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16 Aug 18. Enhancing Australia’s cyberspace resilience. The Commonwealth government has officially launched the nation’s new Cyber Security Centre in Canberra, which aims to boost the nation’s defensive and offensive cyber capabilities. The new Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) will draw on the expertise from the ICT community, law enforcement, defence, universities and security agencies, as well as international partners, to increase the skills and capabilities needed to protect and defend Australia’s interests. It will be the central hub for cyber security information, advice and assistance to all Australians. A global monitoring capability, equipped with advanced cyber threat detection and warning systems will help to keep Australians safe 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that the growing prevalence of cyber crime and targeted cyber warfare attacks on critical infrastructure and services, and intellectual property theft by individual hackers and state based actors, particularly Russia, Iran, China and North Korea, was the driving force behind the development of the National Cyber Security Strategy and these capabilities.
“Since the release of the 2016 Cyber Security Strategy, the cyber threat landscape has shifted and evolved dramatically. I want to take this opportunity today to update and inform all Australians on the magnitude of the threat we face and the government’s response,” the Prime Minister said.
The ACSC forms a critical hub for the Joint Cyber Security Centres located in all capital cities, which facilitate stronger partnerships between more than 150 organisations across private and public sectors.
The ACSC will deliver on the government’s cyber security priorities, in three critically important areas:
- Provide cyber security advice and assistance to businesses and the community;
- Prevent and disrupt offshore cyber-enabled crime; and
- Protect the specialised tools the Australian Signals Directorate uses to fulfil its functions.
The ACSC will also develop a new digital platform – cyber.gov.au – giving Australians a coordinated end-to-end advice reporting and response capability. This source of cyber security will be more interactive than current sites, particularly when lodging reports of an incident or a scam.
The new cyber.gov.au website will replace a number of government cyber security websites and services, including ACORN and acsc.gov.au. This will provide businesses and individuals with one single place to report cyber crime and find advice on cyber security practices.
The Prime Minister made his message clear to those who threatened Australian industry, business and communities: “The cyber sphere cannot be a lawless zone. The rule of law must apply there, as it does offline. We must ensure that we use all of our ingenuity, all of our innovation, all of our ability to collaborate with others to ensure that we keep Australians safe online and this centre is a very bold step towards achieving that goal.” (Source: Defence Connect)
16 Aug 18. Trump has scrapped a 2012 policy on when to attack in cyberspace. The Trump administration kicked off a new era of government cyber operations by “rescinding” a presidential directive that had restricted offensive capabilities, an administration official told Fifth Domain, but experts warned the move would not be sufficient in detering state-based hacking. The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 15 that Trump reversed what’s known as Presidential Policy Directive 20, which previously governed offensive cyber operations. A Trump administration official speaking to Fifth Domain declined to elaborate on the policy change, although the replacement is likely to allow for greater offensive operations. Under the previous rules, approved in 2012, cyber operations that resulted in “significant consequences” required presidential approval. The document was labeled “top secret” but Edward Snowden included it among a trove of files he released. Current and former military and intelligence officials have told Fifth Domain that the previous rules led to Cyber Command being overly cautious in cyberspace. Some said the approval process to carry out offensive cyberattacks took too long.
A June report from the Defense Science Board said that America’s cyber policy was “stalled, self-limiting, and focused on tactical outcomes … Current policies often thwart cyber capability.” In addition, March report from Cyber Command said that the U.S. “must increase resiliency, defend forward as close as possible to the origin of adversary activity, and persistently contest malicious cyberspace actors.” But experts warned that loosening restrictions on offensive cyber operations may not be adequate by itself.
“Attempting deterrence using a single domain is rarely effective,” Peter Cooper, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Fifth Domain. “This is especially true in the cyber domain, where capability is normally classified, making it difficult for a state to signal to its capabilities. Attempting to deter with only the cyber domain is like shouting from behind a locked door.”
Instead, Cooper said that effective deterrence requires a whole of government approach that is ideally done in cooperation with other countries. Asked whether the Trump administration is taking that approach, he said that “international cooperation has been occurring and there have been some indications of its effectiveness.” Others warned that it would be difficult to tell if a more aggressive approach to offensive operations in cyberspace is working.
“What metrics will we have if this is working or not?,” Jason Healey, a White House official in the George W. Bush administration told Fifth Domain. “If we don’t know what to measure than we won’t know if this is succeeding or failing. It’ll be like Afghanistan where the military is able to say, ‘just one more surge and we’ll break them.’”
