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The Military IT

Air Force to Get "Cyber Sidearms" 81

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the buzzword-makers-just-getting-lazy dept.
mlbtaz writes to mention that techs working on Air Force networks will soon be getting "cyber sidearms" to help alert them to potential security breaches. "The tool could be a small piece of software installed on Air Force computers or it could be a simple mechanism for taking a screenshot and relaying it to security experts, said Maj. Gen. William Lord, who will soon take command of the Air Force's provisional Cyber Command. In an interview this week, Lord said service officials have not made a final decision about which technology they will use for the program. "
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Air Force to Get "Cyber Sidearms" More

Air Force to Get "Cyber Sidearms"

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  • So this technology allows the user to create a security breach by transmitting secure info from the commputer at any time
    • No, this technology allows the Air Force to be a step ahead of the ARMY in terms of bragging rights but at the same time provides no real security improvements to the overall networked system.
    • This is Slashdot! This is not the NYT! The technical aptitude of readers is such that you can deign to give a brief technical overview of what the new device does in the article summary.
  • ...they're not http://www.flyntairsoft.com/cybergun1.html [flyntairsoft.com]fake guns

    Though almost as lame.

  • Sounds like just another Friday night. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Friday October 12, 2007 @03:55PM (#20960059)
    > Elder said service leaders will stage fake threats to practice using the cyber sidearm. Service members will receive points when they use the tool appropriately...

    Welcome to Slashdot, Lt. General! Around here we call that "Friday night."

    (Aight, he puts on his robe and cyber sidearm...)

  • Y'know, I don't think we get it. (Score:4, Funny)

    by PhxBlue ( 562201 ) on Friday October 12, 2007 @03:55PM (#20960063) Homepage Journal

    I don't think the Pentagon gets it when it comes to information warfare. I really don't. Maybe it's just me, though, because every time I hear brass use the word "cyber," especially as a verb, the first thing that comes to my mind is cybersex.

    Also, this excerpt amuses me:

    Service members will receive points when they use the tool appropriately and lose points when they fail to act on a simulated threat, he said during a panel discussion in Washington last week sponsored by the Air Force Association.

    Maybe the lieutenants need it, but I hope they spare the rest of the servicemembers from this. I mean, talk about patronizing. If Airman Snuffy earns 20 points, does he get a gold star or a day off?

    • Not so far fetched (Score:5, Informative)

      by RingDev ( 879105 ) on Friday October 12, 2007 @04:08PM (#20960243) Homepage Journal
      Actually, promotions in the military are points based. You get points for each month you are active, points for high physical fitness scores, points for high marksmanship on the range, points for going to military education (Corporals course, aggressor school, etc...), points for taking specific billets (MSG duty, recruiting, Drill Instructor, etc...) points for civilian education, and so on. So, properly responding with this tool could quite actually have an effect on a person's score and thus the time frame of their promotion.

      -Rick

      • Re:Not so far fetched (Score:4, Informative)

        by PhxBlue ( 562201 ) on Friday October 12, 2007 @04:14PM (#20960315) Homepage Journal
        Not unless they're integrating this into the WAPS system, it won't. In the Air Force, the only points you get are for enlisted performance reports, specialty knowledge tests and promotion fitness examinations. Physical fitness affects the EPR score, but it's strictly a pass-fail ... if you fail, that's going to reflect on your EPR.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by RingDev ( 879105 )
          Ahhh, interesting. I was Marine Corps, so there was a bit more stress on the physical part of our training ;)

          -Rick

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by PhxBlue ( 562201 )
            No worries. :) I was in a joint assignment for a little while about three years ago ... the Marine unit there did a three-mile run as a warm-up for their actual PT, which was running the entire 12-mile installation perimeter. That and their professionalism impressed the hell out of me.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by B3ryllium ( 571199 )
        Hrm, I never realized that the military was so similar to an RPG ... ;-)
      • USAF EPR points don't work quite like that (yet another reason I'm glad I didn't join the Army, besides my recruiters laughing about sending his low-ASVAB applicants down the hall to them!), praise be to the Enlisted Evaluation System.

        They reflect a relative grade by the reporting official in various categories. They are not assigned for the specific completion of a task like "fixing bosses computar" or "showing up at Equal Opportunity training", but for OVERALL performance.

        Specific acts can be used for sup
    • So if Airman Snuffy is as clever as many of them are, he'll send himself a virusgram from a cybercafe or "accidentally" download a malware ad-banner from typosquatter.cm, use the Cyber Sidearm to report it, and then get his extra points toward promotion? Shouldn't be harder than blueboxing the base PBX to make free long-distance calls on Autovon...

