Sponsored by Spectra Group
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27 Aug 24. Handheld Radio for Mission-Critical Applications Launched. TrellisWare launched its TW Shadow 750 radio, a rugged and highly integrated handheld solution to address mission-critical communications challenges, to the U.S. DoD market. TrellisWare Technologies, Inc. has launched the TW Shadow™ 750 radio (TW-750) to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) market at the AFCEA TechNet Conference in Augusta, August 20-22.
The TW-750 expands TrellisWare’s family of radios with a highly integrated handheld solution to address mission-critical communications challenges, putting Mobile Ad Hoc Networking (MANET) capability directly in the users’ hands for simplified operation.
The multi-waveform TW-750 radio operates the industry-leading TSM® Mobile Ad Hoc Networking (MANET) waveform, the modern electronic counter-countermeasure (ECCM) Katana™ narrowband MANET waveform, and the Narrowband Line-of-Sight (NB LOS) waveform to provide maximum reliability, resiliency, scalability, security, and interoperability.
The TW-750 was designed to deliver next-generation capabilities at a competitive price point without sacrificing performance or customization.
TrellisWare is a leader in highly advanced algorithms, waveforms, and communications systems that range from small form factor radio products to fully integrated solutions.
The TrellisWare® TSM® and Katana™ waveforms are incorporated into a wide range of systems, including TrellisWare radios and trusted industry partner radios. TrellisWare is delivering the next generation of communications for public safety, defense, uncrewed, and commercial markets.
Reid Kinder, senior director of DoD business development, said, “The TW-750 ensures ease of use and cost-effective access to our leading TSM and Katana waveforms down to the lowest levels of a tactical formation.
“The TW-750 radio is customer-informed, tightly integrated, and purposely built to deliver assured voice and critical data communications to the most valuable warfighters.”
Larry Greenstein, senior product manager, said, “We are excited to add the TW-750 radio to the TrellisWare TW Shadow product family to meet the growing needs of our diverse military and public safety users worldwide who do not want to compromise features or communications capability.” (Source: https://www.defenseadvancement.com/)
28 Aug 24. TPG partners with Starlink rival for ‘straight-to-mobile’ service. The agreement will, uniquely, not require customers to obtain any specific hardware and will instead work on all compatible handsets.
TPG told The Australian the service would eventually provide “near-100 per cent mobile coverage” across the country, eliminating “dead zones” in remote areas.
However, unlike its larger telco rival, TPG has agreed to work with Starlink-rival Lynk Global, which uses a smaller number of LEO satellites than its SpaceX-owned opposition.
TPG chief technology officer Giovanni Chiarelli said Australia’s vast geography and sparse population pose unique challenges for deploying commercially viable mobile networks in remote communities.
“Combining innovative technologies like sat2phone with our mobile network would bring much needed connectivity to those living and working in remote and rural locations and could play a critical role in delivering lifesaving services,” he said.
Lynx’s service provides emergency alerts and texts worldwide, but it’s currently testing SMS in Australia with a view to eventually introducing voice and data services. The telco, Australia’s third largest, hopes to start a text message trial in 2025.
Lynk last launched two satellites, which it dubs cell towers in space, on SpaceX’s Transporter–10 rideshare mission in March. It’s now working with “40 plus mobile network operator partners” globally.
The ‘straight-to-mobile’ plans are one of several innovative new services that have launched or are soon to begin in Australia.
Last month, for example, Starlink launched a portable satellite dish that allows users to access reliable internet on the go.
The device, which resembles a large laptop, works like a traditional dongle but allows users to go online without needing to be within the range of a phone mast.
The new mini dish costs $799 and can be paired with two plans: “Mobile Regional”, which costs $174 per month and offers unlimited mobile data, or “Mini Roam”, which costs $80 per month for 50GB of data.
Crucially, the plan can be paused or unpaused anytime, opening it up to hikers and travellers who only want to use it for limited periods of the year.
Starlink only launched in Australia in 2021 but was previously only available via a permanent, fixed connection.
There are currently thought to be more than 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, though the company eventually hopes it can support more than 40,000.
