Defence Viewpoints from UK Defence Forum

Cybersecurity and the Middle East

By Nima Khorrami Assl

Cyberspace presents a range of security challenges for states, commercial and international organisations, and indeed private individuals. As such, cybersecurity has risen in the public and media consciousness in recent years in response to incidents of various sorts including the 2007 alleged Russian hacking of Estonian government and commercial websites, increasing number of extortion incidents at critical infrastructure companies, and the 2009 Stuxnet attack which, according to Phyllis Schneck, vice president and chief technology officer for public sector at McAfee, "changed the game in our awareness".

NATO has already established a cyber security centre of excellence in Tallinn, Estonia. The U.S. Department of Defence is seeking more than $3.2 billion in cybersecurity funding for 2012, while the Wall Street Journal reports that a "soon-to be finalised" report by Pentagon will outline conditions under which an assault on the U.S. computer system can be considered as an act of war; a proposal that is already a law in Russia and one which the Iranian Parliament is giving it "serious consideration". Last but certainly not least, British government, as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review, has allocated £650m over the next four years to tackle cyber threats; a policy that has been replicated in Germany, France, Australia, China, and India.

What is more, a cyber-industrial complex, accompanied by a flurry of reports and conferences on cybersecurity, is emerging. Visiongain, for example, identifies cyberwar preparedness as the "single greatest growth market in the defence and security sector" forecasting that global spending will reach $12.5 billion this year, while nearly all major defence contractors, in addition to traditional information security firms, have launched cybersecurity divisions. These include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, L-3 Communications, SAIC, and BAE Systems. Thus, it is no exaggeration to claim that cybersecurity debate is now acquiring an even 'sharper edge' replacing, perhaps, Islamic extremism as the top security threat to international peace and order.

In its present form, cyber power, if/when employed autonomously, falls short of emerging as an independent coercive instrument capable of driving a nation to terminate a programme or policy as evident in the case of Stuxnet. Hence, it is best understood as a 'complementary' instrument of power which, from a strategic point of view, can greatly enhance "the ability of a nation to manipulate an adversary's – domestic or external – perceptions of the strategic environment to its own advantage."

In the Middle East, Israel has already established a counter-cyber terrorism unit

al Qaeda's new video : A message of defeat?

By Scott Stewart

A new video from al Qaeda's media arm, As-Sahab, became available on the Internet on June 2. The video was 100 minutes long, distributed in two parts and titled "Responsible Only for Yourself." As the name suggests, this video was the al Qaeda core's latest attempt to encourage grassroots jihadists to undertake lone-wolf operations in the West, a recurrent theme in jihadist messages since late 2009.

The video, which was well-produced and contained a number of graphics and special effects, features historical footage of a number of militant Islamist personalities, including Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abdullah Azzam and Abu Yahya al-Libi.

In addition to al-Libi, who is considered a prominent al Qaeda ideological authority, the video also features an extensive discourse from another Libyan theologian, Sheikh Jamal Ibrahim Shtaiwi al-Misrati. Al-Misrati (who is from Misurata, as one can surmise from his name) was also featured in a March 25 As-Sahab message encouraging jihadists in Libya to assume control of the country and place it under Shariah once the Gadhafi regime is overthrown. The still photo used over the March message featuring al-Misrati was taken from the video used in the June 2 message, indicating that the recently released video of al-Misrati was shot prior to March 25. The video also contains a short excerpt of a previously released Arabic language Al-Malahim media video by Anwar al-Awlaki and an English-language statement by Adam Gadahn that is broken up into small segments and appears periodically throughout the video.

Despite the fact that many of the video segments used to produce this product are quite dated, there is a reference to bin Laden as a shaheed, or martyr, so this video was obviously produced after his death.

Unlike the As-Sahab message on the same topic featuring Adam Gadahn released in March 2010 and the English-language efforts of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's "Inspire" magazine, this video is primarily in Arabic, indicating that it is intended to influence an Arabic-speaking audience.

To date, much of the media coverage pertaining to the release of this video has focused on one short English-language segment in which Adam Gadahn encourages Muslims in the United States to go to gun shows and obtain automatic weapons to use in shooting attacks. This focus is understandable given the contentiousness of the gun-control issue in the United States, but a careful examination of the video reveals far more than just fodder for the U.S. gun-control debate.

Contents of the Video

The first 36 minutes of the video essentially comprise a history lesson of militants who heard the call to jihad and then acted on it. Among the examples

Birthday honours : Top of the gongs June 2011

Amongst those decorated in the Queen's Birthday Honours were :

ORDER OF THE BATH

Knight Grand Cross - General Sir Nicholas HOUGHTON, KCB CBE ADC Gen

Knight Commander - Lieutenant General Barnabas William Benjamin WHITE–SPUNNER, CBE

Companions

Rear Admiral Mark ANDERSON
Vice Admiral Robert George COOLING
Lieutenant General Andrew John Noble GRAHAM, CBE
Major General Robert Adam Mungo Simpson MELVIN, OBE
Major General Martin John RUTLEDGE, OBE
Air Vice-Marshal Simon John BOLLOM
Air Vice-Marshal Graham Edward STACEY MBE

Dr Frances Carolyn SAUNDERS - Chief Executive, Defence Science Technology Laboratory

ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Knight Commander - Air Marshal Christopher Nigel HARPER CBE

Commanders

Rear Admiral Martin Brian ALABASTER
Commodore David James Rees DICKENS OBE Royal Navy
Commodore David Julian MARSH ADC Royal Navy
Surgeon Captain Mark John MIDWINTER Royal Navy
Brigadier Alan Douglas Campbell CLACHER, OBE,
Brigadier Simon David HUTCHINSON, MBE,
Brigadier Jolyon Thomas JACKSON,
Major General Alan Drury MACKLIN,
Brigadier Tyrone Richard URCH, OBE
Brigadier David Gordon WILSON
Air Commodore Robert Bourke CUNNINGHAM MBE
Air Commodore Ian Craig MORRISON
Air Commodore Jonathan Colton RIGBY OBE

Peter Lloyd ROGERS - Chief Executive, Babcock International

KNIGHT BATCHELOR

Professor Mark Edward WELLAND FRS - Chief Scientific Advisor

Other awards can be found within Defence News at www.mod.uk

Tuesday, 14 June 2011 18:55

Defence Viewpoints from UK Defence Forum

Cybersecurity and the Middle East

al Qaeda's new video : A message of defeat?

Birthday honours : Top of the gongs June 2011

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