According to the New York Times, computer security experts and
US officials alike say the PLA’s sophisticated cyber squadron is
attempting to hack American businesses after a brief hiatus.

Earlier this year, the Times cited a report by
Northern Virginia security firm Mandiant when they alleged that
Chinese hackers targeted businesses and government agencies inside
the US, as well as a Canadian utility company and others. Mandiant
said in the February report that the PLA “Unit 61398” group
compromised 141 companies across 20 major industries during the
last few years, infecting the computers at Coca-Cola, the Canadian
arm of Telvent and others.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Defense threw its
weight behind Mandiant’s claims, and for the first time ever the
administration of President Barack Obama accused China of
cybercrimes.

“In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world,
including those owned by the US government, continued to be
targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable
directly to the Chinese government and military,” the Pentagon
wrote.

Now, the chief executive at Mandiant and a number of US
officials admit that China relaxed its campaign after the February
report was published — only to have already returned to its hacking
ways weeks later.

“They dialed it back for a little while, though other groups
that also wear uniforms didn’t even bother to do that,” CEO
Kevin Mandia told the Times on Friday. “I think you have to view
this as the new normal.”

Mandia told the Times that hackers halted their operations back
in February and attempted to wipe clean their digital fingerprints
by scrubbing away spyware and other espionage tools used to surveil
US businesses. Only one month after pausing, though, the hackers
have resorted to once again using sophisticated means to carefully
and clandestinely pilfer intelligence from American computers.

According to Mandia, Unit 61398 is now operating at 60 to 70
percent of what their campaigns resembled before being exposed in
the original New York Times article.

Obama administration officials, speaking on condition of
anonymity, did not react in disbelief. One senior official that
spoke to the Times said, “this is something we are going to have
to come back at time and again with the Chinese leadership,”
who, he added, “have to be convinced there is a real cost to
this kind of activity.”

Mandiant declined to identify which computer systems have been
allegedly targeted in the latest round of attacks, but claimed that
many of the very same entities hit before their report was
published are once again in trouble.

“The hackers now use the same malicious software they used to
break into the same organizations in the past, only with minor
modifications to the code,” wrote David Sanger and Nicole
Perlroth for the paper. “[T]hey have gradually begun attacking
the same victims from new servers and have reinserted many of the
tools that enable them to seek out data without detection.”

So far, though, the Chinese have largely refused to buy into the
claims that a top-secret PLA group is orchestrating some of the
most serious cyberattacks ever waged at American entities. It was
nearly one month after the February Mandiant report was released
when Premier Li Keqiang called the claims “groundless
accusations” and impractical.

Hacking is a “worldwide problem and in fact China itself is a
main victim of such attacks,” Li said in March. “China does
not support — in fact it is opposed to – - hacking
attacks.”

At that meeting, a reporter asked Li, “Will China stop the
cyber- hacking against the US since it has now become an issue of
American national security?”

“In your question I sensed the presumption of guilt,” the
premier responded.

Christopher Soghoian, a senior policy analyst at the American
Civil Liberties Union, wrote on Twitter after this week’s Times
article, “When the Chinese gov hacks into US computers, it is
cyberwar. When the US gov does it, it is ‘installing
software.’”

It doesn’t hurt the cases brought up by both Li and Soghoian
that perhaps the most destructive tool of cyberwar used yet by any
nation-state — the worm Stuxnet — is largely considered to be a
tool developed by scientists working for the US and Israel.
Although the White House has yet to admit to those claims on the
record, Obama administration officials speaking on condition of
anonymity have attested that Washington ordered Stuxnet and other
malicious codes to be used against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Just days before Li’s remark, the head of the US Cyber Command
told the Senate Armed Services Committee that his agency plans to
have 13 separate units trained by 2015 specifically to launch offensive cyberattacks at
foreign targets.

“The teams are analogous to battalions in the Army and Marine
Corps — or squadrons in the Navy and Air Force,” Gen. Keith
Alexander said at the hearing. “In short, they will soon be
capable of operating on their own, with a range of operational and
intelligence skill sets, as well as a mix of military and civilian
personnel.”

