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Posts Tagged COMSEC
Comanche Code Talkers Inducted into OK Hall of Fame
From: Comanche Nation
Fourteen Comanche code talkers and two Medal of Honor recipients are among those inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame on Nov. 11. The Comanches used their native language to keep Germans from understanding radio transmissions during World War II. They were honored posthumously during the ceremony. Nine other Oklahomans also were honored at the ceremony  Nov. 11 at the Gaylord Center at Oklahoma Christian University. Four of them also are deceased. Those selected for induction into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame are:
The Comanche Nation code talkers served in the U.S. Army 4th Signal Company, 4th Infantry Division during World War II. They used their Comanche language in radio transmissions that helped save the lives of thousands of Allied troops. They served in combat from the D-Day invasion of Normandy to the end of the World War II in Europe. The 14 Comanche code talkers who served in the European Theater are: Charles Joyce Chibitty, Haddon “Red†Codynah, Robert Holder; Forrest Kassanavoid, Wellington “Mike†Mihecoby, Perry “Taxi†Noyobad, Clifford Ototivo Sr., Simmons Parker, Melvin Permansu, Elgin Red Elk, Roderick Red Elk, Larry W. Saupitty, Morris “Sunrise†Tabbyyetchy and Willis Wood Yackeschi. Noyobad was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart; Kassanavoid, Saupitty, Yackeschi and Roderick Red Elk were awarded the Purple Heart during the Korean War. Melvin Permansu and Roderick Red Elk received the Korean War Service Medal and United Nations Service Medal. In 1995, Chibitty, then 78, was honored as the last surviving World War II Comanche U.S. Army code talker in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes.Staff Sgt. George G. Red Elk was born in Lawton. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967 and served in Vietnam as a loader, gunner and tank commander with Company D, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He received the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions on March 18, 1969, when his unit was conducting a sweep through a rubber plantation. Red Elk’s tank received rocket-propelled grenade fire, severely wounding his hand. He knocked out a second rocket-propelled grenade team and remained with his tank until he passed out. Red Elk also served in the Oklahoma Guard’s Battery A, 1st Battalion, 158th Field Artillery of the 45th Field Artillery Brigade. He was deployed to Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Read more:Â http://newsok.com/oklahoma-military-hall-of-fame-set-to-induct-new-members/article/3600761#ixzz1d9GRLoxD
Russian Hackers Attack Illinois Utility
Posted by Gary in Comms, News, Threat Watch on 19/Nov/2011 20:56
From: PopSci
The Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center released a “Public Water District Cyber Intrusion” report on November 10 that indicates that hackers may have had access to the system since September. Hackers using Russian IP addresses hacked the software vendor that makes the system. They were then able to access the vendor’s database of usernames and passwords, and used the stolen credentials for remote access to the SCADA system’s network. These vendors keep records of their customer’s access information for maintenance and upgrading the systems.
Two to three months before the discovery of the hack, operators noticed “glitches” in the remote access to the SCADA system. “They just figured it’s part of the normal instability of the system,” said Joe Weiss, cybersecurity expert and managing partner at Applied Control Solutions, who obtained a copy of the report. “But it wasn’t until the SCADA system actually turned on and off that they realized something was wrong.”
UK Police Intercepting Cell Traffic
From: Threat Level
Britain’s largest police force has been using covert surveillance technology that can masquerade as a mobile phone network to intercept communications and unique IDs from phones or even transmit a signal to shut off phones remotely, according to the Guardian.
The system, made by Datong in the United Kingdom, was purchased by the London Metropolitan police, which paid $230,000 to Datong for “ICT hardware†in 2008 and 2009.
The portable device, which is the size of a suitcase, pretends to be a legitimate cell phone tower that emits a signal to dupe thousands of mobile phones in a targeted area. Authorities can then intercept SMS messages, phone calls and phone data, such as unique IMSI and IMEI identity codes that allow authorities to track phone users’ movements in real-time, without having to request location data from a mobile phone carrier.
…
A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service verified to CNET that the agency has done business with Datong, but would not say what sort of technology it bought from the company.
The FBI is known to use a similar technology called Triggerfish, which also pretends to be a legitimate cell tower base station to trick mobile phones into connecting to it. The Triggerfish system, however, collects only location and other identifying information, and does not intercept phone calls, text messages, and other data.