China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are the top threats for the National Security Agency and the U.S. government, said Josiah Dykstra, a researcher at the NSA during the Black Hat Conference last week in Las Vegas.
“All of these have conducted attacks against the United States in recent years,” Dykstra said. (Source: Fifth Domain)
17 Aug 18. Global action must be strengthened to combat chemical weapons danger. Revolutionary advances in science and technology are threatening the ability of the Chemical Weapons Convention to prevent the development, possession and potential use of chemical weapons. That is the warning in a new book published on Monday by the Royal Society of Chemistry and edited by experts in the field from the University of Bradford, with contributions from leading chemical, life and social scientists from across the world. The book highlights the increasingly diverse threats of the hostile use of toxic chemicals, by an ever broader range of State and non-State actors, some employing existing capabilities, others potentially being facilitated by rapid advances in the life and chemical sciences. Consequently the authors urge the international community to use the opportunity of the 4th Review Conference in November to strengthen implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to meet these challenges.
Publication of the book comes in the wake of a Special Session of the Conference of States Parties to the CWC which met in late June to attempt to address the unprecedented challenges to the integrity of the Convention posed by the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Iraq, Malaysia and the UK.
Preventing Chemical Weapons: Arms Control and Disarmament as the Sciences Converge makes the case that the chemical and life sciences, and associated disciplines, such as neuroscience and nanotechnology, are in the midst of a period of rapid and revolutionary development and convergence. And while this will bring societal benefits, it will also have potentially malign applications. The book analyses these transformational advances and the significant challenges the international governmental and scientific communities face to ensure they are safeguarded from hostile use, and are not harnessed in the development of chemical weapons. The authors examine the current capabilities, limitations and failings of the existing international arms control and disarmament architecture – notably the CWC and its implementing body, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) – in preventing the development and use of chemical weapons. And they see a major opportunity for concerted global action in November this year when all 193 OPCW Member States gather at the CWC Review Conference in The Hague. However achieving progress here will be highly challenging given the open and deep disagreements between Member States on fundamental issues most notably how to respond to the continuing chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
Recognising the current discord within the OPCW, and employing an innovative Holistic Arms Control approach, the book urges the global governmental and non-governmental communities to explore the full range of international law, international agreements and regulatory mechanisms potentially applicable to weapons employing toxic chemical agents, in order to develop recommendations for more effective routes to combat their proliferation and misuse. And the authors argue that chemical and life scientists, health professionals and wider informed activist civil society need to play their part in protecting the prohibition of poison and chemical weapons. They must work with States to build effective and responsive measures to ensure that the rapid scientific and technological advances are safeguarded from hostile use and are instead employed for the benefit of all.
Dr Michael Crowley of the University of Bradford, one of the book’s co-editors, said: “The unstable international security environment and the changing nature of armed conflict could fuel a desire by certain States to retain and use existing chemical weapons, as well as increase State interest in creating new weapons. At the same time, State forces, armed opposition groups, terrorist and criminal organisations, may seek to employ diverse toxic chemicals as improvised weapons. Stark indications of the multi-faceted dangers we face can be seen in the chemical weapons attacks against civilians and combatants in Iraq and Syria, and also in more targeted chemical assassination operations in Malaysia and the UK. The threats posed by chemical weapons have not gone away – they are a continuing menace to human rights, peace and international security today.”
Professor Malcolm Dando, also from the University of Bradford and co-editor of the book, said: “One area of growing concern has been State interest in the aerosolised application of a range of toxic chemical agents potentially including pharmaceutical chemicals, bioregulators, and toxins that attack the central nervous system of those targeted. Ostensibly promoted for use in extreme law enforcement scenarios, such as large scale hostage situations, to incapacitate an individual or a group rapidly and completely without causing permanent disability or fatality, their use in practice poses grave dangers to health and well-being of all those affected. Furthermore, research and development in this area potentially opens up the door to new forms of chemical weapon and warfare.”
