Defence and Aerospace


  • China-linked Twisted Panda caught spying on Russian defense R&D

    May 20, 2022

    Chinese cyberspies targeted two Russian defense institutes and possibly another research facility in Belarus, according to Check Point Research. The new campaign, dubbed Twisted Panda, is part of a larger, state-sponsored espionage operation that has been ongoing for several months, if not nearly a year, according to the security shop. In a technical analysis, the researchers detail ...

  • UK Government hackers made hundreds of thousands of stolen credit cards ‘worthless’ to crooks

    May 10, 2022

    A joint operation involving intelligence agency GCHQ and the Ministry of Defence took direct action against computer networks used by cyber criminals, helping to protect people against cyberattacks and also making hundreds of thousands of stolen credit cards worthless to the crooks who stole them. The action by the National Cyber Force – using the combined ...

  • NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) held a flag-raising ceremony for Canada, the Republic of Korea and Luxembourg

    May 5, 2022

    NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) raised the flags of Canada, the Republic of Korea and Luxembourg to welcome the most recent members of CCDCOE’s multinational family. „It is a great honour to have Canada, Republic of Korea and Luxembourg in our growing and diverse family of like-minded nations. Each member of the CCDCOE ...

  • US Cyber Command shored up nine nations’ defenses last year

    May 4, 2022

    US Cyber Command chief General Paul Nakasone has revealed the agency he leads conducted nine “hunt forward” operations last year, sending teams to different counties to help them improve their defensive security posture and hunt for cyberthreats. These missions provide “security for our nation in cyberspace,” said Nakasone, who is also director of the National Security ...

  • Critically Underrated: Studying the Data Distribution Service (DDS) Protocol

    April 19, 2022

    Despite being unknown even to industry practitioners, the Data Distribution Service (DDS) protocol has been in use for more than a decade. This middleware software technology is responsible for running billions of public and private devices and mechanisms currently in use. DDS is integral in embedded systems that require real-time machine-to-machine communication, facilitating a reliable ...

  • Lazarus Targets Chemical Sector

    April 14, 2022

    Symantec, a division of Broadcom Software, has observed the North Korea-linked advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Lazarus conducting an espionage campaign targeting organizations operating within the chemical sector. The campaign appears to be a continuation of Lazarus activity dubbed Operation Dream Job, which was first observed in August 2020. Symantec tracks this sub-set ...

  • NATO sharpens technological edge with innovation initiatives

    April 7, 2022

    NATO Allies are launching a ground-breaking initiative to sharpen the Alliance’s technological edge. On Thursday (7 April 2022), Allied foreign ministers approved the Charter of the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic – or DIANA. “Working with the private sector and academia, Allies will ensure that we can harness the best of new technology ...

  • Mystery of alleged Chinese hack on eve of Ukraine invasion

    April 7, 2022

    Allegations of Chinese cyber activity as the recent conflict broke out in Ukraine have been emerging. The details appear unusually murky but one Western intelligence official believes the aim was espionage – and the cyber-attack may have been broader than previously reported. The Times first reported that hackers, alleged to be based in China, began targeting Ukrainian ...

  • Australia’s SkyGuardian drones shot down by spicy cybers

    April 1, 2022

    The Australian government has cancelled the SkyGuardian armed drone program for the Royal Australian Air Force. The funding is being redirected to the newly-announced REDSPICE cybersecurity and intelligence program. REDSPICE, the Resilience, Effects, Defence, Space, Intelligence, Cyber and Enablers program, is a flagship component of the federal Budget announced on Tuesday. The program aims to double the ...

  • Modem-wiping malware caused Viasat satellite broadband outage in Europe

    April 1, 2022

    Tens of thousands of Viasat satellite broadband modems that were disabled in a cyber-attack some weeks ago were wiped by malware with possible links to Russia’s destructive VPNFilter, according to SentinelOne. On February 24, as Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Viasat terminals in Europe and Ukraine were suddenly and unexpectedly knocked offline and rendered inoperable. This caused, ...

