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Inside 'Plan X:' The Pentagon’s plan for cyberweapon central

Dec. 1, 2012 - A new Pentagon document from their Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) outlines plans to deploy cyberweapons and to establish a management facility in Arlington, Va. to bring it all together. The document is called “Foundational Cyberwarfare (Plan X).

Its heart is a new map of cyberspace, a real-time rendering of the world of computers and how they connect -- switches, bridges, nodes and so on. It then seeks “support platforms” that can deploy cyberweapons, measure damage, strengthen defenses and communicate.

Source: Fox

Prophetic Significance of CyberWar

Experts: Hackers will crack election systems

Oct. 26, 2012 - There are different ways that hackers can affect the voting process. Amateurs have the ability to modify the voting machines if they have access to them, and professionals would probably be able to tamper with state-run voting databases.

“I’m somewhat surprised it hasn’t happened yet,” said Stephen Cobb, a security evangelist for ESET-North America, an IT security company, in a recent article in Dark Reading.

The introduction to this article claims that the result of an election will be changed by hackers, but the big question is which election will it be. It may not happen this time but it could.

Source: WND

‘Today We Turned Science Fiction Into Science Fact’: Latest on the New Missile That Can Fry Electronics

Oct. 25, 2012 - In a press release Keith Coleman, CHAMP program manager for Boeing Phantom Works, announced the successful test of a missile that can fry the electronics of equipment in buildings on the ground. He said,

“This technology marks a new era in modern-day warfare... In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy’s electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive.”

Source: The Blaze

Iran’s global cyber war-room is secretly hosted by Hizballah in Beirut

Oct. 23, 2012 - The recent intrusion into Israel by an Iranian stealth drone actually came from a secret Hizballah base in Soouth Beirut. This installation also serves as Iran's global cyber war room. Iran uses this remote facility to disguise the source of its cyber offensives and keep Iran clear of blame. The Hizballah facility evidentally has exceptionally efficient firewalls which protect it from viruses and other cyber-attacks. Soon after the drone penetrated Israel US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said,

“the attackers are plotting,” and that recent electronic attacks in US and abroad demonstrate the need for “a more aggressive military role in defense and to retaliate against organized groups or hostile governments.”

Source: DEBKAfile

Will the Apocalypse arrive online? - Karen J Greenberg - Asia times

Israel developing ‘digital Iron Dome’ to guard against cyberterrorism

Oct. 14, 2012 - Israel has a National Cyber Committee that is developing a “digital Iron Dome” system to protect Israel against daily cyber-attacks. In a meeting of his cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said,

“Every day, many attempts are made to infiltrate Israel’s computer systems. Just as we have the Iron Dome against missiles and the security fence against infiltrators and terrorism, we will have a similar protection against cyber-attacks.”

Earlier this week US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta revealed that Iran has conducted cyber-attacks on regional rivals, including a Saudi oil facility.

Source: Times of Israel

Computer virus reportedly spreads through Middle East

Aug. 10, 2012 - Kaspersky Lab, a Russian security company, has identified a powerful new computer virus that is infecting computers in the Middle East. It is apparently related to the Stuxnet and Flame virusus, but seems to be programmed to steal financial information from customers of Lebanese banks

Source: Israel Hayom

Lieberman Worried That Cyber Attack 'Could Be Imminent'

July 25, 2012 - Speaking about the risk of a major cyber attack, Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman said, “The threat is extremely dire. I am literally worried that an attack could be imminent." Lieberman, who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, introduced a revised version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 with changes requested by other legislators to limit government regulation and provide incentives to utilities, financial networks and others to improve their Internet security. He said:

Leon Panetta the Secretary of Defense has said that he’s convinced that the next Pearl Harbor like attack on America will be launched from cyber space and there’s some countries out there who are prepared and have the capability to do it now.

Source: NewsMax

Mahdi, the Messiah, Found Infecting Systems in Iran, Israel

July 17, 2012 - Kasperly Labs in Russia has discovered another piece of spyware targeting more than 800 victims in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East since last December.

Mahdi, which is named after files used in the malware, refers to the Muslim messiah who, it’s prophesied, will arrive before the end of time to cleanse the world of wrongdoing and bestow peace and justice before Judgment Day.

The software has spread to other computers in the Middle East including Israel. It copies PDFs, Excel files and Word documents from victim machines.

Source: Wired

Israel, US collaborated in creation of 'Flame' virus to slow Iran's nuke efforts, report says

June 20, 2012 - According to unnamed officials Israel and the United States collaborated in the development of the "Flame" virus.

The Washington Post reports that the massive piece of malware, which collected critical intelligence information from Iran, was created with the aim of slowing the country's suspected nuclear weapon development.

Source: Fox

U.S., Israel developed Flame computer virus to slow Iranian nuclear efforts, officials say - Washington Post

Photo Gallery of "big worms and viruses" -Washington Post

Flame Authors Order Infected Computers to Remove All Traces of the Malware

June 11, 2012 - The Flame virus creators have evidently activated a process that removes the malware from compromised computers.