Finally, Telstra became the first of the big two telcos this year to make Starlink available to residential homes in remote areas.
Previously, access to the SpaceX-backed internet service was only available through Starlink directly or via smaller third-party providers such as Sky Mesh, Activ8me, or Ipstar.
However, the firm has now opened the service up to home users after “months of comprehensive testing”, with typical peak speeds of 50Mbps download and 10Mbps upload. It follows the telco releasing it to business customers late last year. (Source: Space Connect)
27 Aug 24. US Navy’s new EW jammer variant goes operational in Middle East. The new variant of the US Navy’s AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) electronic warfare (EW) pod is now operational, fielded aboard US fighter jets deployed in the Middle East.
EA-18G Growler aircraft, outfitted with the new NGJ-MB variant, were deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG). The CSG was recently tasked to the Middle East by the US Department of Defense amid growing tensions between Iran and Israel.
This is the first operational deployment of the NGJ-MB pods, which have yet to be tested in actual combat. The system could be pivotal in mitigating possible attacks by Iran on Israel or US assets in the region.
The EA-18G Growler is a two-seat, electronic attack variant of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which can provide stand-off, escort, and self-protection jamming. The Growlers attached to the CSG were part of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133.
The NGJ architecture is a pod-mounted jamming capability that is designed to augment and replace the legacy AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS) onboard the EA-18G electronic attack aircraft. The NGJ-MB is a fully self-sustained pod that generates its own power, cooling, and transmission and comprises an excitation chain that would include direct digital synthesis, high-speed memory (HSM)/digital radio frequency (RF) memory (DRFM), and field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology.
“NGJ provides enhanced airborne electronic attack (AEA) capabilities to disrupt, deny, and degrade enemy air defence and ground communication systems. It brings increased power and jamming capability at longer ranges,” according to a statement by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). (Source: Janes)
27 Aug 24. Hughes Network Systems and Boost Mobile, EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) companies, successfully demonstrated optimized, multi-transport network management for the U.S. Navy. The demonstration, which took place earlier this year, tested remote network orchestration, wide area network (WAN) resiliency, and secure Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing between standalone Private 5G networks operating at the U.S. Navy Air Station, Whidbey Island, Washington, and a base in Hawaii.
Hughes collaborated with Boost Mobile, both of which are part of the EchoStar family of companies. Boost Mobile’s innovative Open-RAN-based 5G networking technologies for US-wide public network deployment experience provided a rich heritage for the standalone, secure 5G networks on each base. In addition, Hughes implemented its intelligent network orchestration capabilities, Smart Network Edge (SNE) mission-planning technology, and Network Management System (NMS). Together, these technologies maintained communications in contested and congested environments.
“The combined team successfully demonstrated a flexible and resilient mission network that dynamically switched communications paths to ensure uninterrupted situational awareness,” said Dr. Rajeev Gopal, vice president of Advanced Programs for the Defense Division at Hughes. “We are ready to implement smart network orchestration and secure Private 5G networks, for the U.S. Department of Defense to ensure that users have critical command and control information when they need it most, even in disrupted, occasionally disconnected, and low-bandwidth conditions.”
The network supported Automated PACE planning, leveraging the powerful Hughes NMS and SNE technologies that dynamically utilize multiple transport paths to deliver situational awareness. These advanced automation techniques optimize capacity, QoS, and various time/space-based resource commitments to speed up changes and access to SATCOM resources. With command-in-the-loop, the Hughes technology can process new service requests in less than 5 seconds to accommodate new threats in the theatre and automatically distribute information across paths orchestrated by Hughes SNE. The NMS and SNE are critical enablers for state-of-the-art resilient communications utilizing multiple diverse transports, including GEO, MEO, LEO, and 5G systems.
The demonstration confirmed that the EchoStar Private 5G ORAN network can maintain secure connectivity for devices and applications when users travel outside the naval base. This capability supports a concept of operations where a device running on the Whidbey Island NAS 5G network can travel to another location and still securely access applications that reside at Whidbey Island. The Navy can use this secure internet access for missions requiring a user to relocate from one base to another.
