Critical Infrastructure Vulnerable To Attack, NSA Deputy Director Says

David Vergun at the Army News Service offers the below piece:

WEST POINT, N.Y., April 21, 2016 — Strong dependence on industrial control systems, or ICS, is a serious vulnerability for industry, the National Security Agency’s deputy director said here yesterday.

"There's no doubt that Chinese military planners understand the importance of industrial control systems and the critical infrastructure they control," Richard H. Ledgett Jr. (seen in the above DoD released photo) said in his keynote address during a dinner at the Joint Service Academy Cyber Security Summit at the U.S. Military Academy.

Security Threat Inadequately Addressed

Historically, ICS has been strong because of its obscurity, he explained, calling it "weird software with proprietary systems."

But over time, ICS has become less obscure, and providers, working on thin profit margins, haven't adequately addressed the security threat, he said. "Adversaries are seeing what they can get by compromising those industrial control systems," he added.

In 2007, Idaho National Laboratory ran the Aurora Generator experiment, which demonstrated that the electric grid could be compromised. There are other notable examples, he said.

"You don't need to cause physical harm to affect critical infrastructure assets," Ledgett pointed out. For instance, he said, remote hackers using stolen credentials caused a Ukrainian blackout about four months ago that took down the country’s entire power grid.

"These are all fairly significant events," he said. "We're seeing more and more of that by adversaries."

Internet of Things

More and more devices are being connected to the Internet, Ledgett noted. Some 6.4 billion things worldwide will be connected by the Internet this year, he said, and by 2020, that number will be about 20.8 billion. The challenge is identifying emerging risks and vulnerabilities that come about with the introduction of new hardware and software, he said.

"Any system is only as strong as its weakest link," Ledgett said. Most types of devices connected to the Internet are built with differing security profiles and updated on differing timescales, and every time it's updated, that's another opportunity for a security vulnerability, he added.

Cybercrime is one example, Ledgett said. A million pieces of malware come out every day, he said, and 1.5 million criminal cyber events take place every year.

"Today, anyone with a computer and a fairly decent level of knowledge and an Internet connection can pose a very serious threat to an individual, a business, a city and a foreign nation," he said.

The Joint Service Academy Cyber Security Summit was co-hosted by the Army Cyber Institute and Palo Alto Networks.

Civil War Union Officer Finally Awarded Medal Of Honor

David Vergun at the U.S. Army News Service offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2014 - President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Union Army 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing yesterday for helping to stop Confederate Army Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

Helen Loring Ensign accepted the medal during the ceremony, held in the White House's Roosevelt Room, on behalf of Cushing, her first cousin, twice removed. Some 24 other descendants were present as well.

Long before Gettysburg, Cushing, who graduated from West Point in June 1861, "fought bravely" at the battles of Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg, developing a reputation for "his cool, his competence and his courage under fire," Obama said.

Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac, atop Cemetery Ridge. On that fateful day, some 10,000 of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's troops advanced toward them in a line, elbow-to-elbow, a mile wide, in the final, desperate hours of the battle.

Cushing Refused to Fall Back

Smoke from the guns obscured the battlefield, and the air was thick with lead. In the chaos, Cushing was hit and badly wounded, the president continued. His first sergeant, Frederick Fuger, urged him to fall back to the safety of the rear, away from the punishing fire. But Cushing refused, telling Fuger he'd rather "fight it out or die in the attempt."

Bleeding badly and growing weaker every moment, Cushing moved his remaining artillery closer to the front and continued to defend the Union line. "He used his own thumb to stop his gun's vent, burning his finger to the bone," the president related. When Cushing was hit the final time, the 22-year-old soldier fell beside his gun. Obama said Cushing was later immortalized by a poet, who wrote: "His gun spoke out for him once more before he fell to the ground."

Letter to Cushing's Sister

In a letter to Cushing's sister, Fuger wrote that "the bravery of their men that day was entirely due to your brother's training and example set on numerous battlefields." Etched on Cushing's tombstone at West Point is the simple epitaph, "Faithful Unto Death," the president said. And, his memory will be honored later this month, when a Navy cruiser -- the USS Gettysburg -- dedicates its officers dining hall as the "Cushing Wardroom."

