He commanded the 11th Battalion that besieged Mbarara Barracks and later captured Nakulabye and Makerere during the last onslaught on Kampala. He died of natural causes in 1997
Thursday, June 4, 2020
NRAHEROES : RO/00017 Brig. Chef Ali (RIP)
NRAHEROES : LT. SAM MAGARA (R.I.P) R0/00022
Together, they created a bond and though it did not last for many years, was thick to create a lasting impression in the military history of this country.Magara became one of Museveni's military confidants. For example, during the attack on Kabamba, Museveni travelled with him in the same pick-up truck. According to Museveni, it was him and Magara who were in charge of the whole operation.
After the attack on Kabamba, he led one of the first four sections of the then Popular Resistance Army. At the time, his section was operating along Bombo Road.
Because of his seniority, President Museveni used to leave Magara in charge of operations against UNLA. Museveni recounts one of such incidences. Before I left for Europe, I left Magara in charge of the forces, he says.
And indeed, Magara performed well.During my absence, He carried out several operations and captured more guns, which brought the total number of guns in our arsenal from 60 to 100, Museveni recounts on his return from Europe in 1982.
In August 1983, NRA high command held a meeting in Semuto in Luweero district. After the meeting, Magara and several other comrades decided to come to Kampala. According to retired Captain Tofa Agaba, Magara had a tooth problem, which he wanted treated in Kampala.
He went and spent the night at Katenta Apuuli's house in Mengo, while we went at Nakulabye,recounts Agaba.
In the morning, Agaba and another NRA fighter went to check on Magara. We found him sleeping. But as soon as we settled down, the housegirl came running to the room. She told us that there were so many soldiers outside,Agaba remembers.
We looked through the window and saw almost a platoon of soldiers outside. We took off through the back door and jumped over the fence. Magara was following us, but then he remembered that he had forgotten his brief case inside the house, Agaba says.
As the NRA army commander at the time, the case is believed to have contained a lot of important documents. Among others, it had photographs of some of the rebel soldiers and sympathisers, many of whom were in Kampala.However, Magara did not make it. He was shot several times in the chest and all over the body
Agaba came back to the scene after the shooting stopped. I wanted to make sure if it was our commander who had been killed. I then went back to the bush and took the news to mzee (President Museveni).Agaba says this was his worst moment in the bush.
NRA HEROES:R0/00026 Lt. GEN. PECOS KUTEESA
Pecos Kutesa began his military career in 1976 when he joined FRONASA, one of the military groups formed to fight Id Amin Dada. Like other FRONASA recruits, he was trained at Munduli Military Academy in Tanzania.
After the fall of Amin, Kutesa was deployed in Nakasongola Military Training School.
It was from here that he deserted the army in March 1981, aged 25, to join Museveni’s NRA rebels fighting to remove Milton Obote. Kutesa says he joined FRONASA after completing S.6 at Masaka Secondary School.
After the NRA captured power, he joined Makerere University and graduated with a social sciences degree. He claims he ran away from Nakasongola, where he was a serving UNLA soldier, because an order for his arrest had been issued after his colleagues declared a rebellion and in fact attacked Kabamba Barracks on February 6, 1981.
Before joining the main group under Museveni in Luwero, Kutesa operated briefly under Brig. Matayo Kyaligonza who was in charge of urban terrorism. In his book, Kutesa recounts how, together with Matayo Kyaligonza and Benjamin Dampa (RIP), they unsuccessfully attempted to set Kampala City ablaze when they hit the Agip fuel depot in the Industrial Area.
They also planned to set ablaze other neighbouring fuel depots belonging to Shell, Caltex and Total, hoping to trigger a huge fireball that would engulf the entire city. Fortunately, or unfortunately for them, the Agip fuel tanks were empty at the time they struck with an anti-tank gun.
After the botched operation, they withdrew to Nkrumah Road, opposite Uganda House, which was their base at the time. Their next target was the Kampala water reservoir in Muyenga. Museveni reportedly restrained them before they could launch the attack.
After a stint in terrorism, Kutesa joined the main rebel group in Luwero on March 30, 1981. He says that at the time of joining the rebellion, fighters under Museveni were less than 50, and some of them were unarmed.