Dr Ralf Trapp, a former senior OPCW official and now a leading international arms control consultant, who contributed several chapters to the book, said: “The upcoming Review Conference is an opportunity for the OPCW to agree on strategies and practical measures to respond to these challenges and strengthen the global norm against chemical weapons, and the institutions that have been created to enforce it. To do so, the OPCW must regain the political cohesion and unity of purpose that it showed when it had to resolve critical problems in the past, such as the failure by key countries to meet the final deadline of the Convention for the destruction of all chemical weapons in 2012, or the agreement to eliminate the Syrian chemical weapons programme in 2013. The Review Conference is a chance to overcome the divisions that have emerged in recent years in the OPCW – a chance that must not be missed.”
- Since its entry into force in 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and its associated implementing body, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), have become the most important mechanism for global action in combating the use of chemical weapons. To date, 193 States, covering 98% of the world’s population, have joined the CWC. Only four countries have yet to take affirmative action on the treaty – Israel which has signed but not ratified the Convention; and Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan which are all non-signatories.
- The primary focus of the OPCW, to date, has been the identification and destruction of all existing chemical weapons arsenals and production facilities around the world. Since coming into force, over 6,800 inspections have taken place at over 3,100 chemical weapons related sites and at over 3,600 industrial sites throughout the world. To date, approximately 96% of the world’s declared stockpiles of over 72,000 metric tonnes of chemical agents have been eliminated.
- From 26-28 June 2018 a Special Session of the OPCW Conference of State Parties was held to address the threat from chemical weapons use. The Conference condemned the use of chemical weapons since 2012 in Iraq, Malaysia, Syria and the UK. It decided that the Director General, if requested by a State Party investigating possible chemical weapons use on its territory can now provide “technical expertise to identify those who were perpetrators, organisers, sponsors or otherwise involved in the use of chemicals as weapons” and invited the Director General to develop proposals to “establish such independent, impartial, expert arrangements.”
- The Fourth CWC Review Conference will be held in the Hague, Netherlands, from 21-30November 2018. The Review Conference is specifically tasked under the CWC to examine long-term issues of concern and to “take into account any relevant scientific and technological developments.”
- Preventing Chemical Weapons: Arms Control and Disarmament as the Sciences Converge is edited by Michael Crowley, Malcolm Dando and Lijun Shang of the University of Bradford and published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Contributing authors include chemical, life and social scientists from Bulgaria, Canada, China, Germany, Ireland, the UK and the US.
16 Aug 18. Chemring Technology Solutions Completes Successful Exercise for Second Year at US Military’s Cyber Quest. Chemring Technology Solutions (CTS) has completed the successful demonstration of VIPER, the world’s first Electronic Warfare (EW) manpack geo-fencing capability, at this year’s Cyber Quest. CTS’s participation in the US military’s Cyber Quest exercises followed a competitive down-select after it attended the event for the first time last year. Led by the US Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence, Cyber Quest is a sequence of advanced technology experiments using EW war gaming. The month long exercises saw operational units participate in a series of experiments to evaluate multiple-vendor systems, and the results will be briefed to coalition partners. The current and future need for EW capability was particularly highlighted by the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon. CTS demonstrated VIPER, its new whole-mission support and information system. When integrated into the RESOLVE EW system, VIPER delivers actionable intelligence and provides operators with pinpoint accuracy for superior target precision, significantly reducing the task, time and reporting burden. Cyber Quest also successfully experimented with LOCATE-T, the CTS wideband High Frequency Direction Finding (HF DF) tactical system, which is fully-transportable and provides an essential complement to existing static HF sites. Chesapeake Technology International (CTI) once again provided the core architecture and primary Cyber/Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA) operator’s display for the Cyber Quest experiments. Both LOCATE-T and RESOLVE were interfaced with CTI’s Thunderstorm architecture to help define the common operational picture using the CTI Caper plug-in for RaptorX during the exercises at Fort Gordon.
Ben Vogel, Regional Manager for North and South America, at Chemring Technology Solutions, said: “Cyber Quest supports the evolution of EW systems for US and other militaries worldwide, and provided us with the ideal platform to demonstrate how VIPER delivers a new level of EW capability. VIPER was developed by EW operators for EW operators and the Cyber Quest trials allowed us to engage with end users to show them how we have created the most capable and user-friendly EW manpack system. VIPER’s deployment at Cyber Quest has shown how it offers the next step to counter current and evolving threats.”
14 Aug 18. UK MoD and TechVets partner to train veterans in cyber security. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed the Armed Forces Covenant agreement with new not-for-profit start-up TechVets to train next generation of cyber veterans. The company focuses on providing veterans and service leavers with new job opportunities in the cyber security and technology sector.
