18 avril 2024 | International, Sécurité
Global Police Operation Disrupts 'LabHost' Phishing Service, Over 30 Arrested Worldwide
An international law enforcement operation has busted LabHost, a notorious cybercrime service used for phishing attacks.
11 mai 2020 | International, Naval
By: Rep. Rob Wittman
As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded that even in a time of unprecedented technological growth and development, simple and primitive threats have the ability to radically alter our way of life. In spite of astonishing medical advancements, some threats, unfortunately, remain timeless.
Many people have drawn comparisons between the current coronvirus pandemic and the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. The Spanish flu was caused by an H1N1 virus that was first identified in the United States in military personnel in the spring of 1918. It would eventually infect one-third of the global population, killing approximately 675,000 people in the United States and an estimated 50 million people worldwide. All of this was happening in the midst of the “war to end all wars” — World War I.
While the homeland was battling the flu pandemic, the U.S. Navy was battling the U-boat threat in the Atlantic.
In World War I, German submarines sank almost 5,000 ships, most of them merchant vessels. To help counter the U-boat threat, the United States and the United Kingdom embarked on an unprecedented and ambitious project: the construction of the North Sea Mine Barrage — a 230-mile-long underwater barrier of sea mines stretching from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Ekersund, Norway. The effort was a marvel of modern manufacturing, producing 1,000 sea mines every day. Over five months, the allies eventually laid over 70,000 sea mines, helping to contain the U-boat threat and protect allied shipping.
As a second wave of the flu pandemic raged across the globe, World War I finally came to an end in November 1918. The American and British navies now had the task of cleaning up 70,000 live sea mines in the unforgiving North Sea. These primitive mines were anchored to the bottom of the sea, and the U.S. and U.K. had the advantage of knowing precisely where they were located because they had laid them. Despite those advantages, it took 82 ships and over 4,000 men — 10 times the assets that were required to lay the mines — to clean up the North Sea Mine Barrage.
After almost a year of mine-clearing efforts, the operation was declared complete. Navy studies would later reveal that only approximately 40 percent of the American mines had actually been cleared, and mines continued to wash ashore for years after the end of the war.
Fast forward a century and sea mines have proliferated around the world. Since the end World War II, sea mines have damaged or sunk four times as many U.S. Navy ships as any other method of attack.
U.S. adversaries have paid attention. Russia was a pioneer in mine warfare and is estimated to have as many as 250,000 sea mines in its inventory. China is not far behind, with an inventory of around 100,000, including some of the world's most advanced mines. China has hundreds of mine-capable ships and aircraft, and could deploy thousands of mines a day during a conflict.
To counter the mine threat, the U.S. Navy relies on 11 wooden-hulled Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships, 31 MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters and a handful of explosive ordnance disposal platoons. The Navy wants to retire both the Avengers and Sea Dragons by 2025, while efforts to field any replacement capability have continued to falter.
While the U.S. Navy has focused its research and funding on countering emerging threats such as advanced radars and hypersonic missiles, a time-tested threat waits patiently in the waters around the globe; and if we ignore the lessons of history, a centuries-old technology could lead to our defeat. Mine warfare, like public health, is an area that rarely attracts attention or significant investment until a crisis emerges. We should not wait until American lives are in peril before we take action.
We need to change course immediately. First, the Navy must maintain its existing mine countermeasures forces until a credible replacement is fielded. Second, the Navy must make a significant investment to recapitalize the mine countermeasures force both in time and quantity to deliver a credible force.
Unfortunately, the Navy has spent billions of dollars and wasted precious years pursuing a mine countermeasure module program that, even if it worked as advertised, would have neither the capability nor the capacity to effectively counter an enemy mine threat anticipated in our National Defense Strategy.
Whether it's a pandemic or a proliferated naval threat, our citizens expect the United States to respond effectively, and we must make the necessary investments to counter the threats to our nation and our Navy.
18 avril 2024 | International, Sécurité
An international law enforcement operation has busted LabHost, a notorious cybercrime service used for phishing attacks.
15 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Stephen Losey The 552nd Maintenance Group at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma has issued strict new rules on who can check out tools after several recent “minor lapses” in keeping track of them. In an emailed statement Monday, 552nd Air Control Wing spokesman Ron Mullan said the lapses in tool accountability did not cause any mishaps. However, the lost tool incidents led the 552nd to impound two aircraft to make sure they were safe before returning them to full flying status. “The 552nd Air Control Wing employs a multitude of standard procedures regarding activities in and around aircraft to ensure safety," Mullan said. ”Occasionally, despite sound procedures, we identify emerging trends which cause us to review and adjust these procedures as needed to maintain the highest standards of safety." The 552nd Maintenance Group supports the wing's 28 E-3 Sentry, or AWACS, aircraft. The wing's official website said those planes are worth a total of $8.4 billion. “Ensuring the safety, health and welfare of the men and women of the 552nd Air Control Wing is always a top priority and essential to mission effectiveness,” wing commander Col. Geoffrey Weiss said in a Thursday email. “Therefore, I have asked our maintenance group commander and his team to review tool checkout and accountability procedures and make necessary changes to ensure our ground and flight operations remain fully safe and effective across the full range of our mission responsibilities.” Full Article: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/08/14/tinker-cracks-down-on-tool-checkouts-after-lapses-lead-to-impounded-aircraft/
11 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Jean-Dominique Merchet Le démonstrateur du futur avion de combat franco-allemand devrait « voler autour de 2025 », nous a indiqué ce matin Eric Trappier, président du Gifas et PDG de Dassault-Aviation. « Notre ambition, c'est que le SCAF soit opérationnel en 2040. Il faut donc s'y mettre cette année », a-t-il ajouté. Dix-huit mois après l'annonce politique, le 13 juillet 2017, «une étude sera lancée dès janvier » 2019 et la décision de se doter d'un démonstrateur pour « valider les choix techniques et opérationnels » doit avoir lieu lors du salon du Bourget en juin prochain. Le président du Gifas a confirmé « la volonté affichée d'un leadership français » sur ce projet, qui sera un « système complet intégrant l'avion de combat ». Après le « partenariat historique entre Dassault et Airbus », Eric Trappier a assuré qu'il y aurait de la place pour « tous les autres » acteurs du secteur. Au-delà du SCAF, Eric Trappier a appelé la DGA à avoir une « politique ambitieuse » en matière de démonstrateurs. « On a besoin d'en faire voler un certain nombre afin de valider les choix techniques et opérationnels » Le président du Gifas a jugé que 2018 avait été « une bonne année » pour l'aéronautique et le spatial français et que 2019 devrait l'être également, malgré l'environnement international « complexe ». Il a notamment insisté sur le « dynamisme » des Etats-Unis et de la Chine, ainsi que sur la nécessité de l'Europe de poursuivre ses efforts en vue de son « autonomie stratégique ». Le 53e salon du Bourget se tiendra du 17 au 23 juin prochain, cette année étant marquée par un triple cinquantenaire : la création d'Airbus, le premier vol du Concorde et le premier pas d'un homme sur la Lune. https://www.lopinion.fr/blog/secret-defense/scaf-demonstrateur-devrait-voler-autour-2025-174189