Cyber warfare - a simulated attack

[MaggieMae]

Did anyone watch this? It presented many questions as to how we would quickly, yet legally and without infringing on privacy, stop such a cyber virus from completely shutting down all forms of communication. The group assembled was bipartisan, with Michael Chertoff posing as chairman of the real "situation room" meeting of principals.

I'm so glad the two hours has been put up on YouTube because we all need to be concerned about how easy this would be.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

I posted this here, because I wasn't sure where else it fit. So I leave that up to the mods.

 

[waltky]

Why not put one big firewall/anti-virus/anti-malware/anti-spyware program on the whole internet?...

US cyber war defences 'very thin', Pentagon warns
16 March 2011 - US officials say government and private systems are attacked millions of times per day

The US military lacks the people and resources to defend the country adequately from concerted cyber attacks, the head of the Pentagon's cyber command has warned. "We are very thin, and a crisis would quickly stress our cyber forces," Gen Keith Alexander told Congress.

The US says government systems are attacked millions of times a day. Disputes over budgets are holding up a new cyber protection system ordered by the Department of Homeland Security. However, some argue the threat of cyber warfare is greatly exaggerated.

'Potential adversaries'

Gen Alexander, head of the US Defence Department's Cyber Command, told a Congressional Committee that he would mark as a "C" the military's ability to protect Pentagon networks, although he acknowledged improvements in recent years. "We are finding that we do not have the capacity to do everything we need to accomplish. To put it bluntly, we are very thin, and a crisis would quickly stress our cyber forces," he said.

"We cannot afford to allow cyberspace to be a sanctuary where real and potential adversaries can marshal forces and capabilities to use against us and our allies. This is not a hypothetical danger." US officials say cyber criminals, terrorists and other nations are getting better at penetrating state and private networks, whether to spy, to steal data or damage critical infrastructure.

More BBC News - US cyber war defences 'very thin', Pentagon warns

 

[waltky]

Pentagon gearin' up for cyber wars...

Pentagon forming cyber teams to prevent attacks
Mar 12,`13: WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Defense Department is establishing a series of cyber teams charged with carrying out offensive operations to combat the threat of an electronic assault on the United States that could cause major damage and disruption to the country's vital infrastructure, a senior military official said Tuesday.

Gen. Keith Alexander, the top officer at U.S. Cyber Command, warned during testimony that the potential for an attack against the nation's electric grid and other essential systems is real and more aggressive steps need to be taken by the federal government and the private sector in order to improve digital defenses. Alexander told the Senate Armed Services Committee that foreign leaders are deterred from launching cyberattacks on the United States because they know such a strike could be traced to its source and would generate a robust response.

But the country is not preventing what Alexander called "low-level harassment of private and public websites, property and information by other states." He did not mention any specific countries, even though the Obama administration is escalating its criticism of cyber thefts by China that have become intolerable to the international community. Offensive cyber weapons are growing and evolving, Alexander said, and it is only a matter of time before tools developed by other nations wind up in the hands of extremist groups or even individuals who could do significant harm.

Alexander said 13 cyber teams are being formed for the mission of guarding the nation in cyberspace. He described them as "defend-the-nation" teams but stressed their role would be offensive. In comments to reporters after the hearing, Alexander likened the teams' duties to knocking an incoming missile out of the sky before it hits a target. He also said the teams would work outside the United States, but he did not say where. He also said another 27 cyber teams are being established to support the military's warfighting commands while others will protect Defense Department's computer systems and data.

But even as Alexander detailed these moves, he pushed lawmakers to pass cybersecurity legislation that would make it easier for the government and the private sector - which controls critical infrastructure such as the electric grid, banking systems, chemical facilities and water treatment systems - to share detailed information about who is getting hacked and what to do about it.

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[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dem cyberterrorists gonna bring dis country to it's knees, den we all gonna die...

US intelligence chief: Cyberterror leading threat
April 11, 2013 WASHINGTON — The top U.S. intelligence official says cyberterrorism is the leading worldwide threat to U.S. security.

James Clapper is director of national intelligence. He's telling Congress Thursday that cyberattacks and cyberspying can damage critical infrastructure like power grids. But in prepared testimony, he says advanced cyber-actors like Russia and China are unlikely to launch such attacks unless they are threatened by conflict.

Cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy study basic cyber operations in a computer science classroom July 20, 2011.

He gives examples like last year's denial-of-service attacks on websites for U.S. financial institutions, and the attack against 30,000 computers at Saudi oil company Aramco, as typical of what's to come.

