Cybersecurity

SECURITY NEWS THIS WEEK: A DECADE-OLD BLUETOOTH FLAW LEAVES COUNTLESS DEVICES EXPOSED

THIS WEEK MARKS the one-year anniversary of Equifax's very terrible, no good data breach that impacted 147 million Americans. We took an inside look at all the steps the company has taken since then to shore up its defenses—and whether it could possibly be enough, given the scope of the damage. And speaking of damage, we explained how to minimize yours by setting up better two-factor authentication on all of your online accounts.

What else, you ask? Plenty! Google finally implemented its name-and-shame strategy for Chrome, labeling all sites that use unencrypted HTTP connections—instead of secure HTTPS—as "Not Secure." Twitter instituted a cleanup of its own, banning scores of malicious apps from its platform.

Biosecurity

US Stockpiles New Drug to Address Bioterrorism Risk

The US Congress has taken steps to enable the development and approval of countermeasures to thwart pathogens that could be employed as weapons in order to address the risk of bioterrorism. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a new drug for the treatment of smallpox, a pill stockpiled in case the virus is used as a bioweapon. TPOXX, a small-molecule antiviral treatment, is the first therapy approved for this biosecurity use.

It was developed by SIGA Technologies in partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). According to the contract, 2 million courses of oral TPOXX have been delivered to the Strategic National Stockpile. In the event of a bioterrorism attack, Health and Human Services estimates that more than 1.7 million people could need treatment.

TPOXX works by preventing the smallpox virus from spreading to the rest of the body, thus containing the infection until the body’s immune system can fight off the disease, according to homelandprepnews.com.

International security

Italy’s ruling parties recognize Crimean referendum, Rome sticks to EU’s line - politician

Italy’s both ruling parties - Movimento 5 Stelle (or Five Star Movement) and Lega (or The League) - recognize the referendum held in Crimea in 2014 but Rome continues to stick to the European Union’s line, which considers Crimea’s reunification with Russia to be a violation of international law, Five Star Movement member Manlio Di Stefano told TASS.

"The Five Star Movement recognizes the referendum but the ‘government contract’ does not imply the recognition of Crimea’s status, which is why Rome continues to stick to the EU’s line," he said.

Members of The League, including its leader, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, have on many occasions said that the Crimean referendum was legitimate. Regional councils in the Italian regions of Veneto, Lombardy and Liguria, where The League has a majority, have passed resolutions calling for removing sanctions on Moscow and recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.

Weather security

Hot Weather Spells Trouble For Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear power plants in Europe have been forced to cut back electricity production because of warmer-than-usual seawater.

Plants in Finland, Sweden and Germany have been affected by a heat wave that has broken records in Scandinavia and the British Isles and exacerbated deadly wildfiresalong the Mediterranean.

Air temperatures have stubbornly lingered above 90 degrees in many parts of Sweden, Finland and Germany, and water temperatures are abnormally high — 75 degrees or higher in the usually temperate Baltic Sea.

That's bad news for nuclear power plants, which rely on seawater to cool reactors.

Finland's Loviisa power plant, located about 65 miles outside Helsinki, first slightly reduced its output on Wednesday. "The situation does not endanger people, [the] environment or the power plant," its operator, the energy company Fortum, wrote in a statement.

Nuclear security

Israel Might Have as Many as 300 Nuclear Weapons. And Some Are in the 'Ocean.'


Israel has never officially admitted to possessing nuclear weapons.

Unofficially, Tel Aviv wants everyone to know it has them, and doesn’t hesitate to make thinly-veiled references to its willingness to use them if confronted by an existential threat. Estimates on the size of Tel Aviv’s nuclear stockpile range from 80 to 300 nuclear weapons, the latter number exceeding China’s arsenal.

Originally, Israel’s nuclear forces relied on air-dropped nuclear bombs and Jericho ballistic missiles. For example, when Egyptian and Syrian armies attacked Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a squadron of eight Israeli F-4 Phantom jets loaded with nuclear bombs was placed on alert by Prime Minister Golda Meir, ready to unleash nuclear bombs on Cairo and Damascus should the Arab armies break through.

Criminal investigation

9/11 – WHAT WAS ISRAEL'S ROLE?