KAKIRI ATTACK
The UNLF detach at Kakiri was attacked at least twice by the NRA.The attack was led by Museveni himself as a platoon commander of 53 people.
The NRA attacking force had been split into five sections, each with 10 people. Sam Magara (RIP) led section one, Kutesa led section two, Jack Mucunguzi led section three, Hannington Mugabi led four and Rwigyema took charge of section five.
Kutesa is the only surviving section commander of the NRA force that attacked Kakiri.
One of the soldiers Pecos commanded in his section was Paul Kagame, currently President of Rwanda. During that operation, the NRA captured about 50 guns and declared this mission a success
Kutesa later became Museveni’s ADC.After the Kakiri attack, the NRA went underground for some months.In fact, Museveni with some of his guards went to Nairobi for 6 months. Being a Kalampenge, Kutesa asked his boss to be redeployed in active combat. Upon his return, Museveni visited all units.
Museveni again re-organised the NRA and this is when Kutesa became Commanding Officer of the C coy. This was one of the units that made up the Mobile Brigade under Salim Saleh. It is Pecos Kutesa who received a truck-load of guns that Lt. Col. Ssonko drove to the NRA base after the failed UFM attack on Lubiri in 1982.
MASINDI ATTACK
The February 20, 1984 attack on Masindi Barracks was arguably the turning point in the NRA bush-war, veterans say. Not only did the rebels multiply their arms by two, but it also boosted their morale, especially after the failed attack on Kabamba.
The Masindi attack happened after another re-organisation had brought in battalions. Kutesa who was commanding C Coy was now the boss of 1st battalion. Kutesa's 1st battalion was responsible for leading the attack. They were supposed to attack at day break but they delayed and reached at 7a.m.In fact, Saleh who had been cautioned seriously by Museveni, sent him a radio message to inform him that they had arrived late. Museveni advised them to call off the operation.
Saleh informed Kutesa of the High Command Chairman’s advice, but Kutesa protested saying they were ready to attack. The now cautious Saleh asked him whether he would take full responsibility in case the operation was not successful, and Kutesa consulted his deputies after which he said yes.
Kutesa’s deputy was Peter Kerim and his operation officer was Fred Mugisha a.k.a ‘Headache’. After consulting other commanders, Saleh gave the attack a go-ahead. In the attack, the NRA overran the Artillery School, captured about 350 rifles, plus other ammunition. They carried their loot and marched back to their base to rescue Museveni who had by then come under UNLA attack.
Before the fall of Kampala into rebel hands, the NRA had undergone yet another re-organisation after Museveni returned from a six-month diplomatic and arms searching trip. Kutesa retained command of his 1st battalion while his operation officer, Fred Mugisha, became his deputy and his deputy Peter Kerim was appointed to head a new 21st battalion.
Kutesa operated on one side of Katonga Bridge. When the Katonga Bridge fell to the rebels, the 1st battalion led the match towards Kampala along Masaka Road. There were hold-ups, especially during the peace talks in Nairobi, but eventually Kutesa’s battalion led the march towards the capital, capturing Lubiri Barracks while other units attacked different government and military encampments.
After the fall of Kampala, Kutesa went to Jinja together with Kyaligonza. In 1994, he was elected Constituent Assembly delegate for Kabula.Kutesa was one of the senior officers who fought alongside their spouses during the bush war. His wife, Dora is also a veteran of the war.
Photo : Pecos Kuteesa & Dora Kuteesa
Honorary Brig Eria Kategaya (RIP) - R0/0002
Kategaya held a Bachelor of Law (LLB), degree from the University of Dar-es-Salaam. At the time of his graduation the university was part of the University of East Africa.
Kategaya was part of Museveni's Front for National Salvation (FRONASA), a group of Ugandan exiles in Tanzania who eventually helped topple Idi Amin in 1979 with the help of the Tanzania People's Defence Force.
