Europe’s Industry Finally Gets MALE Drone Program

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  September 3, 2019 | International, Security

  What’s changing in the cyber domain? We ask industry experts

  By: Andrew Eversden “What are you talking about now in cybersecurity that you weren't talking about six months ago?” Fifth Domain posed this question to cybersecurity experts at Black Hat, a cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, that ran from Aug. 3-8. With the cyber domain rapidly evolving, we wanted to know how conversations within the cyber community are changing. Some pointed to a new focus on utility systems and web-connected devices that sit on critical infrastructure. “It's only a matter of time until there's another major disruption in an electric utility somewhere in the world, probably not in the U.S., but elsewhere,” Sergio Caltagirone, threat intelligence director at Dragos, said at the conference Aug. 5. “But oil and gas has the higher likelihood of a major destructive and loss-of-life event. And I think most people did not realize how close to that we actually were.” Caltagirone was referring to the TRISIS event, malware that struck industrial control systems at a Saudi Arabian petrochemical plant and could've caused physical harm. He said that in the aftermath of that attack, threat researchers diving into the details realized just how bad it could've been. “We started finding a lot of stuff which hadn't been found before,” Caltagirone said. “Which made us realize very quickly how close that space is to a major event.” Dave Weinstein, chief security officer at Claroty, pointed to an “explosion” of devices connected to the internet of things.. “It's really a product of this general consensus among industrial organizations that the benefits exceed the costs in terms of embracing this type of digital transformation," Weinstein said Aug. 8, adding that organizations must be “mindful” of these devices and have a plan to mitigate their potential vulnerabilities. Brian Costello, a senior vice president at Flashpoint, told Fifth Domain on Aug. 8 that he is more often than before focusing on targeted cyberattacks from bad actors. That's a shift away from “campaign-based” attacks that tracked. There's “more planning out, more scoping out of targets and taking long-term planning to go after [a] particular target with a specific asset in mind,” Costello said. Along that same vein, Julian Zottl, a senior cyber architect at Raytheon, said he's noticing more inclusion of all-source intelligence in threat analysis. “We're looking at ... all the sources and trying to figure out indicators,” Zottl said Aug. 7. “[We're] even trying to do predictive analytics now, where it's like, ‘Oh, we see this threat might be coming.' I think that's something that we're starting to talk about more and more.” Several cybersecurity professionals interviewed by Fifth Domain said the U.S. government is moving away from the classic cyber kill chain and over to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, which dives deeper into potential threats to information security. “They used to think the hackers would just come in to steal secrets, conduct espionage and then leave,” said Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer at Carbon Black and a former commissioner on the Commission on Cyber Security for then-President Barack Obama. “In fact, they're maintaining persistence in these systems. They're manipulating the integrity of data and then they're using federal government agencies themselves and personnel's devices themselves to target anyone who implicitly trusts that person, that agency, that department.” he told Fifth Domain on Aug. 6. Chris Kennedy, chief information security officer at AttackIQ and a former official with the Treasury Department and the Marine Corps, said these new frameworks in use along with federal continuous monitoring programs allow for more attacker emulation, essentially simulating the attack agencies could face. “Agencies are starting to realize the value of attacker emulation as a way to measure and benchmark the effectiveness of their security controls,” Kennedy said on Aug. 7. And with government agencies in different stages of cloud migration, agencies will need to learn how that fits into their cybersecurity posture. Marten Mickos, CEO of white hat hacking company HackerOne, said this a new discussion. He also said the conversation surrounding the use of ethical hackers in government environments has evolved: The word “hacker” is becoming more accepted. “I do think it signals a shift in mindset," Michos said. There's a realization that "those people who portray themselves as hackers are actually those who will rescue us, not those who will destroy us.” Despite all the changing technology and evolving threats, one aspect of cybersecurity remains set in stone, said M. K. Palmore, a field chief security officer for the Americas at Palo Alto Networks and a recently retired FBI cyber agent. “It's about adhering to cybersecurity fundamentals,” Palmore said. “That message hasn't changed regardless of my position or where I'm located.” https://www.fifthdomain.com/show-reporters/black-hat/2019/08/30/whats-changing-in-the-cyber-domain-we-ask-industry-experts

