Friday, December 23, 2011

Cyber Warfare


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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Iran embarking on ambitious $1b. cyber-warfare program
Iran embarking on ambitious $1b. cyber-warfare program
By YAAKOV KATZ The Jerusalem Post 12/18/2011 04:02
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=249864
Program seeks to boost Tehran's offensive, defensive capabilities; fearing
cyber attacks, IDF recently established its own cyber task force, division
within C4I Directorate.
Tehran has embarked on an ambitious plan to boost its offensive and
defensive cyber-warfare capabilities and is investing $1 billion in
developing new technology and hiring new computer experts.
Iran has been the victim of a number of cyber attacks in recent years, some
attributed to Israel. The most famous attack was by a virus called Stuxnet
which is believed, at its prime, to have destroyed 1,000 centrifuges at the
Natanz fuel enrichment facility by sabotaging their motors.
Iran recently confirmed that a new virus called Duqu had been detected in
its computer systems, although the extent of the damage is unknown. While
Stuxnet was aimed at crippling industrial control systems and may have
destroyed some of the centrifuges Iran uses to enrich uranium, experts say
Duqu appeared designed to gather data to make it easier to launch future
cyber attacks.
Last week, the Spanish-language TV network Univision aired a documentary
which included secret footage of Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats being
briefed on planned cyber attacks against the United States. The documentary
claimed that the diplomats, based in Mexico, were involved in planning cyber
attacks against US targets, including nuclear power plants.
Fearing cyber attacks, the Israeli government recently established a cyber
task force that will be responsible for improving Israeli defenses and
coordinating the development of new software and capabilities between local
defense and hi-tech companies.
The IDF has also drafted a multi-year plan that is supposed to lead to a
major boost in military capabilities over the coming five years.
“We are not where we want to be when it comes to our defenses,” a senior
Israeli official said recently.
The IDF recently organized the units that deal with cyber-warfare,
establishing offensive capabilities and operations within Military
Intelligence’s Unit 8200 and defensive operations within a new division
within the C4I Directorate.
The new division within the C4I Directorate is run by a colonel who took up
his post over the summer. The officer is the former commander of Matzov, the
unit that is responsible for protecting the IDF networks and a Hebrew
acronym for “Center for Encryption and Information Security.”
Matzov writes the codes that encrypt IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)
and Mossad networks, as well as mainframes in national corporations, such as
the Israel Electrical Corp., Mekorot, the national water company, and Bezeq.
Chairman of the Israel Electric Corporation Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yiftach Ron-
Tal recently warned that Israel was not adequately prepared to defend and
confront the threat it faces to its military and civilian infrastructure.
“Israel is under a threat and we could already have experienced a silent
infiltration that will be activated when the enemy wants,” Ron-Tal said. “We
need to be prepared for the possibility that critical infrastructure will be
paralyzed.”

Sunday, December 18, 2011
Iran embarking on ambitious $1b. cyber-warfare program

Iran embarking on ambitious $1b. cyber-warfare program
By YAAKOV KATZ The Jerusalem Post 12/18/2011 04:02
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=249864
Program seeks to boost Tehran's offensive, defensive capabilities; fearing
cyber attacks, IDF recently established its own cyber task force, division
within C4I Directorate.
Tehran has embarked on an ambitious plan to boost its offensive and
defensive cyber-warfare capabilities and is investing $1 billion in
developing new technology and hiring new computer experts.
Iran has been the victim of a number of cyber attacks in recent years, some
attributed to Israel. The most famous attack was by a virus called Stuxnet
which is believed, at its prime, to have destroyed 1,000 centrifuges at the
Natanz fuel enrichment facility by sabotaging their motors.
Iran recently confirmed that a new virus called Duqu had been detected in
its computer systems, although the extent of the damage is unknown. While
Stuxnet was aimed at crippling industrial control systems and may have
destroyed some of the centrifuges Iran uses to enrich uranium, experts say
Duqu appeared designed to gather data to make it easier to launch future
cyber attacks.
Last week, the Spanish-language TV network Univision aired a documentary
which included secret footage of Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats being
briefed on planned cyber attacks against the United States. The documentary
claimed that the diplomats, based in Mexico, were involved in planning cyber
attacks against US targets, including nuclear power plants.
Fearing cyber attacks, the Israeli government recently established a cyber
task force that will be responsible for improving Israeli defenses and
coordinating the development of new software and capabilities between local
defense and hi-tech companies.
The IDF has also drafted a multi-year plan that is supposed to lead to a
major boost in military capabilities over the coming five years.
“We are not where we want to be when it comes to our defenses,” a senior
Israeli official said recently.
The IDF recently organized the units that deal with cyber-warfare,
establishing offensive capabilities and operations within Military
Intelligence’s Unit 8200 and defensive operations within a new division
within the C4I Directorate.
The new division within the C4I Directorate is run by a colonel who took up
his post over the summer. The officer is the former commander of Matzov, the
unit that is responsible for protecting the IDF networks and a Hebrew
acronym for “Center for Encryption and Information Security.”
Matzov writes the codes that encrypt IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)
and Mossad networks, as well as mainframes in national corporations, such as
the Israel Electrical Corp., Mekorot, the national water company, and Bezeq.
Chairman of the Israel Electric Corporation Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yiftach Ron-
Tal recently warned that Israel was not adequately prepared to defend and
confront the threat it faces to its military and civilian infrastructure.
“Israel is under a threat and we could already have experienced a silent
infiltration that will be activated when the enemy wants,” Ron-Tal said. “We
need to be prepared for the possibility that critical infrastructure will be
paralyzed.”

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