Inside the Ring: Army Gears Up for Info Warfare
The Army this month outlined its plan for using modern-day information warfare in future military conflicts as part of new, high-technology warfighting capabilities.
Bill Gertz
Bill Gertz is senior editor of the Washington Free Beacon. Prior to joining the Beacon he was a national security reporter, editor, and columnist for 27 years at the Washington Times. Bill is the author of seven books, four of which were national bestsellers. His most recent book was iWar: War and Peace in the Information Age, a look at information warfare in its many forms and the enemies that are waging it. Bill has an international reputation. Vyachaslav Trubnikov, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, once called him a “tool of the CIA” after he wrote an article exposing Russian intelligence operations in the Balkans. A senior CIA official once threatened to have a cruise missile fired at his desk after he wrote a column critical of the CIA’s analysis of China. And China’s communist government has criticized him for news reports exposing China’s weapons and missile sales to rogue states. The state-run Xinhua news agency in 2006 identified Bill as the No. 1 “anti-China expert” in the world. Bill insists he is very much pro-China—pro-Chinese people and opposed to the communist system. Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld once told him: “You are drilling holes in the Pentagon and sucking out information.” His Twitter handle is @BillGertz.
Mattis: China’s Island Militarization Continues
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis this week voiced new U.S. opposition to China’s continued militarization of islands in the South China Sea.
Air Force Failed to Protect Frontline F-22 Jets During Storm
The Air Force lost several advanced F-22 stealth fighters that were damaged or destroyed during the hurricane that leveled Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida last week.
Bolton Warns Chinese Military to Halt Dangerous Naval Encounters
White House National Security Adviser John Bolton bluntly warned China this week that the U.S. military will not ignore threatening naval actions near U.S. warships in international waters.
Inside the Ring: PACOM on China’s Belt and Road
The Pentagon’s Pacific Command is pushing back against China’s attempt to relabel its global infrastructure development initiative to make it more palatable for strategic messaging in support of Beijing’s drive for global hegemony.
U.S. Arrests Chinese Intelligence Officer for Economic Spying
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced the arrest of a Chinese intelligence officer who was charged with economic espionage against U.S. aviation companies.
Vice President Hits China for Subverting Trump Reelection
Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday sharply criticized China’s communist government for interfering in upcoming U.S. elections in a systematic bid to unseat President Trump from office.
China’s Strategic Force Gears Up for Space and Cyber War
China’s new Strategic Support Force highlights Beijing’s growing military might and plans to expand both power and influence using space, cyber, and information warfare in both peacetime and a future high-tech war, according to a Pentagon-sponsored study.
The new force, set up in late 2015, is not part of army, navy, air force, or missile force and is directly under the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, according to a report published this week by the National Defense University.
North Korean Financial Hacking Group Revealed
North Korean hackers are engaged in sophisticated financial hacking operations that have targeted at least $1.1 billion in thefts from nearly a dozen countries ranging from Asia to South America to Europe, according to a new report by a noted cyber security group.
Using a combination of fraudulent emails, malicious software and destructive cyber attacks, the North Korean group dubbed APT38 is distinct from Pyongyang’s other cyber espionage and political operations, such as the 2014 cyber attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to a report by the cyber security firm FireEye.
Inside the Ring: China Steps Up Spying on U.S. Military
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is stepping up open-source spying on the U.S. military and other foreign militaries that will utilize artificial intelligence means.