UK Defence People and Veterans Minister Tobias Ellwood said: “Veterans have unique skills and experiences, gained from their time in the armed forces, which means they contribute a lot to society.
“It’s fantastic that TechVets will provide opportunities for veterans to apply their considerable talents to the cyber security field, which is playing an increasingly vital role in keeping this country safe.”
Under the new agreement, TechVets will coordinate with the MoD’s Career Transition Partnership programme for service leavers to increase the numbers of cyber veterans. The programme will provide the service leavers with training and education opportunities while transitioning out of the armed forces. In addition, the company will be responsible for accommodating the training and deployment of its employees to support their service as members of the Reserve forces. TechVets co-founder Mark Milton said: “We’re delighted to be able to sign the Armed Forces Covenant and strengthen our support for current and former Service personnel and their families.
“The transferable skills of the veteran community are a real under-utilised national resource and have a vital role to play in supporting the security and prosperity of the nation.”
The Armed Forces Covenant helps the UK MoD treat the present and ex-servicemen of the country fairly, as well as their families. (Source: army-technology.com)
15 Aug 18. BAE Systems announced a new collaboration with Splunk Inc. to integrate Splunk Enterprise into its government cloud solution. The federated secure cloud, developed by BAE Systems and Dell EMC, is a scalable, hybrid cloud solution designed from the ground up to meet both the mission needs and security requirements for any US Intelligence Community, Department of Defense (DoD), or federal/civilian government organization. “The security tools and advanced machine learning algorithms included with Splunk Enterprise automate the analysis of our cloud security logs, instantly alerting security administrators of potential risks,” said Peder Jungck, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems’ Intelligence Solutions business. “This is a core part of our federated secure cloud strategy – leveraging the best security technologies on the market to give network administrators an unparalleled level of awareness and security control.”
The federated secure cloud arrives embedded with multiple network-monitoring capabilities to provide administrators a greater understanding of their users, data, infrastructure, and tools.
“Cybersecurity threats are one of the biggest risks to federal agencies today, and analysts need to make decisions faster than ever before to safeguard the country and citizens,” said Gary DePreta, area vice president, Defense, Intelligence and Aerospace, Splunk. “By embedding Splunk Enterprise within the federated secure cloud, analysts are able to utilize machine learning to detect and respond to threats faster, make more informed decisions, and focus on proactive security strategies.”
The federated secure cloud has the flexibility to operate seamlessly on any Microsoft Azure, AWS or on-premise cloud system, yet can be customized to support any government organization transitioning to a secure hybrid cloud environment – to include smaller forward-operating units. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
15 Aug 18. Cohort plc company, MASS, has developed a new military-grade cloud-based network capability. The cloud-based system includes office functionality, messaging, private secured intranet, video calling and secured software all hosted on UK Government approved systems. Organisations from energy companies, humanitarian agencies and election monitors in post-conflict countries can now access a military-grade command and control capability hosted securely in the cloud via the G Cloud 10 portal. MASS has extensive experience in this area working with secure LAN and WAN environments. The company designed a classified network which enables fully encrypted transmission of classified information over the internet, supporting effective command and control of the EU run, Operation ATALANTA, both ashore and afloat. The new service can be deployed in multiple areas anywhere in the world at any scale, and can be tailored to include specialist customer applications and databases. The software is also adaptable for smaller organisations who may need the service intermittently and can utilise it on future occasions. Additional functionality can be specified to include ERP and GIS applications and database hosting. As well as options such as the provision of ruggedised end user computing devices, encryption of data at rest and in transit, global connectivity by satellite, local encrypted private telephony, and connectivity over digital radio, mobile telephony or PMR in deployed locations. Teams and organisations that would benefit from the Command and Control MASS cloud-based system include:
- Election monitoring teams
- Energy prospecting, both offshore and in remote areas
- Humanitarian and disaster relief teams, including multi-agency teams coordinated by a single authority
- Scientific research teams
Steve Townsend, Training and Operational Support Group Head, said: “The key features of our military-grade, operationally proven Command and Control solution are now available for the first time beyond Government agencies, with the added simplicity of being operated in the cloud. It takes time to set up new IT infrastructure in-house and a deployable infrastructure is an expensive resource to be underutilised. Our solution gives them rapid capability, agile deployment options, peace of mind during operations from encrypted security, and flexibility over contract length.”