It's not that anyone is listening in on all these calls, but that these methods are a way to know who is calling whom, when, and for how long – vital information in and of itself. Cameron assures us that the White House and the Pentagon are immune from such surveillance, but an article in Insight, the magazine put out by the Washington Times, showed how Israeli intelligence had thoroughly penetrated the communications system at the Clinton White House. According to co-authors J. Michael Waller and Paul M. Rodriguez, writing in May of last year, the FBI was

"Probing an explosive foreign-espionage operation that could dwarf the other spy scandals plaguing the U.S. government. Insight has learned that FBI counterintelligence is tracking a daring operation to spy on high-level US officials by hacking into supposedly secure telephone networks. The espionage was facilitated, federal officials say, by lax telephone-security procedures at the White House, State Department and other high-level government offices and by a Justice Department unwillingness to seek an indictment against a suspect."

"The espionage operation may have serious ramifications," wrote Waller and Rodriguez, "because the FBI has identified Israel as the culprit."

Criminal investigation

9/11 Illusions of Airplanes from Hollywood or US Air Force Holograms?

A Hollywood producer told me about fifteen years ago, just after 9/11 had occurred, a story about the state of the art of hologram projection as it was known to Hollywood executives including Stephen Spielberg, in the early 1990’s. She explicitly endorsed the idea that no actual airplanes hit the Twin Towers, and that Hollywood special effects – or even more advanced capabilities available to the U.S. military – were used.

A radar study done by Richard D. Hall of the UK has established that the images of the aircraft that “melted” into the Twin Towers (a physical impossibility) had been projected from a plane flying 1,400 feet to the right of the projected image. Radar picked up the projecting aircraft but not the Flight 175 image, because it was not a physical object in space.

Any serious commission should be demanding a full briefing from the US military, the US Air Force particularly, which has an Airborne Holographic Projector. Although the most advanced capabilities are probably classified, a proper survey should rapidly confirm the state of the art in 2001.

Missile defense

Why a space-based missile interceptor system is not viable

The United States has plans to develop two new missile defense programs in the space domain: a space-based sensor architecture and a space-based missile intercept layer. Both proposed systems rely on a network of satellites in low Earth orbit to offer full or partial coverage of the Earth’s surface, precisely tracking a missile during its flight in one case, or shooting it down entirely in the other. A space-based sensor system could expand current capabilities for monitoring missile launches and warrants further study. The deployment of a space-based missile intercept layer, however, would require launching hundreds or thousands of weapons into space – an expensive, inefficient, and provocative idea. The technical discussion surrounding space-based interceptors should be decoupled from that of space-based sensors – a much more plausible proposal. Despite decades of support from influential policymakers, the resources required to deploy space-based interceptors would be better spent on other layers of US missile defense.

Biosecurity

Strengthen the taboo against biological and chemical weapons

In some ways, the fight to reduce threats from biological and chemical weapons looks like a roaring success. Chemical weapons have been prohibited by international treaty for more than 20 years, biological weapons for more than 40. The vast majority of the world’s nations are party to both treaties, and not coincidentally, these weapons are shunned. The international community has effectively devalued them as military options. Contrast that to nuclear weapons, which are considered status symbols to be paraded around on national days of celebration, and which major powers say they require for national security. By comparison, the fight to eliminate chemical and biological weapons looks quite successful.

On the other hand, the threat posed by these types of weapons is growing greater. While chemical weapons remain widely considered unacceptable, the international taboo against using them has weakened in the last five years. We have seen repeated use of unconscionable weapons on the battlefield and against civilian populations, particularly in the Syrian civil war, with both the government and ISIS deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals

Economic security

Chinese unrestricted warfare targeting American economy, national security

Beijing has continually proven its willingness to exploit its trading relationship with the United States. As American companies share their intellectual property and technology with Chinese companies, the financial damages include both lost tax revenue as well as the lost value to U.S. national security. The Fair Trade with China Enforcement Act increases taxes on multinational corporations’ income earned in China at a rate comparable to the lost value of these technologies. Significantly, this bill would also tax Chinese investments in the U.S. which are currently not being taxed per an agreement from the 1980s. Without financial penalties, China will continue to manipulate the current, outdated system to their benefit.

In addition to undermining the U.S. economy, Beijing is also taking more direct approaches where possible – including using Chinese commercial technology to spy on the U.S. government. Allowing Huawei, ZTE, and other related entities access to U.S. government communications would be inviting Chinese surveillance into every corner of the U.S. government, which is why this bill prohibits the federal government and contractors from purchasing or leasing Huawei or ZTE equipment or services.

National security is often viewed solely as interactions with foreign nations and military security, but national security goes far beyond that narrow definition. Any threat to our people, our businesses, our economy, or our safety is a threat to the security of our nation.

