18 Cyber Security Trends We Are Watching in 2018

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by Joey 

We had an interesting year in 2017. If any trend is obvious, it’s that 2018 will continue to be interesting for the cybersec industry. How interesting? Here is are the 18 trends that we think will be making the headlines and should be on your radar for 2018.

The Return of the Spam

In 2004 Bill Gates said that spam would be dead in 2 years. Over a decade later, things are still pretty bad. While we can stop greater than 99.95% of spam email, it’s the very few that do get through that are increasingly sophisticated and preying

Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better

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Ida Auken

Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city - or should I say, "our city". I don't own anything. I don't own a car. I don't own a house. I don't own any appliances or any clothes.

It might seem odd to you, but it makes perfect sense for us in this city. Everything you considered a product, has now become a service. We have access to transportation, accommodation, food and all the things we need in our daily lives. One by one all these things became free, so it ended up not making sense for us to own much. 

India and the U.S. Find Common Ground in the Indo-Pacific

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India will frustrate the United States with its need for strategic autonomy and its aversion to formal alliances.

New Delhi will avoid military involvement in the South China Sea dispute for fear of inviting retaliation from China across their disputed border or through Chinese-Pakistani joint patrols in the Arabian Sea.

India hits 20GW solar capacity milestone

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NEW DELHI: India has achieved 20 gw (giga watt) cumulative solar capacity, achieving the milestone four years ahead of the target for 2022 originally set in the National Solar Mission.

The achievement comes on the back of a major renewable energy push by Modi government, which after coming to power in 2014 had scaled up the target to 100 gw of solar capacity by 2022.

Economic Survey Has Some Good News But Also Enough Caution For The Way Ahead

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by Sindhu Bhattacharya

So far so good, seems to say the Economic Survey, but the government must see through its reforms to their logical end. 

The Indian economy has withstood some major reforms, like GST and the after-effects of demonetisation, and emerged victorious this past year. This is the good news. The not-so-good part is the impending macro economic challenges. The Economic Survey for 2017-18, which was tabled in Parliament today, has cautioned against policy

A New Year, but No Resolution for China's Debt Problem

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After some initial progress in managing their country's mounting debt in 2017, Chinese authorities may have to temper their expectations this year.

A slowdown in the property market could strain China's finances and disrupt Beijing's

PAKISTAN: GRAVEYARD OF STRATEGY

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By Robert Cassidy

“Certain extremist groups—such as the Taliban and the Haqqani Network—retain freedom of movement in Pakistan.”

“The externally supported Haqqani Network remains the greatest threat to Afghan, U.S., and coalition forces.”

“Afghanistan faces a continuing threat from this externally supported insurgency and the highest regional concentration of terrorist groups in the world.”

Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan

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Description: For nearly two decades the government of Afghanistan, with the help of U.S. and coalition forces, has been battling for control of the country against the ever-present threat of the Afghan Taliban. FDD’s Long War Journal has been tracking the Taliban’s attempts to gain control of territory since NATO ended its military mission in Afghanistan and switched to an “advise and assist” role in June 2014. Districts have been retaken (by both sides) only to be lost shortly thereafter, largely resulting in the conflict’s current relative stalemate. However, since the U.S. drawdown of peak forces in 2011, the Taliban has unquestionably been resurgent.

China’s New Network Of Indian Ocean Bases

By David Brewster

According to recent reports, China may be about to construct a naval and air base near Gwadar, in west Pakistan. This would be China’s second base in the Indian Ocean and indicate that it may be moving fast to establish a network of military bases across the region.

China’s First Overseas Base At Djibouti

Last July, China opened its first (and so far only) foreign military base at Djibouti. The base includes a naval port, large helicopter base, and accommodation for 10,000 troops. Its establishment was a big step for Beijing which had long decried foreign bases as the

Chinese military paper urges increase in nuclear deterrence capabilities

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Reuters Staff

BEIJING (Reuters) - China must strengthen its nuclear deterrence and counter-strike capabilities to keep pace with the developing nuclear strategies of the United States and Russia, the official paper of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Tuesday.

