Sponsored by Spectra Group
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25 Jan 24. Spectra Group Launch Groundbreaking GENSS Radio. Spectra Group (UK) Ltd, a specialist provider of secure voice, data and satellite communications systems, is extremely proud to announce the launch of their revolutionary new tactical radio communications solution, GENSS (pronounced genesis), at the mobile deployable communications conference in London.
GENSS is a significant advancement in the field of tactical radio communications due to its modular core framework and software-defined flexibility. GENSS heralds a new era in communication technology, integrating multi-mission and multi-mode functionalities for robust battlefield connectivity, with modular design, open architecture, and unparalleled adaptability. It offers superior interoperability and is a comprehensive tactical radio solution for voice and data communication on the battlefield, to meet both today and tomorrow’s requirements.
GENSS has been designed and developed collaboratively by experts in tactical communications with specialist military operational experience, and with some of the very best scientists and engineers in the UK. Together, they have redefined and further reconceived the parameters of what a tactical radio could or should be. This innovative, agnostic, modular hardware radio system adapts through simple software reprogramming to meet the specific requirements of its varied user roles. GENSS is capable of operating across HF, VHF, UHF, and satellite bands (L-Ku) as required and its secure, high-capacity design is built to navigate Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) challenges, and facilitate Communications on the Move (COTM), offering a resilient agile solution for voice and high-bandwidth data transmission across all service platforms on Land, Sea and Air.
Secure by design, built using the highest possible specifications, and integrating the latest most advanced technological hardware means, GENSS not only delivers maximum performance while minimizing its size, weight and power, but also delivers a future-proofed capability. This revolutionary radio solution can stand alone or be integrated into any existing radio infrastructure, unleashing superior interoperability and flexibility to meet the demands of today and the future. It is simple to operate and configure, with an easy-to-programme user interface, resulting in an overall reduced training burden.
GENSS boasts high-capacity, network sensing capabilities and has increased data rates over 25kHz LTAC channels, scaling up to 90kBps. It has adaptive modulation waveforms, which automatically adjust through network sensing techniques, to meet the tactical situation (on the move and in combat vs at the halt scenarios). Through novel engineering techniques, voice and low data rate solutions can be applied in the contested communications space to minimise detection.. With the proliferation of MANET data solutions, routing through GENSS will enable the extension of data bubbles to facilitate rapid data management applications delivering timely tactical updates to strategic command locations.
Simon Davies, Chief Executive at Spectra Group said: “For many years my passion has been to create the ultimate radio, which is easy to use, lightweight, modular and supremely adaptable to meet the challenges of today and the demands of an everchanging military and technological landscape. After several years of painstaking development, I am very proud to launch GENSS today. Building on years of experience, expertise and learning from our award-winning SlingShot systems, our team have designed every component with the end user in mind and the result is extremely exciting. I believe GENSS’s utility is vast and employable beyond tactical military applications, and its ability to integrate into existing communications networks opens up a world of endless opportunities.”
25 Jan 24. Battle Looming Between AI and Counter-AI, Says Official. The Defense Department is just at the start of using artificial intelligence. Peer competitors are as well, said Jude R. Sunderbruch, executive director of the DOD Cyber Crime Center, who spoke today at the Google Defense Forum.
Sunderbruch predicted that in the future, there will be a battle between AI and counter-AI, which will lead to the question: “What is the truth in front of us?”
“I would not hesitate to call it an arms race but a strategic competition when it comes to artificial intelligence,” he said.
Sunderbruch said the United States is well positioned to advance in the AI space.
“I’m feeling very confident about betting on the creativity of the United States and our partnerships between the government, industry, academia and small startups,” he said.
The near-term goal is to figure out how to use the currently existing AI tools and to figure out how to apply them to information that the government has layered with other information that is out there, he said, as well as training the AI models with a variety of useful information.
In another near-term goal, the department is probably going to be able to apply some of the AI tools for threat analysis, and also to look at vulnerabilities, he said.
“I think a lot of those capabilities will be able to be applied to actually testing our systems, both in the government as well as the defense industrial base to see how secure they are,” Sunderbruch said.
