'US military botches online fight against Islamic State'

AP/Yahoo News, US military botches online fight against Islamic State, 31 Jan 2017 "Several current and former WebOps employees cited multiple examples of civilian Arabic specialists who have little experience in counter-propaganda, cannot speak Arabic fluently and have so little understanding of Islam they are no match for the Islamic State online recruiters."

The Swedish Kings of Cyberwar

Hugh Eakin, nybooks.com, The Swedish Kings of Cyberwar, 19 Jan 2017 "In fact, the very qualities that have made Sweden and Norway successful models of advanced democracy may also have made their populations more susceptible to government spying. In Norway, the government committee that put forward the mass surveillance legislation now before parliament has argued that such measures “can be justified as necessary in a democratic society.” And as Swedish and Norwegian scholars point out, Scandinavian citizens are inclined to assume that if the government says it needs certain powers, then it probably does."

CYBERCOM 'reluctant' to cut off Islamic State internet

scmagazine.com, CYBERCOM 'reluctant' to cut off Islamic State internet, 24 June 2016 "Thomas Atkin, the acting assistant Defense Secretary for homeland defense and global security, told press earlier this week that the DOD was wary of treading on the rights of internet users in IS strongholds. He characterised the deliberation over such an action as a “careful balance, even in Raqqa or Mosul, or anywhere on how we balance the rights to have access to the Internet versus the use of the Internet illegally by folks like ISIL”."

New tool to take down terrorism images online spurs debate on what constitutes extremist content

Ellen Nakashima, washingtonpost.com, New tool to take down terrorism images online spurs debate on what constitutes extremist content "“If you could search out the beheading videos, or the picture of the ISIS fighter all in black carrying the Daesh flag across the sands of Syria, if you could do it with video and audio, you’d be doing something big,” said Mark Wallace, chief executive of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a nonpartisan policy group. “I believe it’s a game-changer.”" CEP info here + related IBTimes piece here

Surveillance society

Duncan Riley, Silicon Angle, You are being watched: The surveillance society of 2016

'Police close more than 1,000 terrorist websites and social media accounts every week'

Daily Star, Police close more than 1,000 terrorist websites and social media accounts every week, 6 Mar 2016 "The Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit – a police squad which fights online extremism – has removed 140,000 items of propaganda in the past five years."

UK spying laws

Independent, UK spying laws: Government introduces law requiring WhatsApp and iMessage to break their own security, 1 Mar 2016

U.S. looks to Facebook, private groups to battle online extremism

Reuters, U.S. looks to Facebook, private groups to battle online extremism, 25 Feb 2016 " The U.S. government, acknowledging its limited success in combating Islamic extremist messaging, is recruiting tech companies, community organizations and educational groups to take the lead in disrupting online radicalization."

Obama Cites Islamic State Group’s Internet Usage State of the Union Address

executivegov.com, FCW: Obama Cites Islamic State Group’s Internet Usage State of the Union Address

Civil Defense Chief Discloses Iran's Tough Response to US Cyberattack on Natanz

farsnews.com, Civil Defense Chief Discloses Iran's Tough Response to US Cyberattack on Natanz "Head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali revealed on Tuesday that a US cyberattack on Iran's nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz failed due to his organization's tough defensive measures."

Iran to Host Int’l Conference on Campaign against Cyber Crimes

Farsnews, Iran to Host Int’l Conference on Campaign against Cyber Crimes: "Iran will host a conference and a regional workshop on international cooperation and campaign against cyber crimes on August 13-14, a deputy police chief announced on Monday."

Press TV perspective on Cyber Attacks

Press TV, US, Israel constantly conducting cyber attacks against Iran: Eric Draitser, 30 Jan 2013 "An analyst says the United States, Israel and Western imperial powers have a ‘long-standing policy’ of using cyber attacks as a form of aspersion particularly against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The world's first cyberwar has started - Security Spotlight

computerworlduk.com, The world's first cyberwar has started - Security Spotlight "We can now say with some certainty that the world’s first cyberwar is upon us, unfolding behind the scenes with a rising level of intensity, so far pretty much ignored by all but the need-to-knows.

"On one side are the US and its European and Middle-Eastern allies, on the other Iran and perhaps its proxies in Syria, Lebanon and a handful of more isolated groups across the non-aligned Islamic world."

Israel invests millions in drive for elite 'cyber warriors'

Israel invests millions in drive for elite 'cyber warriors' - Telegraph: "The Jewish state is facing a dire shortage of "cyber-combat troops" and is scouring the Jewish Diaspora for exceptional, teenage computer minds to recruit to its cyber unit Intelligence Corps Unit 8200, a leading Israeli newspaper reported on Thursday."

FBI: New Internet addresses could hinder police investigations

Declan McCullagh, CNET, FBI: New Internet addresses could hinder police investigations, 31 May 2012 "The FBI is worried that an explosion of new Internet numeric addresses scheduled to begin next week may hinder its ability to conduct electronic investigations."

aQ 'propaganda war'

Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor, Is State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite, but propaganda war is fierce, 24 May 2012 'Hellfire-missile-carrying drones aren't the only thing Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen are worrying about these days. Add to the list the US State Department's new command center devoted to countering the terrorist group's propaganda on the Internet."

Also see aljazeera.com, US state department fights al-Qaeda in cyberspace, 25 May 2012

Battle for the Internet

Guardian, Battle for the Internet useful series of articles "The Guardian is taking stock of the new battlegrounds for the internet. From states stifling dissent to the new cyberwar front line, we look at the challenges facing the dream of an open internet."

NSA's watching you...

Wired, The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) "The spring air in the small, sand-dusted town has a soft haze to it, and clumps of green-gray sagebrush rustle in the breeze."

'Cyber-attack on BBC leads to suspicion of Iran's involvement'

BBC News, Cyber-attack on BBC leads to suspicion of Iran's involvement, 14 Mar 2012
 

"A “sophisticated cyber-attack” on the BBC has been linked to Iran’s efforts to disrupt the BBC Persian Service.

"In a speech Director General Mark Thompson plans to say that the internet attack coincided with efforts to jam two of the service’s satellite feeds into Iran.

"He will say: “We regard the coincidence of these different attacks as self-evidently suspicious.”"

Stratfor: Inside the World of a Private CIA

al-akhbar.com, Stratfor: Inside the World of a Private CIA, 26 Feb 2012“The leak of over five million emails from the US-based intelligence firm Stratfor, including information about credit card details, passwords, and the identities of sources, sheds new light on the rapidly changing world of intelligence gathering and exposes those behind it. Al-Akhbar gained access to the data obtained and published by WikiLeaks, including sensitive material pertaining to the Middle East.” Widely publicised. For info on Stratfor, see their website