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Stuxnet in China

By Erik,

Stuxnet in China
The Diplomat -- October 4, 2010
A computer worm that has been dubbed by some analysts the world’s first cyber super weapon has reportedly made its way to China.
Stuxnet, which was first discovered in June this year and is reportedly the first worm known to have been used to target critical infrastructure, is said to have already infected millions of personal computers in China.
The worm gained worldwide notoriety last month when international media began reporting that it had made its way into Iran’s industrial complexes, including nuclear facilities, prompting speculation that it was being used as a weapon by Israel or the United States to cripple the country’s nuclear programme.
Stuxnet is said to be different from previous malware in two ways. First and untypically, it’s delivered through a USB port, meaning systems don’t have to be connected to the Internet to become infected. But perhaps more interestingly—and uniquely—it seizes control of a targeted facility’s supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCDA) and is therefore able to disable it.
Now, official Chinese media is reporting that the worm has already infected 6 million PCs and about 1000 corporate computers.
The official Xinhua News Agency on Friday quoted Wang Zhantao, an engineer at the Beijing-based Rising International Software Co. Ltd., as saying that Stuxnet ‘can break into computers and steal private information, especially from industrial firms, sending it back to a server in the United States.’
He’s also quoted as saying that the virus exploited a bug in Siemens auto-control systems used in industrial manufacturing to skip the security check. ‘Hackers may take control of a company's machinery run under computers infected by Stuxnet, and give dangerous orders causing serious damage,’ he’s reported as saying.
So, did the attack really originate in the United States, as has been stated in some reports? I asked Marcus Sachs, executive director for National Security and Cyber Policy at Verizon in Washington, D.C. and a former member of the White House Office of Cyberspace Security, how easy attribution of such attacks is.
‘Attribution in cyberspace is always very hard. There are too many ways to be anonymous and too many ways to spoof another person or system,’ he told me. ‘The basic protocols of the Internet don’t allow for positive attribution, which is great for free speech, but makes things hard for law enforcement.’
Sachs, who is also director of the SANS Internet Storm Center, said much of the talk about Stuxnet being a cyber super weapon is hyperbole, but admitted that the malware is complicated and will pose China and others problems.
‘It will be interesting to see how they respond, and how transparent they are in reporting on it,’ he said. ‘What's different for them is being able to publicly discuss the impact of these tools on their systems and what they are doing to mitigate it. Here in the USA anybody can blog, speak, or publish whatever they please. That doesn't mean that what comes from us is truthful. But it's definitely hard to figure out what to believe in terms of statements coming from China.’
The issues of who is responsible for Stuxnet and why China may have been targeted also raise the interesting question of whether China itself is capable of such an attack. There’s periodic speculation in the media about Chinese cyber capabilities and how involved the government is in any attacks that take place on foreign entities, be they governments or companies.
This year alone has seen numerous reports on China’s supposed cyber war intentions, including in March, when the Times of London reported NATO and the European Union had issued urgent warnings that intelligence materials needed to be protected from a surge in cyber attacks originating in China.
The paper quoted one US analyst of saying that ‘neither the US nor any of its Western allies had formed an effective response to the Chinese threat…The West’s own cyber offensives have so far been directed largely at terrorists rather than nation states, giving China virtually free rein to penetrate Western systems with its own world-class hackers and increasingly popular Chinese-made components.’
I asked Sachs how much evidence there was of a centrally-co-ordinated effort from China.
‘There’s most likely a "formal" government or military coordinated capability, as there is in most developed countries—think about our new Cyber Command,’ he said. ‘But there's also the millions of Chinese citizens online, and a very large population of young, technically educated, and inquisitive users.
‘Most of the threats we see coming from China are not from the government or military, but from hacking groups and clubs, and from organized crime. There's a lot of misconceptions about China and often here in the USA we are quick to make them into the boogie man of cyberspace.’
And, he made sure to point out, it all goes back to the problem of attribution. ‘It's very easy to make it look like an attack is coming from China when the actual human on the keyboard might be sitting in Moscow or Memphis.’
The Diplomat
Saab Receives Order for an Airborne Surveillance System

By Erik,

Saab Receives Order for an Airborne Surveillance System
Defence Talk -- By Saab on October 5, 2010
Defence and security company Saab has received an order for an airborne surveillance system. The contract amounts to more than 4.5 billion SEK.
The order concerns delivery of the Saab 2000 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) system, which comprises of a Saab 2000 aircraft equipped with the advanced Erieye radar system. The contract also includes ground equipment as well as logistics and support services.
The surveillance system in combination with the ground equipment provide a detailed picture of a situation which can be used in connection with, for example, border surveillance, rescue operations as well as in combating terrorism and organised crime.
"This contract can be seen as a further confirmation of our strong position in the world regarding not only the area of airborne surveillance but in systems integration and data fusion as well, says Håkan Buskhe," CEO, Saab. "This surveillance system will provide the customer with improved solutions for defence and civil security."
Saab's Erieye radar system has been well received by the market. The initial system was provided in a Saab 340 aircraft to the Swedish Air Force. The Saab 340 system was also purchased by Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The radar has been installed in the Embraer 145 as well, which was delivered to Brazil, Mexico and Greece. The latest platform is the Saab 2000 with which the system is being supplied also to Pakistan.
Upon customer's request, no further information regarding the customer will be announced. The industry's nature is such that this type of information can not always be published.
Defence Talk
Nvidia GPU Class-Action Settlement Offers Repairs, New Laptops

