ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force over the next several years, increasing its size more than fivefold to bolster the nation’s ability to defend critical computer systems and conduct offensive computer operations against foreign adversaries, according to U.S. officials. The move, requested by the head of the Defense Department’s Cyber Command, is part of an effort to turn an organization that has focused largely on defensive measures into the equivalent of an Internet-era fighting force. The command, made up of about 900 personnel, will expand to include 4,900 troops and civilians. Details of the plan have not been finalized, but the decision to expand the Cyber Command was made by senior Pentagon officials late last year in recognition of a growing threat in cyberspace, said officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the expansion has not been formally announced. The gravity of that threat, they said, has been highlighted by a string...

Egyptian president declares state of emergency in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, scenes of major protests in recent days. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has declared a 30-day state of emergency and a night-time curfew in three cities along the Suez Canal that have seen deadly clashes in recent days. In a televised address late on Sunday, Morsi said the emergency measures in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez would take effect on Monday from 9:00pm local time (19:00 GMT) to 6:00am (04:00 GMT), warning that more action would be taken to stem the latest eruption of violence across much of the country. "I have said I am against any emergency measures but I have said that if I must stop bloodshed and protect the people then I will act," Morsi said. He also called for dialogue with top politicians starting on Monday to resolve the situation. Deadly clashes across the country between protesters and police have killed at least 48 people since Friday, when Egyptians commemorated the two-...

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is moving forward with plans to increase the range and accuracy of its 120 mm Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS) by developing a new mortar round. 1340094 The USMC's ITV, also known as the Light Strike Vehicle, can also be used beyond the EFSS mission profile. It is shown here providing security and over-watch during a training exercise. (US Marine Corps) The Precision Extended Range Munition (PERM), to be used with the EFSS' M327 rifled towed mortar, is being developed as an extended-range precision-guided round that could provide accuracy of within at least 20 m at ranges around 17 km. Contracts for PERM's 24-month engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase were awarded to Raytheon teamed with Israel Military Industries, as well as to ATK teamed with EFSS' lead contractor General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS). Raytheon announced its contract on 22 January 2013 and ATK revealed its cont...

As the global narcotics trade expands in West Africa, it leaves a trail of addicts in its wake. Freetown, Sierra Leone - Leaning against a wall, his eyes red and glazed over, Patrick Hindowa described how he spends his days getting high. "I got no job here," he explained. "Whatever [drugs] I'm going to be able to do, I'm going to do. Because I really don't have nothing." Huddled at the end of a narrow alleyway downtown, Hindowa and two friends shared stories of addiction and life on the street. "My mother died, my father died," recalled Bakar Sesay. "Since then - since I was a kid - I chose the street life. Coke and all that." The 20-year-old said that he has used drugs since he was seven. The group listed heroin as their favourite, with freebased cocaine a close second. When hard drugs were not available, they turn to marijuana, alcohol, amphetamines, or prescription pills - anything, really. "From the time we wake up, ...

More than 245 people killed in blaze caused by a pyrotechnics show in the city of Santa Maria, local police report. At least 245 people have been killed and 200 others injured in a nightclub fire caused by a pyrotechnics show in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, a police official has said. "There are 245 dead and 48 in the hospital," Major Cleberson Bastianello, a military police commander in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, told local news media on Sunday. Bodies were still being removed from the Kiss nightclub, according to Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who was leading rescue efforts at the scene for the military police. Ferreira said the victims died of asphyxiation or from being trampled, and there were as many as 500 people inside the club when the fire broke out. Gabriel Elizondo, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Brazil said the nightclub, which is near a college campus, was full of teenagers and people in their 20s. “Images that we’ve seen...

PYONGYANG - The paramount leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) on Sunday pledged to resort to "powerful physical countermeasures" in safeguarding his country's dignity and sovereign rights. Kim Jong-un's pledge was made known by KCNA, DPRK's official news agency, in a statement. Though without elaboration, Kim said it while attending a work meeting of officials for national security and external affairs held recently on current situation, said KCNA's statement, quoting a report from the meeting. The 15-nation United Nations Security Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the Resolution 2087 which condemns DPRK's rocket launch in December and requires the DPRK to comply with all relevant resolutions approved by the Security Council and not to use the ballistic missile technology for any launch. It also reiterated to seek a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the issues concerned and advocated the renewal of the six-p...

TOKYO - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. are set to launch an information-gathering radar satellite and an optical satellite using an H-2A rocket Sunday, local media reported. The liftoff is scheduled at around 1:40 p.m. Sunday from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, according to the Kyodo News Agency. The radar satellite is reportedly capable of detecting objects on the ground even at night and through cloud cover, while the optical satellite is designed to demonstrate higher resolution shooting technology. Japan currently has a radar satellite and three optical satellites in operation. With the planned launch on Sunday, it aims to expand its satellite network so that any specific point on the ground can be shot at least once a day, according to reports.

WASHINGTON - Hackers on Saturday took down a US Justice Department website, in what was believed to be retribution for the death of an internet activist. The website of United States Sentencing Commission, the agency responsible for federal sentencing guidelines, was taken down. Hackers also posted a message demanding the United States reform its justice system or they would leak sensitive information obtained in the attack. According to numerous news reports, the infamous hacker group "Anonymous" was suspected to be behind the attack. Reports quoted a letter from the group saying it hijacked the website to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an internet activist who committed suicide earlier this month. Reports indicated federal prosecutors had aggressively pursued Swartz for allegedly downloading millions of academic articles with the intention of distributing them for free, before he committed suicide on January 11. He was facing federal computer fraud charges and could have...