In 1980, Museveni, kategaya and others founded the Uganda Patriotic Movement, headed by Museveni to contest in the elections. When Museveni launched the guerrilla struggle against the Milton Obote II administration (1981 - 1985), Kategaya served in the 'External Wing' of the rebel National Resistance Movement (NRM) and National Resistance Army (NRA). The NRM transformed into the National Resistance Movement political party, while the NRA became the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF).
He was a Brigadier General in the National Resistance Army from 1987 holding army number RO-002 although he never served in any military position as he was all the time serving in other government offices as a senior cabinet minister.
When the NRM and NRA eventually took power in January 1986, Kategaya was one of the groups' top leadership and considered by most as the Number Two after Museveni. Between 1986 and 2001, Kategaya served in various capacities as National Political Commissar for the NRM and Minister in Museveni's governments.
Following Museveni and NRM's win in the 2006 general elections, rumours began spreading that Kategaya was in reconciliation talks with Museveni. The rumours proved well-founded when Museveni nominated his old ally for approval by the Parliament as a Cabinet Minister. Subsequently, he was appointed to the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs.
Eriya Kategaya died on 2 March 2013 in Nairobi, where he had been hospitalised for a while
.....By shafique ssebunya.....
Chinese gorvenment linked hackers attempted to break into presumptive democratic presidential candidate joe biden's campaign staff email accounts
The attacks are said to have used phishing tactics, with "no sign of compromise" to report. according to Huntley.
Recently TAG saw China APT group targeting Biden campaign staff & Iran APT targeting Trump campaign staff with phishing. No sign of compromise. We sent users our govt attack warning and we referred to fed law enforcement. According to this tweet,https://t.co/ozlRL4SwhG
The cybersecurity king urged staffers from both campaign to "use the best protection you can," recommending "two factor authentication or Advanced Protection," which he suggested "really can make a difference."
Huntley indicated that the groups' alleged links to the Chinese and Iranian governments were confirmed by their callsigns, 'APT31' , which Malpedia identifies as a 'Chinese government'-connected phishing operation said to ordinarily specialize in intellectual property, and 'APT35' , a "threat group sponsored by the Iranian government" which works to "conduct long term, resource-intensive operations to collect strategic intelligence."
Chinese and Iranian authorities have yet to comment on Google's claims.
The allegations are reminiscent of the long-since debunked 'Russia hacking' claims pushed by Hillary Clinton in the run-up and aftermath of the 2016 presidential race. President Trump and the Republicans have since attributed the hacking conspiracy to a Ukraine-linked cybersecurity company, with Trump's request for a probe into the issue by Kiev becoming the focal point of the recent impeachment inquiry and trial in Congress. To date, the true identity of the Democratic Party server has yet to be established.
Last year, Finnish cybersecurity analyst Petri Krohn said that "cyber attribution or using forensic methods to establish the origin of cyberattacks and operations is extremely difficult" owing to the ease with with intelligence services can "hide their tracks and make it seem like the attack is the work of their opponent."
My address on Uganda telecommunications and ICT:Communication updates on all telecommunication networks in Uganda from June 2019-june 2020
On 7/6/2019,The National Information Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U) said it had plans to have installed 500 free Wi-Fi access points across the country by the end of this year. According to a report from The Monitor, the state-run organisation then had 284 active Wi-Fi sites in Kampala, Entebbe and Wakiso. Another 216 Wi-Fi kiosks were to be installed over the next six months, with priority being given to rural areas where fibre backbone networks had recently been installed.
The NITA-U began its USD4.7 million Wi-Fi deployment in 2017, offering free connectivity under the MYUG brand at off-peak times, with peak download speeds of 2Mbps. The group said that past problems with network congestion were to be resolved and users were to have improved service levels.
On 28/6/2020,SEACOM was awarded a grant of an undisclosed amount from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to conduct a feasibility study on the market potential for fibre services in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya. The study was to allow SEACOM to ascertain the specific areas of expansion in the chosen countries, including required network equipment and fibre-optic cabling. In addition to the study, SEACOM had revealed plans to add eight new PoPs across the African continent; the company had expanded its reach in Mombasa (Kenya) with the new Icolo data centre, with similar PoPs planned for construction in Nairobi (Kenya) and Kampala (Uganda).