By FastCargo,

PC Magazine Article
By: Mark Hachman
The results of a successful 2008 class-action suit against Nvidia for faulty graphics chips are now being made available to consumers, although the compensation will vary dramatically.
The suit, filed in Sept. 2008, covers a defect Nvidia discovered in the packaging material of several notebook GPUs built in 2007 and 2008.
While the suit applies to dozens of notebooks computers from several manufacturers (see graphic) the compensation those notebook owners will receive depends on the manufacturer of the notebook itself. In any case, a user with an affected GPU does not have to settle, but must exclude himself or herself by Nov. 5.
More information (including claim forms) can be found at NvidiaSettlement.com.
Users with a notebook manufactured by either Dell or Apple, and containing one of the affected chips, are eligible for a replacement of the affected part.
However, if a user owns a notebook that was manufactured by Hewlett-Packard, that user is eligible for an entirely new notebook "similar in kind and value" to the one that was affected.
Users are also eligible to compensation for repair expenses accrued while trying to solve issues associated with the faulty Nvidia chips. But those funds will be paid out of a general pool, and the amount per person will depend on the claims received, according to the settlement notice.
Users will have to prove that the affected notebooks are suffering from problems related to the faulty media controller or GPU, including distorted or scrambled video, random characters, or, in certain cases, an inability to detect a wireless network.
CombatACE Facebook Winner - Week 2

By Erik,

CombatACE Facebook Contest Winner
Week 2 - Shaun Griffies
The Randomizer selected #138 this week and on our Facebook list that is Shaun Griffies. Congratulations!
Week 1 - Ivan Adamek
Shaun post on your/our Facebook page what your CA username is, then send us a PM here so we know you posted. Once we have that information we'll get your free download subscription added to your account. See you again next week for our latest winner. If you haven't added us to your Facebook likes we can't draw your number.
Refurbished Dutch F-16s bound for Chilean air force

By Erik,

Refurbished Dutch F-16s bound for Chilean air force
UPI -- 28/09/2010
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chile is starting to take delivery of Dutch F-16 fighter bombers, that old workhorse of the Cold War years, as part of a deal that will see the Chilean air force making more use of the refurbished jets. This week, 18 of the refurbished F-16s are to be delivered to Chile at the Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands and more are due for transfer to the Latin American country at a later stage. Chilean officials said the final number of F-16s in the air force could total 44 by 2011.
The total price tag on the refurbishment, appropriately called the Mid-Life Upgrade, wasn't discussed. Figures in excess of $270 million were mentioned but not confirmed.
Other than technological advancement, including change of software and battle-readiness of the aircraft, the F-16s will undergo change of colors and symbols before they land in Chile.
The Dutch air force decided to sell the F-16s as surplus to its need. Dutch instructors are training Chilean military personnel, including maintenance engineers on the upkeep of the fighter bombers once they enter the Chilean air force service.
Chile pursued the purchase for several years before the initial deal became known in April 2009.
Industry analysts said the upgrade of the F-16s bound for Chile was likely to be to standard configuration, which makes them capable of performing all kinds of missions. Whether the upgrade includes the whole range of operating software or some has been withheld isn't known. Analysts said it was unlikely that the full range of U.S. software would be made available for transfer to Chile.
Industry sources said the Chilean F-16s could likely be equipped with Israeli Python 4 and Derby missiles.
The F-16 entered service in 1979 as a General Dynamics innovation specifically for the U.S. Air Force. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corp., which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.
The F-16 "Fighting Falcon" -- nicknamed "Viper" by pilots because of its nose -- was expected to be replaced by a successor in 1999. Due to several reasons, both economic and political, the F-16 wasn't replaced. Instead, in an effort to maintain the same level of operational capabilities and operational effectiveness of existing aircraft over the next 10 to 20 years amid ever increasing technology, the manufacturers put in place an extensive modernization program. It became known as the Mid-Life Update.
The Netherlands air force initially bought a total of 213 F-16A/B, one of four European participating air forces and one of five countries to build the F-16 locally. Later the Dutch reduced their inventory to 108 aircraft but upgraded all of them to MLU standard. Some surplus Dutch F-16s were sold to Jordan.
UPI
Sukhoi Su-30M2 fighters complete test flights

By Erik,

Sukhoi Su-30M2 fighters complete test flights
UPI - 28/09/2010
MOSCOW -- Russia's Sukhoi aeronautical firm has completed its factory flight tests for its multi-role double seater Su-30M2 fighters. The tests occurred at the flight test station of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft production association named after Yuri Gagarin, Itar-Tass reported Tuesday.
After receiving certification the Su-30M2 will be posted to units of the Russian air force.
Russia's Ministry of Defense signed contracts for four Su-30M2 aircraft at the international aerospace show MAKS-2009. During the air show, the Russian Ministry of Defense also signed contracts for 48 Su-35S fighters and 12 upgraded Su-27SM fighter jets.
The Su-30M2 is an upgraded strike aircraft, based on the Su-30 fighter design. The fighter was designed as a single-seat, twin-engine, long-range, air defense fighter to counter the U.S. F-15 Eagle and NATO fighter aircraft.
The Su-30 aircraft has proven a valuable export. China has purchased about 72 Su-30MKs, Su-30MKK or J-11s, which are now being delivered. A licensed production joint agreement has also been agreed signed by Russia and China under which 250 Su-30MKKs will be constructed by China's Shenyang Aircraft Corp.
UPI