Tag Archive for: ops

Karakurt warning. Clipminer in the wild. GootLoader evolves. Cyber ops in Russia’s hybrid war. Russian agencies buy VPNs.

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Dateline Moscow, Kyiv, Washington: Gray zone operations.

Ukraine at D+98: Friction in the gray zone. (The CyberWire) Advancing into the rubble it’s created, Russia’s army tries to come to grips with combat refusals. The White House says that the cyber operations NSA Director Nakasone alluded to this week are entirely consistent with the US policy of avoiding direct combat with Russia. Observers work to understand the state of the cyber phase of the hybrid war. And Russian censorship seems to be producing friction in some Russian government operations. (That’s why agencies in Moscow are buying VPNs.)

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 99 (Al Jazeera) As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 99th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Exclusive: Ukraine troops retreating in Donbas have a plan, Luhansk governor says (Newsweek) Serhiy Haidai told Newsweek the defenders remain defiant despite the intense Russian attacks, which included a strike on a chemical plant.

Russia-Ukraine latest news: Kyiv may switch off Europe’s largest nuclear powerplant (The Telegraph) Ukraine would consider switching off its Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that lies in Russian-occupied territory if Kyiv loses control of operations at the site, an aide to the prime minister has said, Interfax news agency reports.

Documents Reveal Hundreds of Russian Troops Broke Ranks Over Ukraine Orders (Wall Street Journal) Desertions and refusal to engage in the invasion have put Moscow in a bind over how to punish service members without drawing more attention to the problem. “So many people don’t want to fight.”

The Russian Military’s People Problem (Foreign Affairs) It’s hard for Moscow to win while mistreating its soldiers.

Zelensky will be tried as war criminal if Russia captures him (Newsweek) A lawmaker in the self-declared, Russia-backed Donetsk People’s Republic accused Ukraine’s president of sending “neo-Nazis to Donbas to kill civilians.”

Six lessons the Ukraine conflict has taught us about modern warfare (The Telegraph) From drones to the use of tanks, we dissect the masterstrokes and miscalculations of military tactics after three months of fighting

Some see cyberwar in Ukraine. Others see…

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NSA general confirms US offensive cyber ops in Ukraine war • The Register

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America’s military conducted offensive cyber operations to support Ukraine in its response to Russia’s illegal invasion, US Cyber Command chief General Paul Nakasone has said.

“We’ve conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum; offensive, defensive, [and] information operations,” General Nakasone told Sky News in an interview that aired Wednesday.

Nakasone, who also serves as director of the NSA, didn’t provide specific details about the offensive operations, though he said they were lawful and complied with US policy.

“My job is to provide a series of options to the secretary of defense and the President, and so that’s what I do,” he said. 

White House press spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre doubled down on the message, saying: “We don’t negotiate our security assistance packages to Ukraine. We are doing exactly what the President said he would do … to provide security assistance that is above and beyond.”

Tom Kellermann, head of cybersecurity strategy at VMware, called the move “historic.”

“Since 2013, the Russians have waged an insurgency in American cyberspace and our retaliation and disruption has been muted,” Kellermann, who is also a global fellow for cyber policy at the Wilson Center, told The Register. 

“The paradigm has changed as Russia must play defense now,” he continued. “The US brings to bear the formidable capabilities of Cyber Command against rogue nation states. Cyberspace is a new domain for warfare.”

Tenable CEO Amit Yoran added: “That the US has engaged in offensive cyber operations should be of no surprise to anyone. There are very few countries around the globe today who do not use such measures. The fact that these operations are acknowledged in a public way is unusual.”

Last month, the US and the European…

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Startup Creates Simulator for Info-Warfare Ops

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JUST IN: Startup Creates Simulator for Info-Warfare Ops

iStock image.

LONDON — A U.K. startup has introduced computer-based training software that simulates the information environment warfighters encounter during conflict.

 

London-based Conducttr recently released its Pulse training system that allows intelligence officers to participate in military exercises where they monitor local populations’ attitudes through social media and other platforms. 

 

The internet-based simulation exercises influence operations, also known as psychological operations, hybrid warfare, countering disinformation and counterterrorism, said Robert Pratten, CEO and founder of the company.

 

“People that work in intelligence, media operations, psy-ops, they don’t have an exercise environment. Now they do,” Pratten said April 27 on the sidelines of the IT2EC conference in London. 

 

Participants can log onto popular social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to look for simulated disinformation campaigns created by enemy operators. They can look for bots, inauthentic accounts and signs of “information laundering,” where operators push misinformation or bad news and cover their tracks by making look like it came from legitimate media sources.

 

“We can also simulate a cyber attack where we take your whole website down. What do you do now?” He said.

 

So called gray zone warfare — where nations operate below the threshold of armed conflict to create instability within rival nations — has been a hallmark of 21st century rivalries. Nations such as Russia have employed such tactics as disinformation operations with great success.

 

“If you have been following what’s happening in Ukraine, [President Volodymyr] Zelinsky has proven what it means to be a good communicator … This is the only platform able to simulate that situation,” Pratten said.

 

“People want to emulate what works and you can take those lessons and apply them in another conflict,” he added. 

 

The new product…

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Aussie hackers warned against Russian ops | Goulburn Post

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news, national

Australian hackers who take the fight to Russia from home soil could find themselves in legal jeopardy. Global hackers collective Anonymous swiftly declared cyber war on Moscow last month when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. And the so called hacktivists have claimed some successes not just against the Kremlin but also the Russian defence department and space agency. Common methods include defacing websites, accessing and stealing information or forcing target sites and networks into shutdown by flooding them with data. Under Australian law, however, such hacking and denial of service attacks are offences. Drafted to crack down on the most vile cyber criminals, including those sharing child exploitation material and using computers and networks for fraud, money laundering and identity theft, the statutes also cover hackers. There are specific commonwealth “computer offences” relating to hacking data and interfering in electronic communications. “People undertaking cybercrime activities from Australia, such as hacking against a foreign government entity, may be committing an offence,” a Home Affairs spokesperson told AAP. The maximum penalty for unauthorised access to, or modification of, restricted data is two years’ imprisonment, while unauthorised impairment of electronic communication could earn 10 years in jail. Ukraine wanted a blackout for Russia from core parts of the internet. But after an official request, the global body in charge of the domain name system, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has refused to act against Russian websites. Responding to Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, ICANN says its mission does not extend to punitive action, issuing sanctions or restricting access – regardless of the provocation. Instead, it has allocated an initial $A1.4 million to support internet access for users within Ukraine. Board Chair Maarten Botterman says ICANN stands for a single, global and neutral Internet that serves all in exercising fundamental human rights, including to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. “This is especially critical when timely access to information and communication may be life saving,” he…

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