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25 Aug 22. US Army demos aerial jammer amid push to catch up in electronic warfare. A little more than a month after disclosing that gaps in the U.S. military’s electronic warfare toolkit are causing him to lose sleep, Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said one of the service’s premier efforts to provide jamming and sensing capabilities shows promise.
The Army showcased its Multi-Function Electronic Warfare-Air Large pod this week in Aberdeen, Maryland. The service is building back its EW arsenal after decades focused on counterterrorism, confronting forces that were less technologically savvy. The targeting of communications and other networks seen daily in the war in Ukraine is adding to the sense of urgency, U.S. officials say.
EW is a fight over control of the electromagnetic spectrum, which militaries use for situational awareness, communications and weapons guidance. The contest is increasingly important as more and more-advanced technologies are deployed on the battlefield and troops try to minimize signatures to avoid detection.
“What concerned me, always, is that we’ve got to keep pace with the threat over time,” Camarillo told reporters Aug. 23, following a morning of briefings. “I’m really impressed with the MFEW program that the Army has, its different configurations and where it’s going.”
The self-contained pod, made by Lockheed Martin, was intended to be mounted to an MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone. Other platforms are now being explored. The Air Force has expressed interest in working it into an A-10 attack plane, and testing is anticipated with the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, a jet tooled for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
As long as a power supply and an ethernet port are available, MFEW-AL is an option, officials said Tuesday.
“We want to be platform agnostic. For other platforms, we can provide a smaller form factor if there’s a requirement,” said William Utroska, a leader at the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors. “We’re working with the Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team, because they have EW requirements and they know we’ve already done a lot of the work upfront.”
Camarillo said he saw one of the prototypes in the field, courtesy of PEO IEW&S, and liked its open-ended approach.
“I think that’s one area where the Army is heading in the right direction,” Camarillo said. “It’s giving us the ability to not just look at sensor payloads and EW payloads, but how they fit in certain components, how we can plug and play over time to give us an opportunity to do that tech insertion and to stay ahead of what the threat might be, and also have the latest generation capabilities.”
The Army is pushing EW in other areas as well.
The service in July inked a $58.8 million contract with Lockheed to furnish prototypes for the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team program. In August, it handed Lockheed and General Dynamics Mission Systems separate deals for Terrestrial Layer System-Echelons Above Brigade concepts and demonstrations. Both systems, once realized, will give soldiers a bloc of EW, cyber and signals intelligence capabilities. (Source: Defense News)
24 Aug 22. US Army IT leader pledges quicker cloud uptake in ‘year of action.’ The U.S. Army will make swift, significant strides in cloud migration and utilization in the coming 12 months, according to the service’s top uniformed information technology official.
Dubbing the next year as a period “of action and acceleration,” Lt. Gen. John Morrison, deputy chief of staff, G-6, on Aug. 17 pledged “much more rapid movement to the cloud” now that the groundwork has been laid.
The Army considers cloud migration and widespread, secure use foundational to the broader modernization of its networks, computers and collaboration capabilities. Mastering cloud computing will also help realize artificial intelligence and machine learning for cyber warfare, according to the 2020 Army Cloud Plan.
“We are putting the requisite capabilities into the hands of our operational formation so they can understand the applications that now need to move to the cloud, and we are aligning the requisite combat power to assist in that migration,” Morrison told reporters at the AFCEA TechNet Augusta conference. “It is going to be much faster.”
The Army requested $16.6bn in cyber and IT funding for fiscal 2023, which starts Oct. 1, or more than 9% of the service’s $178bn budget blueprint. Hundreds of millions would be invested in cloud, officials said.
Morrison and others are coordinating with Army Chief Information Officer Raj Iyer to audit data centers that the service eventually wants to shutter, to better understand what is out there and what needs to be relocated. Such analysis will speed cloud uptake, according to Morrison.
“What we have learned very quickly is it’s not about the data center, it’s about the applications and the data that’s in the data center,” the general said. “What is cloud ready? What is not cloud ready? Et cetera. And that’s sort of been where we’ve gotten a little pitchy at times.”
