Security Expert: U.S. 'Leading Force' Behind Stuxnet

Posted By Blackfive • [September 26, 2011]

I found the following story on the NPR iPhone App interesting: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/26/140789306/security-expert-u-s-leading-force-behind-stuxnet?sc=17&f=1001Security Expert: U.S. 'Leading Force' Behind Stuxnet
by Tom Gjelten
- September 26, 2011One year ago, German cybersecurity expert Ralph Langner announced that he had found a computer worm designed to sabotage a nuclear facility in Iran. It's called Stuxnet, and it was the most sophisticated worm Langner had ever seen.In the year since, Stuxnet has been analyzed as a cyber-superweapon, one so dangerous it might even harm those who created it.In the summer of 2010, Langner and his partners went to work analyzing a malicious software program that was turning up in some equipment. Langner Communications is a small firm in Hamburg, Germany, but Langner and the two engineers with whom he works know a lot about industrial control systems. What they found in Stuxnet left them flabbergasted."I'm in this business for 20 years, and what we saw in the lab when analyzing Stuxnet was far beyond everything we had ever imagined," Langner says.It was a worm that could burrow its way into an industrial control system, the kind of system used in power plants, refineries and nuclear stations. Amazingly, it ignored everything it found except the one piece of equipment it was seeking; when the worm reached its target, it would destroy it.Langner says that the more his team analyzed the Stuxnet worm, the more they knew they were onto something big."We were pretty much working around the clock," he says, "because after we had the first impression of the magnitude of this, we were just like on speed or something like that. It was just impossible to go back to sleep."Langner also realized after analyzing the Stuxnet code that it was designed to disable a particular nuclear facility in Iran. That's serious business, he figured. Some Iranian nuclear scientists, he remembered, had been mysteriously killed. Langner published his findings anyway."I wasn't actually scared, but this was just something I was thinking about," he says. "You know, this stuff must involve intelligence services who do some dirty work every now and then, and you can't just block that away from your personal situation when you are the guy who is the first to publish [that] this is a directed attack against the Iranian nuclear program. So there have been some frightening moments."U.S. The Culprit?Langner says as they dug deeper into the Stuxnet code, each new discovery left them more impressed and wondering what was coming next. He says he couldn't imagine who could have created the worm, and the level of expertise seemed almost alien. But that would be science fiction, and Stuxnet was a reality."Thinking about it for another minute, if it's not aliens, it's got to be the United States," he says.The sophistication of the worm, plus the fact that the designer had inside intelligence on the Iranian facility, led Langner to conclude that the United States had developed Stuxnet, possibly with the help of Israeli intelligence.Langner isn't shy about naming the U.S. as the Stuxnet culprit, as he stated in a recent speech at the Brookings Institution. In that speech, he also made the bigger point that having developed Stuxnet as a computer weapon, the United States has in effect introduced it into the world's cyber-arsenal."Cyberweapons proliferate by use, as we see in the case of Stuxnet," he said. "Several months or weeks or a year later, the code is available on the Internet for dissection by anyone who has the motivation or money to do so."It would have to be revised, Langner says, in order to target some other industrial control system besides the one in Iran, a U.S. power plant, for example. But it could be done, and he warns that U.S. utility companies are not yet prepared to deal with the threat Stuxnet represents.The CIA declined to comment on Langner's charge that the U.S. was "the leading force" behind Stuxnet. Homeland Security officials insist measures are being taken to defend U.S. infrastructure against cyberattack. [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]

Cav Scouts Clear...

Posted By Blackfive • [September 26, 2011]

U.S. Army soldiers fire at an enemy hiding position during Operation Tofan 2 in Suri Khel, Afghanistan, Sept. 16, 2011. The objective was to clear insurgents from the town of Suri Khel and prevent them from returning. The soldiers are assigned to 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joseph Watson

SFC Alwyn C. Cashe

Posted By Crush • [September 25, 2011]

Since being part of the 2010 Medal of Honor Convention, I have read and published scores of narratives for valor medals. While the actions of these men are all truly incredible, the actions of Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe in Iraq on Oct. 17, 2005 are astonishing. Especially considering he was only awarded the Silver Star.

Cashe occupied the gunner's turret of a Bradley fighting vehicle when it was hit by an IED. Cashe managed to escape the vehicle, but the vehicle's fuel cell had ruptured and ignited, setting fire to the men stuck inside. Cashe was covered in fuel, and insurgent small-arms fire was targeting the Bradley. Cashe rescued the driver, who was on fire, and opened the hatch to rescue the burning soldiers still inside. His uniform caught fire, but he continued his rescue efforts - even running into the inferno to pull out the medic.