02/07/2019,The government of Uganda was criticised for proposed changes to regulations which could increase state control over internet access. A report from the Daily Monitor, which cited a communication from privately-run Uganda Internet eXchange Point (UIXP), says that draft regulations from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) was to require all local ISPs to channel traffic through a Designated National Internet Exchange Point (DNIXP), which will be controlled by the government. Furthermore, the report said that plans to create a single national backbone network run by the state will also increase government influence, effectively nationalising communications infrastructure.
With internet blackouts having accompanied presidential and parliamentary elections in 2016, some critics said the proposals was politically motivated ahead of the next planned election in 2021, while they will also create a virtual government monopoly which has been labelled as ‘counter-productive’.
The UCC defended its stance. Fred Otunu, director of corporate affairs at the regulator, said: ‘It is not about nationalising but aims to avoid duplication and government playing a central role in providing infrastructure. The issue of the national broadband policy should be understood in the same context like we talk about other infrastructure, whether roads, airports and so forth. ICT had been thought that it should be left to the private sector, but the world over is saying this is a sector that the government should have a central interest in. If government is providing road infrastructure, why shouldn’t government provide ICT infrastructure because this is a cyber-super highway.’
18/7/2019,The government of Uganda said the tax on mobile social media services which was introduced in July 2018 had failedto generate the expected income. A report from Agence Ecofin cites Doris Akol, the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), as saying that the tax brought in UGX49.5 billion (USD13.5 million) between its implementation and the end of 2018, which was just 17.4% of the UGX284 billion which had been predicted. Reasons for the poor performance included mobile customers opting to install VPN software or waiting until they are in range of a Wi-Fi connection before accessing social media apps.
While the social media tax had produced disappointing results for the government, mobile money services continued to do well, bringing in UGX157.2 billion in taxes in 2018, well ahead of the UGX115 billion which had been expected.
23/07/2019,The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) ordered local cellco Airtel to provide proof of its 4G network coverage and download speeds. According to a report from Techjaja, the regulator said it had received consumer complaints that Airtel’s 4G network – which is advertised as ‘nationwide’ – is not present across the country, while data transmission rates were lower than expected. The UCC had carried out preliminary testing in the cities of Kampala, Mukono, Entebbe and Jinja and found that LTE-based services were available in over 90% of areas sampled. Its main concern, however, was with the data rates, which it found to be ‘much lower than what is internationally expected for a countrywide 4G network service’.
Airtel therefore was asked by the UCC to: show technical evidence to prove that it provides the claimed nationwide 4G service across Uganda ‘in terms of performance and geographical coverage’; and ‘show cause why regulatory sanction(s) should not be instituted … for misrepresenting to its customers and the general public about its network quality and speeds’.
Indian-owned Airtel Uganda announced the nationwide availability of 4G services in February 2019, claiming to have 1,632 LTE-enabled sites connected by over 3,900km of fibre, covering 95.9% of the population.
01/10/2019,The government of Mauritius played down rumours that local state-backed telco Mauritius Telecom (MT) is still interested in acquiring a majority stake in Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL). The Ugandan government was looking to sell off around two-thirds of UTL in an attempt to revitalise the struggling operator, but a deal agreed a year ago with Nigeria-based investor Teleology fell through in January due to its failure to hand over the deposit payment. At the time of the Teleology deal, MT had been named as another potential buyer for UTL.
According to a report from the Kampala Post, however, there were no plans for MT to take a stake in its Ugandan counterpart. Officials in Mauritius also denied that Uganda’s Minister for Privatisation and Investments, Evelyn Anite, travelled to Mauritius in August to discuss a possible deal between MT and UTL.
11/10/2019,The National Information Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U) defended itself against accusations that it was wasting public funds with its rollout of a national backbone network. press reports had accused officials at the state-backed body of corruption and of mismanaging the network deployment.
A statement from NITA-U responded by saying: ‘The originators of the false news are obviously determined on downplaying Uganda’s progress in achieving widespread connectivity that has significantly lowered internet bandwidth costs to Ugandan individuals and organisations over the last ten years.’ The body said that at the start of the project in 2008 the cost-per-Mbps was USD1,200 but then dropped to USD70-per-Mbps. According to a report from PML Daily, the agency added that 3,000km of fibre-optic cable had already been deployed and a fourth phase of the rollout was underway.