Sunderbruch also predicted that there will someday be “a confluence between quantum and AI, which will be a real game-changer.”
Army Col. Richard Leach, intelligence director, Defense Information Systems Agency, who also participated on the same panel, addressed the role of AI in helping to sort through the “tsunami of data” coming in that needs to be processed, analyzed and provided to decision makers.
There’s a need for AI to sort through all the data in looking for adversary threats instead of an analyst reading hundreds or thousands of reports every day, he said.
“Let AI identify key pieces of information and maybe do some of the basic analysis. Let the analysts focus on the hard problem set so they’re not wasting time, resources and people,” Leach said.
“Adversaries are trying to get past our boundaries and our securities every day. They’re moving at ‘lightspeed.’ They’re on fiber optic networks. They’re able to bounce from one VPS to another in an instant, so utilizing AI to try to get ahead of that is going to be essential,” he said, referring to virtual private servers.
Using AI to help in understanding the environment is important, he said. The environment is changing every day. Every time somebody changes their network, updates their patches or reconfigures the network, they change the environment and the battlespace, he said. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
25 Jan 24. Global: Increase in exploitation of legitimate software drivers elevates ransomware infection risks to firms. On 23 January, the cyber security firm Trend Micro reported an increase in ransomware threat actors using the bring-your-own-vulnerable-driver (BYOVD) technique to infect users for financial profit. BYOVD is a technique that terminates antivirus processes and other system defences to deploy ransomware, typically by exploiting a vulnerability in a legitimate device driver. This allows threat actors to elevate privileges on a system and bypass security controls for the execution of ransomware. The most recent threat actor observed employing this tactic is the relatively new ‘Kasseika’ ransomware group. While the group is new, the source code of the malware used in its campaign is the same as that of a now-defunct ransomware group, ‘BlackMatter’, which is not widely available. Therefore, it is likely that Kasseika is a mature threat actor and will likely develop new strains to the existing ransomware strain, elevating operational risk to firms. As Kasseika uses phishing tactics to steal user credentials for initial access, employing proper cyber hygiene will reduce the likelihood of an infection. (Source: Sibylline)
25 Jan 24. Global: Shifting TTPs by North Korean threat actor heighten security risks to cyber security sector. On 22 January, the security firm SentinelLabs reported that North Korean threat group, ‘APT37’, is testing new infection chains for potential future attacks against cyber security professionals to steal non-public threat intelligence. The infection chains were discovered during the analysis of a previous campaign in November 2023, which had targeted media organisations and think tanks specialising in North Korean affairs. In this new attack, APT37 uses a legitimate technical threat research report as a decoy document to install malware on a target. The group is likely shifting its targeting towards cyber security professionals to assess researchers’ knowledge about the group’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to identify potential threats to the group’s future operations and refine their evasion methods. There is also a possibility that the group may exploit access to researchers’ networks for impersonation attacks, elevating phishing risks. This shift in targeting highlights APT37’s ongoing evolution to maintain strategic intelligence-gathering operations, sustaining security risks to the cyber security sector. (Source: Sibylline)
24 Jan 24. Poland advances naval intelligence with keel laying of second SIGINT ship. Saab and Remontowa Shipbuilding collaborate on a milestone event for the Polish Navy. Poland marked an important juncture with the keel laying ceremony for the second Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) ship at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in Gdansk on January 23 2024.
The event saw the convergence of key stakeholders, including representatives from Saab, the Polish Armament Agency, the Polish Navy, Remontowa Holding, and distinguished guests.
The keel laying ceremony for the second in a series of two Polish signals intelligence ships signals a robust collaboration between Saab, the Swedish defence and security company, and Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A.
This follows Saab’s contract award on November 25, 2022, for design and production of these SIGINT ships equipped with advanced mission systems to elevate the Polish Navy’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.
Lars Brännström, deputy head and chief marketing officer for Saab’s business area Kockums, emphasised the importance of this ceremony, highlighting its role as a moment in the shipbuilding process. The collaboration with the Polish Armament Agency and Remontowa Holding shows the commitment to providing the Polish Navy with capabilities.
