TaoSecurity Blog

Twenty years ago today, on 1 June 1994, 1024 of us graduated from the United States Air Force Academy , commissioned as brand new second lieutenants. As of September 2012, over 600 members of the class of 1994 were still in uniform. I expect that number is roughly the same today. Reaching the 20 year mark entitles my classmates still in uniform to retire with lifetime benefits, should they choose to do so. I expect some will, but based on patterns from earlier classes I do not expect a massive exodus. The economy is still in rough shape, and transitioning from the military to the private sector after a lifetime in uniform is a jarring experience. I remember 1994 being a fairly optimistic year, but the personnel situation was precarious for those who wanted to fly. After graduation we found ourselves in the middle of a drawdown, with no undergraduate pilot training (UPT) slots available. One jody (marching song) of the time went as follows: Oh there are no fighter pilots in the A...

On Tuesday the 29th of April I delivered a keynote at the US Cyber Crime Conference in Leesburg, VA. The video is online although getting to it is more complicated than clicking on a link to YouTube. Here's what I did to access the video. First, visit this link for a "SabreCity" account. Fill in your "information" and click Register. You will then see a rude message saying "Registration for this conference is now closed." That's no problem. From the same browser now visit this link to go to the SabreCity "lobby." Click the "On Demand" button on the right side of the screen. Now you can access all of the videos from the conference. Mine is called "State of the Hack: 2014 M-Trends - Beyond the Breach." Click the green arrow to the left of the title to start the video. You may be interested in several of the other interesting speakers listed as well. Thank you to Jim Christy and his team for organizin...

Faster is better! Those of us with military backgrounds learned that speed is a "weapon" unto itself, a factor which is "inherently decisive" in military conflict. The benefit of speed was so ingrained into my Air Force training that I didn't recognize I had been brainwashed by what Dr. Thomas Hughes rightly identified as The Cult of the Quick . Dr. Hughes published his article of this title in the Winter 2001 issue of the Aerospace Power Journal. His main point is the following: At a time when the American military has global commitments arrayed at variable threats, both real and potential, the Pentagon’s single-minded view of speed leaves the nation’s defenders poorly prepared for the range of military opposition and enemies they may face. Although Dr. Hughes wrote his article in 2001, his prescription is as accurate as ever. I found his integration of Edward Luttwak's point very telling: In the 1990s, the quest for swift war, replete with exit s...

I just read a thoughtful article by Michael O'Hanlon and James Steinberg, posted at Brookings and Foreign Policy titled Don't Be a Menace to South (China Sea) . It addresses thorny questions regarding China as President Obama visits South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and the Philippines. I wanted to share five quick thoughts on the article, fully appreciating I don't have all the answers to this complex strategic problem. 1. "Many in China see the U.S. rebalance as ill-disguised containment, while many in the United States see Chinese military modernization and territorial assertiveness as strong indications that Beijing seeks to undermine Washington's alliances and drive the United States from the Western Pacific." I agree with these statements as being perceptions by both sides, but I also think they are closer to the truth than what the authors believe. I recommend Dr Ashley Tellis' monograph  Balancing Without Containment: An American Strategy for...

During recent talks to various audiences, I've mentioned discussions within the United Nations. One point from these discussions involved certain nation states agreeing to modes of behavior in cyber space. I found the document containing these recent statements: A/68/98, Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security  (pdf). This document is hosted within the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs , in the  developments in the field of information and telecommunications section. Fifteen countries were involved in producing this document: Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Canada, China, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. Within the section titled "Recommendations on norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviour by States," I ...

I had a chance to read  Advance Questions for Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers, USN (pdf) this weekend. I wanted to share five thoughts based on excerpts from the VADM Rogers' answers to written questions posed by the Senate Armed Services Committee. 1. The Committee asked: Can deterrence be an effective strategy in the absence of reliable attribution? VADM Rogers responded: Yes, I believe there can be effective levels of deterrence despite the challenges of attribution. Attribution has improved, but is still not timely in many circumstances... Cyber presence, being forward deployed in cyberspace , and garnering the indications and warnings of our most likely adversaries can help (as we do with our forces dedicated to Defend the Nation). (emphasis added) I wonder if "cyber presence" and "being forward deployed in cyberspace" means having access to adversary systems? There's little doubt as to the source of an attack if you are resident on the sy...

I'm pleased to announce that I will be teaching one class at  Black Hat USA 2014   2-3 and 4-5 August 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The class is  Network Security Monitoring 101 . I've taught this class in Las Vegas in July 2013 and Seattle in December 2013. I posted  Feedback from Network Security Monitoring 101 Classes  last year as a sample of the student commentary I received. This class is the perfect jumpstart for anyone who wants to begin a network security monitoring program at their organization. You may enter with no NSM knowledge, but when you leave you'll be able to understand, deploy, and use NSM to detect and respond to intruders, using open source software and repurposed hardware. The first discounted registration deadline is 11:59 pm EDT June 2nd. The second discounted registration deadline (more expensive than the first but cheaper than later) ends 11:59 pm EDT July 26th. You can  register here . Please note: I have no plans ...