To learn more about how Hughes delivers secure communications, anytime, anywhere, please visit the Hughes website.
About EchoStar
EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS) is a premier provider of technology, networking services, television entertainment and connectivity, offering consumer, enterprise, operator and government solutions worldwide under its EchoStar®, Boost Mobile®, Boost Infinite, Sling TV, DISH TV, Hughes®, Hughesnet®, HughesON™, and JUPITER™ brands. In Europe, EchoStar operates under its EchoStar Mobile Limited subsidiary and in Australia, the company operates as EchoStar Global Australia. For more information, visit www.echostar.com and follow EchoStar on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.
About Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile offers the best value in wireless with simple, flexible and transparent plans starting at $25 for unlimited 5G. Boost’s nationwide cloud-native O-RAN 5G network delivers lightning-fast speeds, reliability and coverage on the latest 5G devices. Customers enjoy no annual service contracts and the freedom to upgrade their devices anytime without a trade-in. Experience Boost Mobile’s risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee and learn more about our services on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Boost Mobile is the nation’s newest nationwide mobile carrier in the U.S. and a brand under EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS).
About Hughes
Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) company, provides broadband equipment and services; managed services featuring smart, software-defined networking; and end-to-end network operation for ms of consumers, businesses, governments, airlines, and communities worldwide. The Hughes flagship internet service, Hughesnet®, connects ms of people across the Americas, and the Hughes JUPITER™ System powers internet access for tens of ms more worldwide. Hughes supplies more than half the global satellite terminal market to leading satellite operators, mobile network operators and military customers. Hughes products and services have helped bring in-flight video and broadband to thousands of aircraft for over twenty years. A managed network services provider, Hughes supports approximately half a m enterprise sites with its HughesON™ portfolio of wired and wireless solutions. To learn more, visit https://www.hughes.com/ or follow HughesConnects on Twitter and LinkedIn. (Source: PR Newswire)
27 Aug 24. US Army announced radio frequency pilot in May after lessons learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Army’s radio, which officially began in July, is off to a good start, and the service is aiming to bring industry more into the fold in the coming weeks, according to Steven Rehn, Army Cyber Command chief technology officer and director of the program.
The pilot, previously called the electronic warfare data pilot, is going “so far so good,” in its initial testing phase, otherwise known as Phase 1, Rehn told Breaking Defense after a Thursday speech at the TechNet conference in Augusta. The service’s radio frequency pilot was created with the goal to allow the Army to operate in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) with “agility to maneuver and deliver effects at the operational pace,” according to an Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association handout.
The service announced the pilot in May after learning how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the status of electronic warfare. This is due to a number of factors, Rehn said, including rapid technological growth, an increase in threat actors with a lower barrier of entry and the increased ability to be seen in the EMS.
“That ability to be seen in the EMS is lethal. Lethal from a standpoint [of], if I can see it, I can kill it,” Rehn said. “[Do] the capabilities we have today allow a unit to understand their EMS posture, not just right now in the moment, but over time, to be able to also do trend analysis?”
Rehn also explained the importance of being able to maneuver quickly within the EMS, especially being able to change a soldier’s signature, which he called on industry to help fix.
“So as I’m moving out on a movement to contact, if I were to take a snapshot of it, every time I did a movement to contact, do I look the same? Is it a signature thing? Are there signatures inside of there that, if somebody was just watching EMS spectrum, and they knew that when I do certain signatures in there, I’m doing certain events?” Rehn asked.
“How do we change? How do we inform the commanders to understand that? So then they can potentially do different [movement to contact] procedures to understand how to how to get better survivability.”
Rehn said that the pilot will enter into Phase 2 by September or October, at which point he will call on industry partners to help develop technologies for the pilot. Right now, during Phase 1, the service is gathering data to determine what it needs to quickly reprogram systems while on the battlefield.
“That’s the ask for the vendors is, as we go forward in about the September, October time frame through our research lab — the Army Cyber Technology and Innovation Center — we’ll put a call out and say, ‘Hey, [these are] the challenges. What are the things we should be thinking about that we’re not thinking about?” Rehn asked.