Iyer in June described the coming year as an inflection point along the Army’s “digital transformation journey.” The CIO said he expected great progress to be made on cloud initiatives, as well, based on previous advancements in fiscal 2021 and 2022.
“We need to make sure that the investments that we have are appropriately aligned to the Army’s priorities and to the DoD priorities, quite honestly,” Iyer told reporters this year. “There are clearly some priorities that we have invested in. All of you know that digital means that we have to adopt — at scale — cloud, data and AI.”
The Army’s cloud efforts are tied to the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability, the Department of Defense’s $9 bn follow-up to the failed Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure endeavor. The department axed the lucrative JEDI deal, won by Microsoft, in 2021 after years of delays and accusations from Amazon that the Trump administration interfered in the competition.
The JWCC is meant to beef up the department’s cloud-computing capabilities by bridging unclassified, secret and top-secret tranches while still reaching the military’s farthest edge.
The Pentagon last year contacted Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle about the JWCC, and earlier this year said proposals remained under review. Awards are expected to be made by the end of December, after an April deadline was deemed premature.
“JWCC is still in the throes of moving through the acquisition process,” Morrison said. “So I would sit there and say we’re well nested, and the DoD CIO understands everything that we’re doing.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
24 Aug 22. CSignum Ltd., the global leader in wireless underwater communications, asset digitization, and actionable insights for ocean and freshwater industries, today announced it has completed a two-month research project in underwater wireless communications with Newcastle University, renowned for its leadership in underwater acoustic communications research.
CSignum is preparing in coming months to commercially test and launch its HydroFi Modem, the first reliable point-to-point wireless radio communications system that enables the transmission of data through the water-air boundary. Led by Newcastle University Professor Jeffrey Neasham and CSignum CTO Mark Rhodes, the knowledge exchange and research project focused on increasing the HydroFi™ Modem communications data rate and transmission distances from underwater to above water receivers, as well as improving battery life for real-world deployments.
“We were able to significantly improve the amount of fixed data we could transmit in a shorter time by using a faster data rate,” said CSignum CTO Mark Rhodes. “This means our modems are powered on for a shorter period and so will use less power to communicate a given data payload. This will be of great benefit in terms of how operators choose to allocate resources to remotely deploy and service the HydroFi modems and receivers in ocean observing, environmental monitoring, aquaculture, renewable energy, and oil and gas environments.”
“In addition, we improved the Hydrofi communication waveform, coding and receiver structure to deliver greater robustness against local sources of electromagnetic interference,” said Professor Neasham of Newcastle University. “All radio systems need to be compatible with the electromagnetic environment generated by local elements of integrated systems and natural atmospheric sources. Another strength of the HydroFi Modem is that it is not affected by rough sea states, turbid conditions, or shallow water splash zones.”
CSignum intends to continue its successful collaboration with Newcastle University to enhance future versions of the HydroFi radio modem and incorporate resulting breakthroughs into the technology roadmap. On completion of the project, the collaborative team identified some clear ideas for future development in the areas of power consumption and advanced DSP techniques, which will further extend the product performance envelope.
As a result, CSignum and Newcastle University efforts will build on their respective IP portfolios. CSignum currently has 22 granted and in-force patents, with further pending patents, in such areas as bi‑directional water-to-air and air-to-water wireless communications, automation, antenna design, remote command and control, adaptive bandwidth, redundancy and failover, and low power management. These technologies are designed to deliver sensor data through the water-air boundary, water column, seabed and subsea structures. As a result, operators in ocean observing, environmental monitoring, aquaculture, renewable energy, and oil and gas will be able to modernize their infrastructures with digitized, real-time data to make smart decisions.
