CISA and ONCD Publish Guide to Strengthen Cybersecurity of Grant-Funded Infrastructure Projects | CISA

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  March 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Textron Aviation announces furlough of thousands of workers

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Textron Aviation is furloughing more than 7,000 workers in the hopes of containing the spread of coronavirus, the company announced Wednesday. Textron Aviation mostly produces commercial business jets, turboprops and piston-engine aircraft through its Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands. However, it also produces a number of military-specific aircraft, such as the Beechcraft T-6 Texan trainer used for basic pilot training by the U.S. Air Force and the AT-6 Wolverine, a weaponized version of that aircraft, and the Scorpion jet. News of the furlough was first reported by The Wichita Eagle, which also detailed number of workers slated to lose work. Textron has declined to specify how many workers will be furloughed or the functional areas of the business that will be impacted. Textron Aviation spokeswoman Sarah White said support for contracts would move forward, though with few details. The Air Force on Monday awarded Textron Aviation a $70 million contract for two AT-6 planes, training and support. That aircraft is manufactured at its plant in Wichita, Kan. “We are abiding by the requirements established by the DoD and our partner nations, as well as the protocols implemented across U.S. and customer bases worldwide,” she said in a written statement to Defense News. “We will continue to support our Defense customers according to our funded contract requirements.” More generally speaking, the furlough “will allow us to do our part in mitigating and containing the spread of the COVID-19 through social distancing, while continuing to support our customers,” White said. The company is also “limiting large group meetings, increasing daily cleaning of its facilities, restricting travel, and cancelling our participation in several global meetings and events” in response to the pandemic. The furlough will last from March 23 until May 29, but each impacted employees will only lose four weeks of work, she said. https://www.defensenews.com/coronavirus/2020/03/18/textron-aviation-announces-furlough-of-thousands-of-workers

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  May 17, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  How would NATO respond to a cyberattack?

  By: Martin Banks NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says “it is time we all woke up to the potential dangers of cyber threats.” Speaking at a conference on cyber crime in Paris May 15, Stoltenberg said, “In the Second World War there was a popular saying, ‘Loose lips sink ships.' Today, it is weak passwords, failing to add software updates, or opening unfamiliar emails. Simple things. But if we get them right, we go a long way to protecting ourselves.” Stoltenberg was speaking at the Ecole Militaire in the French capital on a major conference on NATO's so-called “Cyber Defence Pledge” which, he said, had helped nations to look at their cyber-defences in a more holistic way. NATO countries have faced a series of attacks in recent years. In France, TV-Cinq Monde was taken off air by hackers while Fancy Bear, a group associated with the Kremlin, hacked the main political parties in the United States in what Stoltenberg called “a brazen attempt to influence the 2016 election.” Last year's WannaCry attack forced Renault to halt production at several of its factories and a cyberattack brought hospitals in the UK to a standstill. “The very nature of these attacks is a challenge,” Stoltenberg said. “It is often difficult to know who has attacked you or even if you have been attacked at all. There are many different actors. “Governments, but also criminal gangs, terrorist groups and lone individuals. Nowhere is the ‘Fog of War' thicker than it is in cyberspace,” he said. “If these were hard attacks, using bombs or missiles instead of computer code, they could be considered an act of war. But instead, some are using software to wage a soft-war - a soft-war with very real, and potentially deadly consequences.” In 2014, NATO leaders agreed that a cyberattack could trigger Article 5, meaning that an attack on one ally is treated as an attack on all allies. He added, “I am often asked, ‘under what circumstances would NATO trigger Article 5 in the case of a cyber-attack?' My answer is: we will see. The level of cyberattack that would provoke a response must remain purposefully vague as will the nature of our response. “But it could include diplomatic and economic sanctions, cyber-responses, or even conventional forces, depending on the nature and consequences of the attack.But whatever the response, NATO will continue to follow the principle of restraint. And act in accordance with international law.” In less than two years, almost every ally had upgraded their cyber defences with France leading the way, investing €1.6 billion and employing thousands more cyber experts. He also pointed to Nato's new Command Structure and Cyber Rapid Reaction teams. https://www.fifthdomain.com/international/2018/05/16/how-would-nato-respond-to-a-cyber-attack-well-see/

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  September 19, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  L'achat de 24 Eurofighter par le Qatar devient effectif

  Le contrat signé par le Qatar pour l'achat de 24 avions de chasse Typhoon Eurofighter est devenu effectif mardi, a annoncé l'industriel BAE qui a reçu la première tranche de paiement d'un contrat de 5 milliards de livres. "Ce contrat d'environ 5 milliards de livres (5,6 milliards d'euros, ndlr) est devenu effectif lorsque nous avons reçu le premier paiement ce jour", a expliqué dans un communiqué le groupe de défense britannique, membre du consortium européen Eurofighter aux côtés d'Airbus et de l'italien Finmeccanica. L'accord prévoit non seulement la livraison de 24 Eurofighter mais aussi de 9 avions d'entraînement avancés Hawk, ainsi que les services associés. Les appareils doivent commencer à être livrés à partir de 2022, a précisé l'avionneur. Un accord de principe en ce sens avait été conclu en septembre 2017 puis confirmé lors de la signature du contrat au mois de décembre suivant. Depuis le début de la crise avec ses adversaires arabes qui tentent de l'isoler depuis plus d'un an, le Qatar a pris de nombreuses mesures sur le plan international ou en interne, qui comprennent la signature de nombreux contrats d'équipement militaire. En juin 2017, Doha a signé un accord avec les Etats-Unis portant sur 12 milliards de dollars (10 milliards d'euros) pour l'achat d'avions de combat F-15. Deux mois plus tard, il a confirmé une commande de navires de guerre à l'Italie pour un montant de cinq milliards d'euros. En décembre, outre le contrat avec les Britanniques, le Qatar a signé des contrats de plus de dix milliards d'euros pour l'achat notamment d'au moins 12 avions de combat Rafale et 50 Airbus A321. Le consortium Eurofighter a conclu en mars dernier un protocole d'accord distinct avec l'Arabie Saoudite pour la livraison de 48 avions de chasse. Ryad a déjà reçu 72 appareils de ce type commandés il y a dix ans. Cet accord et celui avec le Qatar ont constitué une bouffée d'air frais pour le programme Eurofighter, qui avait dû ralentir dernièrement son rythme de production faute de commandes - poussant BAE Systems à annoncer en octobre 2017 la suppression de 1.400 emplois dans sa branche aéronautique. Le programme Eurofighter emploie plus de 100.000 personnes sur l'ensemble de la chaîne de fabrication, essentiellement en Europe, dont 40.000 au Royaume-Uni, où BAE Systems fait travaillere pour le moment 5.000 personnes directement pour fabriquer cet avion. https://www.journal-aviation.com/actualites/41110-l-achat-de-24-eurofighter-par-le-qatar-devient-effectif