You’ve heard about the Top Gun training program at Nellis Patuxent NAS Fallon* to develop fighter pilots. What about Top Guru? The NYT reports:
In the desert outside Las Vegas, in a series of inconspicuous trailers, some of the most highly motivated hackers in the United States spend their days and nights probing the military’s vast computer networks for weaknesses to exploit.
These hackers — many of whom got their start as teenagers devoted to computer screens in their basements — have access to the latest in attack software. Some of it was developed by cryptologists at the N.S.A., the nation’s largest intelligence agency, where most of the government’s talent for breaking and making computer codes resides.
AdvertisementThe hackers have an official name — the 57th Information Aggressor Squadron — and a real home, Nellis Air Force Base.
The Squadron made its public debut in 2007. “The activation of the 57th IAS significantly increases the group’s ability to replicate the full spectrum of air, surface-to-air, space, and cyberspace threats and train friendly forces to defeat them during major exercises including Red Flags here and in Alaska and Maple Flag, as well as during Aggressor road shows, said Lt. Col. Lisa Onaga, 57th ATG deputy commander. ”
One of the things the Squadron does is try to break into the information assets of Air Force installations. They recently tested the defenses of Ramstein AFP to see what they could see.
“It’s like flying against Red Air during Red Flag and working against the very best,” Colonel Bacon said. “Our job now is to take away the tactics and techniques that will ensure we are smarter and more secure.” Even off base, personnel are asked to carefully consider what they put on the internet through use of social networking sites, blogs and other personal internet sites.
The Air Force’s effort, impressive though it is, probably constitutes a very small part of the battle in cyberspace. The struggle to map the virtual structures on the Internet, to trail-watch them or booby trap them goes on unabated. The National Science Foundation had a project in 2007 called Dark Web, whose goal was to find implicit social networks and study them. It’s the probably the tip of a huge iceberg whose extent can only be imagined.
Using advanced techniques such as Web spidering, link analysis, content analysis, authorship analysis, sentiment analysis and multimedia analysis, Chen and his team can find, catalogue and analyze extremist activities online. According to Chen, scenarios involving vast amounts of information and data points are ideal challenges for computational scientists, who use the power of advanced computers and applications to find patterns and connections where humans can not.
One of the tools developed by Dark Web is a technique called Writeprint, which automatically extracts thousands of multilingual, structural, and semantic features to determine who is creating ‘anonymous’ content online. Writeprint can look at a posting on an online bulletin board, for example, and compare it with writings found elsewhere on the Internet. By analyzing these certain features, it can determine with more than 95 percent accuracy if the author has produced other content in the past. The system can then alert analysts when the same author produces new content, as well as where on the Internet the content is being copied, linked to or discussed.
Dark Web also uses complex tracking software called Web spiders to search discussion threads and other content to find the corners of the Internet where terrorist activities are taking place. But according to Chen, sometimes the terrorists fight back.
“They can put booby-traps in their Web forums,” Chen explains, “and the spider can bring back viruses to our machines.” This online cat-and-mouse game means Dark Web must be constantly vigilant against these and other counter-measures deployed by the terrorists.
*This is real Web 2.0 in action. The commenters are the site.
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If this comes from the NYT I have my doubts about its success or true mission.
I would not doubt if the “hackers” found “huge holes” in the military’s networks and then the NYT just happens to splash it all over their front page to disparage the military.
Worse, I wonder if there will be security leaks to the NYT and others regarding SIPRNET or other military communications networks. Then Obama will start to His ‘cut & run’ end game.
Or, possible Obama will try to control the internet and strangle conservative bloggers. But, either way, I bet it helps Obama’s agenda.
Since the military is familiar with the bias of the NYT, don’t you think it’s possible that the “57th Information Aggressor Squadron” could be engaged in a bit of “disinformation dissemination” ?
O/T but worth it.
If you care to read one heck of an article, the best I’ve read on obama/alinsky then check out the piece by Kyle-Anne Shiver over at the American Thinker. It is one very , very good article.
http://tinyurl.com/o6gkcz
My addition..in one part of the article some student radicals ask alinsky for advice on protesting a speech by Nixon (if I rememeber corectly). They were going to do the original placards etc…no,no says the radical guru…go dressed up as KKK members and applaud the speech (alinky rule #5 ridicule)…so next time obama is in town get every conservative who owns a brown shirt,sew a Nazi armband and wear Nazi pants.Dress up and carry signs supporting obama. The message will get through. If you can get into the building for the speech all the better….ridicule and agitiate…..lets expose this naive.
