CYBERWAR: Cadets Trade the Trenches for Firewalls

~~ Warfare in the TechnoPolitical Age ~~ 

CYBERWAR: Cadets Trade the Trenches for Firewalls

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/technology/11cybergames.html?em

By COREY KILGANNON and NOAM COHEN

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The Army forces were under attack. Communications were down, and the chain of command was broken.

Pacing a makeshift bunker whose entrance was camouflaged with netting, the young man in battle fatigues barked at his comrades: “They are flooding the e-mail server. Block it. I’ll take the heat for it.”

These are the war games at West Point, at least last month, when a team of cadets spent four days struggling around the clock to establish a computer network and keep it operating while hackers from the National Security Agency in Maryland tried to infiltrate it with methods that an enemy might use. The N.S.A. made the cadets’ task more difficult by planting viruses on some of the equipment, just as real-world hackers have done on millions of computers around the world.

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May 12, 2009

Tracking Cyberspies Through the Web Wilderness

By JOHN MARKOFF

For old-fashioned detectives, the problem was always acquiring information. For the cybersleuth, hunting evidence in the data tangle of the Internet, the problem is different.

“The holy grail is how can you distinguish between information which is garbage and information which is valuable?” said Rafal Rohozinski, aUniversity of Cambridge-trained social scientist involved in computer security issues.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/12cyber.html?ref=science

~~ These Cyber - Defense  issues are  daily news  in the "papers" now.    

Serious stuff .  ~~ 

Pentagon girds for cyber warfare

Attacks from well-funded nations, terror groups are biggest threats

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30630807/

By Lolita C. Baldor

updated 8:38 p.m. ET, Thurs., May 7, 2009

WASHINGTON - Cyber espionage and attacks from well-funded nations or terror groups are the biggest threats to the military's computer networks, a top officer said Thursday.

Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, said he worries that foes will learn to disable or distort battlefield communications. Chilton told reporters that even as the Pentagon improves its network defenses against hackers, he needs more people, training and resources to hone offensive cyber war capacity.

~~ The Issues of Cyber Warfare has really moved
to the forefront the last couple of weeks.
It is a whole new Technopolitcal World. ~~

US needs 'digital warfare force'

The US has set up specialised detachments dealing with IT problems

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8033440.stm

The head of America's National Security Agency says that America needs to build a digital warfare force for the future, according to reports.

Lt Gen Keith Alexander, who also heads the Pentagon's new Cyber Command, outlined his views in a report for the House Armed Services subcommittee.

ABC News: Murtha: New Scandal Worse Than Abu Ghraib

~~ More bad news for Global opinion polls on

the American led war in Iraq.


I really think that no good

can come out

of these events.

Except for Justice. ~~~ TP
======================

ABC News: Murtha: New Scandal Worse Than Abu Ghraib:

"Rep. Murtha Says Fallout From Killing of Iraqi Civilians Will Turn
Out Worse Than Prison Scandal

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL

WASHINGTON May 28, 2006 (AP)

"This image taken from a videotape made by a Haditha, Iraq journalism student and obtained by Time Magazine via the Hammurabi Human Rights Group, shows a scene in what appears to be a morgue following an alleged fatal raid by United States forces which took place on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq.

"The U.S. military is bracing for a major scandal over the alleged killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha - charges so serious that they could threaten President Bush's effort to rally support for an increasingly unpopular war. "

WASHINGTON May 28, 2006 (AP)

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed . BBC NEWS | Americas

~~~ This is well worth the read. ~~ ~ TP
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BBC NEWS | Americas | US plans to 'fight the net' revealed:
By Adam Brookes
BBC Pentagon correspondent

"A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for 'information operations' - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks."

The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.

Internet satellite imagery under fire over security - Yahoo! News

Internet satellite imagery under fire over security - Yahoo! News: "South Korean government officials have said they will contact officials in Washington to express their security concerns about the Google Earth product.

Among the buildings that can be seen on Google Earth, with a high-resolution package, are the South Korean president's residence, military bases and the defense security command. The government restricts information about the location of these facilities and their construction."
TECHNOLOGY UNSTOPPABLE

Sri Lanka's military spokesman, Brigadier Daya Ratnayake, said it was a serious concern if anyone could get detailed images of sensitive installations and buildings. "But this is a new trend, we will first have to see whether, in this day and age, if this a considerable threat to national security."

"In this era of technology -- you have to live with the fact that almost everything is on the Internet -- from bomb-making instructions to assembling aircraft. So it's something the military has to learn to live with and adapt," Ratnayake said.

A security official in India said the issue of satellite imagery had been discussed at the highest level but the government had concluded that "technology cannot be stopped."

"U.S. Sells the Most Weapons to Others" : Congressional Research Service: http://www.crs.gov

~~ Oh what a surprise.

I never would have guesed this one.

I would have guessed Texas.

{ Well Texas used to be a country.}
~` tp
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083001353.html
"U.S. Sells the Most Weapons to Others"

"Developing countries are the weapons' primary buyers. And the U.S. has been the most active seller for the past eight years, resulting mainly from agreements made in the aftermath of the first Gulf War.

The U.S. was responsible for more than 42 percent of the deliveries to developing nations in 2004.

Russia, which ranks second, sells mostly to China and India, as well as a number of smaller, poorer countries.

The CRS study, which is done each year, was written by national defense specialist Richard Grimmett.

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On the Net:

Congressional Research Service: http://www.crs.gov
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