14-20 November 2015
ARMY
Army Puts ‘Cyber Soldiers’ In The Mud
Breaking Defense, 14 Nov 15, Sydney Freedberg Jr.
Pop culture pictures hackers in clean, air-conditioned rooms, working global network magic from a desk. For the Army, though, that’s not enough. If American troops are to prevail against inventive foes in high-tech, close-quarters fights, the hacker elite have to get their boots muddy with the regular grunts. So now the Army’s sending cyber soldiers to its Combat Training Center wargames to figure out how. “There’s this idea that we could always do it remotely, from protected space. Well, we recognized, no, that’s not true,” Lt. Gen. Ed Cardon, head of Army Cyber Command, told reporters recently. For cyber soldiers to support frontline units effectively, he said, “you’re going to have to have some number — small, but some number — of them forward.”
JOINT
DISA chief: We’re in ‘an economic cyber cold war’
Federal Computer Week, 18 Nov 15, Sean Lyngaas
The U.S. government is fighting at least a two-front cyberwar right now, according to a top Pentagon official. The challenges involve the daily fending off of millions of attacks on defense networks and the slow burn of economic espionage carried out by adversaries. “I believe there’s an economic cyber cold war playing out right now,” said Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. He made the comments Nov. 18 at CyberCon 2015, an event sponsored by Federal Times and C4ISR and Networks in Arlington, Va. Lynn, who is also commander of DISA’s Joint Force Headquarters DOD Information Networks, asked the audience of contractors and defense officials to imagine an adversary whose goal is to, over time, “erode global consumer confidence in U.S. …wholesale goods and businesses.”
As JIEDDO Becomes JIDA, IED Threat Builds In Theater
Defense News, 20 Nov 15, Jen Judson
As the temporary Pentagon organization created nearly 10 years ago to combat roadside bombs transitions into a smaller, permanent agency, the improvised explosive device problem has only proliferated and grown white-hot as forces continue to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. So while many thought the role of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) would end as the wars were due to wind down in Iraq and Afghanistan, the newly named Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA) is busier than ever, working to find solutions to protect soldiers and civilians against more and more creatively made and used bombs.
Pentagon IT leaders push for more collaboration across defense agencies
Fed Scoop, 17 Nov 15, Alex Koma
The department’s agencies lay out their plans for partnerships on cybersecurity, data centers and more. IT staff at the Department of Defense are planning a major push to encourage communication and collaboration among its agencies over the next few years. At FedScoop’s FedTalks event Tuesday, leaders from the Army and the Pentagon CIO’s office laid out their plans for unifying disparate agencies within the vast, sprawling department — working toward the common goals of saving money and enabling better communication with service members scattered around the world.
GLOBAL
Drones ready for leap into a new age
Tampa Tribune, 16 Nov 15, Howard Altman
About the time one of the drones of today likely killed English-speaking Islamic State executioner “Jihadi John,” Skip Parish was gearing up for a conference he’ll be attending this week in Berlin geared toward the unmanned aerial systems of the future. They’ll be smaller, fly in swarms and will soon be firing lasers, says Parish, a Sarasota inventor and drone technology innovator. Parish will lead a panel at NATO’s Concept Development and Experimentation Conference, which kicks off today at the Swissotel in Berlin.
Cold War military tactics need update for cyber battlefields, expert says
Fierce Markets, 16 Nov 15, Robert Bartley
Facing constant threats to cyber infrastructure and data breaches at the highest levels of government, it’s no secret that the federal government views cyberspace as the next big field of conflict. Experts often draw parallels between cyber warfare and traditional operations, but some believe that certain age-old tactics need to be revamped for the 21st century. A week after members of Congress wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Advisor Susan Rice about the need for an “E-Neva Convention” in setting standards for cyber warfare and peacetime practices, Paul K. Davis, senior principal researcher at the RAND Corporation, released a paper on some parallels between traditional warfare and the digital landscape of today.
Britain develops cyber attack powers to take on IS
Reuters, 17 Nov 15, Michael Holden
British spies are developing an offensive cyber capability to attack terrorists, hackers and rogue states, finance minister George Osborne said on Tuesday after warning Islamic State militants wanted to launch deadly cyber attacks of their own. Osborne said Islamic State (IS) fighters were trying to develop the ability to attack Britain’s infrastructure such as hospitals and air traffic control systems with potentially lethal consequences.In response to this threat and others, Britain was creating its own offensive cyber capability so spies could launch counter attacks, he said.
