Tag Archive for: Warfare

‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ Players Hit With Worm Malware

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According to TechCrunch it is unclear why the malware is spreading or what exactly the impact is on gamers. Valve, the owner of Steam, did not comment on the issue, according to the news website.

Public companies in the United States will soon have to report data breaches and hacking incidents four days after they deem an incident to have a “material” impact on their business. On Wednesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission voted to introduce the regulations that require firms to disclose cyberattacks once they have determined it will disrupt its operations or finances. The disclosures must detail the “nature, scope, and timing” of the attack, as well as the potential impact it will have on the firm.

Former SEC rules required companies to disclose cyber incidents but did not impose any strict timeline on doing so. This can lead to firms waiting weeks or months to notify customers and lawmakers about data breaches and cyberattacks. A separate part of the new SEC rules also requires companies to detail their processes for “assessing, identifying, and managing material risks,” heaping extra public accountability on firms to make sure they’re taking security issues seriously. The rules will go into effect by no later than December.

Since Vladimir Putin started his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia’s internet censorship has become even more expansive. A new report this week from researchers at Citizen Lab, a research facility at the University of Toronto, shows how the country’s censors have clamped down on the social network VK, which is similar to Facebook. Russia’s government has been ordering VK to remove posts, videos, and accounts almost every day since the start of the war, the researchers found after reviewing court orders issued by the government.

There’s been a thirtyfold increase in censorship since the start of the war, Citizen Lab researchers found. In total, 94,942 videos, 1,569 community accounts, and 787 personal accounts are blocked in Russia, which has clamped down on independent media and blocked social media such as Facebook and YouTube as it looks to control the information people read and access within its borders.

At the end of May,…

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New Director Information Warfare set to hit the ground running

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Defence SA has appointed Dr Dave Ormrod as its inaugural Director Information Warfare. Commencing on 3 July, Dave is a leader in information warfare (IW) and cyber security with more than 25 years of industry experience.

Defence SA Chief Executive Richard Price said the newly created role will assist in ensuring South Australia is able to maximise opportunities across the key areas of intelligence surveillance reconnaissance and electronic warfare (ISREW), cyber and ICT for Defence and space.

“South Australia is the hub for Information Warfare and the state has significant high quality research depth with potential to capitalise on a range of opportunities under the AUKUS Pillar 2 agreement,” said Richard.

“Dave’s significant experience in the field will be an asset to the state in supporting a sustainable IW industry for South Australia.”

Dave’s perspective as a member of the IW community has been shaped by his experience serving in the Australian Defence Force, as well as working with defence industry, federal and state government, and the cyber security industry more broadly. Throughout his career, Dave has built high performing security teams, tailored cyber security solutions, and acted as a trusted advisor and collaborator to C-suite Executives. He has worked across Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“It is a great privilege to join the experienced Defence SA team and I appreciate the opportunity to support the development of an enduring, sustainable, and effective IW capability in South Australia,” Dave said.

“I’m excited to be returning to Adelaide. I have a strong desire to further South Australia’s defence industry capabilities, extending upon my career working with the Australian Defence Force, industry, academia and our allies.”

Dave has made the move to Adelaide from Canberra with his wife Amy, where his most recent role was as a Director in the McGrathNicol cyber security risk and strategy business.

In addition to his practical experience from the military and industry, Dave has a PhD in Computer Science and is a graduate of both the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Program and…

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Israel-Iran cyber warfare heats up, exploiting Israeli internal divide

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TEL AVIV – Foreign states and groups, primarily Iran, have been conducting for the past few years cyber campaigns designed to destabilize Israel and its institutions, with another such offensive exposed on Saturday. The latest campaign involved thousands of fake posts on Instagram revealing personal details of Israeli police officers and was disguised as an attack staged by Israel’s anti-government protesters.

One of the pro-democracy activists used to expose the police officers was Nitzan Weisberg, who suddenly recognized her picture on a profile disseminating information that she had not posted. The Fake Reporter, an Israeli watchdog that researches and exposes false information, was quick to tweet an alert about the scam. Still, the impact of the warning was limited. 

The affair made headlines only after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took the bait. Ben-Gvir ignored the warnings and instead treated the posts as authentic, accusing the protest movement of posting photos of police officers, along with their personal phone numbers, in order to intimidate them and prevent them from carrying out their duties. 

Israel and Iran are clearly in an undeclared state of war, but paradoxically, the interests of some groups on the opposing sides sometimes seem to overlap. As such, Ben-Gvir played into the hands of the false news campaign, fighting back as if these posts were real news and facts.

“This is a serious and dangerous crossing of a red line designed to harm the police officers and their families,” tweeted Ben-Gvir, chair of the Jewish Power party. 

Ben-Gvir also posted photos of a designated Telegram channel called “Bogdim” (“Traitors”), ostensibly devoted to exposing the police officers. However, according to the assessment of the Shin Bet security agency and the police, the minister was taken in by false information spread by a foreign state, probably by Iranian hackers. The profiles of the users allegedly exposing the police had been taken over by hackers and used to post the information.

Ben-Gvir, the hard-line nationalist in charge of the Israel Police, was not too bothered by the experts’ opinion. His tweet remained online, although he…

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Russia’s Unconventional Warfare: Moscow’s domination of the Information Space

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U.S. intelligence and defense services, as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) 2023 Threat Assessment recognize China and Russia as the two greatest threats to U.S. national security. The U.S. has more firepower than either of the two and is a member of the world’s most powerful military alliances NATO, Aukus, and the Quad. Consequently, the U.S. would have a distinct advantage in a direct conflict. However, direct conflict remains a future possibility. Meanwhile, Russia and China have both been attacking the U.S. through unconventional warfare for decades. Because Russia is better at understanding American language and culture, and owing to their vast experience, dating back to World War II, arguably, Russia tends to be more effective at unconventional warfare than China.

George Kennan, the father of the containment policy, defined unconventional warfare as “the employment of all the means at a nation’s command, short of war, to achieve its national objectives.” Unconventional warfare can be military or quasi-military operations, other than conventional, direct warfare. Called the Gray Zone, an area between peace and conflict, unconventional warfare can include the use of covert forces or guerilla warfare in a hot conflict. Proxy wars, such as those fought in Vietnam and Korea would be examples of a conflict between the United States and the USSR which did not involve overt, direct combat between the two. More recent examples would be the Syrian Civil War, where Russia provided military support to the government of President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States was backing various opposition groups. Similar indirect conflicts have taken place in Yugoslavia and Kosovo, as well as Georgia. The most obvious example today is the Ukraine war. Although the direct combatants are Russia and Ukraine, the war can be seen as a great-power struggle between the U.S.-led west and the Russian Federation, although no U.S. troops have taken part.

In addition to backing local forces and actively engaging in combat operations, Russia also deploys the Wagner mercenary group into conflicts around the world. Wagner supports the Kremlin’s objectives, often…

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