Whether the electrical grid, a dam or an airport, more and more infrastructure is becoming an attack target. Terrorism and espionage has evolved dramatically from the use of physical devices to destroy critical infrastructure. In today’s new global cold war, cyber terrorism is a much greater threat. Your enemies do not need to physically damage… Continue reading UMBRA Critical Infrastructure Protection
Category: National Security
Global Terrorism Index For 2024
The Institute for Economics and Peace just released the latest iteration of their Global Terrorism Index for the year 2024. It turns out that 8,352 people lost their lives to terrorism related attacks in the year 2023, which is a 22% increase year over year. It bears mentioning that terrorism attacks themselves have actually dropped to 3,350… Continue reading Global Terrorism Index For 2024
50% of UK Businesses Suffered A Cyber Attack in the Past 12 Months
Cyber attacks aren’t going away any time soon, but businesses aren’t helping themselves as half of those in the UK (50%) suffered a cyber attack or security breach in the last 12 months. Of these, medium sized businesses were the hardest hit, making up over two thirds (70%). Charities also experienced their fair share of… Continue reading 50% of UK Businesses Suffered A Cyber Attack in the Past 12 Months
UMBRA Can Secure Democracy From Foreign Influence, Fraud and Vote Tampering
The democratic process worldwide is facing a new threat: the use of AI to create and disseminate disinformation campaigns. This concern comes courtesy of a recent report by Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence team, which specifically highlights China’s alleged involvement in using AI-generated content to influence the Taiwan presidential election in January, and further raises concerns about… Continue reading UMBRA Can Secure Democracy From Foreign Influence, Fraud and Vote Tampering
US Sanctions China-based Hackers For Targeting Critical Infrastructure
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company, Limited (Wuhan XRZ), a Wuhan, China-based Ministry of State Security (MSS) front company that has served as cover for multiple malicious cyber operations. OFAC is also designating Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin, two Chinese nationals affiliated… Continue reading US Sanctions China-based Hackers For Targeting Critical Infrastructure
African Union Urges Action TO Stem Terrorism in the Sahel Region
The African Union (AU) has called on African countries to exert robust security collaboration and coordination to prevent terrorist and criminal groups from deepening their roots in the continent. The urgent call was made by Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, director of Conflict Management within the AU’s Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department, as he underscored the… Continue reading African Union Urges Action TO Stem Terrorism in the Sahel Region
UMBRA Delivers National Security
Stealing other countries’ secrets is the form of intelligence gathering that gets most attention—and resources. But a mass of information is publicly available and just waiting to be collected, to produce what’s called open-source intelligence (OSINT). Governments are working on how better to collect it, and one idea is to set up a central agency… Continue reading UMBRA Delivers National Security
The Intelligence Community OSINT Strategy
The intelligence community (IC) published its first-ever open-source intelligence (OSINT) strategy in March. It is a big-picture, priority setting document—an essential, basic step to re-launch OSINT as a serious intelligence discipline. The unclassified version may be thin on details, but it provides insight into the fundamental challenges the IC is facing trying to integrate OSINT into its… Continue reading The Intelligence Community OSINT Strategy
UMBRA OSINT Delivers Relevant, Accurate and Timely OSINT to Governments
OSINT data comes from a wide range of sources. The most popular sources include social media accounts, blogs, discussion groups, cell phone videos and even online publications and RSS feeds. Public government databases also represent a rich source of OSINT data, including mortgage information, titles, real-property data, deeds, licenses and business records. Public government data… Continue reading UMBRA OSINT Delivers Relevant, Accurate and Timely OSINT to Governments
Former ECOWAS Commissioner Delivers warning of Escalating Terrorism in Sahel Region
In an urgent call to action, Francis Béhanzin, the former Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), delivered a stark warning about the escalating threat of terrorism in the Sahel region. Speaking at the United States Institute of Peace, the defence expert provided a sobering account of the… Continue reading Former ECOWAS Commissioner Delivers warning of Escalating Terrorism in Sahel Region