Of those wounded in the attack, Cashe's burns were the most severe. He succumbed to his wounds on Nov. 8, 2005. I run into burning buildings for a living as a fireman. But I cannot imagine running into a burning vehicle while soaked in fuel and on fire myself to rescue multiple victims. This man did, he died doing so, and was only awarded the military's third-highest medal for valor. Lyndon Johnson got a Silver Star for just riding on an airplane.

From the narrative to accompany the award:

Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe, United States Army, distinguished himself by exceptional gallantry in action in the face of violence while serving as the platoon 1h sergeant of 151 Platoon, Alpha Company (Hard rock). 151 Battalion, 15 Infantry Regiment, based at FOB Mackenzie, Salah a Din Province, Iraq.

On 17 October 2005 , SFC Alwyn Cashe's heroic actions saved the lives of six of his fellow Soldiers. At approximately 1915 hrs, his platoon departed the forward operating base along Route Jaime to conduct a route clearance operation along a supply route that ran through the town of Duliaya; a town adjacent to the FOB.

After traveling about 4-5 kilometers, the lead Bradley fighting vehicle, of which SFC Cashe was in the gunner's hatch, struck a vehicle detonated IED emplaced across the route at grid MC 25377243. The blast ignited the fuel cell causing fuel to spew throughout the vehicle igniting a fire and causing the vehicle to roll to a stop. Also, from the forward left flank of the blast site, the platoon received enemy small-arms fire.

Soaked with fuel himself, SFC Cashe managed to dismount from the vehicle and assist the driver, SPC Howe, whose uniform was on fire. SFC Cashe extinguished the flames on SPC Howe.

Six soldiers and an interpreter were in the troop compartment of the burning vehicle. Flames had engulfed the vehicle and were darting from the weapons ports. One of the soldiers in the back of the vehicle attempted to open the hatch door in an attempt to help the soldiers escape. The flames intensified and everyone inside was aflame. Without regard for his personal safety, SFC Cashe rushed to the back of the vehicle, managed to help open the door and began to pull the soldiers out, one at a time. In doing this, the flames totally gripped his fueled soaked uniform causing severe, painful burns. Despite this pain, he bravely continued to pull his troops out of the vehicle and feverishly worked to put their flames out. As the chaos continued, SFC Cashe noticed that the platoon medic was still inside. He rushed back to the vehicle, reached through the flames and pulled out the medic. All this despite being on fire himself.

Within moments, a trail vehicle arrived and assisted with the CASEVAC. Although severely burned, SFC Cashe bravely continued to take control of the situation as besthe could. Shortly thereafter, the company first sergeant, 1SG Chris Mackenzie, accompanied by medics and other soldiers from the company arrived and began to evacuate the severely burned soldiers, the worst of which was SFC Cashe. The FOB helipad served as the LZ/PZ for the air evacuation. Badly burned, all six soldiers were alive when they were air evacuated. The interpreter did not survive the blast and was immediately transported to the battalion morgue.

Throughout the nightmarish ordeal, ten soldiers were injured. Six of the ten were treated at the Balad Hospital. Five of those six, including SFC Cashe were later evacuated through Landstuhl to the burn center in San Antonio, Texas. Sadly, over the next few weeks, four of the six died of wounds.

Despite being the most severely injured with 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 72% of his body, SFC Alwyn Cashe endured while his soldiers were alive. He suffered through painful surgeries, infections, organ failure and loss of body parts as he continued to be the consummate Platoon Sergeant to his Soldiers. SFC Alwyn Cashe died of his wounds on 8 November 2005. He was the last of those so severely injured that terrible night to die.

SFC Cashe's selfless and gallant actions allowed the loved ones of these brave soldiers to spend precious time by their sides before each succumbed to their dreadful injuries.

Although he is no longer with us, SFC Alwyn C. Cashe is the type of hero that historians will write about.

His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect greatly upon himself and the US Army.

More Blackfive reading on SFC Cashe here, here, and here.

Not to take away from the honor and tradition of our military decorations, but sometimes cloth and metal don't quite seem sufficient to recognize people like Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe. I expect that his medal will be upgraded. If not, it is time to overhaul the awards process.

Welcome Home...

Posted By Blackfive • [September 25, 2011]

 
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Karl Haywood reunites with his daughter after returning from an eight-month deployment in Iraq on Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Sept. 18, 2011. Haywood is assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Russell

Afghan Airdrop

Posted By Blackfive • [September 24, 2011]

Courtesy of the mighty USAF, this is what an airdrop looks like from inside the aircraft as Airmen of the 816 EAS executing Air Drop missions over Afghanistan:

Produced by Staff Sgt. Jose Rodriguez.

New Dawn...

Posted By Blackfive • [September 24, 2011]

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay transits the Arabian Gulf. Mobile Bay is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and support missions as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.  Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Wayman.

