Author: ma163769

Cyber threats and attacks are becoming more common, sophisticated and damaging. The Alliance is faced with an evolving complex threat environment. State and non-state actors can use cyber attacks in the context of military operations. In recent events, cyber attacks have been part of hybrid warfare. NATO and its Allies rely on strong and resilient cyber defences to fulfil the Alliance’s core tasks of collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security. NATO needs to be prepared to defend its networks and operations against the growing sophistication of the cyber threats and attacks it faces.

Source : www.nato.int

 

The increasing proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the growing opportunity for real-time borderless exchange, cybersecurity is a complex transnational issue that requires global cooperation for ensuring a safe Internet. According to a 2016 Norton study, threats to cyberspace have increased dramatically in the past year afflicting 431 million adult victims globally – or 14 adults victims every second, one million cybercrime victims every day.

Cybercrime has now become a business which exceeds a trillion dollars a year in online fraud, identity theft, and lost intellectual property, affecting millions of people around the world, as well as countless businesses and the Governments of every nation.

To address the issues and challenges around cybersecurity and cybercrime, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a Special Event on “Cybersecurity and Development”, organized jointly by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in New York.

The plenary and panel discussion aimed to (1) build awareness at the international policy level by providing ECOSOC Members with a picture of the current situation and challenges concerning cybersecurity and its links to development; (2) identify a range of best practice policies and initiatives in place around the world to build a culture of cybersecurity; and (3) explore options for a global response to rising cybercrime.

 

source : www.un.org/en/development/desa/news

Asian hackers are using Trojans to gather information from workers in the UK Government and the national infrastructure. The Trojans come as attachments or through links to specially crafted websites and use social engineering tactics that come from spoofed senders. Around 300 UK Government departments and critical infrastructure businesses have been attacked warns the UK National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre (NISCC). The Security centre said that the attackers are gathering commercial or economically valuable information. The agency also warned that anti-virus software and firewalls do not give complete protection. It has released detection and protection advice against the Trojans. We have heard the term cyber terrorism used since the mid 1990s, when the concept of using computers and other types of high technology as weapons was first openly discussed in the form of Information Warfare.

Since then we have seen the development of information warfare capability in at least two countries (the USA, China), but the events in the USA of 9/11/2001 and the subsequent response have elevated the fear of terrorism and, as a result, cyber terrorism to a new plane. There has been a strong and understandable reaction to the new terrorist threat and the concept of high tech attacks that they might launch seems to have become wrapped up in the whole atmosphere of fear.

 

Source : www.sciencedirect.com

In many ways, the benefits afforded by cyberspace are also its most potent fault lines. The ubiquity, anonymity and freedom available in cyberspace furthers many civil liberties. At the same time, the interconnectedness of cyberspace makes it very difficult to regulate, leaving significant portions of the global population, economy and infrastructure vulnerable to abuse.

The common strand within debates relating to the management of cyberspace concerns the difficulty of arriving at a global consensus on rules of the road for this medium. Many conversations on the best way to secure cyberspace are premised on the flawed conflation of the security of the network with the security of the content it hosts. Is it connectivity itself we are securing, or banking transactions, or freedom of expression, or all these elements? Ultimately nations will want both network and data security, but on the specific issue of how content is protected – and indeed, what content is protected – there is bound to be wide divergence among countries.

Source : The global policy journal

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has called on NATO to modernise its structures in order to make itself faster at dealing with current and future threats, such as terrorism and cyber.

Source http://european-union-news.newslib.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

London

Today our adversaries are increasingly turning to cyber.

Prime Minister triggers Article 50 and we begin the process of leaving the European Union…we won’t simply be strengthening our Parliamentary sovereignty…retaining control of our borders and our laws…we’ll be becoming an even more Global Britain…standing up for British values and the international-rules based system…alongside our friends and allies.

 

Defence can banish despair in fragile nations. But the Commonwealth can do more than that. It can bring hope. I’ve had the great privilege to see some of the Commonwealth’s work up close. I’ve seen you fighting poverty…to support good governance…to devise innovative solutions to challenge climate change. I’ve see you fighting for people’s right to make a better life.

The National Security Adviser and Secretary-General Wang agreed various measures to strengthen UK-China security co-operation.

Five major international aviation organizations signed a new cybersecurity agreement to coordinate their actions: the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Airports Council International (ACI), the Civil Air Navigation Services organization (CANSO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industry Associates (ICCAIA). The agreement synchronizes their actions and responses in a common front against all types of cyber attacks, from information theft and general disruption to potential loss of life issues. The signatories will be more proactive in sharing critical information like threat identification, risk assessments, and cybersecurity best practices. The agreement also encourages more substantial coordination at the state level between government and industry stakeholders on all cybersecurity strategies, policies, and plans. “As technologies rapidly evolve and become more readily accessible to all, cyber threats cannot be ignored,” Raymond Benjamin, ICAO Secretary General said in a statement. “This is an important new area of aviation security concern and our global community will ensure that it is met with a strong level of commitment and response.”

Source :http://www.accessintel.com/

Seven Christians were killed in el-Arish between 30 January and 23 February 2017, all in attacks claimed by Sinai Province, an ISIS affiliate operating in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Five individuals were shot, one was beheaded, and another set on fire. According to church officials, 100 families out of roughly 160 in north Sinai, along with more than 200 students studying in el-Arish, are seeking refuge in the neighboring city of Ismailia.

The north-eastern region of the Sinai Peninsula has been a militant hotspot for several years, peppered with violent attacks and threats from Sinai Province, which affiliated with ISIS .

the majority of attacks in the Sinai Peninsula by ISIS’ affiliate were against security forces, with 39 deaths in at least 8 individual incidents. In the same period and geographical area, 21 civilians were killed and not one victim was reported as Coptic Christian. Having said that, on 19 November 2016.

Following this, there has been regular brutality towards Christians and other minorities by the group’s supporters and members. This violence is regularly justified in ISIS propaganda with a rhetoric that frames the Western intervention in Syria as a Christian ‘crusade’ and a ‘war on Islam’.

source :http://www.religionandgeopolitics.org

 

The UN Security Council has condemned the bombings of two Coptic Christian Churches In Egypt Sunday ,calling “heinous ” and “cowardly ”

The two blasts at Tanta’s Mar Girgis Church and Alexandria’s St Mark’s Cathedral ,killed over 40 people and injured more than 100 in the deadliest attacks targeting Copts in years.

A statement by the the council urged all members to cooperate with the Egyptian government in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attacks ,which were claimed by Islamic State Militant .

“The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security ,”

Source :English.ahram.org.eg