  • Tracking cyber activity in Eastern Europe

    March 30, 2022

    In early March, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) published an update on the cyber activity it was tracking with regard to the war in Ukraine. Since our last update, TAG has observed a continuously growing number of threat actors using the war as a lure in phishing and malware campaigns. Government-backed actors from China, Iran, ...

  • Powerful cyber attack on Russia’s Civil Aviation Authority servers: no more data nor back-up

    March 29, 2022

    A powerful and effective cyberattack on the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) infrastructure that took place on Saturday morning has erased all documents, files, aircraft registration data and mails from the servers. In total, about 65 terabytes of data was erased. The news became known on Monday morning, the agency’s official website (favt.ru) went ...

  • Transparent Tribe APT returns to strike India’s government and military

    March 29, 2022

    The Transparent Tribe hacking group is back with a new malware arsenal and victim list including India’s government and military. Active since at least 2013, the advanced persistent threat (APT) group operates in at least 30 countries. However, the APT tends to focus on India and Afghanistan – with the exception being attacks recorded against human ...

  • An imposter posing as Ukraine’s prime minister tricked his way into a video call with the UK’s defence secretary

    March 18, 2022

    An imposter posing as Ukraine’s prime minister tricked his way into a video call with the UK’s defence secretary in a suspected Russian ploy. Ben Wallace ordered an immediate inquiry into the security breach on Thursday. During the hoax call Mr Wallace engaged for about 10 minutes with the man, who appeared to have gone through a ...

  • Britain, U.S. warn of satellite communications risks after Ukraine hack

    March 18, 2022

    Britain and the United States have warned organisations of the risks associated with using satellite communications following a cyberattack on satellite internet modems as Russia invaded Ukraine. Western intelligence agencies have been investigating the attack which disrupted broadband satellite internet access provided by U.S. telecommunications firm Viasat, Reuters reported last week. “It’s certainly something we’re investigating quite ...

  • CISA: Strengthening Cybersecurity of SATCOM Network Providers and Customers

    March 17, 2022

    CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are aware of possible threats to U.S. and international satellite communications (SATCOM) networks. Successful intrusions into SATCOM networks could create additional risk for SATCOM network customer environments. In response, CISA and FBI have published joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) Strengthening Cybersecurity of SATCOM Network Providers and Customers, which provides ...

  • NATO Communications and Information Agency modernizes NATO’s core communications infrastructure

    March 16, 2022

    The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) provides a robust infrastructure for NATO’s networks, providing interconnectivity across multiple Alliance locations and enabling NATO to perform consultation, deterrence and collective defence. “This is the backbone network infrastructure, which all services use in order to perform their functions, making this an incredibly important capability to allow NATO ...

  • Ukraine to be accepted as a Contributing Participant to NATO CCDCOE

    March 4, 2022

    This week, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) held its 30th Steering Committee. With a unanimous vote, the 27 Sponsoring Nations in the Steering Committee of the CCDCOE agreed to Ukraine’s membership in the NATO CCDCOE as a Contributing Participant. “Ukraine’s presence in the Centre will enhance the exchange of cyber expertise, between ...

  • Russian space agency says hacking satellites is an act of war

    March 2, 2022

    Russia will consider any cyberattacks targeting Russian satellite infrastructure an act of war, as the country’s space agency director said in a TV interview. Dmitry Rogozin, the current head of the Russian Roscosmos State Space Corporation, added that such attempts would also be considered crimes and investigated by Russia’s law enforcement agencies. “Because disabling the satellite group ...

  • The United Kingdom Is Prepared for NATO-Russia Cyber Conflict

    February 27, 2022

    The unfolding Ukraine crisis has focused attention on the role of cyber operations in defensive and offensive military-intelligence strategy. Russia’s cyber aggression against Ukrainian government and civilian targets was expected and is consistent with its long-standing information war strategy and conduct across its “near abroad.” What is less certain is how Western powers should respond ...