Tag Archive for: force

UK’s offensive hacking force plans to scale operations to meet government’s demands


The UK’s National Cyber Force (NCF) has revealed plans to scale operations amid rising demands from the government to ramp up offensive hacking capabilities.

In a report offering a unique insight into the NCF’s ongoing expansion, the offensive cyber force said it needs to “scale up to meet the requirements government has of it” and is rapidly expanding personnel and capabilities to meet current demand. 

The NCF is currently in the process of establishing a new permanent base of operations as Samlesbury in Lancashire, which it said will enable the force to “increase operational output”. 

Samlesbury, a 45-minute drive from GCHQ operations in Manchester, was selected as the site for the NCF headquarters in 2021.

As part of this expansion and recruitment drive, the NCF revealed that it plans to further invest in offensive hacking capabilities to contend with escalating global threats. 

The report said that “significant capability investment” will be required to “keep pace with the changing nature of technology” and mitigate increasingly sophisticated cyber threats currently faced by the UK. 

The NCF specifically highlighted rapid technological developments as a key operational challenge, noting that “fundamental changes to the future shape of the internet and globalisation of technology could raise significant complications”. 

“Our adversaries are global and use a wide array of cyber and digital technologies,” the report said. “We need to have the technical ability and readiness to reach these adversaries wherever they are and irrespective of how they are using cyber technology.”

Closer integration with defence partners, including GCHQ, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) will also be a key objective for the NCF moving forward.

The NCF noted that it must “integrate effectively with other parts of government and with a wider range of partners and allies”. 

This includes law enforcement, government policy departments, the private sector, and a “growing number of international allies”. 

“More broadly, we are working with the private sector, academia, think tanks, and wider civil society to harness the best…

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Robins Air Force Base job fair hiring in computer science


It is hosted by 402nd Software Engineering Group from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, January 26.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The Robins Air Force Base is looking for full-time employees in engineering and computer science.

The 402nd Software Engineering Group is calling on everyone with a bachelor’s degree in several areas to help them support the base

Sarah Martin says they’re looking for “computer scientists, computer engineers, electrical engineers, and software engineers, so if we’re looking for those qualified individuals,”

Robert Hill is a supervisor with the group and say the jobs are endless.

“We have a wide variety of jobs, a wide variety of projects, anything from ISR ground systems — that’s intelligence surveillance recognizance — to imbedded radar systems. We run the whole gamut,” says Hill

The group is responsible for creating the latest technology to assist America’s war fighters on their missions.

“It’s bigger than ourselves, it’s bigger than just the product we’re making. It’s the security of the nation and what we’re doing overseas that helps the war fighters,” Hill adds.

The work efforts are all about keeping up with the technological advancements from overseas.

“We try to stay ahead of our adversary, and all of our software engineers here, they contribute to that every single day,” he says.

Day-to-day work includes working with programs like Java and Python, and some work with artificial intelligence.

“We’re automating a lot of the stuff that used to be manual, taking a lot of the human error out of it as possible,” adds Hill.

They welcome all with bachelor’s degrees to come out.

“If you do have experience in the military, whatever branch…

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HII Wins $76.7M Air Force Contract for Electronic Warfare Research and Analysis


Huntington Ingalls Industries names president of cyber warfare group -  Virginia Business
Grant Hagen, HII

HII’s Mission Technologies division has been awarded a $76.7 million task order by the U.S. Air Force to perform research, analysis, test and evaluation to support on electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum capabilities development.

“We are pleased to extend our partnership with the U.S. Air Force on a strategy to ensure EW and EMS dominance and enable the U.S. to maintain its advantage over a rapidly evolving global threat,” said Grant Hagen, president of the division’s Cyber, Electronic Warfare & Space business group. “The award reinforces the USAF’s confidence in our team, and we look forward to executing the contract.”

The EMS superiority development task order was awarded under the Defense Department’s Information Analysis Center’s multiple-award contract vehicle. The USAF 774th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, part of the USAF Installation Contracting Center, awards DOD Information Analysis Center Multiple Award Contract
task orders through a competitive process.

HII has been supporting the program since 2017 and is teamed with DCS Corp., Modern Technology Solutions Inc., On-Line Applications Research Corp., Southwest Research Institute and Vanderbilt University to perform the work over five years.

Under the contract, the HII team will develop technical recommendations for the Advanced Capabilities and Strategic Integration team ⏤ part of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Electronic Warfare and Avionics Division. Areas of research may include artificial intelligence and machine learning, cyber and microelectronics.

HII’s research and analysis will help reduce technical risk, provide mature technologies and deliver systems engineering rigor needed to improve warfighter survivability at reduced total lifecycle cost.

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Air Force assembling electronic warfare ‘sprint’ to fix deficiencies


NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Air Force is stepping up efforts to improve electromagnetic spectrum capabilities that are “nowhere near” where they need to be, according to Lt. Gen. Leah Lauderback.

The deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cyber effects operations told the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference that the service is poised to answer questions about requirements and funding flows.

“We are just starting the sprint,” she said Sept. 20. “It’s with the acquisition community, it’s with the operational community.”

Modern warfare relies on the electromagnetic spectrum, which militaries leverage for communications, situational awareness and even weapons guidance. Competition over the spectrum is expected to be heated in a conflict involving the U.S., China or Russia.

The Air Force undertaking could eventually produce a so-called operational imperative — a service priority marked by intense focus and investment. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in March laid out seven imperatives, among them the pursuit of the Advanced Battle Management System and a better understanding of resilient basing, sustainment and communications in contested environments.

“You might see this turn into another operational imperative, like a year from now, or something of that nature,” Lauderback said Tuesday. “But it’s something that we do not have a deep bench on, at all.”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown has said the service was “asleep at the wheel” for decades in electromagnetic operations. Adversaries have observed how critical the spectrum is for U.S. forces and have sought sophisticated methods to deny, jam and spoof.

Taking full advantage of the spectrum and related assets, Brown said last year, could save money while still delivering results. The Air Force last summer activated the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, a first-of-its-kind entity designed to optimize electromagnetic capabilities and provide maintenance, operational and technical expertise.

“In some aspects, an electron is much cheaper than a very expensive missile,” Brown said at the time.

Colin Demarest is a reporter at C4ISRNET, where…

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