“I would like to be clear that this team.?.?. is an offensive
team,” he said.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal a month later, Geng Shuang,
a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, accused the US
of “using cybersecurity as an excuse to take inappropriate
actions against Chinese companies and individuals” without
providing “proof and evidence.”

“China stands ready to carry out constructive cooperation
with all countries, including the US, to safeguard peace and
security of the cyberspace on the basis of mutual respect,” he
said.

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon on Friday sent two budget items to Congress – one to provide funding for combat operations next year, and another to limit the sting of sequestration this year.

The Defense Department is asking for $79.4 billion for its overseas contingency operations, or OCO, budget in 2014. The department did not include the OCO request with the $526.6 billion Pentagon base budget request submitted in April, saying that continuing deliberations over troop levels in Afghanistan made the spending picture unclear.

Troop numbers in Afghanistan will decline markedly during fiscal 2014, which starts Oct. 1. The Obama administration has said it would remove just over half the current number of troops before stabilizing the level at about 34,000 by February. The drawdown is expected to continue after Afghan elections are held in April, during which U.S. troops will assist with security.

The new OCO request is the smallest since 2005. Congress approved $86.5 billion for war spending in the current fiscal year.

Though troop numbers will be far lower, the OCO request only fell marginally in part because DOD needs to withdraw equipment and remove facilities that have been built up in Afghanistan over 12 years of fighting, Pentagon press secretary George Little told reporters Monday.

“It’s not all about cost-per-troop in the OCO budget,” he said.

The department also sent a $9.6 billion reprogramming request to Congress to shift funds from military personnel and investment accounts into those with pressing shortfalls as a result of nearly $40 billion in sequestration cuts in the current fiscal year.

“We’re trying to scrape for every penny, dime and nickel to achieve an additional $37 billion in cuts between now and the end of September,” Little said.

If Congress approves the measure, the money would support training and military operations, as well as higher-than-expected fuel costs this year.

“The main goal that we’re trying to deal with right now… is to limit the impact of sequestration on military readiness, particularly operations, training and maintenance accounts,” he said.

Pentagon officials hope the reprogramming request is approved by Congress by early June, Little said.

Carroll.chris@stripes.com
Twitter: @ChrisCarroll_
 

Article source: http://www.stripes.com/pentagon-requests-79-4-billion-for-combat-operations-1.221684

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Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/us-military-praises-pakistani-steps-to-curb-fertilizers-used-in-afghanistan-bombs/2013/05/20/41884ffc-c158-11e2-9aa6-fc21ae807a8a_story.html

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –  Military officials say a Humvee carrying six Navy SEALs and two other sailors overturned during a training exercise at Fort Knox in Kentucky, killing one of the SEALs and injuring the others on board.

Lt. David Lloyd, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Group Two in Virginia Beach, Va., says the Humvee was part of a convoy on the post when it overturned Wednesday night. What caused it to flip remains under investigation.

The Navy says the SEAL who died was Special Warfare Operator Third Class Jonathan H. Kaloust, who was based in Virginia. He was from Massapequa, N.Y.

Lloyd says the seven survivors were treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital.

The sailors had been conducting tactical training, but Lloyd would not release further details about the exercise because it was considered sensitive.

Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/17/1-navy-seal-killed-7-sailors-hurt-when-humvee-overturns-during-training-at-fort/

AP

Thomas Saenz near the tarmac at Kabul International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

SAN DIEGO — Finals week was dangerous for Thomas Saenz.

The Navy lieutenant needed armed guards and an armored car to get to an exam site, in Kabul, Afghanistan. A deadly bomb attack also caused him to his miss classes — transmitted live via the Internet — but he persevered and earned a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Southern California while commanding a top security team.

His class graduated on Friday, as he joins a growing number of service members earning college degrees while deployed in a war zone.

“Not only was he out there living on the edge, but he had to get his homework done,” USC professor Frank Alvidrez said.

The Obama administration is pushing universities to find creative ways to help service members complete their degrees as it tracks the success of its post 9/11 GI Bill, which is designed to be the most comprehensive education benefit for veterans since World War II.

Enrollments for the new GI Bill number more than 480,000, according to the Veteran’s Administration, which is starting to track the number of graduates.

It’s not known just how many others like Saenz earn their degrees while in combat. A commencement ceremony for 100 war-zone graduates from various universities is planned in late May in Kandahar.

