Remote-control warfare briefing | #01

24 April 2014

Remote-control warfare is an emerging strategy that allows for conflict to be actioned at a distance !t incorporates technologies and light-footprint deployments that enable policyma"ers and military planners to appro#e actions that wo$ld $nli"ely be considered if $sing con#entional means %hese monthly briefings are commissioned by the Remote &ontrol 'ro(ect) a pro(ect of the *etwor" for +ocial &hange) hosted by O,ford Research -ro$p

Special operations forces: .+ special forces deployed to .ganda to assist in trac"ing down the /RA Private military and security companies: 0ie# acc$sed of hiring .+ pri#ate military company to s$press pro-R$ssian dissent in 1astern ."raine Unmanned vehicles and autonomous weapons systems: .0 2o$se of &ommons defence committee concl$des .A3s are a "ey military capability for the f$t$re Cyber warfare: .+ defence secretary highlights .+ cyber capabilities with '/A commanders d$ring &hina #isit Intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance: *ew !sraeli intelligence-gathering and s$r#eillance system demonstrated d$ring Bra4ilian carni#al

+pecial operations forces

US special forces deployed to Uganda to assist in trac!ing down the "R# %he .+ go#ernment has deployed an increased n$mber of .+ special forces to .ganda to assist the African .nion5s 6A.7 Regional %as" 8orce in trac"ing down the /ord5s Resistance Army 6/RA7 and their leader) 9oseph 0ony Anno$nced in late :arch) the deployment incl$des fo$r &3-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft) two :&-1;0' 2erc$les transport aircraft and a single 0&-1;<R +tratotan"er ref$elling aircraft) together with 1<0 .+ Air 8orce special operations forces 6+O87 personnel Altho$gh combat e=$ipped) .+ forces are only a$thorised to engage the /RA in selfdefence) in line with the r$les of engagement for Operation Obser#ant &ompass) the .+ deployment to .ganda and other co$ntries in &entral Africa to co$nter the /RA .+ Air 8orce +O8s will be pro#iding information and assistance to enable =$ic"er A. troop transport $pon receipt of intelligence on 0ony5s position %he deployment b$ilds $pon the +O8 and pri#ate contractor intelligence) s$r#eillance and reconnaissance 6!+R7 s$pport pre#io$s pro#ided $nder Operation %$s"er +and Open Briefing | 1

%he deployment is interesting for a n$mber of reasons %he /RA5s relati#e strength and fre=$ency of armed operations ha#e been generally diminishing) despite sporadic spi"es in the &entral Africa Rep$blic 6&AR7 recently 8$rthermore) the impro#ed intelligence on 0ony5s position is a direct res$lt of increased defections from the /RA) with an estimated 20> of core fighters lea#ing the gro$p in 201; !t is therefore diffic$lt to arg$e the .+ deployment is responding to a tangible) increased threat from the /RA) tho$gh it is possibly capitalising on an impro#ed opport$nity to capt$re 0ony %he /RA has also ne#er represented a direct threat to .+ national interests %he .+ deployment co$ld ha#e been infl$enced by significant regional instability in &AR and +o$th +$dan /RA actions in these two co$ntries wo$ld li"ely aggra#ate e,isting conflict and political t$rmoil) with &AR partic$larly #$lnerable %he deployment is also a relati#ely ine,pensi#e meas$re to demonstrate go#ernment commitment to a ca$se that is pop$lar within the .nited +tates Alternati#ely) the Obama administration is $sing this operation to more effecti#ely manage the p$blic perceptions and diplomatic challenges of an alleged broadening of the .+ special operations footprint across &entral) *orth and 1ast Africa 2istorically) less attention has been paid to the .+ +O8 presence in Africa than operations in !ra= and Afghanistan Assistance to A. forces detracts from the s$ggestion that .+ co$nterterrorism efforts are solely foc$sed on confronting al-?aeda on m$ltiple fronts) across m$ltiple continents !t co$ld also ser#e to normalise the concept of e,panded +O8 deployment across conflict hotspots in *orth) &entral and @est Africa %ther developments Russian special operations Spetsna& commandoes appear to have played an important role in Russia's occupation of Crimea( .nconfirmed reports s$ggest that se#eral h$ndred members of the -R. 4<th -$ards +petsna4 Regiment went into &rimea witho$t insignia and helped garner eno$gh s$pport for a s$pposed ci#ilian-led pop$lar $prising tho$gh acti#e meas$res and targeted pro#ocations R$ssia $sed similar tactics in the Rep$blic of -eorgia following the co$ntry5s 200< Rose Re#ol$tion :ilitary analysts ha#e characterised R$ssian 'resident 3ladimir '$tin5s strategy in &rimea as something closer to paramilitary co#ert action than wholesale military attac" US )epartment of )efence testimony before the *ouse #rmed Services Committee in early #pril has strongly endorsed the global S%+ networ! plan of Admiral @illiam :cRa#en) &ommander) .+ +pecial Operations &ommand 6.++O&O:7 %he e#idence presented before the committee reinforced the strategic and tactical positioning of .+ +O8 laid o$t in the 2014 ?$adrennial Aefence Re#iew 6?AR7) which foc$sed on the networ"ed capabilities of +O8 %he ?AR highlights the role of +O8 following the troop drawdown in Afghanistan and for co$nterterrorism in the :aghreb) +ahel and 2orn of Africa US special forces sei&ed a stolen commercial oil tan!er ,orning -lory that fled from a "ibyan port controlled by anti-government rebels( %he attempted theft of 2;4)000 barrels of cr$de oil #al$ed at B;< million $nderscores the limited capacity of the /ibyan go#ernment to manage a fragile political and sec$rity en#ironment in which militias who o$sted :$ammar -addafi ref$se to disarm .++O&O: anno$nced that they wo$ld begin training con#entional /ibyan forces shortly