New Malware Brings Cyberwar One Step Closer
Posted by Gary in Comms, News, Threat Watch on 21/Oct/2011 03:29
From: MIT
A newly discovered piece of malicious code dubbed Duqu is closely related to the notorious Stuxnet worm that damaged Iran’s nuclear-enrichment centrifuges last year. Although it has no known target or author, it sets the stage for more industrial and cyberwar attacks, experts say.
“This is definitely a troubling development on a number of levels,” says Ronald Deibert, director of Citizen Lab, an Internet think-tank at the University of Toronto who leads research on cyberwarfare, censorship, and espionage. “In the context of the militarization of cyberspace, policymakers around the world should be concerned.”
Indeed, the spread of such code could be destabilizing. The Pentagon’s cyberwar strategy, for example, makes clear that computer attacks on industrial and civilian infrastructure like chemical factories or power grids as well as military networks could be regarded as equivalent to a conventional bombing or other attack, if civilians were endangered.
Computer Virus Hits U.S. Drone Fleet
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch on 9/Oct/2011 17:53
From: Danger Room
A computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones.
Appeals Court OKs Challenge to Warrantless Electronic Spying
Posted by Gary in Comms, Law, News, Threat Watch on 22/Sep/2011 08:19
From: Threat Level
A legal challenge questioning the constitutionality of a federal law authorizing warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans inched a step closer Wednesday toward resolution.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the second time rejected the Obama administration’s contention that it should toss a lawsuit challenging the 2008 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act. Among other things, the government said the plaintiffs — Global Fund for Women, Global Rights, Human Rights Watch, International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association, The Nation magazine, PEN American Center, Service Employees International Union and others — don’t have standing to bring a constitutional challenge because they cannot demonstrate that they were subject to the eavesdropping or suffered hardships because of it.
9/11 Completely Changed Surveillance in U.S.
Posted by Gary in Comms, Law, News, Threat Watch on 12/Sep/2011 15:46
From: Wired
Former AT&T engineer Mark Klein handed a sheaf of papers in January 2006 to lawyers at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, providing smoking-gun evidence that the National Security Agency, with the cooperation of AT&T, was illegally sucking up American citizens’ internet usage and funneling it into a database.
The documents became the heart of civil liberties lawsuits against the government and AT&T. But Congress, including then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), voted in July 2008 to override the rights of American citizens to petition for a redress of grievances.
Congress passed a law that absolved AT&T of any legal liability for cooperating with the warrantless spying. The bill, signed quickly into law by President George W. Bush, also largely legalized the government’s secret domestic-wiretapping program.
Obama pledged to revisit and roll back those increased powers if he became president. But, he did not.
Prosecutors Demand Laptop Password in Violation of Fifth Amendment
From: EFF
Prosecutors Demand Laptop Password in Violation of Fifth Amendment
EFF has urged a federal court to block the government’s attempt to force a woman to enter a password into an encrypted laptop. During the investigation, the government seized the device from the home she shares with her family, and then asked the court to compel the woman to type the password into the computer or turn over a decrypted version of her data. But EFF told the court that the demand is unconstitutional, violating her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
“Defective” Chips could have caused U.S. military shut down by secret ‘back door’
Posted by Jack Sinclair in Comms, News, Threat Watch, Warrior Tools on 13/Jul/2011 11:03
“Sources have confirmed that the U.S. Department of Defense over recent months purchased 59,000 microchips to use in Navy equipment that control everything from missiles to transponders.
But all of the chips turned out to be cheap knock-offs from China, and they ultimately were not installed, according to sources.
Besides being subject to failure, the chips also were designed with a “back door” which would have allowed the chip, and the device it controlled, to be shut down remotely at any time, sources report.
Had the flaw not been detected, the chips could have shut down U.S. warships, aircraft, advanced weapons systems and encoded transponders that distinguish friendly aircraft from hostile attackers.”
Cyber combat: act of war
Posted by Gary in Comms, Threat Watch on 3/Jun/2011 14:42
From: WSJ via Kurzweil AI
Cyber combat: act of war
June 1, 2011
Source: Wall Street Journal — May 31, 2011
The Pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage coming from another country can constitute an act of war, opening the door for the U.S. to respond using traditional military force.
