Command and Control

Applying Fog Analysis Tool to AFSIM Multi-Domain CLASS Scenarios

Abstract:

Military leaders must consider uncertainty in decision making to accomplish mission objectives. Wargames and military simulations model real-world scenarios to understand potential outcomes for alternative courses of action to support decision making. This research applies the Fog Analysis Tool (FAT) (Tryhorn et al. 2021) to Cyber Land Air Sea Space (CLASS) scenarios for the Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM).

A Cultural Framework for the Interoperability of C2 systems

ABSTRACT

Command and Control research is focused on the use of communications and computer systems with the aim being to develop appropriate technology and methodologies to allow all kinds of warfare to be won. This situation is made complicated in joint and coalition operations that raise the need to deal with complex organizational and national cultural barriers. This paper extends the IFIP-IFAC (1999) GERAM enterprise framework with theoretical anthropological and organizational frameworks and creates a specific cultural framework that is applied to the interoperability of C2 systems in coalition operations.

Published In

Volume 2, Issue 1

Written By

Jill Slay

Keywords

C2S

Command and Control

Organization Development

Interoperability

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The Future of Command and Control: Determining Force Readiness at the Push of a Button

ABSTRACT

Currently, force readiness within the military is not measureable, but is estimated based on manual reporting and subjective human perceptions. Due to the potential level of miscalculation, commanding officers often need to make decisions on the fly, with no clear methodology in determining the correct level of force readiness. This paper illustrates how a common data model can contribute to the automation of force readiness determination. This is enabled by Information Communication Technology automation within the command and control domain. The proposed Information Communication Technology utilisation will provide the foundation for future command and control systems based on automated formulas and algorithms, to remove subjectivity and the potential for human error from determining the force readiness of the military.

Published In

Volume 11, Issue 2

Written By

Marthie Grobler

Jaco Robertson

Keywords

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Design of a Hybrid Command and Control Mobile Botnet

ABSTRACT

The increasing popularity and improvement in capabilities offered by smartphones caught the attention of botnet developers. Now the threat of botnets is moving towards the mobile environment. This study presents the design of a hybrid command and control mobile botnet. The hybrid design explores the efficiency of multiple command and control channels against the following objectives: no single point of failure within the topology, low cost for command dissemination, limited network activities, and low battery consumption. The objectives are measured with a prototype that is deployed on a small collection of Android-based smartphones. The results indicate that current mobile technology exhibits all the capabilities needed to create a mobile botnet.

Published In

Volume 12, Issue 1

Written By

Heloise Pieterse

M. Olivier

Keywords

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Detection of DNS-Based Covert Channels

ABSTRACT

A compromised network will normally have some form of covert communication system installed. Covert communication channels can take many forms and can remain undetected until a major data breach has taken place. Compromised networks allow hackers to access private and confidential information so that they can engage in illegal behaviours such as data exfiltration. This article demonstrates that DNS-based covert channels have particular traffic signatures that can be detected in order to mitigate data exfiltration and malware command, and to control traffic.

Published In

Volume 14, Issue 4

Written By

Stephen Sheridan

Anthony Keane

Keywords

Data Exfiltration

Covert Channels

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)

DNS

Command and Control

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Specifying Functional Requirements for Simulating Professional Offensive Cyber Operations

ABSTRACT

Several nations are acquiring the capability for conducting professional offensive cyber operations to fight wars and combat crime and terrorism. They need to know how the attack process works, what resources are required, and how to command and control operations. Simulation is a powerful technology for gaining understanding about such issues. This article presents the functional requirements specification for an agent-based simulator of professional offensive cyber operations in a networked environment. Requirements cover the simulation infrastructure, including time handling, stochastic behaviour, modelling representation, interfacing, and simulation control. Cyber-specific use cases are grouped by stakeholder and phase of operation.