About Professor Jeffrey Neasham, Newcastle University
Professor Jeff Neasham leads the SEAlab team of the Intelligent Sensing and Communications research group at Newcastle University. His areas of expertise include digital signal processing, digital communications, biomedical instrumentation, underwater acoustics, ultrasound, analog and digital circuit design, and embedded software. In addition to CSignum HydroFi Modem research, he currently manages and is an active researcher on projects in underwater acoustics, wireless sensor networks, biomedical instrumentation and non-destructive testing projects. He also serves as Supervisor of Postgraduate Students and Undergraduate/MSc project work and lectures on undergraduate and postgraduate taught modules.
About Mark Rhodes, CSignum CTO
Mark is the original inventor of digital through water radio communications and has over 30 granted patents in this field. He has a track record of innovation, and translating technology into commercial product development, in a broad range of technology areas including cellular communications, airborne radar, industrial condition monitoring and fiber optic communications. He believes the HydroFi Modem is just the start of the innovation possible with the HydroCore platform, which provides a building block approach to rapidly developing solutions that meet the digitization needs of our customers.
About CSignum, Ltd.
CSignum is the only wireless communications provider that enables the first automatic and reliable transmission of data through and across the water-air boundary, water column, seabed and subsea structures using HydroFi technology. Our patented communication, monitoring and navigational platform and solutions help aquaculture, freshwater, ocean observing, offshore wind, and oil and gas industries automate and reliably transmit data as they digitally transform and scale remote communications systems for greater sustainability, increased performance, and preparedness for unforeseen events.
CSignum was founded in 2020 to engineer a smarter planet by optimizing ocean and freshwater health for the sustainable use by all. The company is headquartered in Bathgate, Scotland.
24 Aug 22. Israel-Iran: Tehran-linked cyber espionage will persist amid growing tensions over Israel and Lebanon’s maritime border demarcation dispute. On 23 August, industry reports claimed that Israeli shipping, government, energy, and healthcare organisations are being targeted in a suspected Iran state-linked cyber espionage campaign. This campaign, which has been ongoing since 2020, reportedly utilised a variety of both sophisticated and unsophisticated tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP), including watering holes and the SUGARUSH backdoor. While it is unclear what type of data has been targeted during this campaign, cyber security firm Mandiant claimed “the collected data may be leveraged to support various activities, from hack-and-leak to enabling kinetic warfare attacks”. As such, there is a realistic possibility that such data could be used by the Iran-aligned group Hizballah to fulfil their threat to target Israeli gas assets following Israel’s recent rejection of Lebanon’s maritime border demarcation proposal over the Karish gas field (see Sibylline Daily Analytical Update – 12 August 2022). Further cyber espionage campaigns are highly likely to be launched in the coming weeks, especially with Israel and Lebanon’s maritime demarcation unlikely to be resolved before the September deadline. Such activity will most likely remain targeted against Israel-based energy, maritime, and defence sector firms. (Source: Sibylline)
23 Aug 22. Will US soldiers get Gmail? Army considers expanding beta test. U.S. Army leadership is mulling advancing and expanding its preliminary test of Google Workspace, a suite that could soothe the service’s previous information technology troubles that left thousands without working email.
Senior officials will decide the pilot’s next steps “over the next several weeks,” Lt. Gen. John Morrison, deputy chief of staff, G-6, said Aug. 17. He provided few other details.
“We’ve got champions that are in that environment. We are learning about it,” the top uniformed Army IT official said on the sidelines of the AFCEA TechNet Augusta conference. “We are getting all the tactics, techniques and procedures that we need to.”
The Army quietly began beta testing Google Workspace earlier this year. The ongoing pilot mirrors others under the Army umbrella, including the bring your own device initiative, which lets soldiers and staff connect to government systems using personal electronics.
The Google platform is a front-running option to serve troops who may have lost access to official email accounts amid a turbulent transition from Defense Enterprise Email and its mail.mil addresses to the Army 365 system, involving Microsoft-based products. The new Army 365 suite includes an Army.mil email, but the Army decided not all soldiers required them.
“Everybody knows that Defense Enterprise Email is on a path to sunset conditions-based, and I’ve said that before,” Morrison said. “So that’s really what we’re taking a look at.”