      Or will the Air Farce figure out the trick after the first few dozen people try it and only give out points if they catch official test virusgrams and not real

  • Let me get this straight... (Score:5, Funny)

    by njfuzzy ( 734116 ) <ian@i a n - x .com> on Friday October 12, 2007 @03:57PM (#20960093) Homepage
    We are going to give you a tool. We are going to call it a "cyber sidearm". However, we don't know what it will be, or what it's purpose is, yet.


    Great program.

    • I think it is a Long Sword +5 unless you are a cleric in which case you get a Mace.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by sco08y ( 615665 )
      We are going to give you a tool. We are going to call it a "cyber sidearm". However, we don't know what it will be, or what it's purpose is, yet.

      The Good Idea Fairy [urbandictionary.com] strikes again!
    • Hey, they came up with a cool name for it didn't they? That's half the R&D work right there! They'll have his program up and running in no time. [/sarcasm]
    • Back in my day, we called these logs . What? I'm not 30 yet, and it's still considered "my day", and they're still called "logs"?
      Oh.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Black Art ( 3335 )
      We are going to give you a tool.

      I think they have plenty of tools.
  • A sidearm is a weapon, usually a pistol. This "cyber sidearm" sounds like a warning device or danger detector. Calling it a "sidearm" is a misnomer, at best. It's troubling to see all this tech being deployed by the armed forces and law enforcement. Not because they don't have a use for it, but because more and more the details are secret. We'll eventually arrive at a place where bad decisions are going to be made on what's necessary and what's not without any way for the non-elites (like us) to know w

  • "cyber sidearms" is a euphamism (Score:5, Funny)

    by User 956 ( 568564 ) on Friday October 12, 2007 @04:04PM (#20960193) Homepage
    mlbtaz writes to mention that techs working on Air Force networks will soon be getting "cyber sidearms"

    Don't tase me bro!

  • Death to "cyber" (Score:3, Funny)

    by Nimey ( 114278 ) on Friday October 12, 2007 @04:06PM (#20960221) Homepage Journal
    It's fucking overused and is used by clueless people (suits, feds). Just say "EMP" or whatever the hell principle this thing operates on, or name it after the inventor.

  • "Sidearm"? Silly! (Score:3, Funny)

    by DragonWriter ( 970822 ) on Friday October 12, 2007 @04:08PM (#20960237)

    The tool could be a small piece of software installed on Air Force computers or it could be a simple mechanism for taking a screenshot and relaying it to security experts


    Uh. Okay. So they have a print screen key that happens to automatically send the screen image to a security review team somewhere rather than saving it locally. Sure, maybe its useful somehow, but calling it a "cyber sidearm" is ludicrous. I mean, I'm sure lots of military sites uses cameras that send images to security personnel, are we going to call them "photographic sidearms" now?

     
    • This thing is a "cyber sidearm" like a rape-whistle is a "sonic sidearm," a video camera is an "optical sidearm," or a stool sample is a "digestive sidearm."

      I'm sorry, chairforce, but to call something a sidearm, it must actively attack, not passively report.

  • More Air Force Cyberspeak (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 12, 2007 @04:08PM (#20960251)
    shift-prt scr = Cyber Sidearm
    caps lock = Cyber Bullhorn
    ctrl-H = Cyber Whiteout
    ctrl-G = Cyber Air Raid Siren
    num lock = Cyber Bionic Numerical Entry Mode
    page down = Cyber Teleporter
    • ctl-alt-del = cyber cyanide

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by homer_s ( 799572 )
      What key do I press to go to the cyber-internet?
    • esc = Cyber Escape Pod
      delete = Cyber Annihilator
      home = Cyber Location Finder
      spacebar = Cyber Space-Time Placeholder
      ctrl-Z = Cyber Terminator
      ctrl-L = Cyber Battlefield Clearer
      help = Cyber Oracle

    • shift-prt scr = Cyber Sidearm
      You're at least the second person to say SHIFT PrtSc. What does this do for you that the PrtSc key alone doesn't do?

