Sponsored by Spectra Group
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13 Oct 23. CYBER Update.
- Israeli organisations are being targeted by hacktivists in cyber attacks in conjunction with physical attacks by Hamas (see Sibylline Cyber Daily Analytical Update – 9 October 2023).
- A Gaza-based threat group, ‘Storm-1133’, has been linked to a series of reconnaissance and intelligence gathering operations against Israeli entities since early 2023 (see Sibylline Cyber Daily Analytical Update – 10 October 2023).
- A new threat group, ‘Grayling’, is targeting strategic Taiwanese organisations in likely intelligence collection operations (see Sibylline Cyber Daily Analytical Update – 11 October 2023).
- A cyber espionage campaign has been targeting telecommunications organisations in Asia since 2021.
- A cyber criminal threat actor, ‘Void Rabisu’, is continuing to conduct cyber espionage operations against EU diplomatic and military entities.
- What you may have missed
A new distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) technique, ‘HTTP/2 Rapid Reset’, has been actively exploited via a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2023-44487) since August. It has resulted in the largest DDoS attack ever observed. The technique is able create more than 398 million requests per second (RPS); the previous largest DDoS attack created around 71 million RPS. The technique exploits a vulnerability in the HTTP/2 protocol that manages how computers request data from websites; this can lead to websites becoming overwhelmed; it can even result in them being knocked offline. While DDoS attacks often cause low-level disruption, this novel technique highlights the increasing sophistication of threat actors’ tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), as well as the substantially more significant impact of these TTPs on business operations.
Word(s) of the week: Our cyber word(s) of the week: Loader malware
Definition: Similar to a remote access trojan (see Sibylline Cyber Weekly Review – 25 August 2023), this malware allows threat actors to interact with an infected device remotely and to install additional malware. It is typically used as an intermediary during an attack.
Example: ‘Several of the backdoor and loader malware employed are basic and highly variable…’ (see Sibylline Cyber Daily Analytical Update – 12 October 2023)
Global weekly analysis
Israel’s Iron Dome defence system (which detects and intercepts incoming rockets) has become an attractive target for cyber hacktivists since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on 7 October. At the start of the conflict, Hamas launched thousands of rockets, overwhelming the defence system and preventing it from intercepting every projectile. The defence system is a highly strategic target for anti-Israel hacktivists and other cyber threat actors. In the days following the start of the conflict, Anonymous Sudan claimed to have successfully conducted a DDoS attack against the Iron Dome system. If it is confirmed that a DDoS operation is capable of taking the defence system offline for a significant period of time, Israel’s ability to defend itself against rockets will be severely undermined, exacerbating security threats facing the country. (Source: Sibylline)
13 Oct 23. Northrop Grumman to Create Constellation of Connectivity for Air Force Research Laboratory. Northrop Grumman Corporation is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory to integrate commercial space internet into airborne platforms, advancing connectivity for warfighters and supporting the Department of Defense (DoD) vision for Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
This capability will:
— Enable the warfighter to securely share data and synchronize operations within milliseconds around the world.
— Use open architecture, configurable systems to rapidly integrate into airborne platforms and ground vehicles.
— Provide affordable options for resilient connectivity using commercial space internet constellations across multiple orbits.
Jenna Paukstis, vice president, communications solutions, Northrop Grumman, said: “Achieving decision dominance across domains is essential for the warfighter. We are at a pivotal moment to build a diverse network using commercial space internet that can be used on any platform globally.”
Dr. Brian Beal, principal aerospace engineer, Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office, Air Force Research Laboratory, aded: “We need communications that will be available for the warfighter in any environment. This program will accelerate these technologies onto many platforms across the joint force because that’s how we fight and that’s how we want to operate.”
This Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet will provide the DoD with affordable, resilient solutions capable of operating in low earth orbit, medium earth orbit and geostationary earth orbit.
Northrop Grumman’s open systems processors and antenna solutions will be tested as part of this contract award to bring beyond line-of-sight capabilities to air and ground forces.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 98,000 employees define possible every day.
(Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/Northrop Grumman)
10 Oct 23. Northrop Grumman gave a demonstration of its new BattleOne™ and IBCS systems at AUSA.
BattleOne™ fundamentally changes the fight by delivering a connected battlespace. A battlespace where warfighters make faster, more accurate joint decisions to take out any threat.
Northrop Grumman’s BattleOne™ delivers next-generation C2 capabilities that securely network actionable information across every domain
Multi-Domain. Any Sensor. Best Effector.
Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS)
IBCS connects sensors and effectors never designed to work together into one command and control system so warfighters can see and act on data across the entire battlefield more swiftly.
The centerpiece of the U.S. Army’s modernization strategy for air and missile defense capability, IBCS enables the efficient and affordable integration of current and future systems. It senses, identifies, tracks and defeats evolving air and missile threats, enabling revolutionary “all-domain, any sensor, best effector” operations.
IBCS is a revolutionary command control system that unifies current and future assets across the battlespace, regardless of source, service or domain. Through its modular, open and scalable architecture, it gives warfighters capabilities they never had before by fusing sensor data for a single, actionable picture of the full battlespace that enables rapid, informed decisions to optimize shooters. This capability extends the battlespace, giving warfighters more time to make decisions on how best to defeat threats. This system is the centerpiece of the U.S. Army’s modernization strategy for air and missile defense, supporting a multi-domain future and continued modernization of U.S. and Allied capabilities.
“IBCS is continuously showing its ability to unify all available sensors and shooters. Through the recent National Capital Region demonstrations, IBCS proved its capabilities in providing homeland defense against cruise missiles and other aerial threats. IBCS is ready now to take on the tomorrow’s threats.” A Northrop spokesman said.
The Polish government recently selected IBCS to serve as the centerpiece of the country’s modernization strategy for their WISLA Medium Range air and missile defense program, becoming the first international partner to acquire this transformational capability.
In May 2023 Northrop Grumman Corporation delivered key Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) components for Poland’s WISLA medium range air defense program. With this delivery, IBCS moves closer to being fully fielded as part of Poland’s advanced air and missile defense program.
The recent delivery of the IBCS Integrated Fire Control Network (IFCN) relays supports the WIS?A program’s fielding schedule, which is the first foreign military sale of IBCS. Reaching this milestone provides a critical capability to a key U.S. ally and achieves NATO interoperability goals.
“Northrop Grumman is transforming decision making for the U.S. and its allies by integrating sensors and weapons for air and missile defense. IBCS provides Polish air defenders with the ability to make faster, better-informed decisions to deter, disrupt and defeat threats across all domains.”
In parallel to the IFCN relay deliveries, Northrop Grumman is conducting a series of integration and test scenarios with the Engagement Operation Centers (EOCs) previously delivered in July 2022, and the relays. These tests and the associated training are important steps toward Poland taking full delivery of their first systems and achieving Basic Operational Capability later in 2023.
Northrop told BATTLESPACE that IBCS will form part of its bid for the UK MoD’s GBAD Requirement.
12 Oct 23. Fairwinds Technologies and Domo Tactical Communications (DTC) have entered into a joint development agreement to take the DTC SuperNode Prototype and develop it into a full commercially available product that will address the Directional Networking Mobile Ad hoc Networking Radio Market (DN-MANET).
The SuperNode innovation consists of six radios which are combined by DTC’s Interlink that allows Mesh networks to be connected via a wired Ethernet link. Antenna directionality transmits only in the direction required and at lower RF power levels.
SuperNode is fully suitable for both On-the-Move and At-the-Halt tactical networking applications and for both vehicle and fixed mounting and has the potential to support data rates of 87Mbps or more depending on channel bandwidth chosen.
DTC’s MANET MeshUltra™ technology can deliver huge benefits to the warfighter as it can be deployed at pace without the need for fixed infrastructure or manual configuration and it is extremely resilient against attack.
DTC MANET Mesh technology employs the latest generation of MeshUltra™ self-forming, self-healing waveforms that have been proven highly effective in contested RF environments.
