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The fundamental nature of warfare has changed. Asymmetric warfare has become the prominent threat. Non-state actors, often difficult to identify, have become the primary warfighters in many cases. The cyber domain has been recognized as one of the most dangerous and potentially harmful warfighting domains. And, defense and security budgets are strained by a troubled global economy. Does this sound familiar? It is the environment no matter where you sit on this globe.

Technology and relationships go hand-in-hand in the U.S. European Command’s area of responsibility, and the head of communications at this military organization has plans for both during his tenure. Long-standing partnerships in the region need continued nurturing, and newer partnerships, such as those with former Soviet bloc nations, require encouragement. These international entities must find ways to interoperate despite having different resources to apply in an environment of blindingly fast technological advancement.

The most prevalent perils facing the mainland United States may come not from the east or the west, but from the south, an area of the globe often overlooked in the talk about global security. Unlike other U.S. geographic combatant command theaters, the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility has no wars and no major military-power threats. It does, however, encompass hundreds of billions of dollars worth of illicit trafficking every year. But those troubles are only part of the story. The command also serves as a model for the power of interagency collaboration and neighbor-to-neighbor support, as many countries in the region have been able to grow their democracy, reduce the size and influence of terrorist groups and offer aid to nations hit hard by natural disasters. Relationships and technology can hold the answers for bringing stability to an area that historically has been unsettled.

The United States is improving its ability to respond to the ever-present threat of a chemical, biological or nuclear incident in the 21st century by establishing 10 National Guard Homeland Response Forces across the country. These units each will comprise hundreds of members who will be trained in the various skills necessary to save lives in the event of a catastrophe.

The U.S. Navy is investing significant time and effort to secure the waters that surround Latin America and the Caribbean, but not through force or interdiction. Instead, the military branch is embracing the idea that “together we can do more” by reaching out to countries in the area. This effort involves exchanging information and delivering necessary aid through an annual event designed to improve relations among nations. By participating in these activities, personnel forge long-lasting connections and provide immediate help to those who need it.

Buttressed by modern warfighting realities and battered by fiscal realities, the United Kingdom is laying the groundwork for a major overhaul of its military force structure. Significant studies currently underway aim at building a new defense architecture that both provides for any anticipated contingency and enables flexibility to act in new ways against unforeseen threats.

While the world’s attention largely has been focused on areas of conflict, one NATO nation has quietly developed an indigenous defense industry that is poised to be a significant player in international military procurement. By focusing on developing technologies and capabilities within reach, Turkey has developed a domestic defense technology base that spans all military activities on land, at sea and in the air.

This summer I attended a series of thought-provoking conferences, ranging from business technology to clean energy to cybersecurity and network integration. Collectively, they suggest that we’re living in a “golden age” of technological innovation, but they also highlighted a growing gap between increasingly interactive capabilities and the ability to provide security at several levels, ranging from individual privacy to critical infrastructure protection. The bottom line is that nothing I heard makes me sleep better at night.

The Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) is working to keep U.S. citizens safe from dirty bombs by conducting exercises on the other side of the world. Members representing the initiative recently wrapped up a three-scenario tabletop exercise in Mongolia to help the country prevent terrorists from obtaining its nuclear or radiological material.

A good hacker knows that a good hack involves three things: 1. Vulnerability 2. Exploitation 3. Maintenance of access Talking to that secretary gave us a lot of information -- the antivirus vendor and version of Internet Explorer being the most important among other things. This tells us what the system is vulnerable to -- in this case IE6 vulnerabilities. Knowing the antivirus lets us know what vulnerabilities will be detected or stopped unless they are re-written or modified. With very little work we can probably find a way to circumvent any signatures based antivirus for a payload and a working exploit on a system with a profile similar to that described by the secretary. Now we have both a vulnerability and a method with which we will exploit it. Finally, the secretary informed us that patches to systems are done on Tuesdays -- so we can have up to a week after successful exploitation to develop a system to maintain access either through reverse shells or an autonomous setup, which should be easy to do once we are in and get the lay of the network. It's very easy to find and package exploits with the wide availability of large databases of viruses and exploits...