Israel To Create New Military Branch, Cybersecurity Focused →
Israel Hayom is reporting the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) plans to create an entirely separate and new branch of the State of Israel's primary military defense targeting cyberwarfare. The decision to create a separate military service targeting electronic warfare appears to be one of the first of it's kind worldwide, and significantly forward-thinking.
'The new branch will join the Israeli Air Force, Navy, and GOC Army Headquarters as a main service branch that will oversee the military's cyberwarfare strategy, as well as its proactive cyber efforts, which are currently headed by Military Intelligence, and its cyberdefense efforts, currently headed by the C4I Corps.' - via Israel Hayom's Lilach Shoval and Israel Hayom Staff.
Tallinn 2.0 and the PRC →
If you read anything today focusing on warfare in the electronic realm, read the Lawfare blog's Ashley Deeks posting on this year's Tallinn-based NATO CCDCoE's CyCon 2015 confab. In particular, a Chinese academics' take on cyber jus ad bellum and jus ad bellum criteria to wage war, as targeted by Tallinn 2.0. Fascinating.
Estonia, Creates Volunteer Cyberwarrior Brigade
Considering the country's highly systems-literate populis, this is one of the more interesting cases of a so-called Cybernational Guard, this time, stationed at the K5 Barracks (NATO Cyber Defense Center, Tallinn, Estonia), in quite likely one of the most astoundingly beautiful countries on our planet - Estonia!
Researched Research on Anti-Drone Research
News, via Aliya Sternstein, writing at NextGov, details research regarding anti-drone activities fueled by published research. A drone research conundrum, of sorts...
Alexanders' Warning: Catastrophic Attacks on Energy Sector in the Offing
via David Bisson, writing at Tripwire's State of Security blog, comes a particularly dire warning from Keith Alexander, GEN (RET) USA (RET), holder of a Bronze Star and the 16th Director of the United States National Security Agency, focusing on the security bulwarks of the embattled Energy Sector.
DARPA's CyberOps Visualized Revolution →
via Sara Sorcher, writing at the Christian Science Monitor, for the Monitor's new Passcode department, comes the story of Plan X, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) push into proper management of the cyberwar battlespace.
National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Issues Call for Comments
Earlier this month (in April 2015 if you are reading this post in the far distant future...) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released NIST Draft NISTIR 8050; in which, an interesting summary appears of a technical workshop held at Stanford University in conjuction with the Presidents' Cybersecurity Summit.
Pursuant to completeing the draft cycle of the document, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence NNCoE (a Center of Excellence and a component of NIST) has issued a Call for Comments, focusing on the content of that document. In this instance, related to your agency, company, buereau, department, country or other organizations' information and/or cybersecurity issues. I've included a link to NISTIR 8050 to assist in fulfilling the Call for Comments. Enjoy.
US CRS Report to Congress: Cyberwar and Cyberterrorism →
via the eponymous United States Naval Institute, comes news of last months United States Congressional Research Service report entitled Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism: In Brief. A fascinating analysis, and todays' MustRead.
One Million Attacks Per Day
Meanwhile, in astounding-security-attack-numbers-per-diem news, comes a remarkable litany of the resilience within the State of Israel's power grid, from Israel Electric Corporation Chairman Yiftah Ron-Ta. He describes the nearly one million attacks the utility fended off daily basis during the Summer 2014's Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Operation Protective Edge.
London Hosts Staged Cyberwar Exercises →
News, of the fifth edition of the Masterclass, a UK cyberwarfare exercise, held on board the HMS Belfast (one of the United Kingdom's five Imperial War Museums, and of course, in this case a former ship of the line, anchored on the Thames) comes to us by way of Ars Technica independent writer Emiko Jozuka.
"The competition, known as the Masterclass and developed by a group of cyber experts led by BT, is now in its fifth year and aims to plug the skills shortage currently affecting both governments and UK businesses. The competition essentially invites participants to put their skills to the test and experience a dramatized version of events faced by regular cybercrime fighting professionals. It also allows sponsors of the competition such as BT, Lockheed Martin, and Airbus, to hover on the sidelines and cherry pick the next cybercrime busting whizz kids." - Ars Technica's Emiko Jozuka
The Sleeper Awakens →
Evidence, via George I. Seffers of indications that the United States Department of Defense has awoken to the realization, that with nearly ubiquitous connectivity, comes potentially lethal levels of vulnerability, leading to in extremis scenarios.