 

Sailors prepare an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Golden Dragons of Strike Fighter Squadron 192 for flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and support missions as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.  Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter Wayman.

 

Through the lens of a combat camera...

Posted By Blackfive • [September 23, 2011]

British soldiers from Light Regiment Royal Artillery, 29th Commando, 3rd Commando Brigade, attached to Bravo Company, First Battalion the Rifles, finish operations in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand Province. Produced by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan David Chandler.

Ask An Infantryman - The XBox Edition

Posted By Blackfive • [September 23, 2011]

Infantrymen!  You wise counsel is sought:

Dear Ask An Infantryman-

As a retired master blaster and CIB owner I need some advice.  I'm going through a really nasty divorce and my Ex decided to hit me where it hurts. Yes, she drove her truck over my XBox. MY. X. BOX.

She could have lit my awards on fire.  She could have poured out all of my single malt scotch.  She could have banged all my "friends".  But no.  She went for the goddamn XBox.

So I need advice on how to handle this situation...and, thanks but I've already got the "date a hotter girl than her" thing covered.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over? 

Thanks.

XBox-less, Not Dick-less

Grunts, leave your sage advice in the Comments.

The Tenth Annual This Ain't Hell Stolen Valor Awards Dinner

Posted By Blackfive • [September 23, 2011]

It's happening over at the Farm Team's place and they need your help with voting for/busting the chops of the chosen Jackwagon to win the award.

Reunited...

Posted By Blackfive • [September 23, 2011]

Capt. Lucas Frokjer, officer in charge of the flightline for Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, reunites with his family after returning from a seven-month deployment with HMH-463. The squadron arrived at Hangar 105 Sept. 17 and were welcomed home by a large crowd of family and friends. The squadron was replaced by HMH-363 who deployed to Afghanistan in August in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  Photo by Lance Corporal Jacob Barber.

Evan Pertile - SYSK Follow Up

Posted By Blackfive • [September 23, 2011]

How about some great news today?

RE: Evan Pertile - A Future Soldier You Should Know
RE: Spiritual Warfare Needed - Evan Pertile
RE: Some Spiritual and Caring Bridge Warfare Needed
RE: Evan Pertile - SYSK Follow Up
RE: Evan Pertile - Returned to Duty
RE: Evan Pertile - Future Soldier and SYSK Follow Up
RE: Evan Pertile - Update

Dear Evan's Army,

Wow - it has only been 9 or 10 months since I have updated this site.  I
thought I would take off the Christmas background and go back to ARMY STRONG
camo.  We have some exciting army events coming up so it is appropriate.

Evan is doing fantastic!  He has a check up at St. Jude in early October
with a MRI and other doctor visits and tests.  Can you believe we have been
home 2 years now from St. Jude?  While I still have major anxiety when he
goes back for the tests, the farther out we get the better!  Evan's cancer
will not come back.

Evan is now eight years old.  He loves playing golf with his Papa (he says
he is super at it after one week of golf camp.  I worry about his
self-esteem sometimes).  He is swimming on a year round swim team a couple
of times a week and doing soccer.  Wow!  Just to throw in more confusion he
will do a Lego Robotics after school activity that starts next week.  He
still is not at his pre-cancer strength and endurance but that's okay.  He's
not racing against Michael Phelps anytime soon.

His three brothers, William, Jonathan, and Xander are all doing well.  They
all have activities too.  Thank goodness Xander (age 4) only plays soccer!
Sweet Isabella Grace is 11 months old and is the happiest child I have ever
seen.  She reminds me so much of Evan as a baby.  She is not only content
but she is joyfull with a permanet smile.  I do feel a little bit sorry for
her.  There is no way she will EVER get a date with her four older
protective brothers!

Please consider walking with us on November 19th at 9:00 for the St. Jude
Give Thanks Walk.  You can join our team by clicking on the link below.  If
you can't walk with us, you can donate to the team.  This money helps St.
Jude find new treatments and someday a CURE for childhood cancer.  Won't it
be wonderful when it is gone?

www.mygivethankswalk.org/armyevan

We do have VERY EXCITING NEWS about Evan and the U.S. Army but that will be
a cliff hanger for now.  I promise it won't be 10 months before I tell you!
Maybe 2 days??

Love,

Rachel (and Army Strong Evan!!!)

Stay tuned...

For the Warrior Who Wants to Study

Posted By Grim • [September 23, 2011]

Recently a college professor in Texas, near Ft. Hood, published an article that said she was giving up teaching US military history because of students coming to her out of the wars.  She writes that what the students "needed was personal catharsis, but I am not a trained psychologist. What these students craved was the opportunity to express their anger or pain, but my class was not the place to do it."

