15 Jan 15. Greek Police Orders More BlueBird UAS. The Greek police force has purchased an additional number of unmanned air systems made by Israeli company BlueBird. In 2013 the Greek police purchased one of the company’s SpyLite UAS to help meet its obligations to Frontex, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union. Greek sources say the operational experience gained from operating the SpyLite led to the decision to acquire additional systems. BlueBird’s new contract – reached under a government-to-government agreement – includes additional SpyLites and also the ThunderB system. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in February. An electrically powered mini UAS designed for covert, over-the-hill and intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance operations, the SpyLite weighs approximately 9.5kg (21lb) and can carry a payload of up to 1.5kg.Also in operation with the Chilean and Ethiopian armies and in another undisclosed African country, the type has a flight endurance of up to 4h. The larger ThunderB has a maximum take-off weight of 24kg, and an operating endurance of up to 24h. (Source: UAS VISION/Flight Global)
15 Jan 15. ‘Anonymous’ call for revenge on Charlie Hebdo terrorists. “Anonymous from around the world have decided to declare war against you, terrorists” a purported member of the hacktivist group said in a video uploaded to YouTube, referring to the killers responsible for the attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Speaking in French on Anonymous’s Belgian channel, the cyber vigilante warned terrorists, “We will track all your online activity, we will close your accounts on every social network.” A post to text board Pastebin associated with the message states that “We will fight always and everywhere the enemies of freedom of speech…Freedom of speech and opinion is a non-negotiable thing, to tackle it is to attack democracy. Expect a massive frontal reaction from us because the struggle for the defense of those freedoms is the foundation of our movement.” The video message to the Charlie Hebdo attackers roughly translates to “We will find you until the very last one, destroy you. You killed innocents. You won’t bring Shariah to our democracies. We won’t let your stupidity destroy our freedom of press.” For now, the #OpCharlieHebdo message is merely a call to action from a sole hacker, though it has received support from other Anonymous-related figures. The loose, decentralized group known as Anonymous does not have a traditional chain of command. Nothing may happen unless others aligned with the cause heed the call. Late last year, members of Anonymous declared a “full-scale cyber war” against ISIS, and reports indicated the group planned DDOS attacks on countries offering aid to the terrorist group. News of those attacks never came, though. We’ll be watching for any #OpCharlieHebdo actions. Unfortunately, the Internet largely serves to amplify the message of fear touted by terrorists. 24-hour updates and gruesome images from the scene can make people worry they could become victims, even if the likelihood is infinitesimal. While cyber vigilantism has its risks, Anonymous’ could potentially use the power of the Internet crowd to create additional consequences for those seeking to suppress liberty through violence.(Source: Cyber Security Intelligence/techcrunch)
15 Jan 15. MI5 seeks new powers after Paris magazine attack. Andrew Parker describes Charlie Hebdo outrage as ‘a terrible reminder of the intentions of those who wish us harm.’ The head of MI5, Andrew Parker, has called for new powers to help fight Islamist extremism, warning of a dangerous imbalance between increasing numbers of terrorist plots against the UK and a drop in the capabilities of intelligence services to snoop on communications. Parker described the Paris attack as “a terrible reminder of the intentions of those who wis