Mr. Fernandez,
Niggling point. Red Flag (Air Force Excercise) is at Nellis, the Navy’s “Top Gun” is at Miramar (in southern California) on the West Coast. I also think there is a Top Gun Naval Air station training base on the East Coast.
Patuxent River NAS?
I wonder if the washington times knew of the upcoming NYTimes story or vise versa. Or whether it was just coincidence: consider this piece from this morning’s washington times
China blocks U.S. from cyber warfare
“57th Information Aggressor Squadron”
What’s the age limit to enlist? I want in.
Also: “Colonel Bacon” Just sounds funny.
” E. Nigma:
Mr. Fernandez,
Niggling point. Red Flag (Air Force Excercise) is at Nellis, the Navy’s “Top Gun” is at Miramar (in southern California) on the West Coast. I also think there is a Top Gun Naval Air station training base on the East Coast.
Patuxent River NAS?”
My apologies, but an even more niggling point: Since the 1993 realignment, Miramar has become a Marine air base. The Navy’s SFTI (“Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program”, the program that was once the “Navy Fighter Weapons School” (aka “Top Gun”)) is now stationed at Naval Air Station Fallon, in Nevada.
[end of derail]
OT – Ledger,
I sympathize, but I think it’s OK to be pro-military these days. Obama must win this war! He must not go down in history as the man who was defeated where Bush was (mostly) victorious. Those leaks to the NYT that severely jeopardized national security? Not anymore. Those vicious and hateful anti-war rallies under Bush? Nope.
I do sense that there will be a more pro-military slant at least among moderate Lefties and Dems. Now that it’s no longer
“McChimpyBushHalliburtonWarForOilAndEnslavementOfBrownPeople” –
I imagine a re-branding of the war to
“ObamaVirtuousValiantStruggleAgainstEvilAlQaeda.”
Chalk up my views on this to recognition that the Left, as much as it hates the U.S., loves power more. They will try and make it a fight against the Afghan-Pakistan extremists, while ceding ground every place else in the world. If the U.S. endures a Vietnam-style defeat under Obama’s tenure, the Dems are done in 4 years, despite their massive domestic efforts to buy votes with taxpayer money. Staying in power also allows the further transformation of the U.S., so I see the Left looking at the long view.
Here’s a thought provoking question: Would things be significantly different if HRC had been the nominee and eventual winner? She had no sympathy for the small business that could not afford her health care legislation. Redistribution was not removed from her schedule of events. She also is of the Alinsky mindset, and, methinks, considers her own self to be more capable and perfect in her judgment for others… from the “I know what is best for you, and can spend your money more wisely” school of thought. She is also a Foreign Affairs naif, and will be taken advantage of. But, of course, it will all be the fault of W, because, you know, he rushed headlong into everything. blah dee blah.
#3 Habu: No no no on the swastika. Make it the triple pointed bent thingy, but not the swastika. Brown shirts, Sam Browne Belts, jodhpurs and calf-high boots. Perhaps blank red armbands. The uniform itself is adequate to carry the image of ‘useful idiots’ saluting their “nations savior”.
justa thought..
tom
Use the Triple Cross from The Great Dictator
The Brown Shorts uniform is from P.G. Wodehouse. Wonderful for those who know but those who know already know.
May I suggest better to dress as stereotypical ACORN members. Zombietime offers evocative images that are off-putting enough to normal Americans.
Remember, the electoral goal is to reach the middle, the undecided, and the independent.
Back on Wretchard’s topic, I’m involved a bit in electrical power cybersecurity. The coming issue is “continuity of power” – keeping the grid up and the generators spinning. This has had little attention in the past while computerization of the grid and power generators proceeded. Now, just about every control and monitoring system is computerized and interconnected.
Remember the remote controlled thermostats that California was pushing last year? The design specs claimed only “moderate” levels of security and that was only for the encryption of broadcast sugnals. Yet, the local utility claimed that hacking “was impossible.”