Open Briefing | $

#lso of note US Special %perations Command have put a contract out for location intelligence and advanced human-geography geographic information system /-IS0 data for co$ntries of interest for which there is no e,isting data %he co$ntries incl$de 9ordan) A(ibo$ti) :yanmar) 2ond$ras) !ran) :orocco) *igeria) %rinidad C %obago) B$r"ina 8aso) +o$th +$dan) *orth 0orea and &hina 6-$angdong 'ro#ince7 1he Washington Post has reported on details of the +2I's involvement in S%+ counterterrorism operations in Ira3( 1#idence has come to light that agents from the 8B!5s 2ostage and Resc$e %eam were embedded with .+ Army Rangers d$ring 200D and that +O8 ha#e benefited from the 8B!5s digital s$r#eillance capabilities 4#1% allied and partner S%+ commanders met in 2ucharest Romania on 1E :arch to e,change of ideas and identify sol$tions to c$rrent geopolitical iss$es #t the end of ,arch Iran's Islamic Revolutionary -uards Corps /IR-C0 were gearing up to conduct a search and rescue operation in Pa!istan for fi#e border g$ards abd$cted in 8ebr$ary by the militant gro$p 9aish $l-Adl

'ri#ate military and sec$rity companies

5iev accused of hiring US private military company to supress pro-Russian dissent in 6astern U!raine %he R$ssian foreign ministry and the !nformation %elegraph Agency of R$ssia 6!%AR-%A++7 ha#e acc$sed 0ie# of hiring .+ pri#ate military and sec$rity company 6':+&7 -reystone) /td to s$ppress pro-R$ssian acti#ists in 1astern ."raine %he former Blac"water affiliate has had sec$rity contracts in R$ssia and &entral Asia b$t has denied plans to deploy any personnel to ."raine Altho$gh disp$ted by 0ie#) the ens$ing r$mo$r and inn$endo is a sign that the 0remlin is trying to ta"e the moral high gro$nd on sec$rity and military deployment %he r$mo$r is li"ely to be marshalled by proR$ssian separatists as e#idence that ."rainian nationalism and 0ie#5s "ey domestic political s$pporters are pro-.+) pro-*A%O and pro-1. rather than patriots %he r$mo$r aro$nd ':+&s in ."raine is mostly li"ely a co$nter to claims of R$ssian special operation forces coordinating pro-R$ssian militias and political gro$ps to sec$re both &rimea and 1astern ."raine !t is $nli"ely in the c$rrent en#ironment that 0ie# wo$ld sec$re 1<0 pri#ate military contractors disg$ised as members of an elite ."rainian army $nit to s$ppress pro-R$ssian protestors when the ."rainian army is playing a clear o#ert role in 1astern ."raine %ther developments P,SCs are li!ely to fill potential security gaps in #fghanistan if the US government and 4#1% cannot finalise bilateral security agreements /2S#0 with a newly-elected #fghan president( !f the planned drawdown of troops starts in early 201<) e,isting diplomatic missions) ci#il reconstr$ction efforts and aid initiati#es will most li"ely need to rely $pon ':+&s to s$pport contin$ed wor" in Afghanistan5s fragile sec$rity en#ironment !n this scenario) ':+&s are li"ely to operate $nder the a$spices of @estern agencies remaining in Afghanistan to deli#er engineering pro(ects) go#ernance assistance and aid programmes Open Briefing | .