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by fyrewulff ( 702920 )
        At least in Windows, only captures the window in focus and not the entire screen.
        • [SHIFT PrtSc]

          At least in Windows, only captures the window in focus and not the entire screen.
          No, that's Alt-PrtSc. I don't see any difference between the behaviors of PrtSc by itself and Shift-PrtSc, which made me wonder if there's some 3d party app that distinguishes between them somehow.
  • The "cyber sidearm" is intended to be a simple way for service members to quickly alert others to potential security breaches
    ---Otherwise known as a cell phone or walkie talkie

    ...or it could be a simple mechanism for taking a screenshot and relaying it to security experts
    ---Again, this sounds like a camera cell phone.

    Elder said service leaders will stage fake threats to practice using the cyber sidearm.
    ---Wonder if this will involve tubes of Crest and nailclippers?
  • Knowing the air force they're going to pay $1000 a shot for someone to put a Print Screen key on their keyboards.
    • Hell, $1K is cheap! You wouldn't believe how much I, as an independent software contractor, got for similar functionality for the Navy. I even tried to tell them there were other ways to accomplish what they wanted, but instead they wanted a ground up client server design for taking and sending screen shots. The funny thing is they didn't want any important things like marking screen shots with classification levels so you know who's allowed to see it or not (probably the next contractor will get paid an
  • If I had known the Air Force would get the left over props from 'Tron' I might have enlisted.
    Cyber-sidearm
    F22 Raptors
    Stealth Bombers
    Flying Saucers

    Just seems like an unfair recruiting advantage.

  • The cyber sidearm program is part of a broader effort to defend Air Force networks against intruders. Service officials have also begun auditing crucial software to identify security risks, Elder said.

    Question #1 - What brought them to the mindboggling decision that they need extra protection that is not already being provided by the wider development world? Break-ins we don't know about?

    Question #2 - Why have the rest of the worlds security process/procedures not been sufficient?

    Question #3 - Why are they JUST NOW auditing crucial software to identify security risks?

    Surely they could simply ask the NSA how to secure their data? right? I smell a rat here, and curious minds want to know the answers.

    • The wider development world has *lots* of tools in this space
      • Virus checkers
      • Personal Firewalls
      • Anti-Phishing DNS servers
      • Remote Sysadmin Printscreen Tools
      • Microsoft Patch Tuesday
      • Intrusion-Detection / Intrusion-Prevention servers
      • etc.

      Putting a cute name on it is a way to get funding and get the users to use the tools they're given and of course

      get reputation points for your department. You'll find that the Real World has difficulty with those problems just like the Air Force, and if you don't have an an

  • Why does the military get all the cool names?!

    We should appoint Linus Torvalds to the rank of Major General.

    And instead of "GNU/Linux," call it "the Hive Mind Liberty Core."

    Yesssss...
  • they do nothing
  • I know it will be considered heretical to step up to the plate and defend the US Air Force on this forum, but step back and look at what they are saying. They want to put in place a mechanism that will allow ordianry computer users the ability to capture and report potential suspicious activity in an automated and non-technical fashion. When you look at this from an incident response standpoint, this would be a very useful tool. Calling this snapshot and reporting mechanism a cyber-sidearm might seem sil
  • And here I was hoping that they were going to install Grapple Arms on their aircraft like in Outlaw Star. That would have been a lot cooler.
  • Is he related to Lance Lord, leader of the US Space Command?
  • Q: What is "a simple mechanism for taking a screenshot"?
    A: Prnt Scrn
  • Service members will receive points when they use the tool appropriately and lose points when they fail to act on a simulated threat How do they get the funny tag then?
  • what does it all mean! wtf is a cyber-sidearm
  • I guess they never read the Neal Stephenson novel in which Our Hero disconnects watches gets his feedback via the keyboard blinkies and the computer screen is totally dedicated to confusing the onlookers.

  • This explanation [youtube.com] is so close to reality it hurts. And of course more information about the Air Force Cyberspace Command can be found at the obligatory wiki article here [wikipedia.org].
  • is they have been around a long time. Lieutenant General (3-star) Elder http://www.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?bioID=5337 [af.mil] has been in the Air Force since 1976, and is a pilot, not a computer guy. Major General (2-star) Lord http://www.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?bioID=6233 [af.mil] has been in the Air Force since 1977, but at least he is a computer guy. The thing to understand about these guys is most of them have problems understanding the difference between a desktop computer and a server, and the

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by mlbtaz ( 1172545 )
      I agree with you I some of that, but if you look, Elder has a Ph.D in electrical engineering, so I believe he knows a thing or two about computers.
  • Hmm, lets see - small "sidearm" size, notification to and from carrier, can take and display messages... so they're going to arm Air Force guards with cellphones?

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