cyberwarfare news stories on Newser

'Son of Stuxnet' Worm Found in Europe

Rob Quinn — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:44:10 CDT

A new computer virus found in Europe and the Middle East bears a strong resemblance to the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, security experts say, but the Duqu malware's target is still unclear. Security firm Symantec says Duqu appears to be designed to gather information on industrial control...

US Eyed Cyberattack on Libya

Rob Quinn — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:09:05 CDT

The Pentagon seriously considered unleashing a cyberattack on Libya to take out the Gadhafi regime's air defenses before airstrikes began in March, officials say. But after an intense debate, administration officials decided against using a cyberattack to shield allied aircraft, the New York Times reports. The cyberattack option was rejected...

US Drones Infected With Virus

Kevin Spak — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:19:25 CDT

America’s robot assassins have all been infected with a “keylogger” virus that tracks every move their pilots make, sources tell Wired . The military isn’t sure how the computers at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada—the nerve center that controls most drone missions—got infected, or who they might be...

Tunnels? Today's Jailbreaks Need Hackers

Sarah Whitmire — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:41:40 CDT

A prison warden's worst nightmare came true a few years ago: A freak power surge opened every death row inmate's door at the same time. All ended well, but a security engineer recounts the anecdote to the Huffington Post to highlight a scary vulnerability of modern prisons controlled by computers:...

Brand New Electronics 'Already Tainted With Malware'

Rob Quinn — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:02:48 CDT

Some computers and other electronic imports are packed with malware before they're even out of the box, a congressional expert on cybersecurity warns. Hackers overseas planning cyber attacks are planting bad codes in components headed for the US, Rep. Jim Langevin tells Reuters . "Corrupting hardware and software is embedded in...

Feds Building Scale Model of the Internet

Mark Russell — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:53:43 CDT

The United States is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create a "scale model" of the Internet, where military researchers can hone their cyber warfare skills, reports the BBC . The Defense Advance Research Projects Agency is overseeing the National Cyber Range project, which will allow researchers to simulate online...

China Accuses US of Waging 'Internet War'

Kevin Spak — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:00:05 CDT

The Chinese military issued a report today accusing the US of waging a worldwide "internet war" aimed at fomenting uprisings in the Middle East and elsewhere. Written by military academy scholars, the report urges the government to tighten its control of the web even further, according to the AP . "Of...

Pentagon: Cyber Attacks Can Qualify as Acts of War

Mark Russell — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:54:10 CDT

A cyber attack on the United States or its allies can be considered an act of war and result in a military response, says the Pentagon in its first formal document outlining its cyber strategy. The 30-page classified report—unclassified portions of which will be released next month—looks at...

Military's New Project: Social Media Propaganda

Kevin Spak — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:41:31 CDT

The US military has hired a California company to develop a program that will let it operate a host of bogus social media accounts, in the hopes of covertly influencing online discourse and spreading pro-American propaganda overseas, the Guardian reports. This “online persona management service” would allow each user to...