"It locates every [Flame] file on disk, removes it, and subsequently overwrites the disk with random characters to prevent anyone from obtaining information about the infection,"

Source: PC World

Atomic scientists compare cyberwar to development of nuclear bomb - Fox

Stuxnet and the Bomb - Kennette Benedict - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

'Cyberterrorism could mark the end of the world as we know it'

June 6, 2012 - At a cybersecurity conference at Tel Aviv University, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Russian information security firm Kaspersky Labs, which recently discovered the Flame virus, spoke about the current state of cyberterrorism and what needs to be done in the future.

Barak said Israel must be at the forefront of the global cyberarena, developing defense systems and in preparing civilian infrastructure against attack.

Kaspersky said that current trends could have far-reaching repercussions.

"It's not cyberwar, it's cyberterrorism and I'm afraid it's just the beginning of the game ... I'm afraid it will be the end of the world as we know it," Kaspersky told reporters at the conference.

In a Q & A session, Kaspersky was asked whether Israel was part of the solution or part of the problem regarding cyberwar. He answered, "Both."

Another question was what the world would look like if it were overcome by a large-scale cyberattack. Kaspersky said, "Like [the 2007 Hollywood film] 'Live Free or Die Hard.'" He added that when he first watched the movie he said, "Hollywood what are you doing? You might be helping the bad guys."

Source: Israel Hayom

Flame virus exploits Windows bug, Microsoft issues software fix - Tech2

Windows Update

Pattern of White House Leaks Threatens Nation’s Security - NewsMax

Decoding the Flame Virus - WND

'Flame virus aims to gather intelligence'

May 29, 2012 - Iran and other Middle Eastern countries are concerned about a new computer worm, dubbed "Flame." It is being called "the most sophisticated virus of all times." Similarities to the Stuxnet virus make it likely that it was developed by the same expert programmers, but it does not damage equipment like Stuxnet did. Instead, it steals important information. It has been able to overcome 43 different anti-virus programs.

Flame can gather data files, remotely change settings on computers, turn on PC microphones to record conversations, take screen shots and log instant messaging chats.

It is not known who is behind "the most sophisticated virus, but the U.S. and Israel were believed to have produced Stuxnet. Experts believe that only a state could have developed such a complex virus.

Source: YNet News

Iran Under Mysterious 'Flame' Cyber Weapon Attack - NewsMax

Collapse of the Internet imminent?

Mar. 19, 2012 - The the infamous hacktivist network, Anonymous, says they will shut down the Internet to protest “SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) on Mar. 31.

“Operation Global Blackout” is a movement by a group of cyber hackers to shut down the Internet by launching an attack on Root Name Servers, the machines that control the Internet.

It remains to be seen whether or not they will be successful. If so, future trust in the reliabillity of the Internet will be shaken.

Source: WND

US faces increasing threat of cyberattacks by terrorists, including on battlefield, officials say

Mar 12, 2012 - The full Senate was briefed on the administration’s strategy for responding to a major cyberattack.

Tech-based terror threats are increasingly raising concerns in Washington, and FBI Director Robert Mueller testified this week that such threats are among the most serious facing the U.S. -- including on the battlefield.

Recent attacks have come from Iran, Russia and China. One of the greatest concerns is the possibility that hackers could disable U.S. technology during in a time of war. Muller said that terrorists have not yet used the Internet to launch a full-scale cyberattack, but he added, "We cannot underestimate their intent."

Source: Fox

Pentagon admits: Unprepared for cyber war

Feb. 2, 2012 - Michael Gilmore, Pentagon director of Operational Test and Evaluation, says that the Department of Defense is not prepared for a cyber war against an “advanced adversary.” He added that they will be upgrading their capabilities, but that budget cutbacks will “likely limit the speed with which these important capabilities are acquired.”

Source: WND

Israeli Hackers Claim to Bring Down Saudi Stock Exchange Site

Jan. 18, 2011 - Israeli hackers briefly disrupted the Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates’ stock exchanges yesterday.

The hackers said the attacks came as revenge for Monday’s attacks by the Hacker “OxOmar,” dubbed the “Saudi Hacker,” who brought down the El Al and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange websites.

The Israeli hacker group warned that if the Saudis persist in their attacks they will cause an extended shut-down of the stock exchange.

Source: Israel National News

Round Two in Hacker War: El Al Site Attacked - Israel National News

China’s ‘cyberarmy’ could number half billion

Jan. 9, 2012 - Writing in the semi-official “China Defense Daily,” Huang Chunping, director of science and technology for the Beijing Institute of Technology, expressed the view that all available members of the population should be enlisted in China's "cyberwar mobilization" program.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters. “I want to emphasize that Chinese law prohibits any cyberattacks including hacking of any form and fights against these types of crimes in accordance with the law,”

However, security analysts say that countries should not take Yu's statement at face value.

Source: WND