Tag Archive for: Call

Japan rearms under Washington’s pressure − a wake-up call to the antiwar movement – Workers World

/in


Okinawa is the largest of the Ryukyu islands.

The Dec. 16 announcement by Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of a new defense strategy, while doubling military spending by 2027 to implement it, is the largest defense shake-up in decades and a wake-up call to the antiwar movement. 

The decision includes openly acquiring offensive weapons and reshaping its military command structure for its expanded armed forces. On Dec. 23, the draft budget was approved by Kishida’s cabinet.

Japan’s dangerous military expansion should set off international alarm bells. This major escalation is taking place based on intense U.S. imperialist pressure. It is the next step in the “Pivot to Asia,” aimed at threatening and surrounding China and attempting to reassert U.S. dominance in the Asia Pacific. 

The movements opposing endless U.S. wars must begin to prepare material and draw mass attention to this ominous threat.

The plan to double military spending will add $315 billion to Japan’s defense budget over the next five years and make Japan’s military the world’s third largest, after the U.S. and China. Defense spending will escalate to 2% of gross domestic product, equal to the goal the U.S. sets for its NATO allies. Japan’s economy is the world’s third largest. 

The Japanese government plans to buy up to 500 Lockheed Martin Tomahawk missiles and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), procure more naval vessels and fighter aircraft, increase cyber warfare capabilities, manufacture its own hypersonic guided missiles and produce its own advanced fighter jets, along with other weapons. The plan shifts from relying solely on missile defense to also embracing “counterstrike” capabilities. 

Three key security documents — the National Security Strategy (NSS), as well as the National Defense Strategy (NDS) and the Defense Buildup Program (DBP) — shed some of the postwar constraints on the Japanese military.

Article 9 – a class struggle against military rearmament

Although the U.S. occupation force, after defeating Japan’s military in World War II, imposed a “pacifist” constitution on Japan, for decades now U.S. strategists have pressured Japan’s…

Source…

Call for cyber security legislation

/in


Chairman of the Small Business Association (SBA) Neil Corbin is calling for cyber security legislation to protect consumers and businesses, as Barbados continues its push for greater use of digital transactions.

He said while the Data Protection Act which was passed in 2019 and proclaimed in early 2021 was welcomed, lawmakers must go further.

“An enabling business environment is required to flourish beyond the Data Protection Act,” Corbin told the opening of the SBA’s State of the Industry conference earlier this week.

“Where are we on issues of cyber security and cyber crime? At present, there is no requirement for businesses to report cyber attacks. Legislative improvements are needed to protect both consumers and businesses operating in the digital space.”

“With the entrance of online payment platforms in the market, primarily due to the lack of e-commerce facilitation by commercial banks, we need to ensure that a business environment is one that allows for transparent, yet safe and user-friendly operation of digital assets,” he added.

Corbin acknowledged that “several solutions” would be required to improve the business climate for the small business sector and protect them and customers while encouraging greater use of technology.

In addition to legislative improvements in the digital space, he said, the Government needs to speed up its multi-million-dollar Smart City build-out, as he pointed out that reliable and safe access to broadband and Internet service was critical for businesses.

“We welcome the announcement of the Government to establish smart cities, as this initiative will enable business owners the access required to do business online wherever they go,” said Corbin.

“This must be fast-tracked to enable the entry in the market of entrepreneurs and small business owners to innovate, engage consumers on the go and facilitate actual trade of goods and services globally,” he said.

The Smart City initiative, which was started in late 2019, includes the deployment of free public Wi-Fi in Bridgetown, computer-controlled parking and traffic management, and the use of mobile apps for self-guided tours. So far, only some parts of the intended…

Source…

Cyber Security Experts Call For Greater UK Protections For Ethical Hackers

/in


A group of cyber security experts is calling on the UK government to reform the Computer Misuse Act, saying it fails to protect security professionals.

The Act was introduced back in 1990 after BT’s then email system, Prestel, was hacked by journalist Robert Schifreen in an attempt to access the mailbox of Prince Philip. Schifreen – who said he wanted to raise awareness of vulnerabilities – was charged, but acquitted; the new act then made it an offense to access a computer without authorization.

However, 30 years is a long time, and the UK is now looking to introduce new measures – dubbed the ‘Cyber Duty to Protect’ – and has put out a call for information, asking for views on what actions can be taken to reduce risks.

In their letter to incoming prime minister Liz Truss, the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA), security firm NCC Group and the former head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Ciaran Martin call for the introduction of a statutory defence to protect ethical hackers.

“As you will be aware, last year the Home Office conducted a review of the effectiveness of the Act. We understand from Freedom of Information requests that 66% of those who responded to the review expressed concerns over the lack of protection in the Act for legitimate cyber activity,” they write.

“You will of course be all too aware of the increased cyber threat posed by our adversaries, not least following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We believe this strengthens the case for prioritising efforts to reform the Computer Misuse Act to include a statutory defence.”

At issue is the work of ethical hackers, or penetration testers, who currently must gain permission to access systems and follow agreed rules an what may be done with the data, generally agreed via a contract and non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

However, this means it’s currently illegal for penetration testers to scan systems for vulnerabilities without advance permission, or to access hacked data on the dark web for their research.

And researchers have indeed fallen foul of…

Source…

A Recent Chinese Hack Is a Wake-up Call for the Security of the World’s Software Supply Chain – The Diplomat

/in


No one knows, not even the ghosts (人不知,鬼不觉)
-Chinese idiom

It’s perhaps only a coincidence that there’s a famous Chinese saying that neatly summarizes a recent hack on MiMi, a Chinese messaging app. According to recent reports, a Chinese state-backed hacking group inserted malicious code into this messaging app, essentially pulling off the equivalent of the infamous SolarWinds hack. Users of MiMi were served a version of the app with malicious code added, thanks to attackers taking control of the servers that delivered the app. In short, this was a software supply chain attack in which the software delivery pipeline was compromised.

And no one knew for months.

This hack hasn’t gotten much press in Western media, potentially because this appears to be an example of Chinese state surveillance on targets that aren’t in the United States or Europe. That’s a shame because this attack points to a growing trend of software supply chain attacks, even by the Chinese government. Consequently, Western companies and governments should take note and begin preparing defenses.

Admittedly, not all of the details are known (or will ever be known), but forensic code analysis indicates that a particular Chinese state-backed hacking group (sometimes called Lucky Mouse or Iron Tiger) likely took control of servers that allowed users to download the MiMi Chinese chat application, which is aimed at Chinese-speaking users. The hackers then switched out the original software with a malicious version, adding code into the application that fetched and installed malware.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.

At that point, the malware, unknown to the user, allowed the attackers to monitor and control the software remotely. This appears to have happened in late 2021 and through the summer of 2022. Interestingly, neither the legitimate application nor the malware were digitally signed, which meant that users had no way of knowing that this software was malicious.

Observers could be forgiven for…

Source…