cyber threat

Cyber Intelligence: Emergence Of Cyber Iran

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Earlier this year Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran would establish a Supreme Council of Cyberspace. This was the latest action intended to strengthen Iran’s cyber power and defend the country against cyber attacks.

Sources inside of Iran have said that the council will be comprised of high-ranking Iranian officials such as the Iran’s Parliament speaker, Judiciary chief, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and ministers of Communication and Information Technology, Culture and Islamic Guidance and Intelligence. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 19, 2012 at 11:19 AM

Cyber Intelligence: White House Gets Senate’s Attention But Now What?

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It appears that all the expert cyber threat warnings and media coverage–and now a realistic cyber attack simulation on New York’s power grid–has gotten the attention of Washington.

In the latest example, according to an account published March 8 by Politico, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, during a classified briefing in the Office of Senate Security, showed lawmakers how a hacker could breach control systems of New York City’s electric system and trigger a ripple effect throughout the population and private sector. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 12, 2012 at 10:31 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Recognizing the Threat

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Acts of cyber aggression on governments and businesses are now considered a top risk globally. Earlier this year the World Economic Forum (WEF) released their 2012 report on Global Risks. That report looked at fifty areas of risk across specific domains such as the economy, the environment, geopolitics, society and technology.

Five of the top ten risks, however, were closely if not directly related to the cyber domain and cybersecurity concerns. Among them: Keep reading →

 /  Published March 5, 2012 at 10:23 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Finding The Needle In Nortel’s Log Files

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The demise of an industry icon, Nortel Networks, as the evidence has now made clear, was the result of a cyber attack. Who could forget Nortel Networks’s place in the technology landscape? While the company is gone, their equipment is still in operations throughout the world.

In an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal, it was reported that hackers had roamed freely inside Nortel’s vast corporate network for over a decade and contributed to the company going bankrupt in 2009.

Indications are that the attacker’s traffic was traced back to China. This came as a result of countless hours poring over log files until the investigators found the needle in the haystack.

According to Brian Shields, a long time Nortel employee and the point person on the investigation, the cyber espionage activities resulted in the exfiltration of technical papers, R&D documents, business plans, emails and other documents. They had full access to very sensitive information about the technology and plans of the company.

For years now, U.S. intelligence organizations and subject matter experts have warned of the vast array of clandestine cyber espionage activities of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). While some of these activities are the result of organizations in the private sector, the government is often cited as the sources of the acts of espionage. Naturally, the Chinese government has denied these allegations. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 27, 2012 at 2:40 PM

Cyber Intelligence: Countries Move To Address Cyber Defenses

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Countries around the world have awoken to the risks of cyber attacks on their systems launched by criminals, hacktivists, terrorists and rogue nation states.

As of January 2012, we found twenty-two countries have established cyber defense centers in an effort to enhance both their offense, defensive and cyber intelligence capabilities. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 20, 2012 at 10:20 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Cyber Warning From Capitol Hill

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It is hard not to notice the increase in activity and public information about cyber threats that has been in the media lately.

That concern was borne out by testimony during a Feb. 2 hearing in which the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Mike Rogers of Michigan, warned of the severe consequences of a cyber attack on the United States. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 6, 2012 at 12:33 PM

Cyber Intelligence: A Clear Cyber Sign Of The Times

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Two separate but related events took place in recent days that individually were important moments in the rapid evolution of the cyber threat domain. When you combine these two events, clearly you can see their significance.

Both events serve as strong indicators of the concern over cyber attacks, as well as a barometer for the current state of digital conflict. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 1, 2012 at 11:12 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Joint Special Cyber Operations

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In recent years, Joint Special Operations Forces (JSOF) around the world have experienced a fair amount of growth. This growth has resulted in a rapid increase in their ranks, a boost in their budgets and an expansion of the scope of their missions.

This growth was further accelerated by the widely publicized Special Operations Forces that were used in the killing of Osama bin Laden. In a press conference from the Pentagon President Obama with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta articulated their vision of the future military.

The new vision states that “we will continue to build and sustain tailored capabilities appropriate for counter terrorism and irregular warfare.” That vision, which was reinforced in a blog post by Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, means growth for JSOF, but does that mean growth into cyber?

Secretary of Defense Panetta made it clear that the Defense Department must invest more in cyber capabilities saying, “Modern armed forces cannot conduct high-tempo, effective operations without reliable information and communication networks and assured access to cyberspace.”

While he did not mention offensive cyber capabilities you can be sure that is a critical capability that will see additional investment.

What if cyber becomes an increased focus and capability of our JSOFs?

As a general principal, our military must protect critical cyber assets while attacking the enemy’s cyber capabilities. Integrating cyber with JSOFs makes allot of sense and will only increase the weaponry and ultimately the value they provide.

Full integration of cyberspace operations into the traditional air-land-sea battle space is not an option! The covert missions carried out by JSOF are among the riskiest and are of the greatest value in the pursuit of national security.

A Joint Special Cyber Operations capability is not an option. Rather, it is a necessity in the highly contested domain of cyber space.


Kevin G. Coleman is a long-time security technology executive and former Chief Strategist at Netscape. He is Senior Fellow with the Technolytics Institute, where he provides consulting services on strategic technology and security issues.
 /  Published January 24, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Cyber Burn-out

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It was bound to happen and it appears it has just begun – cyber burn-out.

Recently a few security professional expressed symptoms that are associated with burn-out. This type of attitude is so uncharacteristic of these individuals. They are talking about, and more importantly, exhibiting the depletion and drain of professional drive. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 16, 2012 at 10:15 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Cyber’s Role In 21st Century Military Transformation

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has reiterated the military’s going-forward strategy on many occasions, saying about our military’s direction: “It must be complemented by the full range of America’s national security capabilities – strong intelligence, strong diplomacy, a strong economy, strong technology, developments in cyber capabilities.” These five areas comprise the new defense strategy.

Last week the web was all abuzz with coverage of President Obama’s press conference at the Pentagon along with Defense Secretary Panetta and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey as they unveiled the administration’s new military strategy. It is clear the U.S. military will undergo dramatic changes due to budget cuts. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 9, 2012 at 3:54 PM
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