Pulling together a list of the wars most in need of international attention and support in 2016 is challenging for all the wrong reasons. For 20 years after the end of the Cold War, deadly conflict was in decline. Fewer wars were killing fewer people the world over. Five years ago, however, that positive…
Category: Information Warfare
Cyber-Espionage: The Biggest Dangers are the Ones You Will Never Know About
For years, I slept fitfully after a “friend” told me that it wasn’t the noisy mosquitos buzzing in my ears at night that were a problem. Instead, it was the female mosquitos that made no noise at all but laid eggs in your ears at night. That image wrecked my sleep until the Internet helped…
Ankara’s Hidden Hand: Turkish Covert Ops Then and Now
To put it mildly, Turkey has been substantially involved in Syria since the eruption of the Arab Spring in 2011. After Turkish F-16s recently downed a Su-24 Russian tactical bomber over the region where Turkmen anti-Assad groups are based, Turkish President Erdogan tacitly confirmed Turkey’s covert support for Syrian rebels fighting against Damascus, stating that “anyone…
The Truth About SpyWar and How 21st Century Espionage Really Works
Espionage is a constant in human civilization. Spying features prominently in theOld Testament and it’s often called the “second oldest profession” with good reason. The ancient Chinese sage Sun Tzu wrote eloquently about the strategic importance of espionage and counterespionage fully 2,500 years ago. As long as people have lived in anything resembling societies, they…
This article Will NOT Boost Your Confidence in American Cyber-Defense Capabilities
Iranian hackers infiltrated the control system of a small dam less than 20 miles from New York City two years ago, sparking concerns that reached to the White House, according to former and current U.S. officials and experts familiar with the previously undisclosed incident. The breach came amid attacks by hackers linked to Iran’s government…
A Case Study Why Government “Encryption Back Doors” are a BAD Ideal
ENCRYPTION BACKDOORS HAVE been a hot topic in the last few years—and the controversial issue got even hotter after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, when it dominated media headlines. It even came up during this week’s Republican presidential candidate debate. But despite all the attention focused on backdoors lately, no one noticed that…
Russia Using the 4th Dimension of Warfare (Space) to Gain the Upper Hand in the Syrian War
While Space has been called the final frontier, it is also an untapped resource in regards to warfare. Why is America always last to know in these matters while China and Russia are first in line? The answer is quite simple: BHO. -SF Russia is employing a significant portion of its space assets to gather…
Merry Christmas America! Congress secretly Slips CISA into Budget Bill
Update 12/18/2015 12pm: The House and Senate have now passed the omnibus bill, including the new version of CISA. Privacy advocates were aghast in October when the Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act by a vote of 74 to 21, leaving intact portions of the law they say make it more amenable…
Iran: A Rising Cyber-Power?
“A Brown Water Navy” Through a series of attacks over the last three years, Iran has revealed a limited offensive cyber capability but a willingness to use it to meet its geopolitical goals. In testimony calling out Iran for attacks on Sands Casinos, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper put Iranian cyber capability in the…
Forged ISIS Video Praises Obama’s Backing
Is is Real or is it Memorex Folks?? An apparently forged ISIS video disseminated online Monday praised President Obama and called for joint U.S. action with the terrorist group against Russian intervention in Syria. The five-minute video also called for designating Obama as the caliph, or ruler, of ISIS. ISIS supporters on Twitter were quick…