1/11/2019,The Ugandan government said the country’s telecoms operators must list at least 20% of their shares on the local bourse within two years in a move to encourage local ownership. A report from Reuters cites Ibrahim Bbosa, spokesman for the regulator Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), as saying that the share listing will be one of the terms contained within new licences: ‘In 60 days we want to have issued new licences and then two years from then all the players should have listed at least 20% of their shares on the Uganda Stock Exchange (USE).’ According to statistics foreign-owned operators MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda control almost 90% of the local mobile market between them.
Another condition of the new licences was to be for operators to share fibre backbone infrastructure to avoid the expense of each firm rolling out overlapping networks.
13/11/2919,MTN Group, a leading emerging market operator with more than 240 million customers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East, announced the successful deployment of more than 200 commercial rural sites across its footprint, using OpenRAN technology which enables operators to achieve cost-effective deployments allowing for greater connectivity to previously unconnected areas. Working with Vanu, a provider of equipment, tools and services that allow mobile network operators to profit by serving off-grid communities, MTN ultimately aimed to supply both equipment and services for as many as 6,000 mobile network sites in rural areas across its 21 operations, bringing 2G, 3G and 4G connectivity to areas that were previously unconnected. In order to realise this goal, MTN will rely on an ecosystem of partners who will bring their expertise to build and maintain the sites, utilising a full turnkey approach. The vendor, meanwhile, said that its ‘unique’ off-grid network systems will enable MTN Group to provide efficient and profitable connectivity solutions to previously unconnected communities.
MTN’s operations in Uganda and Guinea are already benefiting from this technology, as the regional carrier has also partnered with the likes of Vanu, Parallel Wireless and NuRAN Wireless to deliver OpenRAN technology in those markets.
11/12/2019,The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) signed an agreement allowing Loon, a subsidiary of the Alphabet group of companies which also includes Google, to operate unmanned, high-altitude balloons which act as floating mobile masts to extend network coverage to unserved areas.
The Daily Monitor cites State Minister for Works and Transport, Aggrey Bagiire, as saying: ‘The signed Letter of Agreement will provide for safe over flight of the balloons in Uganda’s airspace. It also caters for orderly descent and landing in case of an eventuality.’ He added that Loon already had similar flight arrangements in Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Kenya.
3/01/2020,American Tower Corporation (ATC) closed its previously announced USD1.85 billion acquisition of Eaton Towers Holdings, adding 5,700 towers to its portfolio in Africa. ATC says it now controls around 177,000 wireless towers worldwide.
ATC had also announced that it was acquiring minority stakes in tower joint ventures (JVs) in Uganda and Ghana which are currently held by MTN Group. ATC will pay MTN USD523 million for its 49% interests in Uganda Tower Interco and Ghana Tower Interco. The transaction was expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approval. In a statement MTN explained the decision to offload its stakes in the two JVs, saying: ‘We remain focused on continuing to execute on the important strategic priorities of reducing debt, simplifying the portfolio and reducing risk.
20/1/2020,Ugandan cellco MTN teamed up with equipment vendor ZTE of China to demonstrate 5G mobile technology in Kampala. South African-owned MTNsays it wanted to be the first to bring a Standalone 5G network to East Africa. MTN Uganda’s CEO, Wim Vanhelleputte, commented: ‘5G will make our life better, drive incremental capacity and open up new business [opportunities]. MTN as a company is constantly making efforts to break barriers by democratising voice and data connectivity in order to improve subscriber experience.’ A report from PML Daily cites Godfrey Mutabazi, Executive Director of the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC), as saying that, as a regulator of the communications sector, it is working to ensure that there is an appropriate infrastructure that supports 5G. MTNhopes to launch a live 5G network in Uganda by the end of this 2020.