Members of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) take part in the national flag-raising ceremony to mark the New Year, the first since it took over the duty from paramilitary police, on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China January 1, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

WILL U.S. FIGHT TURKEY? AMERICAN SOLDIERS WILL NOT LEAVE CITY ABOUT TO BE ATTACKED, SAYS TOP GENERAL

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BY TOM O'CONNOR

The U.S. military intends to remain in the northern Syrian city of Manbij despite an incoming offensive backed by Turkey, which, along with Ankara's rebel allies, has launched an assault on nearby Kurdish forces sponsored by the Pentagon.

With the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) mostly defeated in the east, the focus of Syria's nearly seven-year war has shifted west, particularly to the northwestern district of Afrin, where Turkey and the insurgent Free Syrian Army have begun attacking a Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG). The YPG was the primary faction behind the Syrian Democratic Forces that led U.S. efforts to destroy ISIS on the ground, but it also was considered a terrorist organization by Turkey because of its alleged links to a Kurdish nationalist insurgency at home.

Riding the Wave : An East Asian Miracle for the 21st Century

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Developing East Asia has led the way in showing how rapid and broadly shared growth can lift millions out of poverty. And, as this book shows, the region has achieved even more: the wave of prosperity across the region since the 1980s has lifted three out of five of its citizens into economic security, where their risk of falling into poverty is minimal. Alongside this, a solid middle class has emerged in most countries. But these successes do not guarantee that inclusive growth--growth that reduces poverty and delivers upward mobility and economic security for all--is assured. The region has become more diverse, with progress varying across countries and extreme poverty increasingly concentrated among specific groups. Roughly a fifth of the region's population still

Top Ten: Major Threats In 2018

Islamic Terrorism

ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) may be greatly diminished but various al Qaeda franchises (in central Africa, Yemen, Syria and South Asia) are still very active and so are various Islamic terror groups that have been around a long time in places like Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, northern Africa, the Persian Gulf and the Caucasus where they concentrate on non-Moslems or Moslems considered heretics. Some of these groups have been terrorizing their neighbors for centuries. What is different now is that most Moslem rulers recognize that this sort of thing does no one any good and is bad for Islam. Even the new ruler of Saudi Arabia accepts this and is seeking a broad solution. The problem is that there is no one recognized (by even a majority of Moslems) authority on what (if anything) defines acts that justify Islamic terrorism. So the Islamic terrorism will still be out there in

U.K. DEFENSE SECRETARY WARNS OF RUSSIA PLOT AGAINST BRITISH INFRASTRUCTURE

Russia could cause “thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths” by crippling UK infrastructure, the defence secretary has warned.

The UK has four undersea connections for electricity linked to the continent and a further four for gas to bring energy into the country.

Mr Williamson, who became defence secretary last November, said Russia had been researching these types of connections and would be willing to take action “any other nation would see as completely unacceptable”.

Reframing the Crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

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In the aftermath of attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and subsequent military clearance operations, two competing narratives have emerged. One frames the attacks as a critical threat to national security and the majority cultural-religious status quo. The second focuses on the human cost of the clearance operations, particularly for the largely stateless Rohingya. In any interpretation, it is clear that the situation is a threat to regional stability moving forward, necessitating a coordinated political and humanitarian response. This Brief discusses how the situation has evolved and ways forward for positive change. 

Summary 

Trump Nuclear Plan Requires Big Fixes In Decaying Warhead Industrial Complex

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Loren Thompson 

The Trump administration's proposed nuclear posture calls for replacing virtually all of the Cold War strategic systems in the nation's arsenal. There will be a new strategic bomber (to be built mainly by Northrop Grumman), a new ballistic missile submarine (to be built mainly by General Dynamics), and a new land-based ballistic missile (to be built either by Boeing or Northrop Grumman). There will also be major upgrades to the nuclear command-and-control network that provides warning of attack and secure communications with nuclear systems.

