20 May 15. US Navy seeks to close back doors to weapons systems. Today’s weapons systems are vulnerable to hackers, who could potentially commandeer them with the right tools and skills. The Navy is trying to address that risk with a new research solicitation. The risk not always to the weapons directly. The research solicitation addresses support systems that connect to the weapons intermittently, such as maintenance laptops and industrial control system interfaces. “There is a paucity of cyber R&D and threat information for weapon systems and supporting systems that directly or indirectly connect to weapon systems,” the Navy noted. The solicitation lists 34 areas of interest for securing platforms, weapons and support equipment, including malware detection, “non-destructive” cyber inspection and how to patch software for weapons that only connect to the network periodically. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
21 May 15. BAE Systems SIGINT Payload for Gray Eagle. BAE Systems has developed an intelligence-gathering sensor for the U.S. Army unmanned aircraft system (UAS) MQ-1C Gray Eagle. With advances in technological capabilities, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have taken on crucial tasks in the military. Although this progression keeps troops safer, adapting to smaller platforms like a UAS comes with its challenges. Among these challenges is developing updated hardware to fit within the size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints of a UAS. At BAE Systems, the sensors team rose to the occasion by developing a tool that will allow warfighters to see the big picture with intel from a U.S. Army UAS known as the MQ-1C Gray Eagle. This new sensor, called the Tactical Signals Intelligence Payload (TSP), gathers intelligence by intercepting signals, known broadly as Signal Intelligence, or SIGINT capability. As part of an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract potentially worth $70m, BAE received an order for the initial production of 12 TSP systems and engineering support services. These new SIGINT systems will help provide intelligence for the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command, and will be adaptable to other manned and unmanned aerial platforms. The TSP system’s open, software-defined architecture means that its network of sensors is interoperable and can talk to each other. Additionally, the system’s ability to capture a 360-degree aerial field of view gives the ground commander a comprehensive picture, allowing the commander, sensor operators, and analysts optimal situational awareness so they can make decisions in near real-time. Using the sensor to detect, identify, and geo-locate electronic emitters, the ground team can address any number of targets – all from one system. (Source: UAS VISION)
20 May 15. Predictions for cyber-crime in 2015 and how the Security Industry is Responding. From Heartbleed and Shellshock to the Target breach and the Sony hack, last year was littered with high-profile cyber threats and security breaches. The dire consequences an attack can have on a business have become increasingly apparent, as poor response to security breaches has led to the resignation of senior staff and even companies going out of business. In 2015, the frequency and severity of cyber-attacks will continue to increase – and organisations will have to explore new approaches in responding to cyber-attacks. These are my predictions on how cybercrime will manifest itself this year, and how the cyber-security industry will develop in response. Each year, the frequency and severity of cyber-attacks increases, and there is no reason to think that 2015 will buck this trend. Europe may appear to be relatively unscathed so far, but this is probably because public disclosure is not generally required as it is in the US. In 2015, however, there will be an attack on the scale of the Target breach – so large and far reaching that it can’t be swept under the carpet. The consequence will be harsher measures imposed on companies