According to documents and briefings obtained by Army Times last year, around 250,000 personnel — predominantly junior enlisted soldiers — were not included in the service’s Army 365 licensing plan, with sources describing the decision as cost-driven. The service publicly committed to maintaining official email access for those members by building an “alternate email solution” after Army Times reported it had considered eliminating their email.
Morrison reiterated that commitment Wednesday.
“What we are committed to,” he said, “is making sure that every one of our soldiers, regardless of [component], all of our DA civilians and the appropriate contractors have access to Army email capabilities and the capabilities they need to do their mission.”
The so-called solution hasn’t quickly materialized, though, and the Army had to press the Defense Information Security Agency to extend the life of the old email system as a bridging measure. Soldiers posting online have reported problems accessing official email in the intervening months, with some claiming their accounts had been terminated altogether.
The G-6′s top general said that such cases are exceptions rather than the norm, adding that the service is “continuing to do periodic assessments” on the mail.mil email population to ensure troops aren’t losing their official inbox.
Those who do lose access may have trouble with various administrative tasks, such as completing sensitive forms, using the service’s tuition assistance benefits or even receiving training reservation information for upcoming military schools.
Morrison said he thinks the Army is “getting much better at catching” account deletion “when it happens.”
Why Google might get the gig
Army Chief Information Officer Raj Iyer in a July statement told C4ISRNET and Army Times the service “is committed to providing our Soldiers the communications and collaboration capabilities they need to perform their missions” and that additional information about Google Workspace would be shared “as soon as we are able.”
Exactly how many people are involved in the testing is unclear; the cohort has been described as limited. Google Workspace is currently used by the Defense Innovation Unit, the Army Software Factory and the Air Force Research Laboratory, among other federal entities.
Google recently announced that its Workspace product earned the Department of Defense’s Impact Level 4, or IL4, authorization, which is tied to the handling of controlled unclassified information and its requisite security measures.
The suite achieved FedRAMP High authorization months prior.
“In an environment with a handful of legacy technology providers, public sector customers now have more choice to pick a secure communications and collaboration platform — Google Workspace — to advance their missions securely, retain their workforce (whether in-office or remotely), and save on costs,” the company said in a statement July 20. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
22 Aug 22. US Army to synchronize defenses as cyber fight goes global. Army Cyber Command plans to convert one of its regional centers in the U.S. into a hub that can better coordinate digital operations across the world. Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, the commander of ARCYBER, on Aug. 17 said the move is necessary to improve collaboration between the five existing centers, the focal points for cyber resources and responsibility in various theaters.
“You do need to have this synchronized across the globe,” Barrett said at the AFCEA TechNet Augusta conference. “We’ve got to be talking to each other. So having somebody who can synchronize that, among the five, is pretty important.”
Two regional cyber centers are in the U.S. One is in Arizona; the other, Hawaii. Barrett said the “CONUS” center, in the continental U.S., would be made “global.” Three other centers are scattered abroad, in Germany, Kuwait and South Korea.
The change is expected to have little immediate impact on operations at the theater level.
“This is the house we inherited, right? We walked into a 1910 house with a lot of walls and small doorways,” Barrett said. “I watch a lot of HGTV. It’s time for the open concept.”
Barrett took the helm at ARCYBER nearly four months ago. She previously served as head of the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command, where she was responsible for portions of the Department of Defense Information Network.
Her comments Wednesday come as the Defense Department moves away from decades of fighting in the Middle East and toward preparations needed for a more expansive and technologically advanced fight against China and Russia.
The Army’s space, cyber and special operations commands this month said they formed a triad to strengthen capabilities across all environments and to provide commanders with additional options.
