, European and Israeli officials involved in the program, as well as a range of outside experts.” Keep reading →
In a move that suggests the incendiary impact of malicious software, Iran has now publicly threatened the United States over the Flame malware incident that has gained worldwide attention in recent days.
Flame has been dubbed the “utlimate spy” and for good reason. Iran was the country hit the hardest by the state-of-the-art piece of malware. Keep reading →
It happened again. A number of countries have been hit by what has been called the most sophisticated piece of malware seen to date.
The malware is called Flame – appropriate given the number of computers that have been burned by this latest cyber weapon. Keep reading →