# report by the -lobal Policy +orum and Rosa "u8emburg Stiftung published in +ebruary e8amined U4 procurement and use of P,SCs in $911-1.( %he report) Contracting Insecurity: Private military and security companies and the future of the United Nations) arg$es that .* is increasingly relying on pri#ate military and sec$rity companies for its peace"eeping and political missions) as well as for its h$manitarian and de#elopment acti#ities %he report states that in addition to armed and $narmed pri#ate sec$rity personnel) the .* $ses ':+&s for logistical s$pport) ris" assessment and sec$rity training) among other ser#ices #lso of note 1he U4 :or!ing -roup on the use of mercenaries concluded its $1st session in early ,arch( %he wor"ing gro$p is e,pected to s$bmit a report on .* policy regarding the $se of ':+&s to the -eneral Assembly later this year 6vidence li!ely to be offered in the upcoming trial of 2lac!water private contractors shows deep hostility from several guards toward the Ira3i civilian population( Blac"water contractors are alleged to ha#e "illed 14 !ra=is and wo$nded at least 1F others in *iso$r +=$are) Baghdad) on 1D +eptember 200G 1he #pril $917 edition of Vanity Fair features an in-depth profile of 2ritish security services company -7S and their ordnance-disposal wor" in +o$th +$dan

.nmanned #ehicles and a$tonomo$s weapon systems

U5 *ouse of Commons defence committee concludes U#;s are a !ey military capability for the future A report from the .0 2o$se of &ommons Aefence &ommittee) Remote Control: Remotely Piloted Air Systems current and future UK use) has concl$ded that $nmanned aerial #ehicles 6.A3s7 are a "ey military capability for the f$t$re 2owe#er) the committee also recommended that the British :inistry of Aefence 6:oA7 p$blish details abo$t any incident in#ol#ing ci#ilian cas$alties and any lessons learned from re#iew processes in order to address p$blic concerns o#er the $se of .A3s %he committee ac"nowledged that the pro#ision of intelligence) s$r#eillance and reconnaissance from Remotely 'iloted Air +ystems 6R'A+) the descriptor now $sed by the .0 Royal Air 8orce and others7 has been of strategic importance in impro#ing the effecti#eness of military operations in !ra= and Afghanistan %he committee s$ggests that British $se of .A3s is consistent with r$les of engagements and international law) and noted that the :oA has systems in place to re#iew weapon discharge Aespite these safeg$ards) the committee has recommended that the :oA p$blish details of incidents in#ol#ing ci#ilian cas$alties and any lessons learned from re#iews that wo$ld not compromise operations %he committee recommended that the :oA also p$blish an $pdated 9oint Aoctrine *ote setting o$t its c$rrent approach .A3s no later than +eptember 2014 %he committee also recommended that the British go#ernment plays an acti#e role in defining any f$t$re reg$lation or legal framewor" aro$nd the $se of .A3s