“They really are multi-tasking in the extreme,” said Bob Ludwig, spokesman for the University of Maryland University College, adding that the coursework can provide relief from the mental turmoil of war. “It really is an opportunity to step away from the battlefield and have the sort of the safety of being in a classroom.”

UMUC has about 30,000 active-duty service members among its students and was among the first schools to send faculty to Iraq to teach troops in 2008 during the war. UMUC also has adjunct professors giving classes in tents in remote outposts of Afghanistan as well as online instruction on bases.

Completing degrees online is a growing phenomenon, as more traditional public universities join private, for-profit schools in offering courses.

Saenz, a 33-year-old father of two, used the GI Bill to enroll at USC but midway through his studies, the Navy pilot was called to be deployed to Afghanistan.

After getting approval from his professors and Navy commanders, Saenz spent his final year of studies racing to his computer on base at 5 a.m. to attend the live transmission of his classes before dedicating his day to overseeing security for top generals and then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

He missed a class that required his online presence when a suicide bomber blew himself up near NATO’s headquarters in Kabul, killing six civilians.

The base was locked down. Saenz wrote to his professor and aide when the Internet was back up to explain his absence.

“I was worried because it was early in the semester and I was afraid it would affect my grade,” he said. “But they were real supportive.”

Another time, he was absent because he was arranging a helicopter to transport Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Saenz caught up by watching the recorded classes.

“I told my class if Thomas can get his homework done on time then I don’t think there are any excuses for the rest of you all,” Alvidrez said. “And he pulled an ‘A.’ He was one of the top 10 percent.”

Even getting to finals was treacherous. After military officials checked intelligence to ensure there were no imminent threats, he crossed Kabul on a highly dangerous road with armed guards in an armored SUV to the Army base where a military official was certified to give him the university exams. While there, he picked up ammo, weapons and dropped off radios to be repaired, then grabbed some barbeque at a tent.

Saenz said he was determined to finish his advanced degree — the second person in his extended family to do so — knowing his 10-year Navy career was ending in June. He is one of 91 service members in the university’s distance learning program.

An essay he wrote for one of his classes was on WWII veterans going on to lead top companies after returning home. With today’s technology, he sees opportunities for veterans to follow in those footsteps more easily than ever.

“I think we’re in that period again, with the post 9/11 GI Bill and all these kids coming back with their experience overseas,” Saenz said. “Hopefully we can come back and do great things for our country outside of our uniform.”

Article source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/guards_navy_pilot_earned_degree_IYgUvk4mNf633Mh3l8ANcP

While detractors were declaring solar too intermittent to be reliable at home, U.S. Marines were successfully relying on it at battlefield sites in the Khyber Pass, according to Enlisting the Sun: Powering the U.S. Military with Solar Energy, a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), released just in time for Armed Forces Day on May 18.

The DOD’s annual $20 billion energy budget makes it the biggest single energy consumer in the world.

USC 2911 of DOD’s title 10 Energy Performance Goals, as updated in 2009, requires 25 percent of total military facility energy consumption to come from renewable energy sources by 2025.

Driven by that target, the Navy has installed more than 58 megawatts at or near bases in Washington, D.C. and twelve states. It has plans to exceed the basic plan by obtaining 50 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. Its plans call for 57 percent of its new renewables to be from photovoltaic (PV) solar through 2017.

The Air Force, the military’s biggest energy consumer, has built 38 megawatts of solar capacity operating in 24 states. It will procure 1 gigawatt of renewables by 2016. The plan is for PV to be more than 70 percent of all new Air Force renewable capacity through 2017.

The Army has installed over 36 megawatts of solar installed at bases in sixteen states on its way to procuring 1 gigawatt of renewable capacity. Solar will account for one-third of the Army’s planned renewable capacity additions through 2017. 

By shifting Afghan remote bases to solar, the military has cut its consumption of generator liquid fuel from twenty gallons per day to 2.5 gallons per day, according to the report. The military pays $1 per gallon for liquid fuel and spends $399 per gallon delivering it to those remote bases.

