DIA: China, Russia Engaged In Low-Level Warfare Against U.S.

DNI Daniel Coats and Gen. Robert P. Ashley, director of the DIA / Getty Images

 

‘Gray Zone’ conflict outlined at Senate hearing

The Pentagon’s top intelligence official warned that China and Russia are engaged in information and cyber attacks against the United States as part of an undeclared low-level conflict.

Army Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said during a Senate hearing the character of war is changing as technology facilitates greater global reach with weapons such as cyber attacks.

Russia plans to create an ‘independent internet’ by 2018 to protect it from ‘global internet malfunctions’ – but critics say the plan could make it easier to launch its own attacks

The Russian government has revealed plans to develop an ‘independent internet’ that operates separately from the Domain Name System used worldwide. According to Russian news site RT, Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) is targeting August 1, 2018 for its completion

 

• Russian Security Council met in October to discuss an ‘independent internet’
• Would cover Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with alternative DNS
• Currently, a global Domain Name System (DNS) is used to connect to internet
• While they cited security concerns, others suggest it could be used maliciously

The Russian government has revealed plans to develop an ‘independent internet’ that operates separately from the Domain Name System used worldwide.

During a recent meeting of the Russian Security Council, officials discussed an initiative to create an alternative to the DNS, claiming the move could protect Russia and a handful of other nations in the event of a large-scale cyberattack.

America’s Cyber Vulnerabilities

ISTOCK.COM/MONSITJ

 

Cyber is the newest branch of warfare. Even in its baby stages, it has the potential to cripple the United States.

On the afternoon of Dec. 23, 2015, Ukrainian engineers from a Prykarpattya Oblenergo power station stared at a computer screen while the cursor progressed on its own across the monitor. The mouse on the table had not moved. But the cursor hovered over the station’s breakers, each one controlling power to thousands of Ukrainian citizens. Then, with one mouse click at a time, the hackers now in control of the power station began shutting off power to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.

At the same time, Kyivoblenergo employees watched as dozens of substations shut down, one by one. In their case, there was no phantom mouse. A computer on their network that they could not locate was being used by someone to shut down the power—and there was nothing they could do.

If the Iran Nuclear Deal Collapses, Iranian Hackers Will Target These U.S. Companies

 

If the Iran nuclear deal fails, U.S. companies will suffer never-before-seen security breaches thanks to Tehran’s “hacker army.”

This particular cyber militia has been honing its skills and expanding since 2013. That’s when then-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani increased the country’s cybersecurity spending 12-fold, Business Insider reported in 2015. Rouhani allocated roughly $19.8 million to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Tehran’s military) to up its cyber capabilities.

U.S. Navy Investigating If Destroyer Crash Was Caused by Cyberattack

 

The military is examining whether compromised computer systems were responsible for one of two U.S. Navy destroyer collisions with merchant vessels that occurred in recent months, Vice Admiral Jan Tighe, the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, said on Thursday.

Naval investigators are scrambling to determine the causes of the mishaps, including whether hackers infiltrated the computer systems of the USS John S. McCain ahead of the collision on Aug. 21, Tighe said during an appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.  

U.S. military satellites in crisis as foreign weapons advance and proliferate

(Associated Press/File)

 

The U.S. military’s satellite communications are facing a crisis, threatened by a growing array of foreign weapons, including cyberattack capabilities, lasers, electronic jammers and anti-satellite weapons, according to a Pentagon study.

An executive summary of the report by the Defense Science Board warns that military satellite communications used for global operations “will be contested by a myriad of effects ranging from reversible to destructive.”

“The estimated and projected electronic threats against satellite communication (satcom) have rapidly escalated in the last few years and will continue to increase in the foreseeable future,” the report says.

China tried to hack THAAD system: CNN

State-sponsored Chinese hackers tried to disrupt the operation of the controversial THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, CNN reported, citing American cyber security experts.

The U.S. news network said the hacking had taken aim at an unidentified organization with connections to the THAAD system.

Chinese Supercomputers Threaten U.S. Security

One part of where this article goes wrong is the first opening sentence, as China has already eclipsed the United States in supercomputer technology.

However, at least Americans know who they can thank for giving China their threatening capability: Bill and Hillary Clinton through the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Another component of the problem is that the American security apparatus believes in the simple ‘patch and pray‘ fix due to high costs. In other words, they’re also reactive and not proactive… a grave difference.