Open Briefing | 7

%he committee also considered research and de#elopment partnerships) training and strategic proc$rement for .A3s) in partic$lar the :?-E Reaper $sed by the RA8 %here appears to be a n$mber of strategic bilateral and m$ltilateral partnership opport$nities for the .0 :oA) which incl$de the e,isting partnership arrangements with the .+ Air 8orce or greater 1$ropean collaborati#e efforts) s$ch as an Anglo-8rench aerospace defence programme %he committee5s comments on research and de#elopment partnerships come in the aftermath of 'rime :inister Aa#id &ameron signing a H120 million) 24-month feasibility st$dy into a 8$t$re &ombat Air +ystem in 9an$ary %he agreement b$ilds $pon a st$dy by BA1 +ystems and Aassa$lt loo"ing at the potential for a (oint $nmanned combat air #ehicle 6.&A37 programme !ncreasing Anglo-8rench partnerships will mean greater interoperability for .A3 operations between the two co$ntries %ther developments Israel is increasingly concerned about *e&bollah's capacity and procurement of drone technology and the potential for the Arab-!sraeli conflict to shift to a weaponised remote-control war) according to a 2D :arch article in Ne Repu!lic %he article s$ggests that %ehran has pro#ided 2e4bollah with drone technology) which has been $sed to penetrate !sraeli airspace on a n$mber of occasions !srael has the clear technical ad#antage as the world5s largest .A3 e,porter I selling more than B4 D billion worth of drones and s$pport systems to foreign go#ernments between 200< and 2012 2owe#er) cr$der .&A3 technology employed by 2e4bollah co$ld still be de#astating 1he U4 *uman Rights Committee criticised US drone stri!es in a ,arch report on compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights( %he committee commented that the .+ ($stifications for lethal drone stri"es are too broad and that preca$tionary meas$res adopted to a#oid ci#ilian deaths are $nclear %he committee recommended that drone stri"es sho$ld be s$b(ect to independent o#ersight A report released on 10 :arch by the .* +pecial Rapporte$r on 2$man Rights on ci#ilian deaths res$lting from drone stri"es also strongly criticised .+ .&A3 Jtargeted "illing5 campaigns in 'a"istan) Kemen and Afghanistan %he report fo$nd that in 201;) drone attac"s res$lted in 4< ci#ilian fatalities and 14 non-fatal in($ries) a threefold increase from 2012 ci#ilian fatalities !t is tho$ght that 'a"istan is trying to b$ild on the special rapporte$r5s report and sec$re a resol$tion thro$gh the .* 2$man Rights &o$ncil triggering greater scr$tiny of .+ drone stri"es compliance with international h$man rights law #ustralia is planning to ac3uire 4orthrop -rumman ,=-7C 1riton surveillance U#;s once the US 4avy development programme has been completed( According to 'rime :inister %ony Abbott) the ac=$isition sho$ld pro#ide the co$ntry with $nprecedented maritime s$r#eillance capabilities %hese capabilities are $nderstood to be important to the A$stralian go#ernment5s ability to monitor the mo#ement of asyl$m see"ers) energy infrastr$ct$re in the !ndian Ocean and sea-lanes of comm$nication %here is the option for the %riton to be weaponised

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#lso of note 1he 2ritish thin! tan! Chatham *ouse held a ma?or conference on autonomous military technologies in "ondon in 8ebr$ary %he %aranis demonstrator .A3 man$fact$red by conference sponsor BA1 +ystems was disc$ssed as an e,ample of prec$rsor technology to f$lly-a$tonomo$s weapons systems 1he South 5orean military claim to have found two downed rudimentary drones allegedly used by 4orth 5orea for surveillance( %he drones only had still image capt$re capacity) which co$ld not be remotely transmitted to the operator Russian forces may have intercepted a US surveillance U#; flying over Crimea by hac"ing the connection between the .A3 and its operator 1he International Committee of the Red Cross /ICRC0 convened its first e8perts meeting on autonomous weapons systems on 2D-2F :arch 1he 2ritish ,inistry of )efence and 2#6 Systems recently revealed that its stealth semiautonomous demonstrator UC#; 1aranis carried out a successful maiden test flight at the @oomera test range in +o$th A$stralia in A$g$st 201; #lgeria has reportedly been in discussions with the Chinese military for the procurement of @ianglong /Soaring )ragon0 U#;s after s$ccessf$l tests in so$thern Algeria last year