Iran Army stages drills to repel border attacks
Press TV, 17 Nov 15, Unattributed
A senior Iranian Army commander says one of the objectives of ongoing exercises in the eastern parts of the country is to boost the forces’ preparedness against possible terrorist attacks on the border areas. Brigadier General Reza Azarian made the remarks as the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces continued drills dubbed Muhammad Rasulullah 3 (Muhammad the Messenger of God) in the country’s eastern city of Torbat-e Jam in Khorasan Razavi Province.
Russian troops to join 9 int’l drills in 2016, build high-tech ranges
The Journal of Turkish Weekly, 20 Nov 15, Unattributed
Exercises with China, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, as well as three drills with India, are planned for 2016. Russian Eastern Military District (EMD) troops will take part in nine international exercises in 2016, the district commander said Friday. “The next year will be more abundant in terms of international military cooperation, troops are planned to take part in nine exercises,” Col. Gen. Sergei Surovikin said at a military council session.
Russia opens fire on Ukraine again as the West stands by
The Washington Post, 19 Nov 15, Editorial Board
In the six months after a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine was supposed to have taken effect this year, Russian-backed forces kept up a low-level barrage of sniping and shelling along the front lines, killing dozens of Ukrainian soldiers while avoiding censure from the Western governments that brokered the deal. Then, on Sept. 1, the guns fell silent — just as Russian forces began streaming into Syria. For two months, the cease-fire held and international monitors reported progress in implementing agreements on the withdrawal from the front lines of heavy weapons. Now the Russian guns are firing again. In the past week there have been dozens of incidents daily in which the supposedly withdrawn weapons, including heavy mortars and Grad rockets, have been fired at Ukrainian positions. Nine Ukrainian soldiers have been reported killed. Having proved in September that he could switch off the shooting in Ukraine when it suited him, Russian President Vladimir Putin has now, at a minimum, allowed it to resume. It’s a development that Western governments contemplating an alliance with the Russian ruler in the Middle East cannot afford to ignore.
US delivers two Q-36 Counter Battery Radar Systems to Ukraine
Army.mil, 16 Nov 15, US Embassy Press Office, Kyiv, Ukraine
In response to a request from Ukraine, and as part of our ongoing efforts to bolster Ukraine’s defense and internal security operations, Nov. 14 the United States delivered two AN/TPQ-36 radar systems to Ukraine at a ceremony in Lviv. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had the opportunity to review the equipment, and was briefed by U.S. military personnel on its capabilities. The radar systems delivered today will help defend Ukrainian military personnel and civilians against rocket and artillery attacks, which have historically been the most lethal threat to Ukrainian personnel and civilians.
OF INTEREST
Washington Post, 13 Nov 15, Lisa Rein
If you work for the federal government, your Twitter or Facebook profile can show a photo of you hugging Ben Carson or Hillary Clinton. But you can’t share, tweet, ”like,” friend, follow, comment on or retweet anything your candidate says or does when you’re on the clock. If your job is in intelligence or law enforcement, you can ”like” or comment on a tweet from a candidate when you’re not working — but you can’t share or retweet it even when you’re off duty.
The Washington Times, 17 Nov 15, Peter Vincent Pry
ISIS could kill millions by switching off America’s power. Three vitally important lessons are immediately apparent in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks: First, the Islamic State, or ISIS, is planning more attacks against Europe and also the United States. ISIS-affiliated websites threaten that Washington, London and Rome will be attacked next and that their preference is “to taste American blood.”
Obama’s Acquisition Leaders Head For The Doors
Breaking Defense, 19 Nov 15, Colin Clark
It may have happened before but I can’t remember when the top acquisition officials of two of the three services announced their resignations in the same month — let alone on the same day. But both Bill LaPlante, the lead buyer for the Air Force, and Heidi Shyu, his counterpart at the Army, did just that yesterday, marking the end of significant new acquisition efforts by the Army and the Air Force. However, the Army has done so little in acquisition during the second half of the Obama administration that it may be moot.
Will 2016 Be The Year Of Wireless Energy?
NASDAQ News, 19 Nov 15, Michael McDonald
Wireless power has been a dream of mankind’s for decades, but the technology finally appears to be gaining some traction. Theoretically, numerous studies have shown that wireless power is possible through a variety of aerial transmission modalities. Yet the problem with wireless power has been getting the technology to work at a reasonable range. So far, commercial use of wireless power has been limited, but progress is being made. For instance, Samsung now has a commercially available wireless charger for its cell phones. With the charger, consumers do not need to plug their phone into the wall for it to charge.
ELECTRONIC WARFARE EVENTS
- December 2015, Washington, D.C.: 52nd Annual AOC International Symposium and Convention
http://www.crows.org/conventions/2015.html
Filed under: Electronic Warfare, Information operations Tagged: Electronic Warfare