When this technology is implemented in a network configuration using directional RF transmissions, it can achieve Lower Probability of Detection (LPD), Lower Probability of Intercept (LPI) and greater jamming resistance with greater LOS and NLOS range than a more conventional omnidirectional MANET Mesh. (Source: https://www.defenseadvancement.com/)
12 Oct 23. Domo Tactical Communications (DTC) and TrellisWare Technologies Partner to Deliver Multiple Waveform Capabilities to a
Single Tactical Radi. Domo Tactical Communications (DTC), the leading provider of wireless mesh technology, and TrellisWare Technologies, Inc., a global leader in highly advanced algorithms, waveforms, and communications systems, today announced a partnership to deliver a multi-waveform radio solution to the U.S. military, coalition partners, and commercial customers. This industry-first solution enables users access to unmatched communications flexibility, reducing the dependency on proprietary solutions, allowing them to select between DTC’s leading MeshUltra or TrellisWare’s TSM™ waveform based on their specific purpose and/or region of use.
“The integration of the TSM waveform into the DTC product line provides our customer base the ability to move between two separate and distinct waveforms easily all from a single radio,” said Dave Huisenga, Executive Vice President and General Manager for DTC. “Soldiers can now use our products to rapidly switch between waveforms for effective, reliable communications no matter the mission requirement or global operating environment.”
This ground-breaking collaboration enables U.S. military and five eyes (FVEY) warfighters to operate within a common hardware platform while providing the ability to seamlessly choose between waveforms on DTC’s software defined radios, enabling users to easily adapt and meet their precise location and mission needs. The collaboration will expand DTC’s reach within the U.S. military and across the coalition, and commercial market.
“This unique multi-waveform integration further enhances Codan Communication’s global product portfolio and complements our existing HF, VHF and interoperable solutions,” said Paul Sangster, President and Executive General Manager, Codan Communications. “As we continue to see investment in soldier modernization programs, Codan Communications’ global footprint surrounding products, manufacturing and support is key to demonstrating full spectrum dominance on the battlefield.”
“We are excited to support DTC in integrating the TSM™ waveform into their product line. Combining TrellisWare and DTC waveforms on a single radio will provide our end customers more choices to meet their communication needs,” said Metin Bayram, President and CEO, TrellisWare Technologies.
About Domo Tactical Communications
DTC is the leading MIMO MESH provider in the world. DTC radio solutions provide short range high bandwidth communications suitable for the wireless transmission of video and other data applications. DTC is an established provider to customers including Military and Special Forces, Intelligence Agencies, Border Control and First Responders. DTC is headquartered in the US with locations in the UK and Denmark, with over 160 employees.
About CODAN Communications
CODAN Communications is a global technology company that develops robust technology solutions to solve customers’ communications, safety, security, and productivity problems in some of the harshest environments around the world.
We provide tactical communications solutions that enable our customers to be connected, ultimately to support critical missions worldwide. With almost 60 years in the business, we have garnered a reputation for quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction, producing innovative and industry-leading technology solutions.
CODAN Communications is a member of the Codan group of companies.
About TrellisWare Technologies
TrellisWare Technologies, Inc is a global leader in highly advanced algorithms, waveforms, and communications systems, ranging from small form factor radio products to fully integrated solutions. Their trusted waveforms and advanced communication technologies are built for interoperability and incorporated into a wide range of partner platforms. TrellisWare Technologies is headquartered in San Diego, CA.