UK-based MVNO giant Lycamobile Group notched up a new African market, following the launch of Lycamobile Uganda. This development expanded Lycamobile’s global footprint to 24 counties. Allirajah Subaskaran, Lyca Group founder and chairman, commented: ‘As the world’s largest MVNO with a sustained focus on Africa, it is a natural move for Lycamobile to venture into Uganda. We are currently operational in South Africa and considered Uganda in the East African region because of the market potential and ease of doing business.’ While the press release asserts that Lycamobile ‘has established countrywide infrastructure’, local news site PML Daily notes that the new MVNO has signed a wholesale agreement with fixed-wireless 4G player Tangerine, which it says is ‘already in most towns in Mukono, Kampala and Wakiso’. Lycamobile will use the ‘072’ prefix.
31/01/2020,MTN Uganda was warning that a government move to enforce a sale of at least 20% of local telco shares to Ugandans could result in no increase in domestic share ownership. The requirement to list shares on the local stock exchange has been included in new licence terms which come into force today (31 January).
Reuters cited MTN Uganda CEO Wim Vanhelleputte as saying that instead of the listing requirement, the government should allow foreign firms to sell stakes to vetted local investors via private placements. This would guarantee local ownership, whereas an entry to the stock market could result in foreign investors buying shares, even if participation in the initial public offer (IPO) is restricted to Ugandans. MTN has previously been in negotiations with pubic sector pension fund NSSF over a possible stake sale.
27/2/2020, The government of Uganda was looking at borrowing USD150 million from Exim Bank of China to help fund ICT projects. ICTMinister Peter Ogwang is cited by The Daily Monitor as saying that the money will be used to ‘develop the national backbone infrastructure to begin implementing ICT investments in schools, referral hospitals, districts and lower local government’. Funding will also be used to provide computers and connectivity for secondary schools.
13/3/2020,MTN Uganda agreed to pay USD100 million to renew its licence for a further ten years. The decision followed more than a year of negotiations, during which the South African-owned cellco had been forced to operate under a series of temporary permits. It was reported last year that the government was pushing for a USD118 million price tag on the ten-year licence, or USD150 million for a 15-year concession. According to statistics on market leader MTN controls around 43% of all mobile subscribers in Uganda.
27/04/2020,Africell Holding, which operates mobile networks in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, announced the completion of a strategic group reorganisation, involving the opening of a new London, UK head office and the legal incorporation of Africell’s US-owned parent company in Jersey (Channel Islands). Ziad Dalloul, founder and CEOof Africell, said: ‘The Group reorganisation is a significant moment for Africell. The changes enacted certify us as a company with bold growth plans, a thoroughly international perspective, and the highest standards of governance and compliance. Africell’s entrepreneurial culture drawn from Lebanon, where Africell was founded, still drives the business on, but the new London base gives a new platform from which can deliver the next stage of firm’s development.’
Ian Paterson, Chief Investment Officer of Africell, added: ‘Being headquartered in a dynamic hub like London and incorporated in a major international financial centre such as Jersey gives Africell superior access to investors and partners. It also improves the visibility – and achievability – of exciting new business opportunities, such as the fourth network licence in Angola, for which Africell was recently invited to submit a proposal and which we are keen to pursue in partnership with the government of Angola.’
In 2019 Africell gained a significant investment from the US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC, previously OPIC). The mailing address for the Africell group remains in Beirut according to its corporate website at 18 March. (Update: the mailing address subsequently changed to London).
2/06/2020,MTN Uganda was ordered to pay disputed taxes amounting to UGX44.2 billion (USD11.6 million). A report from The Independent says that the country’s Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) found in favour of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in two separate cases. In the first case the URA was demanding UGX24.2 billion in unpaid duties which related to the taxation of airtime, and in the other the URA was awarded UGX20 billion which was owed by MTN as part of a dispute over how telecom and mobile money services are taxed. MTN was arguing that tax should be paid on the price of airtime it sells at the wholesale level, while the URA maintained that taxes should be paid on the retail value.you can get More on this tax on https://acidicsecurity.blogspot.com/2019/02/mtn-uganda-on-is-on-fire-because-of.html?m=1
Declassified UK has exclusively revealed Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the UK’s largest intelligence agency, has gained intimate access to at least 22,000 primary and secondary school children in dozens of UK schools, and the organisation may even be spying on children.
