Although "offensive cyber" seems to have a different definition to my re-collection, Britain's Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, gave a speech at Cyber 2017 outlining how the Ministry of Defence is tackling today's cyber threats:
A stronger password here, a Windows update there, and we would have stood an even better chance of warding off the Parliamentary and Wannacry attacks. So my second point is that the MOD has a key role to play in contributing to a culture of resilience. That's why we set up the Defence Cyber Partnership Programme (DCPP) to ensure that companies with whom we have defence contracts are properly protecting themselves and meeting a host of cyber security standards.
Strengthening our deterrence
But there's a third way in which we can protect our national infrastructure, and that's by strengthening our deterrence. So we're using our rising budget to invest our £178bn in full spectrum capability, from carriers to Ajax armoured vehicles, fifth generation F35 to the latest UAVs, signalling to potential cyber strikers that the price of an online attack could invite a response from any domain, air, land, sea or cyber space. And when it comes to the latter, we're making sure that offensive cyber is now an integral part of our arsenal. We now have the skills to expose cyber criminals, to them hunt down and to prosecute them, to respond in kind to any assault at a time of our choosing.
Our National Offensive Cyber Planning allows us to integrate cyber into all our military operations. And I can confirm that we are now using offensive cyber routinely in the war against Daesh, not only in Iraq but also in the campaign to liberate Raqqa and other towns on the Euphrates. Offensive cyber there is already beginning to have a major effect on degrading Daesh's capabilities.
Unfortunately, the Vault7 leaks show that at least one nation-state believes it is able to imitate attacks from other nation-states:
What was once conspiracy is now fact, as it appears the CIA has essentially developed their own NSA without the oversight. Under the Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), over 5,000 hackers have produced more than a thousand hacking systems, trojans, viruses, and other "weaponized" malware targeting everything from anti-virus software to commonly used consumer devices. This includes malware which makes it look like it was planted by a foreign government or hacker. This includes Russia, essentially proving the CIA has the ability to plant evidence to make it look like Russian hackers were the culprits. This potentially disrupts and discredits the entire Russia hacking narrative being pushed by the media.
So, under Britain's official foreign policy, when a country has sustained attacks or just a flaky infrastructure, that's sufficient justification to bomb a random country rather than attack the wrong computers. After Iraq was bombed for having Weapons of Mass Distraction and bombed again due to Saudi Arabian terrorists, will North Korea get bombed due to NHS failure?
Related Stories
Another slow news day; yet another sign language glove. But this time it is different!
Specifically, the DailyFail covers a New Scientist report about US$100 gloves which translate ASL [American Sign Language].
It is perhaps not as medically useful as a rectal haptic logging device or stroke recovery glove, perhaps not as visionary and audacious as the 1989 Nintendo Power Glove, but perhaps some of the numerous sign language gloves can be used as ambidexterous VR gloves? Likewise, when the crypto-currency market crashes again there'll be a huge surplus of GPUs for VR.
Full disclosure: I'm easily amused; especially with purile jokes about cyber logging and stroking aids. However, in the last two months, I filed a haptics patent (which started as a purile joke). Also, I'm working on a US$300 immersive sound system and I'll have a large number of spare I/O pins.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:00PM (2 children)
Although "offensive cyber" seems to have a different definition to my re-collection...
Whatever are you going on about, AC?
Also....A/S/L?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:01PM
DeathMonkey puts on his robe and wizard hat.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:04PM
Compare to the Original Submission if you want to know more.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:12PM (1 child)
The Fifth of November is only 130 days away.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:20PM
It will be extra fun to celebrate a failed "terrorist" plot this year.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:20PM
Everything makes perfect sense.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:25PM
North Korea has a nuclear deterrent. There's a reason that U.S. Presidents have always left the military option on the table when it comes to Iran. It's because you lose the chance to attack without consequences once a nation develops nukes. To a certain extent anyway. Multiple nukes and a delivery system are still needed, but chucking it over the border shouldn't be too hard.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:26PM (4 children)
Before they send an F-35 to blow it up.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:39PM (1 child)
Best to send it as a UAV [defensenews.com]
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @04:58AM
Not only the oxygen bit, but their full complement of arms at the moment - two machine guns with just shy of two thousand rounds - I forget the calibre, but it is about on a par with a WW1 Sopwith Camel (yes, seriously)
Maybe it could go in strafing! Take that, Red Cyber-Baron!