11 Oct 23. Teledyne FLIR, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, today announced version 1.0 of its Prism™ ISP, a highly optimized image signal processing software development kit (SDK) for embedded systems designed to maximize performance in thermal and multispectral applications. Designed to run on low-power GPUs from Qualcomm and NVIDIA, Prism ISP includes image-enhancing functionality for: • Noise reduction
• Super-resolution
• Electronic image stabilization
• Infrared (IR) and electro-optical (EO) video fusion
• Turbulence mitigation
• Locally adaptive tone mapping
The Prism ISP libraries enable integrators in the defense, commercial, and industrial markets to dramatically enhance imaging quality as part of artificial intelligence (AI) data capture at the edge, improving performance, lowering development costs, and shortening time to market. Developers, data scientists, and perception engineers can utilize Prism ISP with Teledyne FLIR market-leading thermal cores, including Boson®, Tau® 2, Hadron™, and Neutrino™®. In addition to Prism ISP, Teledyne FLIR has also enhanced Prism AI. This powerful, efficient perception software enables classification, object detection, and object tracking in thermal and visible light spectrums. Prism AI now provides additional high-performance models trained on the world’s largest application-specific thermal image datasets, including ground intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), air-to-ground, and counter-drone applications, complementing the automotive software library announced last year. “Prism ISP is critical to thermal-based AI system development, offering an unprecedented performance while reducing development costs,” said Dan Walker, vice president, product management, Teledyne FLIR. “Within our end-to-end, computational imaging ecosystem featuring Prism AI, Teledyne FLIR can now support a wider array of projects and custom development that utilize low-power, embedded processors at the edge.” To learn more about Prism software, visit https://www.flir.com/prism
09 Oct 23. CACI team focusing on software, signals following US Army jammer deal. A CACI International team will spend the coming months refining software and concentrating on “signals of interest” after winning a $1.5m electronic warfare contract from the U.S. Army.
The service last month tapped CACI-owned Mastodon Design to develop the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team Manpack. The award followed a half year of whitepaper submissions and technical evaluations.
The TLS-BCT Manpack is meant to provide soldiers a mobile means of jamming and collecting signals intelligence. It is a smaller, portable offshoot of the TLS-BCT, to be installed aboard Stryker and Armored Multi-Purpose vehicles, and the heftier TLS-Echelons Above Brigade, envisioned for use by divisions and corps amid preparations for conflict with Russia and China.
“We spent years and years and years in a permissive environment, in Afghanistan, in the counterinsurgency-type of fight. When you’re going into a more sophisticated peer environment, you need more sophisticated kit,” Todd Probert, president of national security and innovative solutions at CACI, told C4ISRNET at the Association of the U.S. Army convention in Washington.
“This is a pathfinder, working through the signals of interest and the threat information that the Army needs to go work through,” he added.
The Army is reinvesting in electronic warfare — and the mastery of the electromagnetic spectrum — after years of atrophy. CACI’s Manpack is designed on a foundation of existing tech, including its Kraken and Beast offerings.
“Our philosophy, be it in our hardware, be it in our software, is to build something that addresses today’s threat with today’s technology, but fundamentally has the ability to grow as the threat grows,” Probert said.
Contracts for the TLS line have so far totaled tens of ms of dollars. CACI is also involved with TLS-EAB, alongside Lockheed Martin. The manpack variant is expected to move from prototype to production in fiscal 2024, according to the Army.
New York-based Mastodon Design was purchased by CACI in 2019 for $225 m. Probert said the deal was part of the company’s “long journey” of “best-in-class acquisitions.”
CACI in 2022 earned $4.3 bn in defense-related revenue, clinching the No. 27 spot on Defense News’ Top 100 list of the world’s largest defense contractors. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
10 Oct 23. Northrop Grumman’s IBCS guards national capital region in defence scenarios. The Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) showcases its data-centric versatility in safeguarding the homeland against cruise missiles and aerial threats. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) has recently proven its mettle in a series of homeland defence simulations, expanding its role from air and missile defence to protecting the National Capital region.
These demonstrations highlight the system’s adaptability, open architecture, and role in the future of US and allied capabilities.
In evolving technical capabilities, Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System has emerged triumphant in defending the National Capital Region against simulated cruise missile attacks and compromised aircraft.
This expansion builds upon testing confirming its ability to protect the warfighter effectively.
During the initial demonstrations, IBCS demonstrated its open architecture by integrating existing Army and Air Force sensors and effectors, including Sentinel, Avenger, and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System.
In the concluding demonstration, soldiers from the 263rd Air and Missile Defense Command harnessed IBCS and the joint track management capability to integrate Navy sensor data, expanding the defended area across the National Capital Region.
