Category Archives: information operations

US National Counterintelligence and Security Center Releases 2018 Foreign Economic Espionage in Cyberspace Report

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National Counterintelligence and Security Center has released the Center’s 2018 espionage report detailing foreign spying within the confines of ‘cyberspace’. Both present and a modicum of future possibilities are covered. Enjoy!
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The Sanger Attestation, ‘The Age of Cyberwar is Here…’

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via David E. Sanger (author of ‘The Perfect Weapon’) comes this frank discussion of the true nature of war – in this case, cyber-war) and the effect (some might say ‘affectation’) of certain population groups (whether dis- or en- franchised) therein. … Continue reading The Sanger Attestation, ‘The Age of Cyberwar is Here…’→

Lawmakers call for action following revelations that APT28 posed as ISIS online

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The world got a fresh reminder Tuesday of the difficulties associated with assigning blame for hacking – and of the consequences when a case of mistaken identity takes hold. New evidence reinforces the notion that a group dubbed the CyberCaliphate, which sent death threats to the wives of U.S. military personnel in 2015 under the banner of the Islamic State, is actually an infamous Russian-government-linked hacking group accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Associated Press reported. Activity from the CyberCaliphate coincided with attempts by the Russian group, known as APT28 or Fancy Bear, to breach the womens’ email accounts, according to the Associated Press. The episode brings to life established links between the CyberCaliphate and APT28 in a way that no cybersecurity research did. The hacking victims were led to believe that jihadists, and not state-backed Russians, were breaching their accounts and leaving threatening messages. Amy […]

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The Best Strategy for Cyber-Conflict May Not Be a Cyber-Strategy

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Terrific post at War On The Rocks, with an intriguing theory: The Best Strategy for Cyber-Conflict May Not Be A Cyber-Strategy, via Benjamin Runkle, . There’s that pesky ‘Cyber’ thing again… At any rate, the discussion in this case, revolves aroun… Continue reading The Best Strategy for Cyber-Conflict May Not Be a Cyber-Strategy→

Hacker posted stolen material from Mandiant researcher in attempt to damage FireEye stock

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A hacker broke into an Israeli-based security researcher’s personal email account one year ago, but waited until the day before his employer, U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye, announced earnings to publish the stolen material in an effort designed to damage the company’s stock value, people familiar with the matter told CyberScoop. While the investigation is ongoing, it’s believed that the attacker’s underlying motive was to cause financial and reputational damage to FireEye. The incident highlights how a hacker can stoke fears of a corporate breach to negatively affect the stock price of a specific, targeted company. The attacker behind this widely publicized incident, dubbed operation “LeakTheAnalyst,” first started posting evidence on July 31 of breached email and social media accounts belonging to a single analyst who worked for Mandiant, a FireEye subsidiary. FireEye posted earnings for their second fiscal quarter the next day. The hacker’s first message included a cache of documents, […]

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Why the U.S. is struggling with their digital war on ISIS

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The U.S. military’s reported inability to effectively “drop cyber bombs” on the Islamic State is raising new questions about the military’s existing “cyber weapons arsenal,” a loosely defined collage of digital warfare capabilities shrouded in secrecy. Computer network attacks have been conducted by operators within the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, the military’s top cyber warfare unit, under the order of Joint Task Force Ares. While the two organizations are inherently aligned, the NSA and Cyber Command follow different missions and employ different capabilities. Very little is publicly known about either the intelligence community or U.S. military’s ability to conduct offensive cyber operations; the subject matter is generally considered classified if not highly sensitive. A leaked CIA document published by WikiLeaks in March and identified by CyberScoop provides a rare window into how analysts conduct cyber warfare operations; describing one instance in which an operator worked to remotely disrupt a […]

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How phishing emails sent by Russian hackers produce propaganda

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In late 2015, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper famously warned of a future where adversaries will often “change or manipulate electronic information in order to compromise its integrity” rather than simply steal data. Since then, the world has watched the Kremlin carry out Clapper’s prediction, interfering in democratic processes around the world. A new report released Thursday, authored by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, shows how Russia has made Clapper’s prediction a reality. The research gives a new view on how hackers with suspected ties to the Russian government play a vital part in international disinformation campaigns aimed to discredit enemies of the state and sow discord. The report, “Tainted Leaks: Disinformation and Phishing With a Russian Nexus,” underscores how offensive cybersecurity operations have become a critical tool used by governments to weaponize information and affect public opinion. Hackers acting in […]

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Cyber Command head: We are not prepared to counter info operations

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U.S. Cyber Command is not “optimized” today to combat information operations orchestrated by foreign powers, NSA Director and U.S. Cyber Command head Adm. Michael Rogers said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday. “It right now is not in our defined set of responsibilities per say,” Rogers told lawmakers. “I would be the first to admit that [information warfare] is not what our workforce is optimized for … we are certainly not where we need to be.” Even so, Cyber Command is concurrently engaged in an expansive counter-messaging campaign against ISIS, Rogers acknowledged. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the clandestine hacking operation is aimed at the areas surrounding Syria and largely focused on compromising electronic devices belonging to terrorists, which carry content typically shared online. Depending on one’s definition of “information warfare,” it’s arguable that Cyber Command is already involved in such efforts. “I think one of our […]

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