The Taliban now faces a decision: Ban the internet as the group did during its first rule, while hindering its propaganda windfall and other online activities, or leave the country's networks intact, allowing an avenue for continued US electronic surveillance.
"The PRC’s pattern of irresponsible behavior in cyberspace is inconsistent with its stated objective of being seen as a responsible leader in the world," a senior administration official said on Sunday night.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping adversarial cyber operations at machine speed, requiring defenders to increase operational tempo while imposing pain and cost.
The Exchange campaign attribution will also provide hints about the role of the first national cyber director in such incidents. NSA veteran Chris Inglis was confirmed for the position just weeks ago.
"This is a good reminder that the GRU remains a looming threat, which is especially important given the upcoming Olympics, an event they may well attempt to disrupt," observed John Hultquist, VP of Analysis at Mandiant Threat Intelligence.
While ATT&CK focuses on standardizing the way cyber warriors understand and talk about offensive cyber, D3FEND focuses on common defensive measures.
OSCAL's goal is to enable compliance and security assessments to keep pace in complex, fast-moving, ever-changing DevSecOps environments.
As missions stretch farther and comms grow less reliable, predictive software could become the edge that keeps missions afloat.
"Someone told me I was like Chicken Little, but I prefer Paul Revere," said Sen. King, who co-chaired the commission that recommended creating the national cyber director.
The single biggest increase in proposed year-over-year cyber funding appears to be for cryptology, and the budget includes a new line item for zero-trust architectures.
"We are disappointed, though unsurprised, to learn of the cyberattack," Sen. King and Rep. Gallagher said. "We can and must be better... in navigating the threats of the Age of Cyber Aggression."
Operational technologies, or OT, are prevalent in critical infrastructure environments. "Without direct action to harden OT networks and control systems against vulnerabilities... owners and operators will remain at indefensible levels of risk," NSA says.
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Zero-trust security "is not one single product that one can purchase off the shelf," a NIST scientist observes. But underlying zero trust's many component parts are a few critical elements, including identity and automation.
The Midshipmen edged out other competitors in this year's virtual cyber competition to bring home the prestigious trophy. "I think the structure and dynamic of our team is what makes us so effective: We are completely student run, trained, and managed," Gallagher said.
"That was a list of about as many awful things in 10 minutes as I may have heard in recent time," Sen. Mark Warner said of the DNI's threat assessment. Top of mind: China, cyber, and emerging tech.
The administration is set to nominate two NSA veterans, one for the newly created national cybersecurity director position and one to head CISA. The new leaders, once confirmed by Congress, will have their hands full.