DefenceTalkSoldiers, from the 76th Iraqi Infantry Brigade, received M16A2 rifles and infantry equipment sets, May 24-26, as part of the fielding of combat brigade equipment sets supplied to Iraqi Security Forces from the United States to support the fight against Daesh. Under the direction of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade Forward Support Element on Fort Stewart, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-supplies-critical-weapons-to-iraqi-forces-in-fight-against-isil-64533/

DefenceTalkThe spread of portable anti-aircraft missiles in the Middle East and North Africa could pose a threat to aviation security if the weapons fall into the hands of Islamic extremists, a report said on Wednesday. The easy-to-use, lightweight weapons, or man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), are proliferating due to looted stockpiles in Libya, arms trafficking […]https://www.defencetalk.com/aviation-security-endangered-by-spread-of-missiles-study-64457/

DefenceTalkThe US government on Thursday admitted hackers accessed the personal data of at least four million current and former federal employees, in a vast cyber-attack suspected to have originated in China. “As a result of the incident,” uncovered in April, the Office of Personnel Management said it “will send notifications to approximately four million individuals.” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-says-data-on-four-million-government-staff-hacked-64411/

DefenceTalkSome 140 tech companies, civil liberties and privacy activists urged the White House Tuesday to pull back efforts to weaken encryption or include law enforcement “backdoors” on technology products. The effort marked the latest turn of events in a dispute between Silicon Valley firms and the US government, which is seeking ways to access encrypted […]https://www.defencetalk.com/tech-firms-activists-press-us-on-encryption-64262/

DefenceTalkThe Army is analyzing cyberspace requirements and outlining potential technical investments based on its Cyber Materiel Development Strategy, released in February 2015. Doctrinal, operational, acquisition and research and development communities, for Army materiel development, worked together for more than two years on the comprehensive strategy, which looks at where Army cyberspace capabilities are and what […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-to-focus-on-cyber-strategy-in-tactical-environments-64172/

DefenceTalkChina is ready to make a greater contribution to peace and stability in the Horn of Africa, Beijing said Monday after Djibouti’s president told AFP negotiations over a Chinese military base were under way. “Maintenance of peace and stability in the region is in line with the interests of related countries,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-willing-to-do-more-in-horn-of-africa-64138/

DefenceTalkFinland has contacted nearly a million reservists by e-mail but an armed forces spokesman on Saturday denied the move was motivated by security concerns. “This letter to the reservists is to develop better communication with them and not because of the security situation,” spokesman Mika Kalliomaa told YLE public television. Finland said on Tuesday its […]https://www.defencetalk.com/finland-contacts-reservists-denies-move-due-to-security-concerns-64084/

DefenceTalkEmails to and from President Barack Obama were read by Russian hackers last year in a breach of the White House’s unclassified computer system, The New York Times said Saturday. Earlier this month, US officials admitted there was a cyber “event” late last year, but refused to confirm reports Russia was behind the attack. However […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-hackers-read-obama-emails-report-64029/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Ash Carter today unveiled the Defense Department’s second cyber strategy to guide the development of DoD’s cyber forces and to strengthen its cyber defenses and its posture on cyber deterrence. Carter discussed the new strategy — an update to the original strategy released in 2011 — before an audience at Stanford University on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/carter-unveils-new-dod-cyber-strategy-in-silicon-valley-63989/

DefenceTalkRussian hackers were able to access an unclassified Pentagon computer network earlier this year, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Thursday. “We quickly identified the compromise and had a team of incident responders hunting down the intruders within 24 hours,” Carter said during a speech on technology and cybersecurity at Stanford University in California. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-hackers-infiltrated-pentagon-network-us-63976/