Fortunately, the nuclear control systems have very robust protection and are WAY ahead of the rest of American infrastructure. Is it perfect? No one can make that claim but it is well isolated so that insider threats are the most significant risk.
9. tomw:
Better thought than mine Tom..the swastika is too off putting.
On the way home from running errands I thought of the uniform you described with the armband in the traditional red and the circle containing that blue circular symbol obama made up for his campaign ..I do believe that would hit home..in fact an enterprising person could probably make a fortune selling just those armbands …hmmmm…
and salute the President with the two handed “O” that some knucklehead publicized for a time.
Lay the cult of personality stuff on thick — because that is what is enabling this half-English, half-Luo “Black” man to drive us off a cliff.
Habu & tomw;
I like the Obama “O” armband idea. I doubt if I could bring myself to be adequately uncivil to pull it off.
14. Tamquam Leo Rugiens:
Just think of it as Shkespeare did:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts
So just for that brief moment in time step out of your comfort zone and become a brown shirted red arm banded obana symboled obama supported to accomplish the ridicule that will certainly have tongues wagging.
If any group, anywhere in the USA could muster 100 people to attend an obama rally or speech with banners held high proclaiming him the true leader, AND dressed in the raiment described it would make him a laughing stock…word up..ya mustn’t talk to the press to explain any of it, just let the symbolic nature take it’s course.
Once again I’d bet Wretchards millions that it would get press.
RE: armbanded groups and press coverage.
Did any of you track the “communists for Kerry” during the 2004 election? This group of Faux communists, from Yale I believe, dressed as Che, Fidel, Stalin and Lenin and went so far as to participate in the parades and drum circles in NYC during the Dem primaries. They were so effective in their ruse of being pro-Kerry that they even recieved attention and interviews from big media, when in fact their whole effort was a satire. Brilliant!
You bet the appearance of 100 said garbed individuals would create a news storm… it’s just close enough to the edge to catch attention but not far enough over to be considered “mean”. Habu’s advice on the vow of silence is genius, let the observer fill in the unsaid and the ijits in the mainstream media will viral broadcast the event long before they realize it’s a satire.
Preparing to be good little Adolphs before the Geneva Man comes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtQktNGBCZg&feature=related
16. LFMayor:
Well LF, I’ve just been studying alinsky and how the left does it….street theater they use to call it and it is effective…I mean he is in the W.H.
And alinsky’s rule on ridicule being effective couldn’t be more true. The left has done it with surgeon like precision on the right for decades and even folks who don’t know squat about politics are going to laugh with the crowd..if they’re laughing at Herr obama the we’ll have done our job…..or at least gotten off to a good start.
It’s low cost and if the media asks questions just smile, give a big thumbs up as you point to the “I LOVE OBAMA” sign you’re carrying. But no interviews. As you pointed out they’ll go ballistic in the W.H. and viral in the press. Sat. Night Live has done this stuff for thirty years…the Reps have never done it so we need to get with the program and ridicule obama and his entire cabinet…what a target Biden is …. lets go have fun and laugh this guy out of power.
Of course someone will ask , “Who organized this” They get no answer because it was spontaneous…..where’s the sewing machine?
13. MG
We could slightly alter the salute to form a “taco” instead of an O. I mean he is such a pudenda.
LOTM:
“Bah. One Fuehrer is enough!”
Ah, Billy Wilder. Sure do miss him.
I suggest the double cross from the movie “V for Vendetta”. The one with the two horizontal arms. The culture wonks would get it. Brown shirts and red armbands with that cross.
When will The 0bamanation make this speech?
“My fellow Englishmen (Americans): tonight our country, that which we stand for, and all we hold dear, faces a grave and terrible threat. This violent and unparalleled assault on our security will not go undefended… or unpunished. Our enemy is an insidious one, seeking to divide us and destroy the very foundation of our great nation. Tonight, we must remain steadfast. We must remain determined. But most of all, we must remain united. Those caught tonight in violation of curfew will be considered in league with our enemy and prosecuted as a terrorist without leniency or exception. Tonight, I give you my most solemn vow: that justice will be swift, it will be righteous, and it will be without mercy.”
After that night, we don the Guy Fawkes masks.