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  February 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Britain confirms new nuclear warhead project after US officials spill the beans

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — The British government has confirmed it is developing a new nuclear warhead for its missile submarines, days after the U.S. revealed the program was going ahead before Parliament had been informed. In a written statement to Parliament, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed Feb. 25 that Britain is working on a new warhead to equip it's Trident missile-armed nuclear submarine fleet. “To ensure the Government maintains an effective deterrent throughout the commission of the Dreadnought Class ballistic missile submarine we are replacing our existing nuclear warhead to respond to future threats and the security environment,” Wallace said. The announcement was not expected to be made prior to publication of the defense, security and foreign policy review scheduled for late this year. But the Conservative government's hand was forced when U.S. officials revealed last week the program was up and running. That caused a stir in the U.K., as high-profile programs like the nuclear deterrent are usually announced in Parliament first. It's only a courtesy, but if Parliament is not informed first, ministers can be forced to attend the House of Commons to make a statement. “The decision is basically a forgone conclusion, but the announcement has come sooner than expected. We were looking at probably next year but certainly not before the defense and security review due for release towards the end of the year,” said David Cullen , the director at the U.K.-based Nuclear Information Service, an independent organization promoting awareness of nuclear weapons issues. Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, and Alan Shaffer, the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, separately made statements that Britain is pursuing development of its own version of the W93 warhead, which is in the assessment phase for the U.S. military ahead of replacing U.S. Navy W76 warhead. “It's wonderful that the U.K. is working on a new warhead at the same time, and I think we will have discussions and be able to share technologies,” Shaffer told an audience at the Nuclear Deterrence Summit, hosted in Washington by ExchangeMonitor. Shaffer said the W93 and the British weapon “will be two independent development systems.” Richard, in testimony prepared for the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Feb. 20 that the W93 will “support a parallel replacement warhead program in the United Kingdom.” Wallace told Parliament that the Defence Ministry's “Defence Nuclear Organisation is working with the Atomic Weapons Establishment: to build the highly skilled teams and put in place the facilities and capabilities needed to deliver the replacement warhead; whilst also sustaining the current warhead until it is withdrawn from service. We will continue to work closely with the US to ensure our warhead remains compatible with the Trident.” The new British warhead will replace the existing weapon, known as the Trident Holbrook, which equips the four Vanguard-class submarines charged with providing Britain's nuclear deterrence capability. Cullen noted that the existing British weapon is unlikely to be very different from America's W76. “They are both fitted to the same Trident missile used by Britain and the U.S. Our assumption is the two warheads are very close, if not virtually identical," he said. The Atomic Weapons Establishment in the U.K. is undertaking a life-extension program on its stock of warheads, including replacing some electronics and systems to improve accuracy and provide performance benefits. The Trident Holbrook entered service along with the Vanguard-class submarines in the mid-1990s. Britain plans to replace the subs in the early 2030s with four new Dreadnought-class subs. Work on the £31 billion (U.S. $40 billion) boat program is already underway. Britain is also spending billions of pounds building infrastructure to support the Atomic Weapons Establishment's development, building and testing of a new warhead at sites in southern England and Valduc, France, where Britain is cooperating in hydrodynamic experiments with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission as part of a wider nuclear agreement. Cullen said there is little in the public domain on the delivery timetable for the current warhead updates. “They started delivery of the life-extended warheads around 2016/2017. The warheads will last up to another 30 years if you assume they are doing similar changes to updates being undertaken by the U.S.,” he said. “I expect Mk4A, [as the updated weapon is referred to], to come out of service in the mid-2040s with the replacement warhead being available from the late 2030s at the earliest.” Britain and the U.S. have cooperated on nuclear weapons development for decades. In 1958, they signed what is known as the Mutual Defence Agreement to formalize that arrangement. That pact remains in place and is renewed about every decade. It was last signed in 2014. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/02/25/britain-confirms-new-nuclear-warhead-project-after-us-officials-spill-the-beans/

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  April 8, 2021 | International, C4ISR

  CAES signs exclusive agreement for 3D-printed radio frequency parts

  The rebranded Cobham will be the sole U.S. seller of products from 3D-printing firm SWISSto12.