National security

Trump to hold National Security Council meeting on election security Friday

President Trump will convene a meeting Friday of the National Security Council on election security, a session that could include a discussion of possible Russian interference in November’s midterm elections, according to a White House official.

In addition, national security adviser John Bolton plans to hold two NSC Principals Committee meetings this week, one Thursday on Iran and one Friday on North Korea, according to the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.

Friday’s NSC meeting comes a week and a half after Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin in Helsinki. Trump was roundly criticized for his comments at a news conference there siding with Putin — who has denied that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election — over U.S. intelligence agencies, which have concluded based on evidence that Russia did interfere.

War on terror

A surprising reason for the rise of ISIS

It's a stubborn cultural fact: People crave social order. In the absence of social norms -- the rules, routines and controls that keep a community cohesive and civilized -- people hunger for security. Extremists and autocrats all around the world are often all too ready to sate this universal need.

"Do you know how it was in Mosul before ISIS came?" civilian Abu Sadr said. "We had bombings and assassinations almost every day. Now we have security."

All cultures need social norms to guide behavior, and our research shows that we can classify societies on the degree to which they have a strong normative order. Tight cultures have strong norms that spawn social order and conformity. Loose cultures have weaker norms and comparatively less order but they foster more creativity and openness. Neither is inherently superior; each is generally adaptive to its ecological and historical challenges.

But problems arise when either tightness or looseness gets extreme: Studying over 30 countries, we found that both very tight cultures, to the point of being oppressive -- such as Pakistan, Turkey and China -- and very loose cultures, those made chaotic by too much freedom -- such as the Ukraine, Brazil and Venezuela -- have lower happiness, more depression, higher suicide rates and more political unrest.

Information security

‘We are fighting for information about war’: Pentagon curbs media access

The incident, which left Pentagon reporters furious, was the latest flash point in what has become an increasingly adversarial relationship between Defense Secretary James Mattis’ Cabinet department and the reporters who cover it. Chief among the complaints, according to defense reporters who spoke to POLITICO, are declining access to Mattis and other military officials, as well as a sense that reporters are not receiving the information they need to keep the public informed about America’s military activities.

Mattis has not briefed reporters on-camera in the Pentagon since April, while his chief spokesperson, Dana White, has not done so since May. Mattis used to regularly pass through the Pentagon press area to conduct gaggles with reporters, but reporters say those have all but dried up in recent weeks. Some briefings with other officials still happen, but people who used to chat or provide background information more informally are no longer engaging, reporters say. Some reporters told POLITICO that fewer of their colleagues are going to the Pentagon these days, finding it increasingly pointless.

Navy

NATO's Plan to Kill Russia's Submarines: Bomb Them with Magnets?

At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union had so many hundreds of deadly submarines at sea that Western war planners willing to try almost any possible countermeasure, however goofy sounding.
Some seemingly crazy ideas proved actually worthwhile, such as the underwater Sound Surveillance System—a vast chain of seafloor microphones that patiently listened for Soviet subs … and remains in use today.
Other less elegant anti-submarine tools survive only as anecdotes. In his book Hunter Killers , naval writer Iain Ballantyne recalls one of the zanier ideas — air-dropped “floppy-magnets” meant to foul up Soviet undersea boats, making them noisier and easier to detect.
From the late 1940s on, captured German technology boosted Soviet postwar submarine design. Soviet shipyards delivered subs good enough — and numerous enough — to pose a huge danger to Western shipping.

Economic security

A Bear Market Is Coming -- This Is How Investors Can Prepare

Citigroup analysts are predicting a "full-on bear market" within months based on historical trends, according to a new note by equity strategist Robert Buckland. Here's how you can protect your portfolio.

Assess Your Risk

Most everyone will suffer losses in a bear market (short-sellers are winners, of course), but investors can decide now for themselves how much they are willing to risk says certified financial planner Alexander G. Koury of Values Quest, Inc.

"The first thing to do is check the current risk of the portfolio," Koury said. "This will help the investor determine what would be the worst case scenario if the market were to go into a bear market. That means an investor will know how much they're willing to lose of their portfolio, and they can determine whether or not that is comfortable for them."

Science

Scientists confirm Einstein’s theory of relativity

A team of scientists working with the European Southern Observatory (ESO), in Chile, recently concluded a 26 year study to determine what happens when a star passes by a black hole. The results of the campaign appear to confirm Albert Einstein’s famed theory of general relativity. It turns out, E really does equal MC squared.