These demonstrations further validate its ability to unite sensors and shooters, enabling informed decisions to outpace and defeat complex threats.
Rebecca Torzone, Vice President and General Manager of Combat Systems and Mission Readiness at Northrop Grumman, expressed her confidence in the battle command system, stating, “IBCS is continuously showing its ability to unify all available sensors and shooters.
Through the recent National Capital Region demonstrations, IBCS proved its capabilities in providing homeland defence against cruise missiles and other aerial threats. IBCS is ready now to take on tomorrow’s threats.”
IBCS in detail
The Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) represents a command control system that integrates current and future assets across the battlespace, regardless of source, service, or domain. Its modular, open, and scalable architecture provides warfighters by fusing sensor data into a single, actionable picture of the entire battlespace, facilitating informed decisions for optimising shooter capabilities.
This extended battlespace offers warfighters more time to make decisions on defeating threats. IBCS supports a multi-domain future and ongoing modernisation efforts for US and Allied capabilities.
In 2022, Northrop Grumman won a $1bn contract to produce, field, and provide engineering support for the IBCS for the US Army. (Source: army-technology.com)
10 Oct 23. Silvus Introduces StreamCaster PRISM Precision Integrated Sectorized MIMO – Antenna Radio System at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C. – Booth #3330. Silvus Technologies, Inc. (“Silvus”), a global leader of advanced wireless networking communication systems, today introduced StreamCaster PRISM, a new family of modular Precision Integrated Sectorized MIMO antenna radio systems at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition (October 9-11) in Washington, D.C. – booth #3330.
Designed for tactical operations, at-the-halt and fixed infrastructure applications, StreamCaster PRISM’s ruggedized construction and toolless set-up enables it to be rapidly deployed, providing operational flexibility combined with unrivaled area coverage and range.
Introducing the Silvus Technologies StreamCaster PRISM – Precision Integrated Sectorized MIMO – Antenna Radio System
A single StreamCaster PRISM can be mounted tactically on masts to create a long-range UAS ground control station, or multiple sectors can be permanently installed on rooftops, mountain peaks, or towers to create a strategic communications infrastructure for citywide mesh networks or border security operations. Additionally, with flexible power source options (AC and DC) available, StreamCaster PRISM goes where it’s needed most.
StreamCaster PRISM combines the performance of Silvus’ StreamCaster MANET radios, providing up to 20W output power (80W effective radiated power thanks to TX Eigen Beamforming) and up to 100 Mbps data throughput, with high-gain, dual polarity sector antennas to deliver up to 360° of coverage for air and ground applications.
“StreamCaster PRISM offers customers a wide spectrum of precision integrated sectorized MIMO solutions to quickly and securely expand their mesh network capabilities in virtually any environment,” said Jimi Henderson, Silvus Technologies, Vice President of Sales. “These high gain, sectorized antennas coupled with state-of-the-art StreamCaster MANET radios provide a blanket of coverage throughout an area of operation, allowing operators to concentrate on their mission and not on their communications infrastructure.”
StreamCaster PRISM antenna radio systems are now available in a variety of L, S, C, and dual S/C frequency band configuration options with 12-16 dBi gain and dual polarity. New StreamCaster PRISM antenna radio system configuration options will launch in the future to meet emerging customer requirements.