Socrates was a veteran of Delium; Leonardo da Vinci made war machines.  If your experiences have called you to try to understand, good.  The first line of Aristotle's Metaphysics is, "All men by nature desire to know."  By answering that call, you are doing something in accord with the best and highest part of your nature.

What might be useful to you is some advice on how to structure your studies so that you can achieve that goal.  

Continue reading "For the Warrior Who Wants to Study"

Praising the Obama team on drone strike justification

Posted By Uncle Jimbo • [September 23, 2011]

There has been considerable discussion recently about the expansion of drone strikes in Pakistan and even to the Horn of Africa. Many of the arguments repeat the inaccurate claim that we kill mostly innocents in these attacks. Al Qaeda does not shelter or meet in areas filled with "innocents"; they hide in safe havens. The name itself ought to be explanation enough, but just to be clear; safe havens are inhabited by supporters of those who are offered sanctuary.

There is a more important development in this form of counterterrorism, however, and I want to give strong praise to the Obama administration for it. They have advanced the most intelligent and proper rationale and legal justification for the drone program I have heard publicly. It mirrors an argument that has been made by a number of legal and security experts for a considerable while. We have the right to kill those who are planning to kill us. Period. Doesn't matter where, when or how. If you plot to kill Americans, you have earned yourself a heaping, helping of Hellfire.

John Brennan, Obama's counterterror guru, has said some truly boneheaded things, but his recent speech at Harvard is a shining example of the right way to look at the war we are in.

An area in which there is some disagreement is the geographic scope of the conflict.  The United States does not view our authority to use military force against al-Qa’ida as being restricted solely to “hot” battlefields like Afghanistan.  Because we are engaged in an armed conflict with al-Qa’ida, the United States takes the legal position that —in accordance with international law—we have the authority to take action against al-Qa’ida and its associated forces without doing a separate self-defense analysis each time.  And as President Obama has stated on numerous occasions, we reserve the right to take unilateral action if or when other governments are unwilling or unable to take the necessary actions themselves. That does not mean we can use military force whenever we want, wherever we want. International legal principles, including respect for a state’s sovereignty and the laws of war, impose important constraints on our ability to act unilaterally—and on the way in which we can use force—in foreign territories.

Others in the international community—including some of our closest allies and partners—take a different view of the geographic scope of the conflict, limiting it only to the “hot” battlefields.  As such, they argue that, outside of these two active theatres, the United States can only act in self-defense against al-Qa’ida when they are planning, engaging in, or threatening an armed attack against U.S. interests if it amounts to an “imminent” threat.

In practice, the U.S. approach to targeting in the conflict with al-Qa’ida is far more aligned with our allies’ approach than many assume.  This Administration’s counterterrorism efforts outside of Afghanistan and Iraq are focused on those individuals who are a threat to the United States, whose removal would cause a significant – even if only temporary – disruption of the plans and capabilities of al-Qa’ida and its associated forces. Practically speaking, then, the question turns principally on how you define “imminence.”

That is some of the clearest thinking about our inherent and legal right to defend ourselves against those who plan and conduct terror attacks. It was a breath of fresh air to hear this bold assertion of our sovereign rights as a nation from the trans-nationalist-leaning Obama administration. Let's hope they maintain this in the face of the certain outrage and pushback from the left.

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Post-Modern War

Posted By Uncle Jimbo • [September 23, 2011]

Sean Linnane, who I know from 1st Group, has an excellent piece exploring the new way we fight.

Our enemies in this war are global, they hold no capital cities - beyond some worthless real estate in Somalia they hold NO cities and it's debatable whether they hold one even there. Our enemies have no uniform, no flags, no tanks, no artillery, no airplanes, and no fleet of warships. They once had an air force for a very short period of time - the morning of 9/11 - and they kamikazied them all in.

If our enemies ever assembled on a single battlefield we could crush them at once - which of course is the point why they operate the way they do. We - the Free World - have achieved such overwhelming military superiority that no enemy on Earth can prevail against us on a conventional battlefield, not even the Chinese; never mind the Iranians and the North Koreans.

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What Not To Say

Posted By Laughing_Wolf • [September 23, 2011]

I've heard some good one's lately, like the female who empathized with the widow of a fallen service member by telling her that she had lost her dog the month before, but this bit of guidance needs to be spread far and wide:

What Not To Say To Someone With PTSD

It is a real issue, with real problems, and Hollyweird ain't helping (along with others).  I've seen some jackass responses even within my own local community to something that happened because of PTSD.  Thankfully, local leaders have a brain and use it on the issue...

Please read, share, and be a part of the solution rather than the problem.  If you know someone with PTSD, be there for them, help them get help, and do what you can.  If you have it, talk to others who have been there and get help when and where you can.  If you are thinking of checking out, check out this out and keep this number handy: 1-800-273-8255. Call it. 

LW

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