Category: Defense and National Security

JERUSALEM – The Bank of Israel said on Monday it will sell up to US$30 billion (S$41 billion) of foreign currency in the open market, in the central bank’s first ever sale of foreign exchange, to maintain stability during Israel’s war with Palestinian militants in Gaza. The move appeared to quickly calm the market as the shekel recovered from steep…

Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack against Israel on Saturday, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters to kill or abduct people as Israel retaliated with devastating air strikes. At least 70 people were reported killed in Israel, while Gaza authorities released a death toll of 198 in the conflict’s bloodiest escalation in years, which also left hundreds more wounded on both sides. “We are at war,”…

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Army will now receive less Redback infantry fighting vehicles than planned as the government redirects funding for that effort toward long-range strike systems and littoral maneuver craft. The government’s recent Defence Strategic Review recommended the Army pivot from a “balanced” structure of equally equipped combined arms brigades to a “focused” force able to meet the…

The Telegram channel of Israeli President Isaac Herzog was briefly hacked before being “very swiftly” restored, his spokesman said on Thursday. The breach on Wednesday evening was thought to be “criminal in nature,” the spokesman said, suggesting it was not linked to a foreign power or tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Initial checks show no concern that information was obtained,”…

Jerusalem – Azerbaijan’s space agency, Azercosmos, acquired two multi-spectral electro-optical spy satellites from Israel Aerospace Industries as part of the Azersky-2 program. The Azeri Agency and the Tel Aviv area-based company did not disclose the satellite model or value of the contract in announcing the deal, but both have previously said the agreement is worth about $120 million, and Defense…

About 100,000 industrial control systems (ICS) were found on the public web, exposed to attackers probing them for vulnerabilities and at risk of unauthorized access. Among them are power grids, traffic light systems, security and water systems. Exposed ICSs include units (sensors, actuators, switches, building management systems, and automatic tank gauges) for critical infrastructure systems. Cybersecurity company BitSight alerted of the…

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Republicans leading an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden detailed foreign payments to members of his family in their first hearing on Thursday, but did not provide evidence that the Democratic president had personally benefited. The initial impeachment hearing by the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee served as a review of evidence that Republicans have…

Chinese hackers reportedly stole tens of thousands of emails from U.S. State Department accounts after breaching Microsoft’s cloud-based Exchange email platform in May. During a recent Senate staff briefing, U.S. State Department officials disclosed that the attackers stole at least 60,000 emails from Outlook accounts belonging to State Department officials stationed in East Asia, the Pacific, and Europe, as Reuters first…

Yaroslav Hunka was hailed as a “war hero” last week in Canada’s parliament, where he received a standing ovation. A Polish government minister has launched a bid to extradite Yaroslav Hunka, the 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian man who fought in a German-Nazi division during World War Two and last week received a standing ovation in Canada’s parliament. “In view of the scandalous…

The hacker behind the recent attack on Airbus has warned that he will sell US and European military intelligence on the dark web. Known by the moniker “USDoD,” the hacker said he recently managed to enter the company’s website by exploiting employee access from Turkish Airlines. He also immediately posted the stolen data on a hacker forum. In a lengthy…

  Australia has awarded US defense contractor L3Harris a $210-million contract to develop an underwater tracking capability that relays data on the location and movement of assets operating within the tracking field. The Maritime Underwater Tracking Ranges (MUTR) kicks off Australia’s SEA1350 MUTR Phase 3 Program, which will provide subsurface support for the Royal Australian Navy. The program aids the…

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Washington on Thursday for a whirlwind one-day visit, this time to face the Republicans now questioning the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has kept his troops in the fight against Russian forces. Zelenskyy arrived at the Capitol to talk privately with Republican and Democratic leaders of the…

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has introduced new recommendations to streamline the reporting of cyber incidents across the Department of Defense and 32 other federal agencies. The guide is expected to further protect the country’s vital infrastructure, reduce the burden on cybersecurity partners, and decrease the downtime of associated operations in each sector covered. The recommendations will also…

  The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing. Here’s what is known about the modern warplane and its latest incident: ‘Forced to eject’ A U.S. Marine…

BAE Systems and Hybrid Air Vehicles have agreed to jointly explore a long-range hybrid airship system for security and defense applications. Hybrid’s Airlander 10 will be trialed for new ways of communication and intelligence gathering, according to BAE. It is an “alternative sustainable and cost-effective solution to air logistics and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” according to Hybrid.  It complements…

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Turkish companies and a Turkish national, accusing them of helping Russia evade sanctions and supporting Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The designations, first reported by Reuters, target shipping and trade companies accused of helping repair sanctioned vessels tied to Russia’s defense ministry and helping the transfer…