&yber warfare
US defence secretary highlights US cyber capabilities with P"# commanders during China visit .+ Aefence +ecretary &h$c" 2agel $sed a #isit to &hina in early April to broach the topic of cyber attac"s and capabilities with 'eople5s /iberation Army senior commanders %he stated aim of this diplomatic cando$r on .+ cyber capabilities and emerging cyber doctrines is to ens$re both powers ha#e clear $nderstandings of cyber Jred lines5) similar to &old-@ar era e,changes between Americans and +o#iets o#er n$clear intentions .+ concerns o#er &hina5s state-controlled and state-condoned cyber acti#ity are highly li"ely to be primarily foc$sed on commercial espionage and intellect$al-property theft as 2agel indicated *$mero$s .+ energy) bio-technology and military companies ha#e been #ictims of e,tensi#e cyber espionage Before his #isit to &hina) the defence secretary had already tal"ed $p the .nited +tates5 open approach to cyber warfare capabilities at the retirement ceremony of former *+A director -eneral 0eith Ale,ander 2agel arg$ed that the .+ had a restrained approach to cyber offensi#es) despite the 'entagon5s increased spending on cyber operations and with efforts to ha#e a D)000 strong force by 201D ma"ing .+ &yber &ommand 6.+&KB1R&O:7 one of the largest cyber forces in the world %he 'entagon plans to spend B2D billion on cyber technology o#er the ne,t fi#e years) which together with drones and +O8 ma"es it one of the only military programmes to recei#e f$nding increases d$ring a period of relati#e a$sterity in military spending

Open Briefing | >

At a recent confirmation hearing) 3ice Admiral :i"e Rogers) Ale,ander5s replacement as commander of .+&KB1R&O: and director of the *+A) stated that .+ military post$re in cyberspace has been reacti#e) rather that proacti#e 2owe#er) lea"s from 1dward +nowden abo$t *+A acti#ities wo$ld s$ggest that .+ cyber acti#ity is not solely defensi#e %his incl$des .+ spying on Bra4il5s 'etrobras and the *+A5s Operation +hotgiant) which infiltrated 2$awei5s ser#ers and stole so$rce code for specific 2$awei prod$cts !f cyber acti#ity gi#es access) then it e=$ally gi#es capacity to harm and control 8rom this perspecti#e) and in the conte,t of disclos$res on *+A acti#ities) some commentators indicate that it may be in .+ interests as a dominant cyber power to engage in norm setting aro$nd cyber-warfare acti#ities Others s$ggest that there is little strategic incenti#e for less-de#eloped cyber powers) s$ch as &hina) to disclose their capabilities at this point in time %ther developments Cyber confrontations over Russia's anne8ation of Crimea have led some commentators to highlight the cyber-warfare component of the current conflict between Russia and U!raine( 2owe#er) the e,tent of cyber offensi#es) their role in the broader conflict and which cyber actors are act$ally in#ol#ed is s$b(ect to considerable debate !n mid-:arch) se#eral *A%O websites were targeted with distrib$ted denial-of-ser#ice 6AAo+7 attac"s by pro-R$ssian hac"ti#ist gro$p &yber Ber"$t !n addition to the m$ltit$de of AAo+ attac"s) both sides and their #ario$s pro,ies are also $sing malware) incl$ding a program called +na"e) to cond$ct cyber espionage 2owe#er) some commentators ha#e =$estioned whether R$ssia will la$nch a f$ll-scale cyberwar on ."raine) s$ggesting it is $nli"ely that s$ch action wo$ld be in '$tin5s interest and that s$btlety is the order of the day in the cyber sta"es # number of separate reports have raised concerns over Iranian cyber attac!s and Iran's improving cyber capabilities( %he !nstit$te for *ational +ec$rity +t$dies points to !ran5s modernised defensi#e capabilities applied to manage domestic $nrest and high-=$ality cyber attac"s against more militarilyad#anced ad#ersaries !ranian and R$ssian collaboration on cyber-attac" capacity is e,pected to amplify !ran as a cyber threat Reports of consistent cyber attac"s on .+ and !sraeli ban"s in the period leading $p to negotiations on !ran5s n$clear programme indicate that cyber attac"s are becoming an important ancillary mechanism to press$re and infl$ence negotiations !ran is also r$mo$red to be considering p$rs$ing legal action against the .nited +tates for the .+-!srael +t$,net cyber attac" /egal action $nder a n$mber of international instr$ments co$ld force a more consistent dialog$e on the bo$ndaries of cyber operations 1he #ustralian Strategic Policy Institute /#SPI0 released the Cy!er "aturity in the Asia#Pacific Region $%&' report on 14 April Applying cyber-mat$rity benchmar"s and indicators the report fo$nd that the .nited +tates is the most cyber-mat$re co$ntry %he cyber-mat$rity benchmar"s are based on e#al$ation of whole-of-go#ernment policy and legislati#e str$ct$res) military organisation) b$siness and digital economic strength and le#els of cyber social awareness #lso of note Syrian 6lectronic #rmy /S6#0 announced they accessed the networ! of US Central Command /C641C%,0 and obtained h$ndreds of military doc$ments %he attac" was allegedly in retaliation for 'resident Barac" Obama5s anno$ncement that the .nited +tates targets +yria with electronic warfare +o$rces s$ggest that the breach only appears to ha#e obtained $nclassified information Open Briefing | A