Rehn continued to expand on how industry partners can be of use in the pilot including: adopting a Modular Mission Payload (MMP) concept, identifying challenges with MMP concepts and supporting architecture, identifying areas that should be standardized, but are not yet and lastly identifying ways to create a radio frequency development ecosystem.
“If we set the right standards and the data, and understand the data that needs to be associated with it, we can get there now talking with industry partners,” Rehn said. “So for those in the industry, I would argue that we need your help.” (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
27 Aug 24. US: Exploitation of zero-day vulnerability by Chinese-backed group highlights risks to supply chain. On 26 August, the technology company Lumen Technologies reported that the Chinese state-sponsored group ‘Volt Typhoon’ has been exploiting a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2024-39717) for several months to target US-based internet and managed services providers, as well as the IT sector more broadly. The vulnerability affects the security management platform Versa Directory and enables threat actors to gain access to targeted systems via an exposed internet-connected management port. This subsequently allows Volt Typhoon to install malware and harvest credentials from infected organisations to move into downstream customer networks. Additionally, the vulnerability was first exploited in early June, highlighting the likelihood of undetected long-term infections. CVE-2024-39717 only impacts customers who have not implemented 2015 and 2017 system-hardening and firewall guidelines, underscoring the importance of strict security practices. Chinese state-sponsored groups routinely exploit software vulnerabilities to compromise strategic targets in the supply chain. We assess this will sustain elevated security and third-party risks, especially as the campaign is likely ongoing. (Source: Sibylline)
23 Aug 24. Cyber Update Technical analysis of weekly stories. The advanced persistent threat (APT) group ‘BlindEagle’ has targeted entities in Latin America in financially motivated and espionage campaigns since at least 2018. The group obtains access to targeted systems via phishing emails where the threat actors impersonate governmental, financial and banking institutions. Specifically, they lure potential victims with a fake issue reportedly requiring immediate action, thus tricking them into clicking on a malicious link. The user is then redirected to an actor-controlled website where malicious payloads are downloaded via a multi-stage process. The group often uses links with geographical detection and redirection capabilities to evade detection. Victims are automatically redirected to the spoofed organisation’s legitimate website if an unexpected connection is detected from a country outside the group’s target pool to prevent detection by security analysts. BlindEagle typically uses custom malware droppers, while simultaneously adopting open-source remote access trojans (RATs). The group also modifies the RATs to suit campaign objectives, underscoring its rapid adaptability and high sophistication. Notably, BlindEagle often uses process injection techniques to execute RAT payloads, hiding within legitimate native processes to obfuscate its activity and prolong detection evasion.
Unnamed cyber criminals have implemented a new phishing technique to target Android and iOS mobile users; it has been in use since November 2023. The campaign starts via smishing, vishing (voice call phishing) and malvertising. Threat actors send potential victims a link pertaining to an update for their mobile banking application. Targets are then redirected to a phishing page mimicking the legitimate application and/or banking service to download a fraudulent progressive web application (PWA). PWAs are delivered through the web and enable threat actors to create malicious fake banking applications while bypassing existing application security. Furthermore, the malicious actors can operate in any operating system using the same codebase, allowing them to reach a wider target pool. Upon installation, victims are prompted to enter their login credentials which are subsequently sent to the actors’ command-and-control (C2) infrastructure. Notably, the malicious PWAs communicated with two distinct C2 infrastructures, suggesting that two separate cyber criminal groups might be conducting similar operations.
Some non-exhaustive recommendations to mitigate against these threats include:
- Monitor devices and networks for suspicious activity.
- Add available Indicators-of-Compromise (IoCs) to your organisation’s security detection systems to detect potentially malicious samples on the network.
- Adopt behaviour-based end-point detection and response (EDR) solutions, prioritising the detection of the initial stages of a compromise.
- Ensure adequate security monitoring and detection capabilities, particularly for all external-facing services and devices; include personal devices connected to corporate networks or applications.
- Conduct cyber hygiene awareness courses for users, enabling them to recognise and report phishing and other types of social engineering.
Our cyber word(s) of the week: Process injection. (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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