Chris Stanley, Managing Director commented: “MASS is dedicated to delivering a seamless service and this new offering enables us to support customers turn their data into operational advantage using a revolutionised cloud-based system. We have fused our deployable LAN experience and information management intelligence to support customers worldwide and enable them to continue operations with all of the flexibility, security and availability of a cloud-based service.”
14 Aug 18. Does the US have what it takes to be No. 1 in electronic warfare? It’s no secret senior military and congressional leaders are worried about adversarial gains in the electronic warfare space, with some even going as far as to say the U.S. is tactically outgunned. One member of Congress who retired as a one-star general in the electronic warfare field has even said the U.S. is now just bringing up the rear of the top three EW powers in the world.
“In the 1990s, when I was a captain and an electronic warfare officer, it was clear we had the No. 1 electronic warfare program in the world, period,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said Aug. 13 via a prerecorded video message at the annual DoDIIS conference in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Today I would say you could arguably say we’re the third best in this domain and I don’t think we can afford to be third best in electronic warfare.”
Nations such as Russia and China have made significant gains against the U.S. in this space after watching U.S. operations for nearly 25 years and seeing a divestment of advanced jamming equipment by the U.S. after the Cold War. However, one top general still believes the U.S. is the top dog in this game, it’s just a matter of practice.
“I believe we’re still No. 1, but we don’t practice it enough. We don’t get out and do what we have to do. If you want to be good at anything you better practice it each and every day,” Gen. John Hyten, commander of Strategic Command, said at the DoDIIS conference.
“We have to do that with electronic warfare.”
Bacon was highlighting provisions of the annual defense policy bill, signed into law by the president on Aug. 13, he included to help the U.S. regain its EW prowess.
Among the final lengthy provision in the law are several requirements to help address the issue. DoD must establish processes and procedures to develop, integrate and enhance electronic warfare, all of which will be overseen by an appointee of the secretary of defense. There must be the establishment of a cross-functional team for electronic warfare that will identify gaps in electronic warfare and joint electromagnetic spectrum operations within the Department of Defense. And a comprehensive assessment of the electronic warfare capabilities of Russia and China must be conducted in consultation with the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, DIA’s director, declined to offer specifics in terms of U.S. vulnerabilities versus adversaries in the EW space when asked during a reporter roundtable at the same conference, but he did say that assessing these types of capabilities is central to what his agency has to be able to do.
Tracking “potential game changers” in emerging technologies before they’re fielded is one of the critical tasks his agency conducts, he said. The goal, he said, is “to be able to understand what that is and then what’s the reverse engineering behind it … what is the defeat mechanism you have to put in place.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
14 Aug 18. A new generation of intelligence collaborative tools is coming. The intelligence community is entering a second era for its massive IT modernization project designed for better collaboration and integration across its 17 disparate agencies. The IC IT Enterprise, or IC ITE, was first conceived of several years ago with the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001, in mind: The IC must better coordinate and share data. With the change in leadership at the top of the IC, which came with a new administration, IC CIO John Sherman described various initiatives aimed at building on the initial phases and successes of IC ITE in what he is calling IC ITE’s “second epoch.”
Sherman, speaking Aug. 14 at the DoDIIS conference in Omaha, Nebraska, outlined six main thrusts of this second epoch “to ensure that we are able to keep up the progress as we get ready to move into the next decade.”
The first is to stay focused on mission-drivers and use cases for new capabilities. New tools, applications and systems must fit users’ needs and enable the workforce to operate more effectively than previously, he said, adding leadership will always be mindful of user feedback.
Second, Sherman announced a change to the Desktop Environment, or DTE, which has previously been described as essentially the foundation and starting point of IC ITE. DTE serves as the user-interface with industry-grade desktop features to users and is led by the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Acknowledging the DTE idea was well-grounded when conceived in 2013, Sherman said the community has come to the realization that it no longer makes sense to deliver a standard capability to every agency and user given the differing architectures, security requirements and mission needs.
The IC must be able to develop and promulgate reference architectures allowing agencies to build their own compliant solutions, he said.
In order to reach the outcomes DTE initially sought to achieve, Sherman described the creation of the Collaboration Reference Architecture, or CRA, which will provide the standards for these services such as chat and email. Agencies can deploy solutions that fit their needs provided they comply with the CRA.