China and the 6U have agreed to wor! more closely on cybersecurity issues by bolstering gro$ps s$ch as the &hina-1. &yber %as"force

2ritish Cabinet %ffice ,inister +rancis ,aude launched the U5's Computer 6mergency Response 1eam 6&1R%-.07 to deal with cybersec$rity incidents of national significance :eanwhile) the /abo$r 'arty has called for a reporting regime for cyber attac"s on pri#ate company that threaten critical national infrastr$ct$re

1he Intelligence and 4ational Security #lliance published a white paper in :arch s$ggesting that .+ agencies need to foc$s less on cyber-offensi#e tactics and e,amine broader goals and perspecti#e on cyber attac"s to properly allocate reso$rces and co$nter assa$lts

1he +2I has put cyber crime and terrorism second only to counterterrorism and counterintelligence in its priority list

4orth 5orea's cyber-attac! capabilities and activities against South 5orea were outlined to US Congress in early ,arch( *orth 0orea5s primary cyber ob(ecti#es ha#e reportedly been to gather intelligence and see" disr$ption of networ"s in highly-wired +o$th 0orea

%n $1 ,arch the Washington Examiner interviewed Peter :( Singer a Broo"ings !nstit$tion scholar and co-a$thor of Cy!ersecurity and cy!er ar: (hat everyone needs to )no ) abo$t "ey domestic cyber-warfare iss$es(

Israel e8perienced an increase in cyber attac!s coinciding with the #nonymous operation C%pIsrael2irthday on A #pril led by members of Anon-host

!ntelligence) s$r#eillance and reconnaissance

4ew Israeli intelligence-gathering and surveillance system demonstrated during 2ra&ilian carnival A new intelligence-gathering and s$r#eillance system from !srael5s 1lbit +ystems was recently demonstrated d$ring the carni#al in +ao +al#ador da Bahia) Bra4il %he system is comprised of the landbased -ro$nd1ye and the aerial +"1ye) which generate sim$ltaneo$s streams of high-resol$tion #ideo) alerting $sers to the presence of pre-programmed targets of interest @hile #ery little information is a#ailable) an !sraeli military officer described the system as Jhigh-=$ality soda straws of s$r#eillance imagery with La type of cogniti#e capabilityMthat significantly enhances the Ncapabilities ofO yo$ng female obser#ers we co$nt on to monitor o$r borders 5 +"1ye was first $sed by the !sraeli Aefence 8orce in the *o#ember 2012 'illar of Aefence operation in -a4a +"1ye has now been integrated into !sraelPs digital command-and-control networ" for s$r#eillance and control of the co$ntry5s northern borders %he s$r#eillance system allows operators in command centres miles away from where the pod is deployed to monitor m$ltiple e#ents across #ery large areas +"1ye had pre#io$sly been demonstrated a 'aris Air +how last year with a demonstration model of the system mo$nted to a 2ermes E00 .A3 +"1ye is capable of monitoring an area of $p to 100 s=$are "ilometres and pro#ides m$ltiple camera apert$res) which can be $sed to pro#ide spherical co#erage +"1ye differs from c$rrent #ideo s$r#eillance systems in that it enables se#eral sim$ltaneo$s $sers to independently probe any region of interest anywhere in the entire sector -ro$nd1ye is based on technology de#eloped for the airborne +"1ye Open Briefing | B