“Our adversaries don’t know any boundaries. They operate across the globe. So we all come at these things with a trans-regional” mindset, Barrett said Aug. 17. “We know that by putting our capabilities together, we can end up with an effect that is greater than the parts.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
19 Aug 22. Australia set to overhaul national cyber security strategy. Labor will be reviewing former prime minister Scott Morrison’s $1.7bn, 10-year cyber security strategy. As a top priority, Home Affairs Minister and Minister for Cyber Security Clare O’Neil has ordered her department to “recast the cyber security strategy” rushed out during the COVID-19 pandemic by the former prime minister in mid-2020.
According to The Australian, Minister O’Neil outlined that the new strategy will be designed to focus on building closer links with Quad partners, the US, Japan and India, to accelerate the shift from reliance on China for critical technologies, amid concerns about Beijing’s global supply chain dominance.
“It will be grounded in sovereign capability, with a plan for the future workforce and growth of the cyber security sector, including Australian cyber SMEs.
“It will build resiliency, with real engagement and industry alliances to deal with cyber shocks in an assured, not anxious way,” Minister O’Nei said.
The Morrison government’s $9.9 bn package announced in the March budget for the Australian Signals Directorate and the ACSC was aimed at responding to rising cyber attacks emanating from China, Russia, eastern Europe, Iran and North Korea.
The Albanese government is considering on focusing on rapidly growing the cyber workforce through new apprenticeships and reskilling Australians, with the tech sector reporting severe labour skills shortages and ASD losing staff to the private sector.
As security agencies monitor the deteriorating geo-strategic environment, the new strategy is set to involve industry-wide consultation.
According to Minister O’Neil, the cyber strategy would look ahead to “include the role of critical technologies, our partnerships through the Quad and international norms and standards.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Chinese military drills off Taiwan, there has been a significant uptick in malicious cyber activity with officials reporting cyber attacks hitting local networks.
In the last financial year, the ACSC received more than 67,500 cyber crime reports, which equates to one incident every eight minutes, from governments, large companies, critical infrastructure operators, small businesses, families and individuals.
There has also been an uptick in severity of cyber attacks, with 50 per cent of all security incidents categorised as “significant”. Essential service providers and nationally significant sites have been increasingly targeted by malicious cyber actors representing a 15 per cent increase, with 25 per cent of all reported incidents involving critical infrastructure companies, including those in the health, care and food distribution sectors.
In August 2020, former PM Scott Morrison released his cyber security strategy, which was focused on curbing attacks from state-based actors that were launching mass attacks on Australia’s critical infrastructure operators and government agencies.
Aimed at “offensive and defensive” tactics, the 2020 cyber security strategy was designed to safeguard from nation state threats and state-sponsored actors seeking to compromise networks to obtain economic, policy, legal, defence and security information “for their advantage”.
The Albanese government is expected to build on measures in the 2020 strategy, including a greater focus on educating children in cyber security across all school ages and improving pathways for young Australians to enter the cyber workforce.
Based on Labor’s election policies, the new cyber security strategy will also focus on tougher penalties for cyber criminals and protecting Australians from scams and online fraud. A UK-style national anti-scam centre is also set to be established to bolster national defences by bringing together security agencies, banks, telecommunications providers and consumer advocates.
The Albanese government is considering stronger penalties for online fraudsters and those engaging in misleading conduct and deceptive practices. More funding and support for Australians to retrieve stolen identification quicker is also in the pipeline and tougher industry codes for service providers to define clear responsibilities for protecting consumers and businesses online.
Reskilling mature-aged workers is also on the cards, with the government expected to boost cyber security education and training to facilitate tech career transitions.
“It will be truly strategic in how it contributes to Australia’s economic growth and as part of our national security posture, including securing supply chains,” Minister O’Neil said. (Source: Defence Connect)
17 Aug 22. IronNet to Collaborate with CISA to Strengthen the Nation’s Cyber Defense. IronNet, Inc. (NYSE: IRNT), an innovative leader Transforming Cybersecurity Through Collective DefenseSM and member of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), today announced it has entered into an agreement with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to share information from IronNet’s Collective DefenseSM platform to help the agency defend against increased global cyber threats.