Unbeknownst to Cushing, Gettysburg was a turning point in the war, the president said, and it was men like Cushing who were responsible for the victory. Historians often refer to where Pickett's Charge was stopped as the "high water mark of the Confederacy." When President Abraham Lincoln later dedicated the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, he said these men gave their "last full measure of devotion." Cushing's story "is part of our larger American story -- one that continues today," Obama said at the ceremony. "The spirit, the courage, the determination that he demonstrated lives on in our brave men and women in uniform who this very day are serving and making sure that they are defending the freedoms that Alonzo helped to preserve. "And it's incumbent on all of us as Americans to uphold the values that they fight for," the president continued, "and to continue to honor their service long after they leave the battlefield -- for decades, even centuries, to come."

Medal Was Long in Coming

Margaret Zerwekh, 94, a historian, attended the White House ceremony and was recognized by the president. Zerwekh researched Cushing's service in the Civil War. She was certain his valorous actions merited the Medal of Honor, and she lobbied her congressional representatives for decades to make it happen.

She became interesting in Cushing's story because she lives on property in Wisconsin that once owned by the soldier's father. Typically, the medal is awarded within a few years of the action. Obama said. "But sometimes, even the most extraordinary stories can get lost in the passage of time," he added. "No matter how long it takes, it is never too late to do the right thing."

This medal is about more than just one soldier, Obama said. "It reflects our obligations as a country to the men and women in our armed services -- obligations that continue long after they return home, after they remove their uniforms, and even, perhaps especially, after they've laid down their lives," he said.

Crime Prevention: "My Army Benefits" Online Scam Targets Soldiers, Families (Revised)

The Army News Service offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2014 - (Editor's Note: The article below is a revised version of a story we posted this morning. Since we originally posted it, we learned that an official Army website called MyArmyBenefits exists and that U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, or CID, the originator of the news release that served as the basis for the story, had published this clarification:

"In yesterday's announcement, CID accurately released that a website claiming to be an official U.S. Army benefits website, using the web address www.usmilitarybenifit.org, is NOT an official U.S. Army website and it is not affiliated, nor endorsed in any way by the U.S. Army. The official "MyArmyBenefits" website can be found at http://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil. This is the authorized U.S. Army benefits website and serves as the go-to source for all benefits and services available and continues to successfully assist Soldiers and their families. Soldiers and former service members are required to use either their CAC or AKO login information to access the official website. As a reminder, the official site ends with '.mil.'"

We at American Forces Press Service apologize for any confusion caused by the article we posted this morning.)


The Army's Criminal Investigation Command is warning about a new website scam in which criminals are attempting to take advantage of soldiers and their families.

The "My Army Benefits" website at http://www.usmilitarybenifit.org is not an official website, officials said, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed in any way by the United States Army. The Army does, however, have an official website called "MyArmyBenefits" at http://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil that is operated by the service's Retirement Services Office.

The primary purpose of the fraudulent site is to collect soldiers' Army Knowledge Online, or AKO, email accounts and passwords, officials said. It also makes the false claim that the U.S. military has granted access to unclaimed and accumulated benefits for active duty soldiers, and that benefits not claimed within the stipulated period will be available for claims after 60 months.

Criminal Investigation Command officials strongly recommend that soldiers, Army civilians, retirees and family members avoid the website and ignore any information or claims posted on it. They also recommend deleting suspicious or unsolicited emails immediately, without response.

Most online scam attempts are easily recognizable, officials said, because they usually involve unsolicited emails or text messages. Hoax websites often contain misspelled words and punctuation and grammatical errors, they added, and often ask for private information such as an email address and password.

Officials noted that cybercrime and Internet fraud present challenges to law enforcement agencies, as criminals mask their true identities and locations and cover their tracks quickly. Websites and accounts can easily be established and deleted in very little time, they said, allowing scam artists to strike and then disappear before law enforcement agencies can respond.

Because identifying the perpetrators is difficult, people must stay alert and be personally responsible for protecting themselves and their families online.

Criminal Investigation Command provided the following advice for anyone who has received correspondence from the My Army benefits website or provided information through it:

-- Do not log in to the website;

-- Do not respond to any emails;

-- Stop all contact if you have previously responded to any emails; and

-- Immediately contact your local information assurance office if you accessed the website from a government computer or system.