 

Supercomputers play a vital role in the design, development and analysis of almost all modern weapons systems, said a report by the National Security Agency-Energy Department based on an assessment of China’s new supercomputer called the TaihuLight. Photo by: David Mercer

 

China is eclipsing the United States in developing high-speed supercomputers used to build advanced weapons, and the loss of American leadership in the field poses a threat to U.S. national security.

That’s the conclusion of a recent joint National Security Agency-Energy Department study, based on an assessment of China’s new supercomputer called the TaihuLight.

“National security requires the best computing available, and loss of leadership in [high-performance computing] will severely compromise our national security,” the report warns.

Total Chaos: Cyber Attack Fears As MULTIPLE CITIES HIT With Simultaneous Power Grid Failures: Shockwave Of Delays In San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York

The U.S. power grid appears to have been hit with multiple power outages affecting San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.

Officials report that business, traffic and day-to-day life has come to a standstill in San Francisco, reportedly the worst hit of the three major cities currently experiencing outages.

Power companies in all three regions have yet to elaborate on the cause, though a fire at a substation was the original reason given by San Francisco officials.

Russian banks suffer wave of DDoS attacks

Kaspersky Lab has confirmed that numerous Russian banks have been suffering a wave of DDoS attacks.

According to Russian media, five banks in the country have been subject to a swathe of DDoS attacks over the past few days. The state-owned Sberbank was one of them, and Kaspersky Lab said in a statement that the attacks were among the largest it had seen aimed at Russian banks.

There are numerous theories flying around about why these attacks are happening, and it’s important to mention they are unsubstantiated rumours at best, but Vice has a theory that it may have been happening due to  “people who were dissatisfied with possible Russian intervention in the presidential elections in the United States.”

FBI reports more attempts to hack voter registration system

There have also been ‘scanning activities,’ which could be preludes to attacks

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has found more attempts to hack the voter registration systems of states, ahead of national elections.

The agency had reportedly found evidence in August that foreign hackers had breached state election databases in Illinois and Arizona, but it appears that there have been other attempts as well, besides frequent scanning activities, which the FBI describes as preludes for possible hacking attempts.

FBI warns that hackers are targeting state election systems

Voter registration databases from two states were reportedly targeted in the hacks

The FBI has reportedly found evidence that foreign hackers breached two state election databases in recent weeks.

An FBI alert warning election officials about the breach was leaked, and it was posted in a report by Yahoo News on Monday. Voter registration databases from both Illinois and Arizona were targeted in the hacks, according to the report.

EXCLUSIVE: Chinese Hackers Sold Delta Airline Vulnerabilities On Black Market

In this screenshot, cybercriminals advertise vulnerabilities in the computer systems of major airlines on an online black market on Jan. 3, 2016. (Screenshot courtesy of Ed Alexander)

 

 

One of several airlines cyberexpert says hacked by Chinese military group

Computer systems of Delta Airlines have suffered a “glitch” that is causing flight delays on the airline globally. While the cause of the delays is still unclear, a group of cyber criminals was recently selling vulnerabilities to major airlines on the black market.

US Won’t Be Prepared for Cyber Attack for Another Two Years

Earlier this week, representatives of the US Cyber Command (CC) told the Joint Chiefs that the US military won’t be able to fend of a major cyberattack at least until 2019.

Brig. Gen. Charles L. Moore Jr., Joint Chiefs of Staff deputy director for global operations, told the House Armed Services Committee that, “We don’t have the scale or the complexity to truly represent a realistic and relevant threat, the ones that we’re truly trying to train to.”

Tensions Between US/NATO & Russia Are Flaring Dangerously

As if there weren’t enough crises to worry about in the world already, from shooting rampages to accelerating species loss, the US and NATO continue to ‘poke the bear’ and risk an outbreak of war with Russia.

I wish this were idle speculation. But if you haven’t been paying close attention, you’ll probably be shocked at just how much direct military and diplomatic provocation has been going on between NATO/US and Russia over the past several years — and in recent weeks, in particular.

Even more shocking is that no one in power can provide us with a compelling reason for exactly why these tensions are flaring. It seems that Russia’s main sin is in not entirely, completely and immediately giving the US/NATO anything and everything they request.

In other words, it’s imperial hubris and petulance that seems to be driving the ship of state. That’s a dangerous thing.