Learn more about StreamCaster PRISM and the StreamCaster family of MANET radios at www.silvustechnologies.com and follow us on LinkedIn to get the latest news. (Source: PR Newswire)
11 Oct 23. Taiwan: Strategic sectors face heightened security risk to espionage campaigns by new APT group. On 10 October, the security company Symantec released a report on a new threat actor, ‘Grayling’, which is reportedly targeting Taiwanese organisations in a cyber espionage campaign. The campaign mainly affected entities within the biomedical, IT, government and manufacturing sectors as well as organisations in the Pacific Islands, Vietnam and the US. Grayling exploits public-facing infrastructure to obtain initial access to target machines and installs malicious payloads onto the devices. While researchers did not observe exfiltration during this operation, the activity is in line with behaviours for intelligence collection, particularly as the targeted sectors manage strategic data. Grayling has not been attributed to a specific country. However, the targeting of Taiwanese entities indicates that the group likely operates from a region with strategic interests in the country. As Taiwan’s geopolitical relevance continues to increase due to China’s invasion threat, there is increased infection risks for organisations in similar industries. (Source: Sibylline)
09 Oct 23. Israel: Hacktivists increase DDoS operations against Israeli government, media entities as conflict continues. Since Hamas Palestinian militants launched an attack on Israeli population centres in the Gaza envelope on 7 October, Israeli organisations have been targeted by hacktivists in cyber attacks in conjunction with physical attacks. Hacktivist group, ‘Killnet’, conducted a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against Israel’s government website forcing it offline for several hours. The hacktivist group ‘Anonymous Sudan’ conducted attacks on various Israeli organisations, including the Jerusalem Post, the country’s mobile all-weather air defence system (Iron Dome), as well as the country’s Alert application. Other hacktivist groups like ‘Cyber Army of Russia’, Pakistani collective ‘Team Insane PK’, and ‘Ghosts of Palestine’ have also announced operations against Israel. In retaliation, pro-Israeli hacktivist collectives have also responded with campaigns against Hamas websites. These cyber operations are highly likely to continue as the conflict between Hamas and Israel persists, straining government, public and media services across the country. (Source: Sibylline)
04 Oct 23. Indra showcased at the Foro Ejército Empresas, a defence industry forum held in Toledo from 4-5 October 2023, the LANDEF electronic ground combat suite, a state-of-the-art command and control system designed to carry out intelligence and electronic support missions in which the enemy’s electromagnetic activity is tracked and counteracted, thereby limiting the movements of aircraft, ships and armoured vehicles and degrading the adversary’s defences.
Deployability in the tactical environment facilitates the protection of soldiers and assets deployed in the field. Early warning and countermeasure capabilities provide the highest level of protection to bases, facilities, or any high-value asset.
According to the Land Electronic Defence manager at Indra, Rebeca López, “this is a solution designed to successfully carry out intelligence and electronic support missions, where Indra is making strides in the development of state-of-the-art multi-domain systems. LANDEF facilitates the intelligent exploitation of the electromagnetic spectrum and its degree of interoperability with other systems and with the rest of the chain of command allows it to operate as a true ‘system of systems’, thereby making it even more effective.”
In this regard, the company is already conducting tests for the integration of the solution with air defence systems, which would allow an exchange of information and the development of joint defence strategies, thereby incorporating the ‘soft kill’ capability of electronic warfare countermeasures into the air attack. The new electronic warfare processing system implements new functionalities based on massive data processing and analysis that provide for the organising and structuring of useful information. It also employs AI-based tools and algorithms to transform data into intelligence.
On the other hand, LANDEF facilitates the controlled dissemination of electronic information and intelligence, contributing to improved situational awareness and intelligent electronic attack management. With the design of LANDEF, Indra meets the needs of the most advanced armies, which require systems capable of integrating operations with those of their allies. For Rebeca López “Indra’s differential solution is based on the experience acquired in the development of deployable Electronic Defence and Command and Control systems for management and use in a tactical environment, where agile and secure interoperability is a must; interoperability based on standards that allow secure integration and participation in deployments and collaborative environments.” (Source: www.joint-forcescom)
07 Oct 23. For US Army’s future command posts, one size will not fit all. Command posts must become nimbler and better networked over greater distances to prevent an enemy from targeting them and killing soldiers, according to U.S. Army leaders closely watching Russia’s assault on Ukraine for lessons in warfare.
Command posts of old were relatively stationary, a bear to construct and then breakdown, and often distinguishable by their heat, noise and electronic signatures. Such recognizable targets will not cut it in a fight against advanced adversaries such as Russia or China, as battlefields teem with advanced sensors, powerful jammers and weapons touting extended ranges, said Mark Kitz, the service’s recently installed leader of Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical.
