Research on Cyber Warfare

[Thorn]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

Thorn, thanks a bunch! I hadn't seen that yet. I did my rough draft and turned it in, but the final draft is not due until the end of this week, so I may have a chance to add that in as well.

You're welcome.

[AgentDarkApple]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

Thorn, thanks a bunch! I hadn't seen that yet. I did my rough draft and turned it in, but the final draft is not due until the end of this week, so I may have a chance to add that in as well.

[Thorn]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

@ AgentDarkApple

This popped up this morning on a couple of lists I monitor, and may be of interest if you're still working on your paper.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmag...91114_3145.php

The Cyberwar Plan
It's not just a defensive game; cyber-security includes attack plans too, and the U.S. has already used some of them successfully.

by Shane Harris

Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009

In May 2007, President Bush authorized the National Security Agency, based at Fort Meade, Md., to launch a sophisticated attack on an enemy thousands of miles away without firing a bullet or dropping a bomb.

At the request of his national intelligence director, Bush ordered an NSA cyberattack on the cellular phones and computers that insurgents in Iraq were using to plan roadside bombings. The devices allowed the fighters to coordinate their strikes and, later, post videos of the attacks on the Internet to recruit followers. According to a former senior administration official who was present at an Oval Office meeting when the president authorized the attack, the operation helped U.S. forces to commandeer the Iraqi fighters' communications system. With this capability, the Americans could deceive their adversaries with false information, including messages to lead unwitting insurgents into the fire of waiting U.S. soldiers.

Former officials with knowledge of the computer network attack, all of whom requested anonymity when discussing intelligence techniques, said that the operation helped turn the tide of the war. Even more than the thousands of additional ground troops that Bush ordered to Iraq as part of the 2007 "surge," they credit the cyberattacks with allowing military planners to track and kill some of the most influential insurgents. The cyber-intelligence augmented information coming in from unmanned aerial drones as well as an expanding network of human spies. A Pentagon spokesman declined to discuss the operation.

...

[valkyrie]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

I read an article a while back that the Naval Research Laboratory was working on a HERF device and while testing........wait for it.......wait for it........it fried itself.

/me laughs. You note I said, "when built properly..." :-) What amazes me is these were talked about in '99 and being built (though the directed power at that time was not nearly what it is today) but they seemed to have dropped off the radar screen. Check out UT's archives for further information.

Simplicity and a van with windows is elegant mayhem people! :-) Been there, done that. Said, WOW!

Regards,

valkyrie
___________________________________
sapere aude

[theprez98]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

I read an article a while back that the Naval Research Laboratory was working on a HERF device and while testing........wait for it.......wait for it........it fried itself.

[AgentDarkApple]

Re: Update

If you get a chance and haven't already done so, do a search on HERF guns. They are EMP related.

valkyrie, thanks! I hadn't heard of HERF guns before, but I looked them up and they seem very similar to something that is being used by the Army. The implications of having a device like that are scary.

[valkyrie]

Re: Update

Hey everyone, thanks for your help so far. Dark Tangent, the info on EMPs has been particularly helpful. The effects can be far worse than I thought - yikes! valkyrie, Schwartau's Information Warfare is surprisingly still relevant and accurate - it's scary how he predicted so much of what would really happen. renderman, the stuff you told me has helped a lot with the information assurance section. streaker69, your treasure trove of SCADA articles has also been a helpful resource.

I haven't updated the resources list yet, but I found a great resource from an Army War College master's thesis http://www.carlisle.army.mil/DIME/do...ric%20Army.pdf as well as several other bits of info. The rough draft is due next week. I'm glad you guys encouraged me to take a different angle than I'd originally intended. Any more suggestions or new or otherwise overlooked info is appreciated.

If you get a chance and haven't already done so, do a search on HERF guns. They are EMP related. Remarkably easy to make. :-) I can unequivocally state that when built properly, they can fry the electronic brain out of CPU-based devices.

Regards,

valkyrie
______________________________________________
sapere aude

[AgentDarkApple]

Update

Hey everyone, thanks for your help so far. Dark Tangent, the info on EMPs has been particularly helpful. The effects can be far worse than I thought - yikes! valkyrie, Schwartau's Information Warfare is surprisingly still relevant and accurate - it's scary how he predicted so much of what would really happen. renderman, the stuff you told me has helped a lot with the information assurance section. streaker69, your treasure trove of SCADA articles has also been a helpful resource.

I haven't updated the resources list yet, but I found a great resource from an Army War College master's thesis http://www.carlisle.army.mil/DIME/do...ric%20Army.pdf as well as several other bits of info. The rough draft is due next week. I'm glad you guys encouraged me to take a different angle than I'd originally intended. Any more suggestions or new or otherwise overlooked info is appreciated.

[AgentDarkApple]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

Just wondering if any of you have heard of Martin C. Libicki or know of any problems with his research (bias, BS, etc.). He's written a load of books on info warfare and other related things we've discussed in this thread. Here is a list of some of his work http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=rdr_ext_...20C.%20Libicki I ordered "Conquest in Cyberspace: National Security and Information Warfare", and I'm still waiting for it to arrive.

[theprez98]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

You mean your cybershmoo talk.

Exactly!

[valkyrie]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

I take my smack downs as I take my Scotch. Neat. Clean. Without additions. Thank you DT and HighWiz.

If my posts were actually read one one find that I wasn't bandying the issue of the word "cyber." As a matter of fact, if one would read one would find I initially stated that the word was here to stay.

If one would read, one might discover that I attempted to encourage the OP, but took umbrage to the OP's methodology.

My issue was with the OP's seeming approach to said paper. I have an issue with panderers. The OP's own words indicated that the OP was intending on pandering to the professor. Now, in retrospect, I realize that that is none of my business. The OP can do what the OP wishes. I trust the OP will no doubt be very successful.

Regards,

valkyrie
_____________________________________
sapere aude

[streaker69]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

Oh man, now I really hope my Shmoo talk gets picked up.

You mean your cybershmoo talk.

[theprez98]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

So I guess we can all agree, that the word "cyber", should be removed from the English vocabulary when referencing Information Warfare....?

"So let it be UN-written. So let it be done."

xor

Oh man, now I really hope my Shmoo talk gets picked up.

[AgentDarkApple]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

renderman, thanks, PM sent.

[renderman]

Re: Research on Cyber Warfare

HighWiz, the more focused topic is info warfare and how it is both beneficial and dangerous to use computers and electronics for sensitive information particularly in warfare; and what considerations must be made regarding information security and information assurance, particularly in the context of war and national security. I was going to use examples of what could happen or what did happen (cyber crimes used as an act of war, cyber terror, Russia & Georgia, etc.) then get into applicable war theories, application of information security and information assurance principles, the CIA triangle, and why none of this is foolproof. I'm trying to steer away from the sci-fi and media-sensationalized ideas that I had when I first began the research.

PM me, I have some relevant thoughts on those lines for a talk I'm giving in 2 weeks I can share. Mostly about the fact 'they' focus on the wrong things and bring in the wrong people to solve the wrong problem