“IronNet is proud to collaborate with CISA to strengthen our nation’s cyber defense by deploying our market-leading Collective Defense platform that uses real-time attack intelligence to defend against global cyber attacks,” said General (Ret.) Keith Alexander, Co-CEO and Founder of IronNet. “IronNet anonymizes this threat-related information to exchange with CISA delivering true Collective Defense while also fostering enhanced public-private situational awareness and analytic collaboration.”
With an increase of state-sponsored bad actors targeting various industries, it is more important than ever before that IronNet’s partnership with CISA help establish a collective and coordinated defense against global cyberattacks. By sharing cyber data and information, CISA can better respond against threats looking to disrupt our “digital” way of life.
The IronNet Collective Defense platform identifies anomalous behaviors that often go undetected by alternative solutions and then uniquely delivers actionable attack intelligence to all the other participants in the IronNet community. Our differentiated platform serves as an early warning system for all participating companies and organizations, strengthening network security through correlated alerts, automated triage, and extended hunt support. (Source: ASD Network)
19 Aug 22. JADC2 Tactical Capabilities Go International During Bold Quest 22. New Director of the Joint Staff J6, Lieutenant General Mary O’Brien, USAF, capped the closing demonstrations of a month long Joint Staff sponsored event, Bold Quest 22 (BQ22). Members of all U.S. Military Services, Allies, and partners from 19 countries, over 1,000 participants, collaborated through lab testing and field data collection in and around Fort Stewart, Georgia. Distinguished Visitors from across the services and the globe watched as warfighters conducted live fire demonstrations, including French aircraft and fire support units from multiple countries.
BQ22, designed to push the limits on coalition interoperability, focused on testing elements of Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) including the JADC2 Network Environment. From the first use of Protected Core Networking to Coalition Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (CISR) operations, BQ22 facilitated the advancement of technical and procedural tactical-level interoperability among U.S. and Partner Nations, strengthening alliances and increasing the lethality of the Combined/Joint Force.
A key effort to successfully deliver JADC2 is to synchronize Command and Control (C2) initiatives across all domains (sea, land, air, space, cyber). JADC2 is comprised of many programs and stakeholders—its success requires unity of effort, and Bold Quest provides the perfect environment. The JADC2 Cross-Functional Team (CFT) oversees technical initiatives and the synchronization of actions with U.S. and Mission Partners. JADC2 CFT Chair, Rear Admiral Susan BryerJoyner, USN, is laser-focused on delivering capabilities to the warfighter at the tactical level, including a Mission Partner Environment suitable for joint and coalition operations. BQ22 assessments and demonstrations will provide necessary information to advance warfighter operational needs and prioritize future requirements and capability development.
Recent global events have highlighted the criticality and the challenges of multi-nation operations. Our ability to share data across systems, services, and domains enables integrated deterrence. The Department understands C2, across the Combined/Joint Force and all domains, is necessary to maintain information and decision advantage. Through Bold Quest, the U.S. and our Allies and partners have an opportunity to build trust, improve interoperability, and advance innovative and resilient C2 capabilities in support of globally integrated operations. (Source: US DoD)
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Spectra Group Plc
Spectra Group (UK) Ltd, internationally renowned award-winning information security and communications specialist with a proven record of accomplishment.
Spectra is a dynamic, agile and security-accredited organisation that offers secure Hosted and Managed Solutions and Cyber Advisory Services with a track record of delivering on time, to spec and on budget.
With over 15 years of experience in delivering solutions for governments around the globe, elite militaries and private enterprises of all sizes, Spectra’s platinum and gold-level partnerships with third-party vendors ensure the supply of best value leading-edge technology.
Spectra was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Innovation) in 2019 for SlingShot.
In November 2017, Spectra Group (UK) Ltd announced its listing as a Top 100 Government SME Supplier by the UK Crown Commercial Services.
Spectra’s CEO, Simon Davies, was awarded 2017 Businessman of the Year by Battlespace magazine.
Founded in 2002, the Company is based in Hereford, UK and holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
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