Not that it was ever in doubt, but any good theory worth its salt needs to be tested. Unfortunately back in Einstein’s day (circa 1905) you couldn’t just drive on down to the relativity store and purchase some extreme gravitational fields to test out your little theories with. You, also, cannot do this in 2018. But what you can do is point the Very Large Telescope – that’s what the ESO calls it – at the center of the Milky Way and wait for the weather to clear up.

Electronic surveillance

Facial Recognition Software Wrongly Identifies 28 Lawmakers As Crime Suspects

Facial recognition software sold by Amazon mistakenly identified 28 members of Congress as people who had been arrested for crimes, the American Civil Liberties Union announced on Thursday.

Amazon Rekognition has been marketed as tool that provides extremely accurate facial analysis through photos and video.

The ACLU tested that assertion by using the software to scan photos of every current member of the House and Senate in a database that the watchdog built from thousands of publicly available arrest photos.

"The members of Congress who were falsely matched with the mugshot database we used in the test include Republicans and Democrats, men and women, and legislators of all ages, from all across the country," the ACLU stated.

The test misidentified people of color at a high rate — 39 percent — even though they made up only 20 percent of Congress. One member falsely cited as a crime suspect was Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who first came to prominence as a civil rights leader.

Nuclear security

The Next Prime Minister of Nuclear-Armed Pakistan Really Hates the U.S.

The most dangerous country in the world just got considerably more dangerous. Pakistan, home to the fastest growing nuclear weapons arsenal on earth, has broken the decades old domination of its electoral politics by two family dynasties. Imran Khan, a world champion cricketer, is poised to be the next prime minister backed by the powerful army. Khan blames Pakistan’s problems on America and is the most anti-American politician in South Asia.

Imran Khan, 66, is charismatic and bold. He has campaigned for decades to break the logjam of Pakistan’s revolving elections in which either Nawaz Sharif or Benazir Bhutto and her heirs dominate the highest office of the country. Sharif, 65 and a three-time prime minister, is now in jail along with his daughter on trumped-up charges of corruption. Benazir’s son Bilawal, 29, ran an impressive campaign on his own for the first time but came in third place. Khan’s Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI) is leading the parliamentary elections with around 110-120 seats out of 272. Sharif’s party is around 60 and Bhutto at 45. These numbers are not final and there are several independents and small local parties.

Criminal investigation

Who Knew What When? The New York City Cover-Up…

After the WTC opened in 1973, it took less than twenty years for the owners – the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) – to realize that for the sake of the safety of everyone in the area, by 2007 the WTC would need to be dismantled. The decision to “privatize” the WTC – i.e. to convey that cost and risk to others – was made in 1998. It is highly unlikely that any responsible purchaser – much less an original builder – Larry Silverstein – would be unaware of the fact that the buildings had been condemned. Just over six months before 9/11 a bid was awarded to Vornado, which appears to have overbid by $600 million; their conditional bid with demands was rescinded, and the WTC was sold to Larry Silverstein on 26 April 2001, closing on 24 July 2001. It is beyond the realm of possibility to contemplate that everything that needed to be done to bring down all three buildings on 9/11 2001 was done in forty-seven (47) days.

An operation the size of 9/11 could only have occurred after years of planning, therefore a genuine investigation must start at the beginning.  The WTC was conceived in the euphoria of the post-World War II years, with negotiations beginning during the “Camelot” period of the Kennedy administration; a time of growth and optimism.  Nonetheless, the project was fiercely fought by local businesses and residents.  International trade organizations already had well-established infrastructure and international trade accounted for only a small percentage of the Gross Domestic Product anyway, making it a tough sell to convince the City of New York it needed a new World Trade Center, and the legal fight dragged on for years.

Laser

Here Come the Lasers: The Dawn of Energy Weapons Is Here

Directed-energy weapons—or “lasers,” as they are commonly known—present the possibility of transforming warfare due to numerous operational advantages, such as incredible speed and range, light-weight, improved accuracy, and limited collateral damage. [1]

In some respects, this innovation is already on the brink of implementation. With forthcoming architectural changes, such as new platforms on which we can mount lasers, operational use could be just on the horizon. In other areas, however, development has stalled because of international laws prohibiting the use of directed-energy weapons against personnel.

It is crucial the defense industry find ways to harness the power of a discriminate laser weapon within the Law of Armed Conflict and continue to develop a technology which can target adversarial weapon systems and defend against inbound missiles. If the Law of Armed Conflict is adjusted to permit directed-energy weapons, which could minimize suffering to the most extent possible, using aerial lasers with the power to target personnel on the ground can redefine the way the U.S. Air Force utilizes airpower within the close air support, counterinsurgency, and counterterror attack missions.