INSS Global Cyber Review – May 2013

INSS Global Cyber Review – May 2013

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Israel

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Israel’s cyber capabilities among the best in the world

 

 

According to a McAfee cyber capability report, Israel shared first place with two other countries. The report examines the capability and the preparedness of countries to deal with cyber-attacks. Even though Israel managed to tackle the cyber-attacks carried out by alleged hacker group Anonymous  (#OpIsrael), experts say there is still a long way to go before reaching comprehensive defence capability.

 

 

USA

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US, China meet to discuss cyber security issues

 

 

On 23/04, General Dempsey, the chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs, met with the Chinese leadership in China, including President Xi Jinping and Gen. Fan Changlong, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.

On the issue of cyber-attacks, General Dempsey asked the Chinese “to put a team of their best and brightest” together to work with the Americans on seeking rules of conduct on computer security. “There has to be some kind of code of conduct established,” General Dempsey said.

   
          Russia

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Russian Defence Ministry recruiting hackers In trying to keep up with the West, Russia is recruiting young hackers from all over the country to work for the Ministry of Defence. Furthermore, in April the Defence Ministry announced a tender for research in information security, the focus of which being the means to bypass malware, defensive and anti-virus programs, network security and information protection operating systems.

 

 

Iran

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Iran continuing to aid Hezbollah to improve its cyber capabilities Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA) has condemned the EU and the U.S. Treasury Department’s unilateral ban on FATA.

The statement came after FATA was blacklisted by the EU for violation of human rights.

Furthermore, a recent report issued by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre in Israel, stated that Iran’s involvement in Hezbollah’s migration to the Internet is evidence the regime is continuing its efforts to exert control over anti-American and anti-Israeli terrorist groups across the world.

 

The Arab Countries

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Syrian Electronic Army: Assad’s cyber warriors In recent weeks, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) has launched hacking attacks on the Associated Press, BBC Arabic Online, France 24, Human Rights Watch and most recently, the Guardian. Last week the group succeeded in hijacking AP’s main Twitter account, with 1.9 million followers. It falsely claimed that President Obama had been injured in an explosion. AP corrected the message, but not before $130bn [G1] had been briefly wiped off the value of stocks.

The Syrian government is widely believed to be behind the SEA’s activities.

 
 

China and APAC

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Chinese hackers accused of on-going attacks against the West

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Korea, U.S. work to counter cyber-attacks from North Korea

Cyber spies alleged to belong to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have resumed attacks against Western companies three months after being publicly accused of “wholesale theft” of intellectual property and state secrets.

Examination by the BAE cyber security subsidiary Detica found that the malicious code used in the attacks bore hallmarks of previous attacks by a prolific group of Shanghai-based cyber spies, who have been publicly linked to Unit 61398 of the PLA’s 2nd Bureau.

South Korea and the U.S. are working together to develop cyber-warfare scenarios in response to escalating threats from North Korea, South Korean media is reporting. South Korea will also be increasing the number of cyber-warfare experts in its military ranks. South Korea previously raised the number of experts in its “Cyber Command” from 500 to 1,000 in response to increased attacks against South Korean institutions.

Europe

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NATO conducts cyber-defence exercise Locked Shields 2013 NATO, along with nine other countries, conducted its annual cyber-defence exercise under the supervision of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD-COE).

250 people took part in the exercise where one team were designated the attackers and the other had to defend whilst preventing their systems from failing.

Although the exercise centred on a fictitious network, the methods used to attack and defend were those used in real life cyber-security.

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