Declassified UK has exclusively revealed Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the UK’s largest intelligence agency, has gained intimate access to at least 22,000 primary and secondary school children in dozens of UK schools, and the organisation may even be spying on children.
Furthermore, GCHQ’s Cyber Schools Hub (CSH) programme, also known as CyberFirst, is said to be disseminating pro-agency propaganda to school children - the programme has also illicitly expanded into 10 primary schools since launch in 2018, with students aged 4 - 11. While programme literature suggests the project covers 23 schools, Declassified has found nearly double this figure are actually involved.
Declassified has also seen evidence a “code club” set up at one primary school is staffed entirely by GCHQ officers. The intelligence agency is further trying to gain access to school children by providing technology to local libraries, while its “recruitment teams” have been mobilised to deal with enquiries from schools involved in the programme.
— Mark Curtis (@markcurtis30) June 2, 2020
GCHQ and local police are said to have launched a “joint tag team event” at one school to gain access to a pupil who’d been reported to authorities by his school for being “very talented”, to the extent “teachers were worried [they] may be about to cross the line with [their] online cyber activities”.
The majority of Britain’s the £2.48 billion intelligence services budget taken by GCHQ, which has twice the number of personnel of domestic spy agency MI5 and foreign intelligence service MI6 combined.
Both GCHQ and schools involved in the programme have cited national security exemptions to block requests for further information.
Jen Persson, director of Defend Digital Me, an organisation defending children’s right to privacy, told Declassified GCHQ’s recruitment is a classic “drip-feed” strategy, “developed over time”.
“Children are vulnerable as they develop into adulthood, and there is regulation in other areas, to protect them from undue adult influence, like online advertising – yet it sounds like spies can walk into schools whenever they want with no transparency or independent oversight,” she said.
Files leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013 showed GCHQ had been secretly intercepting, processing and storing data concerning millions of people’s private communications, including people of no intelligence interest in a programme dubbed Tempora. In 2018, the European Court of Human Rights ruled UK laws enabling such mass surveillance were unlawful, violating rights to privacy and freedom of expression.
It appears parents are not aware of the true extent of GCHQ’s activities, or its role in the CSH programme. When Declassified asked the NCSC what information is given to parents about the programme, the agency replied that it had “no contact” with them, and “what teachers/schools share with parents is done independently of NCSC”.
The US Air Force (USAF)’s next-generation stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, will be equipped with sophisticated software that will “offer pilots organised warzone information in real-time”
The first B-21 is already reportedly under construction, with the stealth bomber’s maiden flight expected in December 2021.
The US Air Force (USAF)’s next-generation stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, will be equipped with sophisticated software that will “offer pilots organised warzone information in real-time”
, the National Interest reports .
, the National Interest reports .
According to the US magazine’s defence editor Kris Osborn, the new bomber’s equipment will include sensors, computers, and electronics, which will make it possible to “better scale, deploy, and streamline procedural functions such as checking avionics specifics, measuring altitude, and speed”.
He quoted USAF Acquisition Executive William Roper as saying that the USAF’s B-21 team “just ran containerized software with [the computer system] Kubernetes on flight-ready hardware”, bringing “radical autonomy to software development, partnering with [the US global aerospace and defence technology corporation] Northrop Grumman”.
Thanks to this the aircraft computer will quickly run to obtain data related to altitude, speed, and navigation. The B-21’s pilots will be able to share information and destroy enemy air defences “much faster”, Osborn noted in his article entitled "Northrop Grumman's New B-21 Stealth Bomber: A Technological Powerhouse?"
In this context, it is worth mentioning that the B-21's software may prove even more sophisticated as compared to the Autonomic Logistics Information System of America's fifth-generation fighter jet, the F-35 which is already in service but continues to face a space of technological troubles.
The B-21 will replace the USAF’s aging B-2 Spirit, which was unveiled in 1989 and entered service in 1997. The Raider sports the same “flying wing” design as its predecessor, a shape that, along with a high-tech anti-radar coating, gives the plane a very low radar profile.
Last year, US Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson revealed that the new stealth bomber expected to take to the skies for the first time in December 2021 for a flight test.
