Web Page sponsored by IT Governance
www.itgovernance.co.uk
————————————————————–
13 Dec 11. “21st Century Chinese Cyber Warfare”- By William Hagestad II. 21st Century Chinese Cyberwarfare draws from a combination of business, cultural, historical, linguistic and the author’s personal experience to attempt to explain China to the uninitiated. The objective of the book is to raise awareness of the fact that the People’s Republic of China is using a combination of their unique culture, language, and political will, known as Chinese Communism, to maintain their cultural heritage.
This book is the first to gather the salient information regarding the use of cyber warfare doctrine by the People’s Republic of China to promote its own hegemonistic, national self-interests and enforce its political, military and economic will on other nation states. The threat of Chinese Cyberwarfare can no longer be ignored. It is a clear and present danger to the experienced and innocent alike and will be economically, societally and culturally changing and damaging for the nations that are targeted.
21st Century Chinese Cyberwarfare discusses:
* Statistics of the Chinese Cyber Threat
* Chinese Government Cyber Initiatives
* Understanding the key motivators for Government Sponsored Cyber Warfare
* Commercial Enterprises as a Cyber Threat Vector
* Nationalistic threads of Chinese Hackers”
14 Dec 11. Forecast International expects African defense budgets will grow at an average of less than 3 percent per year for 2011 through 2015. This figure is substantially lower than the 2006-2010 compound annual growth rate of 12.96 percent per year. While the expected trend is not entirely negative, as it still projects growth, the decrease does reflect a shift in priorities for the foreseeable future, according to FI’s “The Military Market for Africa” report.
The past year has been particularly eventful for Africa, with the Arab Spring revolutionary wave to the north, an increase in Islamic fundamentalism activity, and several elections that led to political crises. Though a number of those conflicts are expected to carry into 2012, the majority were short term and are now in the recovery stages.
Although Africa may not offer the scope of opportunities presented by other, larger markets, the true value of the African arms market is drawn from those issues that mirror the global security climate. However, major military procurement purchases are not a priority at this time because several countries are in the midst of recovering from recent conflicts.
The drop in defense spending can also be accredited to African countries with energy-based economies. These nations have been key players in Africa’s overall market growth in the past five years, with exportation profits driving defense spending. Algeria, Angola, Libya, Nigeria, and Sudan (which had a combine average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.52 percent in the 2006-2010 period) will only grow 0.23 percent per year between 2011 and 2015. Most notably Libya, which had one of the highest CAGRs in defense spending from 2006 through 2010 at 33.27 percent – now at -1.7 percent – has the lowest projected CAGR for 2011 through 2015. This plunge stems from Libya’s recent civil war battle that successfully ended Col. Muammar al-Qadhafi’s regime. The complete halt of oil exportation during that time has experts predicting it will take Libya years until it is able to produce substantial amounts again. Furthermore, if Libya’s Transitional National Council decides not to follow through with billions in arms agreements Qadhafi had with Russian and European firms, the African defense spending market as a whole may actually face a more significant contraction than predicted. These big spenders have made major weapons purchases in the last few years, and new equipment is unlikely in the near term. By keeping their defense budgets modest in upcoming