Tag Archive for: battlespace

Assessing the Non-Kinetic Battlespace | The Heritage Foundation


Kinetic warfare continues to evolve, though its brutality is enduring (as witnessed by the current war in Ukraine). But in the shadows, a preview of future conflict is playing out—that hybrid, non-kinetic future war.

Cyberwarfare, electronic warfare, information operations, intelligence, and space technology all came into play in the lead-up to the Ukraine war, and remain salient. The ongoing conflict offers many lessons that can help the United States and its allies not only to assist the Ukrainians in resisting Russian aggression, but also to prepare the West to prevail in future conflicts. All sides are keenly watching these “gray-zone” tactics play out, hoping to determine how best to use them for the battlespaces of tomorrow.

Prior to its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin had already used cyber and informational warfare, with varying levels of effect, in Estonia, Georgia, and Ukraine. Thus, when Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February, many experts expected to see coordinated, large-scale offensive cyber and electronic warfare operations aimed at severing communications in much of Ukraine. Also expected was a replay of previous power grid tactics meant to undermine confidence and stability in the government of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The expected attacks did, in fact, come in the early days of the war. But many were stymied or blunted by cyber defense preparation, aggressive remediation, and timely assistance from allied partners and private-sector technology and cybersecurity companies who helped identify problems and provide solutions to Ukrainian networks. Microsoft, for example, identified and attributed a vast network of Russian activity that preceding physical battlespace movements in the war.

Today, Russia continues to pursue aggressive hybrid actions in tandem with brutal land, air, and sea warfare. And allied and private sector partners continue to help Ukraine battle back. Through it all, these players as well as other world nations are watching to determine what has worked, and what has not. Those who learn the lessons now playing out in Ukraine will gain a greater understanding of how to deal with future shadow-war challenges—and,…

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Ghostwriter update. Quds Day warning. Drivetime talk radio comes to the cyber battlespace? Secrecy as friction. Inadvertent tweets.


At a glance.

  • Update on Ghostwriter.
  • Jerusalem Day alert.
  • Zoom prankers and deepfake goofs.
  • Secrecy as friction.
  • Inadvertent tweets.

Ghostwriter, and signs of a broader campaign.

FireEye’s Mandiant unit this morning updated its research into Ghostwriter, an influence-operator that came to attention last year as it sought to affect public opinion in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Its messaging then was anti-NATO. The campaigns of 2020 relied upon artlessly crude forgeries and implausible rumor-mongering, but of course disinformation doesn’t need to be art, as long as it can get the right amplification, which Ghostwriter worked to accomplish. 

It was easy for officials to quickly debunk such hogwash as the claim that Canadian soldiers were spreading COVID-19, or that an internal memo circulating in the Polish Ministry of Defense called for resistance against an American “army of occupation” (forged memo helpfully provided, hijacked social media accounts used to lend plausibility to a very implausible narrative). CyberScoop offered a useful account of these efforts at the end of last July. But of course lies can have a bit of a run if they’re provided with a headstart.

In any case, Ghostwriter has now expanded its thematic content to include disruption of domestic Polish politics and also (according to Tagesschau) credential theft attacks on German political figures. FireEye believes the threat actor it tracks as UNC1151 operates some portions of Ghostwriter. The firm characterizes UNC1151 as “a suspected state-sponsored cyber espionage actor that engages in credential harvesting and malware campaigns.”

Taggeschau calls the attackers “chaos troops,” which is apt enough for an operation that aims at disruption. At least seven members of Germany’s Bundestag have received phishing emails, as have some thirty members of the Länder assemblies, that is, the state-level legislatures. German authorities are taking activity seriously. The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (the BfV, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) und the Bundesamt für die Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (the BSI, the Federal Officer for Information Security) are investigating, and have…

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NATO urges closer industry ties in cyber warfare fight – DB – Digital Battlespace – Shephard Media

NATO urges closer industry ties in cyber warfare fight – DB – Digital Battlespace  Shephard Media

NATO is urging for closer engagement between militaries and industry in a bid to combat the increasing number and sophistication of cyber attacks from both …

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Navy recognizes electromagnetic battlespace, and its convergence with cyber and electronic warfare (EW)

  1. Navy recognizes electromagnetic battlespace, and its convergence with cyber and electronic warfare (EW)  Military & Aerospace Electronics
  2. Full coverage

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