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:56PM (1 child)
No need to confuse them. Let them go ahead with an airstrike on the source of the next Cyber Attack, identified as an extremely powerful Quad-Core processor housed in a Samsung (the Bad Koreans? can't remember) hidden at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Wednesday June 28 2017, @07:40PM
There is a printer in 10 Downing St that seems to be the source for a lot of "cyber" best just blow up the building to be sure.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:29PM (3 children)
After the first Persian Gulf war, arms inspectors found underground calutrons that were powered by buried cables from power stations hundreds of miles away.
HiRez [fas.org] - scroll down about halfway.
The calutron is a large mass spectrometer. They're not very efficient but they are easier to build than uranium hexafluoride centrifuges.
Also found were copies of declassified Manhattan Project patents. "declassified" because, in its infinite wisdom, in 1965 the government declassified all but one of the projects secrets. The one remaining secret was the design of the initiator, that supplies neutrons to start the chain reaction in Plutonium bombs. All of the uranium assembly bomb secrets were declassified.
You can even purchase the Los Alamos Primer from Amazon.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:24PM (1 child)
Errr, no, declassified because these things are "common sense" to every undergraduate physics student. And there is a much easier way to separate uranium than using a centrifuge (yes, gas centrifuge because UF6 is gas). But it's not used because
1. proliferation -- you don't want to give people ideas
2. gas centrifuges are already in place (for power plants, obviously), so why invest in new assets you don't need?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:46PM
SILEX?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @01:22AM
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday June 28 2017, @06:31PM (1 child)
... if the intelligence agencies would tell the software vendors about the exploits they find.
But no they want to attack the enemy rather than preventing the enemy from attacking us.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 4, Funny) by Gaaark on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:51PM
For want of a proper operating system, we bombed EVERYONE! Even our allies, because.... well because they hate us for spying on them, so yeah- bomb EVERYONE!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 28 2017, @07:31PM
Please migrate immediately to government approved online forums where your thoughts can be monitored by professional corporate moderators. Noncompliance may be taken as deviant intent and used against you in future.
(Score: 2) by snufu on Wednesday June 28 2017, @07:34PM
We located the source of the hack at 11 Downing street. Don't worry, bombers are on the way to take out the whole block just to be sure.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday June 28 2017, @07:42PM
I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 28 2017, @07:46PM (1 child)
Two stories in a day, like a shot in the arm.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:32PM
Why don't they send the HMS Queen Elizabeth to protect Parliament? Its computers are running Windows XP, to protect it from foreign cyber. Very smart! And how do I shut down the Clinton Intelligence Agency? CIA agents are completely out of touch with everyday people worried about rising crime, failing schools and vanishing jobs -- not Russian cyber. I don't trust them.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:00PM
Oh, wow!
So, it's enough a single hacker to take a holiday trip in a distant country and start a cyberattack just for the lulz to cause the Brits to move a significant army at a significant cost?
How many such attacks until GB can no longer afford to support, say, their health system?
Those military surely don't get the economics of security.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by cmdrklarg on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:08PM (1 child)
Fucking Darlocks.
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tangomargarine on Wednesday June 28 2017, @09:11PM
For when SWATing just isn't enough: get them smartbombed by spoofing some proxies.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:10PM (4 children)
It's almost as if our Great British Politicians go out of their way to be ignorant. By the way, I didn't get any mod points today. I usually get 5.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday June 28 2017, @08:53PM (2 children)
Whew...I took an Ambien last night and was starting to worry I sleep-modded!
No points here either.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 28 2017, @09:00PM (1 child)
Cron job failed to run? I don't mod much but I just logged in to see. Have 4 points, but I don't remember if I spent 1 before 0:00 UTC last evening or after.
(Score: 3, Funny) by turgid on Wednesday June 28 2017, @09:10PM
Are you nuts? This is the work of the lizard people from outer space!!!
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday June 28 2017, @09:41PM
I never had Moderator Points but now I do. Much appreciated. #WINNING
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday June 29 2017, @02:25AM (1 child)
This is almost as bad as the time the Canadians bombed the Baldwins [wikia.com].
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Thursday June 29 2017, @09:10AM
At least at the end they were able to get the Devil to undo all the mayhem and bring everyone back to life.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @05:25PM
any government agency running windows with tax dollars needs to be shot/whoops i meant hacked.. whatever. they deserve whatever they get.