Pentagon officials believe the most sophisticated computer attacks require the resources of a government. For instance, the weapons used in an assault such as taking down a power grid would likely have been developed with state support.
Defense officials refuse to discuss potential cyber adversaries, although military and intelligence officials say they have identified previous attacks originating in Russia and China.
Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI | Survival/Defense
EFF Demands Answers About Secret Surveillance Law Memo
From: EFF
EFF Demands Answers About Secret Surveillance Law Memo
EFF has filed a Freedom of Information Act suit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), demanding the release of a secret legal memo used to justify FBI access to Americans’ telephone records without any legal process or oversight. This suit stems from a report released last year by the DOJ’s own Inspector General that revealed how the FBI had come up with a new legal argument to justify secret, unchecked access to private telephone records. According to the report, the DOJ’s Office of the Legal Counsel had issued a legal opinion agreeing with the FBI’s theory. EFF’s lawsuit is seeking that legal opinion, which is a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding the government’s efforts to expand and overreach their surveillance powers.
How To Think About Security
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch, Training on 5/May/2011 15:43
Bruce Schneier gives an excellent presentation on how security affects us and how we think about it.
Iranian hackers obtain fraudulent HTTPS certificates
Posted by Gary in Comms, News, Threat Watch on 28/Mar/2011 18:38
From: EFF
Iranian hackers obtain fraudulent HTTPS certificates: How close to a Web security meltdown did we get?
On March 15th, an HTTPS/TLS Certificate Authority (CA) was tricked into issuing fraudulent certificates that posed a dire risk to Internet security. Based on currently available information, the incident got close to – but was not quite – an Internet-wide security meltdown. These events show why we urgently need to start reinforcing the system that is currently used to authenticate and identify secure websites and email systems.
USB Drives left at Dry Cleaners on the Rise
Posted by Gary in Comms, News, Threat Watch on 25/Mar/2011 14:59
Encrypt your USB Drives
From: SC Magazine UK
A survey of dry cleaners in the UK has found that more than 17,000 USB sticks were left behind in 2010.
More than 500 dry cleaners and launderettes in the UK were asked during December 2010 and January 2011 about removable media that was left behind. Estimated figures suggested that there was an increase on the number of USB sticks left in dry cleaners of more than 400 per cent when compared with figures from 2009, and almost double from what was found in 2008.
…With the best intentions in the world, the reality is devices are often left behind and the information they contain could be devastating if disclosed. Organizations need to plan for this when developing their security strategies.â€
Using the Evolved Cyber Range – Free Webinar
Posted by Gary in Comms, Threat Watch, Training on 11/Mar/2011 19:04
From: IDGA
Using the Evolved Cyber Range to Arm and Train U.S. Warriors to Win Cyber War
Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
Presenter:Â Scott Register
 |
How are military and intelligence organizations such as the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), and Northrop Grumman (U.S. and U.K.) deploying cyber range technology? What are these organizations doing to develop the expertise of personnel and then equipping them with the advanced tools needed to fulfill cyber security missions?
Join BreakingPoint Systems, the global leader in cyber range technology, and learn how U.S. government and military can properly train personnel with the skills to defend against cyber terrorism, espionage, and theft of intellectual property.
Listen to the best practice case studies of DISA, EUCOM, and Northrop Grumman as they use the latest technology and establish a turnkey system to deliver a complete, scalable, and operational cyber range.
Learn how to use technology to simulate Internet-scale cyber war conditions in a controlled environment in order to establish IT certification methods and curriculum needed for assessing, training, and qualifying cyber warrior personnel.
View the Whitepaper
After attending this webinar you will know how to:
- Deploy and use a modern cyber range machine to create an operationally relevant environment that precisely mirrors the Global Information Grid (GIG), enabling sophisticated simulation of real-world cyber conditions
- Optimize and harden the resiliency—the performance, stability, and security—of next-generation deep packet inspection (DPI) devices to carry out effective Lawful Intercept programs and related missions
- Model and research advanced cyber threats including Stuxnet and botnet-driven distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks
- Implement a scalable approach for training and certifying cyber warriors in critical Information Assurance (IA), Information Operations (IO), and Mission Assurance (MA) skills.
- Establish centralized command and control to monitor and manage a distributed network of remote cyber ranges