Point(s) of Contact
Pamela Hamilton / FSO
843.327.3273
pamela@appliedsecurityknowledge.com
Richard Carmichael / ITPSO
678.221.7834
rcarmichael@laochservices.com
DoD Hotline
dodig.mil/hotline / 800.424.9098
SOURCE: US Department of Defense by David Vergun – January 25, 2024
Photo By:Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Joseph Pagan. A pilot instructs students from the University of California, San Diego in an MQ-9 simulator at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., Feb 17, 2023. The National Guard Bureau facilitated a collaboration between the institution and members of the 163d Attack Wing in an effort to incorporate Artificial Intelligence to improve MQ-9 technology and provide a centralized location where real-time video and data can be shared instantaneously across organizations. Named Project
The Defense Department is just at the start of using artificial intelligence. Peer competitors are as well, said Jude R. Sunderbruch, executive director of the DOD Cyber Crime Center, who spoke today at the Google Defense Forum.
Sunderbruch predicted that in the future, there will be a battle between AI and counter-AI, which will lead to the question: "What is the truth in front of us?"
"I would not hesitate to call it an arms race but a strategic competition when it comes to artificial intelligence," he said.
Sunderbruch said the United States is well positioned to advance in the AI space.
SOURCE: Breaking Defense by Justin Katz – February 15, 2024
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro speaks to Sailors assigned to Naval Special Warfare (NSW) units in the San Diego area Nov. 8, 2021. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class T. Logan Keown/Released)
WEST 2024 — In no uncertain terms, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro today sent a stark warning shot to industry: There will be consequences if you prioritize profits over delivering what you promised to the Navy and Marine Corps.
During his keynote speech here before an audience packed with industry officials, Del Toro said that he had taken notice of their "record profits" announced in recent earnings calls.
"While I am very happy for you, you can't be asking for the American taxpayer to make greater public investments while you continue in some cases to goose your stock prices through stock buybacks, deferring promised capital investments, and other accounting maneuvers that — to some — seem to prioritize stock prices that drive executive compensation rather than making the needed, fundamental investments in the industrial base and your own companies at a time when our nation needs us to be all ahead flank," he said.
SOURCE: The Register by Laura Dobberstein– February 15, 2024
North Korea's latest money-making venture is the production and sale of gambling websites that come pre-infected with malware, according to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The Service on Wednesday identified South Korean cyber crime organizations as buyers of the sites.
Reports allege that the North Korean faction responsible for this effort is an IT organization affiliated with the hermit kingdom's secretive Office 39 known as "Gyeongheung."
Office 39 sits within the ruling Workers Party of Korea. It's believed by many – including the US Department of Treasury – to be a revenue-generating machine of the country, providing foreign currency and slush funds for the North Korea's leaders through both legal and illegal activities.
SOURCE: Defensescoop by Brandi Vincent – February 13, 2024
Getty Images
The Pentagon is in the process of alerting more than 26,000 current and former employees, job applicants and partners that their sensitive personal information may have been exposed online in a "data breach incident" that was first detected in early 2023.
DefenseScoop viewed a notice — dated Feb. 1, 2024 and sent by the Defense Intelligence Agency to a longtime Defense Department official — encouraging them to sign up for government-provided identity theft protection services as a result of the exposure.
"This letter is to notify you of a data breach incident that may have resulted in a breach of your personally identifiable information (PII). During the period of February 3, 2023 through February 20, 2023, numerous email messages were inadvertently exposed to the Internet by a [DOD] service provider. Unfortunately, some of these email messages contained PII associated with individuals employed by or supporting the DOD, or individuals seeking employment with the DOD. While there is no evidence to suggest that your PII was misused, the department is notifying those individuals whose PII may have been breached as a result of this unfortunate situation," the document states.
SOURCE: NBC News by Ken Dilanian, Summer Concepcion and Kyla Guilfoil – January 31, 2024
FBI Director Christopher Wray warned about the growing threat of Chinese cyberattacks against U.S. electrical grids and other infrastructure in an appearance Wednesday morning before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
"China's hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike," said excerpts of Wray's prepared testimony released by the FBI.
Wray also argued that "there has been far too little public focus" on Chinese hackers' targeting critical infrastructure in the U.S., such as water treatment plants, electrical grids, oil and natural gas pipelines and transportation systems, according to the prepared remarks.
SOURCE: CBS News 60 Minutes – October 23, 2023
SOURCE: CDSE
In March and April 2017, Mallory travelled to Shanghai and met with Michael Yang, a scientist working for the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS). The FBI has described SASS as a Chinese "think tank." The FBI also said that Chinese intelligence officers use SASS to cover their identities while they try to obtain information on policies that may affect China. During the meeting, Mallory accepted a secure communication device from Yang. Mallory later told the FBI that he was trained to use it for private communications" with the Chinese citizen.
SOURCE: FBI
This FBI and National Counterintelligence and Security Center film—inspired by the case of former CIA officer Kevin Mallory—details the fictional account of a former U.S. Intelligence Community official who was targeted by China via a fake profile on a professional networking site and recruited to turn over classified information before being arrested. The FBI and NCSC seek to raise awareness of this issue and help individuals in the private sector, academic and research communities, and other U.S. government agencies guard against this threat posed by foreign intelligence services.