Third, the second epoch will take aim at the secret classification sphere. The first epoch, by necessity, focused on the top-secret space. But, Sherman said, the community realized many intelligence partners such as the military, Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement live in other domains.
Fourth and fifth, Sherman described two elements not directly related to the ongoing IC ITE effort itself, but ideas that fit where IC ITE and the IC are going in the future; enhancing cybersecurity and working with allies and partners.
Cybersecurity, while not new, is now a necessity, Sherman said, and must be front and center within the community’s priorities. Other priorities in the cybersecurity space beyond just physical security of systems and networks include sharing threat information across the community to make sure everyone is on the “same sheet of music about cyber threats.” Regarding allies and partners, Sherman noted that the U.S. lives in a coalition environment and IC leaders are going to keep pressing for new capabilities to allow for greater collaboration.
Last, Sherman described that he is looking to focus more tightly on the partnership with the Department of Defense and the defense intelligence enterprise. Pointing to a real-world example of this partnership, he highlighted how colleagues within the undersecretary of defense for intelligence helped to bring Air Force intelligence staff into a discussion with the CIA CIO about leveraging the commercial cloud service, or C2S, for an Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirement.
“This is exactly the sort of integration that was always in the spirt of IC ITE,” he said. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
14 Aug 18. Israel activates cyber defence centre at Ben Gurion. The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) has implemented a special cyber defence centre at Ben Gurion International Airport, following an increase in cyber attacks on IT systems at the Tel Aviv hub. Speaking to Jane’s on condition of anonymity, a senior official at the airport said that about three million cyber attacks a day are detected by the centre. Some are general spam messages that are sent to many other computer systems around the world, but about 200 attacks per day are aimed directly at critical operational subsystems such as baggage handling, runway lighting, and air traffic control communication systems. The source added that these subsystems are isolated, and if one computer has been infected it is immediately disconnected from the broader system. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
13 Aug 18. BAE Systems announced a new strategic partnership with Flexera to help government agencies moving to the cloud better manage their software licenses and more accurately plan and budget for their future information technology (IT) needs. Under the partnership, BAE Systems, a company with unparalleled experience managing the cloud complexities that arise during cloud migrations, will integrate Flexera’s leading asset and license management tools into its scalable, hybrid cloud environment for government. The federated secure cloud, developed by BAE Systems and Dell EMC, is designed from the ground up to meet mission needs and security requirements for any U.S. Intelligence Community, Department of Defense (DoD), or federal/civilian government organization.
“With our federated secure cloud, we’re helping government agencies rethink how they share data, analyze information, and collaborate across their enterprises real-time while remaining consistent with strict governance and security requirements,” said Peder Jungck, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems’ Intelligence Solutions business. “It’s only natural that we’d partner with Flexera – a company reimagining how government IT assets and software licenses are bought, sold, managed, and secured.”
Flexera’s rich technology asset data, automation capabilities, and analytics will add a new dimension to the complexities of software licensing in a federated secure cloud. It will empower adopters to get the most out of their IT investments.
“Together with BAE Systems, we are providing government agencies with a secure mission-ready cloud that arrives fully-embedded with the tools necessary to mitigate the complicated and potentially costly hardware and software license management challenges many agencies fear when moving to cloud environments,” said Cindy Grogan, vice president of Global Alliances at Flexera.
The federated secure cloud has the flexibility to operate seamlessly on any Microsoft Azure, AWS or on-premise cloud system, yet can be customized to support any government organization transitioning to a secure hybrid cloud environment – to include smaller forward-operating units. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
10 Aug 18. Northrop Grumman Australia, in partnership with The Australian National University (The ANU), recently hosted TechX2018, a technology and innovation-related symposium fostering collaboration among industry, academia and government to address Australia’s defence and security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. Held July 30-31, the event focused on creating regionally superior capabilities in defence technology areas such as space, cyber, autonomous systems, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
“We are very proud to be contributing to the Australian government’s vision of a strong, sustainable national defence industry that capitalises on Australia’s innovation culture, skilled workforce and highly capable defence industrial sector,” said Ian Irving, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Australia. “As we see at forums such as TechX, the speed of technological advancement is rapidly increasing. We must embrace change and risk, in order to develop a sovereign industry and provide pathways for the highly skilled workforce to sustain and expand it.”