A SIGINT ship supports the acquisition of intelligence data across a broad spectrum of naval intelligence capabilities. The keel laying ceremony for the first SIGINT ship, held on July 27, 2023, set the groundwork for the subsequent strides in naval intelligence that Poland is poised to achieve. (Source: naval-technology.com)
23 Jan 24. UK and allies sanctions Russian cyber hacker. The UK, US and Australia have sanctioned a Russia-based cyber hacker in
The UK, US and Australia have today (Tuesday 23 January) sanctioned a Russia-based cyber hacker in the latest wave of coordinated action aimed at cracking down on international cyber crime.
Today’s sanctions target Russian national Aleksandr Ermakov who has been identified by the Australian Signals Directorate and Australian Federal Police along with international partners as a key actor in the Australia Medibank cyber attack in 2022.
The attack, largely considered one of the worst cyber incidents in Australia’s history saw 9.7 m customers’ records, containing medical and personal data, and data on over 480,000 health claims leaked on the dark web.
The data leaked contained highly sensitive medical information about individuals’ treatment, including records on mental health, sexual health and drug use.
Today’s measures will hold the individual responsible for this atrocious attack accountable. Ermakov will now be subject to a series of asset freezes and travel bans.
The UK has sanctioned Aleksandr Ermakov as part of our wider commitment to cracking down on malicious cyber activity and working with our international partners to promote international security and stability in cyberspace.
Sanctions Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “We stand with our allies in Australia and the US and will continue to hold cyber hackers to account for damaging cyber attacks designed to undermine global democracies. These cynical and reckless attacks cause real damage to people’s lives and livelihoods. We must work together to call out and combat these malicious attacks. These sanctions have been delivered jointly with Australia and the US and are the latest in our efforts to counter malicious cyber criminal activity emanating from Russia that seeks to undermine our, and our allies’, integrity and prosperity.” (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
23 Jan 24. Global: Chinese-nexus group elevates long-term espionage risks to firms via zero-day vulnerabilities. On 19 January, the Google subsidiary Mandiant reported that a Chinese-nexus group, ‘UNC3886’, has conducted a long-term espionage operation exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in VMware software since 2021. The vulnerability (CVE-2023-34048) exists in VMware’s vCenter Server, allowing a threat actor network access to conduct remote code execution. UNC3886 was first discovered in September 2022 when it exploited unknown vulnerabilities in VMware to install backdoors against targets, underscoring the group’s advanced capabilities to discover and use zero-day flaws in software. Zero-days in firewall and virtualisation platforms are attractive targets for threat actors as they do not have Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capabilities. This allows the attacks to go undetected, prolonging their impact on businesses. UNC3886 targets firms within the defence, government, telecommunications and technology sectors in the Asia-Pacific region and the US. Consequently, there is an elevated security risk for long-term espionage operations targeting organisations engaged in the aforementioned sectors therein. (Source: Sibylline)
16 Jan 24. DISA establishing J2 intelligence directorate amid workforce revamp. The U.S. Department of Defense’s de facto information-technology authority is building out its first-ever intelligence directorate.
The establishment of the “J2? office is meant to provide the Defense Information Systems Agency with a greater understanding of “what the adversary is trying to do” against the computing, sensitive networks and lines of communication it stewards, according to its director, Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner.
DISA, established in 1991, adopted the J-code model last year, mirroring the structure of the military organizations it works closely with. Directorates elsewhere include personnel (J1), operations (J3), logistics (J4), strategy, planning and policy (J5), and command and control (J6).
“I’m a firm believer that as a combat-support agency, which is our identity, we should more align to those organizations that we provide primary support to, which are our agencies and our combatant commands,” Skinner said Jan. 11 at the Army IT Day conference in Northern Virginia. “The more we can functionally align with what we are doing, along with our mission partner, the better.
The development comes as DISA marches toward goals laid out in its Workforce 2025 blueprint.
The initiative — launched with an eye on Russia and China — aims to enhance the expertise of current staff while also bringing on additional talent. It also takes into account the Defense Department’s existing cyber strategies, according to Skinner.
