Rafael pitches naval capabilities to counter ‘asymmetric power projection’

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  February 4, 2021 | International, C4ISR, Security

  Qatari research center chooses Leonardo for cyber range

  Agnes Helou BEIRUT — A Qatari cyber research center has selected Leonardo to provide a cyber range and training system to support security operations, the Italian firm announced Feb. 3. The Qatar Computing Research Institute, or QCRI, was established by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. The training platform ordered by the QCRI is capable of simulating cyberattacks so users can assess the resilience of digital infrastructure. “The training is completely to be performed in Qatar, and it is expected, through an approach oriented to ‘train the trainers,' to provide courses to a significant number of operators involved in the cybersecurity framework,” Tommaso Profeta, managing director of Leonardo's Cyber Security Division, told Defense News. He noted that training and exercise scenarios can be customized using a drag-and-drop graphical interface. The platform can also analyze and classify the results of simulated attacks based on data collected during real-world offensive campaigns. Scenarios can be used for individual training or classroom experiences, and they provide practice for security operations centers and incident response activities. This training tool “will allow the QCRI to deliver a complete cyber training process, from the design of the learning path to specific training sessions. Users will be able to practice their skills in simulated attack and defense scenarios, employing both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). The training will produce qualified teams of operators equipped with up-to-date knowledge and techniques, ready to face ever-evolving cyber threats,” according to a company statement. “The best cyber training/testing environments are in theory real production systems. But in practice for such environments, institutions, enterprises and organizations cannot easily experience critical situations without paying high, sometime unaffordable prices,” Profeta said. “Training and testing are therefore the two essential, human-driven processes that can effectively support the overall cyber ‘protection' loop, but only if they can cope with real threats and highly realistic systems in highly realistic situations.” Cyber ranges provide a controlled environment where cybersecurity experts can practice their technical and soft skills in emulated complex networks and infrastructures to learn how to respond to real-world cyberattacks. In these environments, cyber tools can be stressed to reveal their limits and vulnerabilities before deployment into cyberspace. Leonardo's platform challenges such assets and provides digital twin environments for predeployment testing. Asked whether other Gulf countries have expressed interest in this training system, Profeta said it “has already been presented to other high-level Middle East stakeholders, and a significant level of interest has been registered for the platform.” What scenarios are available? Those using the cyber range will try to defend against simulated but realistic cyberattacks. According to Profeta, these include: Man-in-the-middle attacks. Botnets. Exploitation of client and server vulnerabilities with lateral movements in search of sensitive data. Distributed denial-of-service attacks (HTTP flooding or domain name system reflection) designed to disrupt connections to a targeted server. Ransomware via multiple vectors, such as spear-phishing via email or drive-by downloads, relying on DNS-based covert channels. Data exfiltration of personally identifiable information and intellectual property. Though it's difficult to measure the potential effectiveness of this platform for Qatar, the company official predicted the system will reduce the cost of and improve the user experience in cyber training. Leonardo also supplies the NATO Computer Incident Response Capability, a cyber defense product. https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2021/02/03/qatari-research-center-chooses-leonardo-for-cyber-range

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  June 8, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Defense firms quietly resume political giving after post-insurrection pause

  Defense companies have slowly ramped up their political donations to the Republicans they once purported to shun over a refusal to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

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  July 28, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  How the Defense Department is reorganizing for information warfare

  Mark Pomerleau America's adversaries have targeted the military's weaknesses via information warfare in recent years and as a result the Department of Defense has made a series of moves to reorganize and better defend against such threats. While each service is undertaking a slightly different approach toward information warfare, Defense officials have said there is a broad buy-in to a larger vision of how to fuse capabilities and better prepare to fight. Collectively, they show the breadth of the movement. Here are several ongoing efforts within the services and the Pentagon underway. Navy Upon assuming the service's top officer in December, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday issued a fragmentary order outlining a variety of tasks for the Navy. Included in this order was a direction that the Navy will pilot a dedicated information warfare cell within a maritime operations center at Large Scale Exercise 2020 to more effectively execute space, electronic warfare, information operations and special operations forces into all-domain operations. Large Scale Exercise has been put on hold until next year due to the ongoing pandemic. Gilday explained that the results from the exercise will refined the requirements and timeline for these IW cells in all fleet maritime operations centers as part of the budget for 2022. Gilday also required the Navy to develop a plan to field small tactical cyber teams for fleet cyber commanders, however, that also is still forthcoming. Army The Army's primary arm for cyber operations has been working to reorganize and change its name. Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty in August announced Army Cyber Command intended to change its name to Army Information Warfare Command. Similar comments came from Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville. It is still unclear when the official name change will take place. The tactical manifestation of this name change will exist with the 915th Cyber Warfare Battalion, a relatively new unit consisting of 12 teams that support brigade combat teams or other tactical formations. These “fly away” teams, as some officials call them, would help plan tactical cyber operations for commanders in theater and unilaterally conduct missions in coordination with forces in the field. The Army has already activated its first two companies under the 915th in the last year and plans to create another within the next year. On the capability side, the Army is continuing to field its first organic brigade information warfare capabilities. These include the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare Air Large, the first organic bridge aerial electronic attack asset, which is also capable of cyberattacks pod mounted on a MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone, as well as the Terrestrial Layer System Large, the first ground based integrated signals intelligence, electronic warfare and cyber platform. The Army recently awarded a development contract to Lockheed Martin for MFEW and plans to equip units in 2022. The TLS is currently in the prototyping phase with two companies competing for the contract. The Army aims to equip units in 2022 as well. Air Force In October, the Air Force created its first information warfare command in 16th Air Force, which combined 24th Air Force and 25th Air Force. It now fuses cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, information operations and weather together under one commander. While the new entity reached fully operational capability this month, there is still more work to be done in getting the right personnel in place and continuing to integrate the disparate entities that existed separately before. Specifically, 16th Air Force's commander Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh said an information warfare cell that will be tied closely with the air components at European and Indo-Pacific Command has been assigned but that leaders still need to hire personnel. Additionally, he noted during a July 15 event hosted by the Mitchell Institute that the 16th will be partnering with their parent entity Air Combat Command to create a spectrum warfare wing. Marine Corps The Marines decided to reorganize their Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters nearly four years ago and create the MEF Information Groups (MIGs). These entities centralize cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence and information operations into tactical maneuver formations. These forces are still participating in exercises to better refine structures and concepts. Pentagon Congress in last year's defense policy bill directed the Department of Defense to designate a principal information operations adviser. https://www.c4isrnet.com/smr/information-warfare/2020/07/26/how-the-defense-department-is-reorganizing-for-information-warfare/