“We learned a significant lesson in Ukraine, right? You have to move. These lower echelons, below the division, their command posts have to move to be survivable. They have to be dispersed to be survivable,” he said in an interview. “The command posts that we were building and architecting, with the network as an enabler, clearly would not be survivable in a large-scale combat operations fight.”
The Army is investing in several efforts to improve endurance, concealment, and the speed at which commanders can pause, plan and move again. Among them is what’s known as Command Post Integrated Infrastructure, or CPI2, which combines trucks with communication nodes and off-the-shelf commercial technologies.
The CPI2 setup underwent testing in August at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. The trials, which came in the wake of four other soldier feedback sessions, featured newly introduced mobile command platforms and command post support vehicles.
Kitz found the exercise “enlightening” and said it demonstrated that flexibility is key to survival and long-term success. He plans to prod industry at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual convention in early October about what’s feasible.
“Each of these commanders is going to want to tailor their command post,” said Kitz, whose office helps develop and deploy tools troops use to share information, like radios and command-and-control applications. “Some of them are going to be really good with this Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles variant that we gave to the Stryker brigade. Some want to do planning on the move and have their command post be fully on the move.”
“One of the things that we’re embarking on is making sure that our command posts of the future are not one option,” he added, noting such a move would be a change for the Army. “If they want to do it in an FMTV, we can do it like that. If they want to do it in their Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, how can I architect a command post that gives them a JLTV variant?”
A fight with either Russia or China would mean contending with an avalanche of sensors: drones buzzing overhead, as is seen in Ukraine; signals intelligence tools cuing in on communications; and thermal imaging, like forward-looking infrared, zeroing in on heat signatures. It would also demand battlefield hubs be scattered across hundreds of miles, over mountains, between islands and throughout cities, straining the digital tubes that funnel intel to and from the front lines. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
09 Oct 23. Mercury Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY, www.mrcy.com), a technology company that delivers processing power for the most demanding aerospace and defense missions, today announced it is working with Raytheon, an RTX business, to increase survivability and resiliency of its mission-critical solutions by incorporating Raytheon’s advanced cyber resiliency and intrusion detection tools into Mercury’s processing platform.
As threats against critical systems continue to grow in scope and sophistication, Mercury and Raytheon recognize the need for significantly stronger security controls to protect mission-critical systems, and both are dedicated to delivering comprehensive and resilient protection solutions to maintain mission effectiveness in cyber-contested environments.
Through this relationship, Mercury gains the ability to integrate Raytheon’s Electronic Armor and CADS products into its portfolio of mission systems, including secure mission processors, communication management units, rugged servers, communication management units, and data recorders. Raytheon’s cybersecurity tools complement Mercury’s BuiltSECURE technology that protects critical data with industry-leading physical security, cryptography, and secure boot features. Mercury and Raytheon are industry leaders in building and securing high-performance, open-architecture products and subsystems for the aerospace and defense industry, including SOSA-aligned mission computers. Their combined offerings provide aerospace and defense programs with an effective approach to addressing emerging cyber survivability endorsement requirements, which are focused on preventing, detecting, responding, and recovering from cyberattacks.
Electronic Armor is a cyber resiliency solution that prevents reverse engineering and protects the confidentiality and integrity of data, as well as applications from attackers who have bypassed traditional information assurance controls and/or gained escalated privilege on a system. Among its many features is the hardening of the operating system, providing data-at-rest and runtime protections, preventing execution of unauthorized applications, and preventing modification/introspection of sensitive applications and data.
CADS is a real-time Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for the standard control buses found in airframes and ground vehicles. CADS provides cyber anomaly detection and complete bus traffic logging for mission- and safety-critical systems. It heightens situational awareness for platform operators and support teams and includes offline analysis tools to provide long-term performance and cross-fleet analysis of cyber trends.
To learn more about how Raytheon’s Electronic Armor and CADS solutions can integrate with Mercury hardware, visit the Mercury booth (#1439) at this week’s AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition.
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Spectra Group (UK) Ltd
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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