Also highlighted in the report were solar innovations including:

• Portable backpack-mounted solar panels and solar tent shields capable of charging and powering communications, targeting, surveillance and security equipment
• A ground-mounted array at Forward Operating Base Geronimo, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
• The military’s leveraging of private capital through third-party ownership (TPO) financing and energy performance service contracts (EPSCs)
• The 14-megawatt SunPower-financed ground-mounted array providing 30 percent of the annual electricity needs at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California
• SolarCity’s Project SolarStrong, which has financed and built solar arrays at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base and other bases
• Honolulu’s Hickam Air Force Base solar community, where Project SolarStrong has installed 3.4 megawatts of rooftop solar on the way to creating one of the biggest solar communities in the world, with an eventual 5.5 megawatts that will serve 2,000 military homes
• A planned 24-megawatt, 6,500-home solar community at Ohana Military Communities which serves Navy Region Hawaii and Marine Corps Base Hawaii
• Solaria Corporation’s 4.1-megawatt, ground-mounted, low concentration PV installation at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico that was part of a 25-year energy efficiency EPSC implemented by Siemens (NYSE:SI)
• The 2,200-unit solar water heating system installed at Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune in North Carolina that will meet 75 percent of the camp’s hot water needs and cut its water heating costs by 20 percent

Tags: air force, armed forces day, army, department of defense, dod, energy performance service contract, epsc, military, navy, photovoltaic, seia, siemens, solar, solar energy industries association, solar water heating

Article source: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/army-navy-and-air-force-on-track-for-3-gw-of-solar-by-2025

Hezb-i-Islami, a relatively small insurgent faction that often competes with the Taliban for influence, claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded more than three dozen Afghans. Haroon Zarghon, the group’s spokesman, reached by telephone in Pakistan, said the bombing was carried out by a 24-year-old man who had grown up south of Kabul.

More attacks against Americans will come soon, Mr. Zarghon added, saying that Hezb-i-Islami was dismayed by the current talks between Afghanistan and the United States about a long-term security deal under which thousands of American soldiers could be based in Afghanistan for years to come.

“When Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan realized that American invaders have the devil intention of staying in Afghanistan, we decided to step up our attack on Americans in Afghanistan,” he said.

Whether Hezb-i-Islami — or the Taliban, for that matter — could regularly strike Americans in Kabul remained to be seen. Thursday’s bombing was the first significant attack in months on a Western target in Kabul, despite repeated efforts by insurgents to carry out a major strike in the city.

According to Afghan and American officials, the insurgents have found their efforts stymied by the myriad layers of security that protect Kabul, from street-level police officers staffing checkpoints to Afghan and foreign Special Operations soldiers raiding homes and businesses nearly every night.

The aftermath of Thursday’s bombing, though, provided a gory reminder of the war that still grips much of Afghanistan, and that only so much can be done to keep it from spilling over into Kabul, especially when the insurgents easily blend into the population.

The car bomber’s vehicle, a white Corolla, is probably the most commonly seen car in Afghanistan, and the driver shot out of a side street, a fairly standard maneuver on Kabul’s chaotic and crowded roads. It is likely that the Americans who were targeted had little or no time to react once the threat became apparent, if they were able to spot it at all.

The explosion left a deep crater in the road and cracks in the mud-brick shops that line the street. One of the two American Suburbans was reduced to a mangled heap of charred metal, while the other was launched into the air and blown down the street.

Human remains and bits of metal and plastic and other material from the cars were strewed for hundreds of feet around the blast site. Blown-apart ration packets carried by soldiers could be seen, along with a partly burned iPhone.

The United States-led coalition, in a brief statement, said two service members and four contractors had been killed. It did not specify their nationalities, though Afghan officials said they were all Americans.

One witness, a man in his 40s who lives near the site of the blast, said he was having breakfast with his family “when we heard a really loud boom, and then there was a fireball. Our entire house was engulfed by smoke and dust. Glasses shattered, windows broke. Suddenly the daylight turned to darkness.”

He said he ran out to see a large generator outside an Afghan bank branch in flames and bodies littering the street. “Some bleeding, some with missing limbs, some black like coal,” he said, calling it a “dreadful scene.”

Jawad Sukhanyar contributed reporting.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/world/asia/kabul-car-bomb-attack.html