The U.S. Prepares to Shine an Unwelcome Light on Russian Oligarchs

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Highlights

The United States is mulling its options to increase pressure on Russia over its reported election meddling and disinformation campaigns. Moscow is preparing for expanded sanctions by attempting to insulate its government, companies and elites. 

While Russia has mostly shielded itself from sanctions affecting its ability to issue sovereign debt, the possible targeting of its most powerful and wealthy citizens, even if not implemented, will ripple deep into Russia’s core. 

The Pentagon is planning for war with China and Russia — can it handle both?

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By: Aaron Mehta 

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is in the opening stages of “redesigning the force” around the challenges of Russia and China, the department’s No. 2 uniformed official said Tuesday — while warning that America may not be able to afford preparing for two unique problem sets.

The recent National Defense Strategy identified great power competitors as the major challenge facing the Pentagon, but

Russian pundit views US new defence strategy

The US new defence strategy officially pushes the Pentagon into confrontation with China and Russia. It is possible that this will even make some people happy: the Cold War is remembered as a time when everything was quite clear. But history does not repeat itself. Or rather, it is possible to bring back aggression and militarization of that era. But not its orderliness.

The Pentagon’s document accurately reflects the new world outlook symbolised by Trump. The post-Cold War era, when the US unexpectedly became a world hegemon, is over. “For decades the the US has enjoyed uncontested or dominant superiority in every operating domain. We could generally deploy our forces wherever we wanted, assemble them where

Trump expected to tap Army cyber warfare chief to lead NSA

By Martin Matishak

President Donald Trump is expected to pick Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, the head of the Army’s digital warfare branch, to head the clandestine National Security Agency, according to multiple people on and off Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon with knowledge of the situation.

The NSA is looking for a new leader after its current director, Adm. Mike Rogers, announced he will retire this spring, ending a near four-year run.

Australian Defence Force (ADF) establishes new SIGINT and Cyber Command

By Gabriel Dominguez

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has established a new Defence Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Cyber Command to enhance its cyber capabilities in what it described as a “more refined” command structure, according to a 30 January statement by the Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra.

Cryptocurrencies and National Security

By Ankit Panda

In 2009, an anonymous software engineer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency. In the years since, the market for Bitcoin and some 1,300 other cryptocurrencies has swollen to $500 billion; they are used in hundreds of thousands of transactions daily to buy everything from software to real estate to illegal drugs.

So called for their use of cryptography principles to imbue virtual coins with value, cryptocurrencies present unique challenges for governments. For others, including terrorist organizations, sanctioned states,

War Without the Internet? Commandant Says Marines Need to Revive Old-Style Comms

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By: Shawn Snow

To get through a war with a near-peer competitor like China or Russia, Marines will need to master basics in communication and navigation, said the Marine Corps commandant.

Rival competitor nation states are challenging U.S. dominance across the globe, Gen. Robert Neller said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion in Washington Thursday.

America’s Military Is Choking on Old Technology

By Leo Blanken

In a seminal 1958 article, Edward Katzenbach wrote about how militaries had been determined to maintain large horse cavalry formations well into the 20th century — “a capacity for survival that border[ed] on the miraculous” — despite overwhelming evidence from World War I that a cavalry charge on the modern battlefield was ludicrous. In the words of the last U.S. Army chief of cavalry, who insisted on maintaining tactical horses in the face of armored vehicles, “When better roller skates are

Training Quick and Staffing Unfinished, Army Units Brace for Surging Taliban

by Thomas Gibbons-Neff

They are being heralded as a key part of President Trump’s new strategy to resolve the nearly 17-year war in Afghanistan. But their training has been cut short by months, and units are still short-staffed, as some of the estimated 1,000 additional military advisers prepare to arrive in Afghanistan in time for the spring fighting season, officials said.

The Army soldiers are deploying as the Pentagon begins shifting resources from the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria back to Afghanistan. As part of its new assault against an increasingly tenacious Taliban, the Trump administration is planning to send some of the advisers back to small bases scattered across rural parts of the country to help train Afghan forces.