Clapper also says al-Qaida and its offshoots will continue to plot attacks on U.S. targets. He warns that the Arab Spring revolt has produced a spike in threats, and that Iran continues to present a danger.

US intelligence chief: Cyberterror leading threat - News - Stripes

 

[waltky]

Granny says dem Chinamens is sneaky like dat...

Pentagon says China using cyberattacks
May 7, 2013: The Pentagon has accused China of trying to extract sensitive information from U.S. government computers, the latest in a series of rhetorical skirmishes between the two countries on the issue of cyberattacks.

The frank assessment, made in an annual report to U.S. lawmakers on Chinese military capabilities, is the harshest and most detailed set of accusations made thus far by the Obama administration. "In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the U.S. government, continued to be targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese government and military," the report said. The Pentagon said China is carrying out the attacks in an effort to extract information from "diplomatic, economic and defense industrial base sectors that support U.S. national defense programs." The intellectual property and data is likely being used to bolster China's own defense and high tech industries, the report said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Tuesday that China is "firmly against any forms of cyberattacks." The government has in the past insisted that China is the victim of cyberattacks, most originating in the U.S.
The information haul is not limited to the military and related contractors, the Pentagon says. China is also seeking similar information from the private sector, often through more legitimate avenues. "China continues to leverage foreign investments, commercial joint ventures, academic exchanges, the experience of repatriated Chinese students and researchers, and state sponsored industrial and technical espionage to increase the level of technologies and expertise available to support military research, development, and acquisition," the report said.

China is not the only country believed to be involved in cyberattacks. The existence of several other state-sponsored cyberweapons has also been reported in recent years, with names like Stuxnet, Duqu and Flame. The U.S. government is widely believed to have played a role in developing some of those viruses, with an eye toward containing Iran. Yet China has drawn intense scrutiny in recent months after its military was linked by an American cybersecurity firm to one of the world's most prolific groups of computer hackers. Virginia-based Mandiant said in February it had observed the group of hackers -- called the "comment crew" -- systematically steal hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations across 20 industries worldwide since 2006.

Mandiant claims the activity can be traced to four networks near Shanghai -- with some operations taking place in a location that is also the headquarters of Unit 61398, a secret division of China's military. The Mandiant report confirmed in dramatic and public fashion what many analysts had long suspected -- that China was engaging in cyberattacks on a significant scale -- and drew a response from President Obama. "We have seen a steady ramping up of cybersecurity threats," Obama said. "We've made it very clear to China and some other state actors that, you know, we expect them to follow international norms and abide by international rules."

U.S. names China as source of cyberattacks - May. 7, 2013

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - now we gonna kick dem Chinamens butts...

Cyber Command Elevated to Combatant Command
4 May 2018 - Army Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone took command of U.S. Cyber Command Friday at a ceremony that elevated the organization to the U.S. military's tenth unified combatant command.

Nakasone assumed command of Cyber Command and the National Security Agency from Navy Adm. Michael Rogers during a change-of-command ceremony at Fort Meade, Maryland. "Today, we are at a dawn of a new era, facing the reality of war's changing character -- the emergence of cyberspace and outer space as contested warfighting domains, equal in importance with land, sea and air," said Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. "Cyberspace is not bound by geography, it is not bound by the physical prowess of our adversaries; the next 10 years will look significantly different than the last 10 more than any of us can likely imagine."

Shanahan thanked Rogers for "anticipating the demands of the cyber before they had been fully articulated" during the last four years of his leadership. "Nations as different as Russia and China seek to leverage cyberspace and build asymmetric advantage over our military, and terrorists use the cyber domain to spread their poisonous ideology of hate," Shanahan said. "In this environment, there can be no complacency as we field a lethal, resilient and adaptable joint force capable of defending the nation," he added.

Rogers, who will soon retire after 37 years of service, thanked the men and women under his command for their outstanding performance. "Four years ago, we were handed a structure and a plan. Our job was to take that structure and that plan, build it out, create a vision, operationalize this idea and ensure that was integrated into a broader set of activities executed by the Department of Defense," he said.

In addition, Rogers praised his troops performance in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, "our first real challenge on the offensive side." "I know what you have done. The leadership of this nation knows what you have done," he said. "It is a reflection of this organization, the Department of Defense and this government's belief in you that we will elevate Cyber Command to a combatant commander as Gen. Nakasone assumes his role -- that is a testament to you and everything that you have done."

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