Ad#ances in m$lti-channel and m$lti-operator s$r#eillance technology are essentially starting to em$late techni=$es $sed to re#iew footage in the aftermath of the 201; Boston marathon bombings !t enables sim$ltaneo$s scanning and s$r#eillance of m$ltiple points of interest @hen $sed in the conte,t of .A3 operations) +"1ye will pro#ide greater #ision to see incoming threats %ther developments 1wo +ive 6yes countries are contending with debates about the collection and disclosure of personal telecommunications metadata in the aftermath of 4S# lea!s( An A$stralian &onstit$tional Affairs &ommittee in=$iry on telecomm$nication data storage and interception has showed a n$mber of agencies collecting personal telecomm$nications information witho$t a warrant &anada is also facing an emerging debate abo$t collection) storage and access to personal telecomm$nications metadata 1he Washington Post revealed in late ,arch that the 4S# has created a surveillance system ,ES1IC and R61R% that records 199F of foreign country phone calls and stores a$dio recordings on a monthly rolling basis Alongside 'R!+: and increases in f$nding to .+ &yber &ommand) the .nited +tates is maintaining a large intelligence) s$r#eillance and reconnaissance b$dget) as pointed o$t by the &ato !nstit$te in a 21 :arch Jfederal spying b$dget5 brea"down and by the chair of the .+ 2o$se Armed +er#ices &ommittee 1ur!ey's Prime ,inister Recep 1ayyip 6rdoGan has set a clear agenda to empower the 1ur!ish intelligence service the *ational !ntelligence Organisation 6:!%7) thro$gh a draft bill that wo$ld gi#e the ser#ice f$ll access to all pri#ate data and ban" transactions %his comes after 1rdoQan recently made mo#es to ban social media sites) s$ch as %witter) as part of a campaign to s=$ash r$mo$rs of go#ernment corr$ption #lso of note %n B #pril the U5 Interception of Communications Commissioner reported that 2ritish intelligence agencies do not engage in random mass surveillance( 2owe#er) a$thorisation and notices of comm$nication data re=$ests totalled <14)D0F in 201; -oogle has adopted encrypted *11PS connection as the default for its -mail service( Aisclos$res abo$t the *+A5s 'R!+: data-mining pro(ect indicated that email messages mo#ing between -oogle5s internal ser#ers and data centres were potentially e,posed to s$r#eillance Psychological warfare officials from South 5orea's cyber command are being investigated for posting o#er ;0)000 political postings attac"ing opposition politicians in the lead $p to the 2012 presidential election 2#6 Systems are e8pected to receive a total of H.9 million from the U5 ,inistry of )efence for pro?ects to e8plore ways for the military to use social media and psychological techni=$es to infl$ence peopleRs beliefs 1he search for missing ,alaysia #irlines flight ,*.A9 has highlighted the lac! of coordination between #S6#4 member states on sharing intelligence and the lac" of confidence and tr$st across the region in terms of sharing intelligence capabilities

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US reliance on and preference for high-resolution satellites and U#;s for imagining and reconnaissance is leading to a neglect in space-based radar satellites upgrades and de#elopment according to an article in *uart+ on the challenges in locating flight :2;G0

+urther information has come to light on the 4S#'s encouragement and support for techsecurity company RS# to ma!e a now-discredited cryptography system used by a wide range of companies and services( /ea"ed *+A doc$ments s$ggest that R+A adopted two encryption tools de#eloped by the *+A) allowing the agency to ea#esdrop on some internet comm$nications

Commissioned !y the Remote Control Pro,ect remotecontrolpro?ect(org

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