DefenceTalkWith renewed focus on how encrypted messages can be used to plot terrorist attacks, President Barack Obama’s administration is stepping up pressure on the tech sector to help in the battle. Although issues around encryption have been ongoing for decades, the prickly topic has sprung to the fore in recent weeks following killing sprees in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/data-encryption-in-sharp-focus-after-deadly-attacks-66091/

DefenceTalkAcross the United States, 3200 separate organizations own and operate electrical infrastructure. The widely dispersed nature of the nation’s electrical grid and associated control systems has a number of advantages, including a reduced risk that any single accident or attack could create a widespread failure from which it might take weeks to recover. Since the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/darpa-protect-nations-electrical-grid-from-cyber-attack-66088/

DefenceTalkEU member states and lawmakers have clinched a deal to prevent cyber attacks by requiring Internet firms like eBay, Amazon and Google to boost their defences and report breaches, officials said Tuesday. They said the first EU-wide draft rules agreed late Monday would also oblige power companies, financial institutions as well as transport, health care […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eu-to-impose-rules-on-internet-firms-to-prevent-cyber-attacks-66017/

DefenceTalkThe UK will be at the forefront of a high-readiness force allowing seven nations to meet new challenges in an uncertain world. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon today (30 November) committed the UK to a leading role in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which will include Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway, and could […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uk-led-joint-force-launched-to-tackle-common-threats-65937/

DefenceTalkNATO member Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet on its border with Syria on Tuesday, raising concerns over the potential for a further escalation in the more-than- four-year Syrian conflict. Ankara says the plane violated Turkish airspace, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted the jet was over Syria at the time of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/what-are-the-implications-of-turkey-downing-russian-jet-65899/

DefenceTalkA top Chinese military officer visited Djibouti at the weekend, official media reported, prompting a state-run newspaper Tuesday to downplay concerns Beijing is planning to establish a base in the strategically vital African entrepot. The chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) general staff, General Fang Fenghui met Djibouti’s president at the weekend, the official […]https://www.defencetalk.com/top-chinese-general-visits-djibouti-amid-base-speculation-65821/

DefenceTalkUnited Nations: The United Nations is sending hundreds of extra peacekeepers and its first drones to the Central African Republic to bolster security ahead of elections next month, a UN official said Tuesday. The December 27 elections are shaping up as a test of the country’s progress in its political transition after the bloodletting that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/un-sends-more-peacekeepers-drones-to-central-africa-65818/

DefenceTalkRaytheon Company has been awarded an additional $18.6 million contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to help the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (GoHKJ) secure its borders with Syria. The award is for increment three of DTRA’s Jordan Border Security Project (JBSP). Raytheon expands border security work in Kingdom of Jordan […]https://www.defencetalk.com/raytheon-to-boost-jordans-border-security-with-syria-65590/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has selected Raytheon Company to be the prime contractor and systems integrator for the agency’s Network Security Deployment (NSD) Division. NSD is responsible for the National Cybersecurity Protection System (NCPS), a system providing the vital infrastructure that assists more than 100 federal civilian government agencies with the protection […]https://www.defencetalk.com/raytheon-to-provide-mission-critical-cybersecurity-solutions-to-us-dhs-65506/

DefenceTalkThe Network Integration Evaluation, or NIE 16.1, which takes place Sept. 25 through Oct. 8, will be the largest NIE ever, since the exercises started in 2011, said Brig. Gen. Terry McKenrick. Normally, there are between 3,500 and 3,800 participants in NIE, said McKenrick, who is the commanding general, Brigade Modernization Command. NIE 16.1 has […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-hosts-largest-ever-joint-combined-network-exercise-65489/