Competition for tech talent has long been fierce. Private companies can pay much larger salaries than the government can, and offer other benefits the Defense Department cannot match. Both Congress and the White House have weighed in on critical skill gaps that hinder the government’s ability to be cyber secure.
“In order to continue to compete, to never get into conflict, we have to be more agile, we have to be more flexible, we have to have the right velocity and sense of urgency, as well as the right critical thinking,” Skinner said. “Do we have the right processes in place, the right education opportunities, the right training opportunities, to optimize the force against the threat that we see that’s out there?”
(Source: C4ISR & Networks)
22 Jan 24. Google partners with Starlink rival on smartphone internet. Google is set to collaborate with Starlink rival AST SpaceMobile to develop technology that will allow consumers to access the internet on their mobiles from remote locations.
The tech giant, which is behind the Android operating system, has also joined AT&T and Vodafone in investing US$110 m to help fund a direct-to-smartphone constellation.
Last year, Texas-based AST SpaceMobile demonstrated that its satellite BlueWalker 3 can power video calls.
The 1,500-kilogram prototype achieved a download rate of 14 megabits per second and relayed a brief 5G voice call to a mobile that hadn’t been adapted.
It now plans to use the extra funding – which will also include drawing down US$50m from an existing debt facility and raising US$100m in selling shares – to launch five finalised direct-to-mobile satellites this quarter.
AST SpaceMobile said its vision has always been to collaborate with the world’s leading telcos.
“With this strategic investment, we are gaining capital, invaluable expertise, and strategic partnership,” it said.
“This investment comes alongside prior investments by other leaders in the wireless ecosystem, including Rakuten, American Tower, and Bell Canada, all of whom are not only part owners of AST SpaceMobile but also serve as our technology partners and customers.”
It significantly comes weeks after rival SpaceX launched a new generation of satellites planning to carry out similar connectivity, following its landmark deal with Optus in Australia.
SpaceX already has agreements with a host of other international telcos from countries such as Canada, Japan, and Switzerland, but the service will still require regulatory approval before it can go live.
The move has the potential to be revolutionary for Australians living in remote and regional locations who often struggle to access the internet on their devices.
Currently, Optus’ traditional service is unavailable across 60 per cent of Australia’s landmass, but the new tie-up will boost connectivity to almost 100 per cent.
Matt Williams, the business’ current head of customer solutions, said earlier this year that the agreement would provide mobile coverage to 98.5 per cent of Australia’s population through its existing network.
“Australia’s vastness and terrain can make it difficult for any operator to provide mobile coverage everywhere it is needed – especially in remote or hard-to-reach locations,” he said.
“Our work with SpaceX aims to bring the coverage capabilities of satellites direct to compatible mobile handsets without the need for customers to buy additional equipment. This partnership builds on our proud history of satellite innovation in Australia.
“This is a truly innovative model for Australia – connecting satellites to standard mobile phones – and a significant evolution beyond the services SpaceX has provided in Australia to date. It will create a unique experience for Optus customers.”
Alongside investing in AST SpaceMobile, Google also invested $1 bn in SpaceX back in 2015 and agreed a separate deal to work with the Elon Musk-helmed company in 2021 on its ground infrastructure. (Source: Defence Connect)
22 Jan 24. US: Russian threat group poses elevated security risk to technology firms ahead of 2024 US elections. On 19 January, Microsoft reported a three-month cyber infection by the Russian threat group ‘APT29’ to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The intrusion was discovered on 12 January and is suspected to have started in late November 2023. APT29 obtained access to several employee email accounts via a password spray attack (a type of brute force attack using a list of common passwords in an attempt to access accounts). Breached accounts included senior leadership and employees within cyber security, legal and other company functions. Threat actors exfiltrated emails and attached documents; there is a realistic possibility that these included sensitive material that could be used in future campaigns. Microsoft stated that APT29 did not access customer environments, production systems, source code or AI systems. Given APT29’s previous history of targeting the election process in the US and the upcoming presidential vote, it is highly likely that the group will continue to pose security risks to US-based technology firms. (Source: Sibylline)
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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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