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC was vandalised with spray paint graffiti by unidentified persons who were allegedly protesters demonstrating against the killing of George Floyd.
Soon after the act of vandalism attracted attention, the embassy took up the issue with the US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and National Park Services, prompting the United States Park Police to launch an investigation into the matter. The metropolitian police also visited the site for inspection.
The immediate cleaning of the statue was ordered, and the Acting Assistant Secretary of the South and Central Bureau expressed 'sincere regret' over the vandalising of the statue. The US Ambassador to India also conveyed his regrets on Twitter.
So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Wash, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies. Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd & the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice & discrimination of any type. We will recover & be better.
— Ken Juster (@USAmbIndia) June 4, 2020
Gandhi, a lawyer who was once thrown out of a VIP train compartment for the colour of his skin, spearheaded a campaign of non-violent resistance against racist imperialism in Africa and India. He fought for the rights and ultimate independence of Indians, who were subjected to British colonial rule in India.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in various cities throughout the United States to protest against the extrajudicial police killing of George Floyd , an African-American man from Minneapolis. While many have protested peacefully, there have been riots in many American cities, characterised by looting, vandalism and arson attacks.
Cybercrime is becoming more aggressive and confrontational
Cybercrime is a growing problem for countries, such as EU Member States, in most of which internet infrastructure is well developed and payment systems are online however African countries shouldn't sit relaxed for such crimes are also on a rise,and owing to the fact that we are in shortage of both human resource and other needs to combat such crimes,then we are at a greater danger of falling prey to cyber criminals.
But it is not just financial data, but data more generally, that is a key target for cybercriminals. The number and frequency of data breaches are on the rise, and this in turn is leading to more cases of fraud and extortion.
The sheer range of opportunities that cybercriminals have sought to exploit is impressive. These crimes include:
using botnets—networks of devices infected with malware without their users’ knowledge—to transmit viruses that gain illicit remote control of the devices, steal passwords and disable antivirus protection;
creating “back doors” on compromised devices to allow the theft of money and data, or remote access to the devices to create botnets;
creating online fora to trade hacking expertise;
bulletproof hosting and creating counter-anti-virus services;
laundering traditional and virtual currencies;
committing online fraud, such as through
online payment systems, carding and social engineering;
various forms of online child sexual exploitation, including the distribution online of child sex-abuse materials and the live-streaming of child sexual abuse
the online hosting of operations involving the sale of weapons, false passports, counterfeit and cloned credit cards, and drugs, and hacking services.
High-tech crimes
Malware, or malicious software, infiltrates and gains control over a computer system or a mobile device to steal valuable information or damage data. There are many types of malware, and they can complement each other when performing an attack.
A botnet (short for robot network) is made up of computers communicating with each other over the internet. A command and control centre uses them to send spam, mount distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks (see below) and commit other crimes.
A rootkit is a collection of programmes that enable administrator-level access to a computer or computer network, thus allowing the attacker to gain root or privileged access to the computer and possibly other machines on the same network.
A worm replicates itself over a computer network and performs malicious actions without guidance.
A trojan poses as, or is embedded within, a legitimate programme, but it is designed for malicious purposes, such as spying, stealing data, deleting files, expanding a botnet, and performing DDoS attacks.
A file infector infects executable files (such as .exe) by overwriting them or inserting infected code that disables them.
A backdoor/remote-access trojan (RAT) accesses a computer system or mobile device remotely. It can be installed by another piece of malware. It gives almost total control to the attacker, who can perform a wide range of actions, including:
monitoring actions
executing commands
sending files and documents back to the attacker
logging keystrokes
taking screen shots
Ransomware stops users from accessing their devices and demands that they pay a ransom through certain online payment methods to regain access. A variant, police ransomware, uses law enforcement symbols to lend authority to the ransom message.
Scareware is fake anti-virus software that pretends to scan and find malware/security threats on a user’s device so that they will pay to have it removed.
Spyware is installed on a computer without its owner’s knowledge to monitor their activity and transmit the information to a third party
Adware displays advertising banners or pop-ups that include code to track the user’s behaviour on the internet
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