TechX2018 featured a keynote addresses from Professor Brian Schmidt, vice-chancellor of The ANU, Dr. Alex Zelinsky, chief defence scientist, Department of Defence, and Dr. Anita Hill, head of future industries and chief scientist, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Chief technology officers from Northrop Grumman’s U.S. businesses, Patrick Antkowiak, Gulu Gambhir, Tom Pieronek, David Steffy and Brad Furukawa, also attended. The events also included a dinner at the Australian War Memorial, with remarks from The Hon Dr. Brendan Nelson AO, the memorial’s director, and a keynote address from The Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Defence Industry, who emphasised the importance of innovation for Australia’s sovereign capability.
09 Aug 18. South Korea signals cyber investment. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has pledged to invest in developing cyber-defence capability as part of wider military reforms. The MND said on 9 August that its new ‘cyber-security enhancement plan’ features the restructuring of its existing cyber-defence systems as well as new investment priorities and initiatives to enhance the country’s capability to deal and respond to cyber attacks. The MND said, “Safeguarding cyber space is a core task of a sovereign state as is the defence of land and sea territory and airspace.
“Many countries in the world are investing heavily in order to strengthen their cyber capabilities [and] we believe that the South Korean military should also start to improve [these capabilities].” (Source: IHS Jane’s)
09 Aug 18. US Rapid Equipping Force to deliver new electronic warfare platforms. Army Forces Command will receive a new fleet of tactical vehicles specifically outfitted for electronic warfare this fall. As part of the Army’s efforts to restore electronic warfare capability and respond to capability gaps, the service’s Rapid Equipping Force will provide Army Forces Command with what’s known as Electronic Warfare Tactical Vehicles. The vehicles will be self-contained and independent, a notice from the REF stated. Soldiers inside the vehicle would operate the advanced EW system, which was developed in response to a battlefield need to sense and jam enemy communications and networks. Several organizations partnered with the Rapid Equipping Force, which provides innovated materiel solutions to meet urgent needs, including Army Cyber Command and the Test and Evaluation Command. According to a press release, the Army directed the Rapid Equipping Force to provide the vehicles to Force Command given its proximity to training areas and Korea and Europe.
“This effort will allow the ability for EW Soldiers to influence future vehicle improvements and grow their knowledge,” Lt. Col. Scott Schumacher, chief of the Rapid Equipping Force solutions team, said in a release. “This is an advanced EW technology that can provide the Army new offensive and defensive capabilities.”
On the materiel side, the Army is working to provide an integrated electronic warfare and intelligence ground platform, eliminating original plans for electronic-warfare-centric ground platform.
The Army expects a new Terrestrial Layer System, a SIGINT/electronic warfare system, will be used by military intelligence-electronic warfare companies the Army is working to stand up.
The Army also wants SIGINT, electronic warfare and cyber systems on the same platforms in the air and ground domain, Maj. Gen. Robert Walters, commander of the Intelligence Center of Excellence, said at an event hosted by the Association of Old Crows in July. These systems should be able to not only sense the environment but employ some type of action such as electronic attack or cyber capability. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
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Spectra Group Plc
Spectra has a proven record of accomplishment – with over 15 years of experience in delivering secure communications and cybersecurity solutions for governments around the globe; elite militaries; and private enterprises of all sizes.
As a dynamic, agile, security accredited organisation, Spectra can leverage this experience to deliver Cyber Advisory and secure Hosted and Managed Solutions on time, to spec and on budget, ensuring compliance with industry standards and best practices.
Spectra’s SlingShot® is a unique low SWaP system that enables in-service U/VHF tactical radios to utilise Inmarsat’s commercial satellite network for BLOS COTM. Including omnidirectional antenna for the man, vehicle, maritime and aviation platforms, the tactical net can broadcast over 1000s miles between forward units and a rear HQ, no matter how or where the deployment. Unlike many BLOS options, SlingShot maintains full COTM (Communications On The Move) capability and low size and weight
On 23 November 2017, Spectra Group (UK) Ltd announced that it had recently been listed as a Top 100 Government SME Supplier for 2015-2016 by the UK Crown Commercial Services
Spectra’s CEO, Simon Davies, was awarded 2017 BATTLESPACE Businessman of the Year by BATTLESPACE magazine and is a finalist in the inaugural British Ex-Forces In Business Awards in the Innovator Of The Year category.
Founded in 2002, the Company is based in Hereford, UK and holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
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