U.S. Cyber Command Expands Operations to Hunt Hackers From Russia, Iran and China - The... - 0 views
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FORT MEADE, Md. — The United States Cyber Command expanded its overseas operations aimed at finding foreign hacking groups before the election on Tuesday, an effort to identify not only Russian tactics but also those of China and Iran, military officials said.
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Cyber Command was expanding on a push begun in 2018, when it sent teams to North Macedonia, Montenegro and other countries to learn more about Russian operations. The move also reflects a stepped-up effort to secure this year’s presidential election.
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Cyber Command, which runs the military’s offensive and defensive operations in the online world, was largely on the sidelines in 2016.
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But for the 2018 midterm elections, the command took a far more aggressive posture. In addition to sending the teams to allied countries, it sent warning messages to would-be Russian trolls before the vote, in its first offensive operation against Moscow; it then took at least one of those troll farms offline on Election Day and the days afterward.
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After getting close to foreign adversaries’ own networks, Cyber Command can then get inside to identify and potentially neutralize attacks on the United States, according to current and former officials.
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Cyber Command sends teams of experts overseas to work with partner and allied nations to help them find, identify and remove hostile intrusions on their government or military computer networks.
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But Cyber Command officials said those efforts uncovered malware being used by adversarial hacking teams.
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For the allied nations, inviting Cyber Command operatives not only helps improve their network defenses but also demonstrates to adversaries that the United States military is working with them. For the United States, the deployments give their experts an early look at tactics that potential adversaries are honing in their own neighborhoods, techniques that could later be used against Americans.
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Similarly, Cyber Command officials said their efforts to try to counter foreign threats would not end with the close of voting on Tuesday; they will continue as votes are counted and the Electoral College prepares to meet in December.
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“We are not stopping or thinking about our operations slacking off on Nov. 3,” General Moore said. “Defending the election is now a persistent and ongoing campaign for Cyber Command.”