UK army plans to scrap tanks in favour of cyber warfare tech

The British army is thinking about scrapping its greying fleet of 227 Challenger 2 tanks in a push to modernise its arsenal for the dystopian future of warfare, according to a report from the Times.

Given the eye-watering cost of upgrading the “obsolete” tanks and the armoured fighting vehicles that support them on the battlefield, the army is considering ditching them and investing in cyber, space and other “cutting-edge” technologies instead.

The MoD is preparing for its funding to be slashed in the wake of massive public spending during the coronavirus crisis, and this has been proposed as a better use of money. The proposal is part of the government’s integrated foreign policy, defence and security review, which is due to be finished in November.

Apparently, the UK is already testing the waters with Nato allies about taking its emphasis off heavy armour.

The Times reports that some defence sources say the move will contribute to a diminished leadership role for the UK in Nato. But wider debate argues that the future of warfare is likely technological – covering autonomous or remotely controlled weapons such as drones, cyber attacks and information warfare.

Review: Cyber Warfare – Truth, Tactics, and Strategies

Dr. Chase Cunningham holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in computer science from Colorado Technical University and a B.S. from American Military University focused on counter-terrorism operations in cyberspace. He is a retired U.S. Navy chief with more than 20 years’ experience in cyber forensic and cyber analytic operations, and has spent time in work centers within the NSA, CIA, FBI, and other government agencies.

He has served as a director of cyber threat intelligence operations at Armor and was the computer network exploitation lead for Telecommunication Systems and the chief of cyber analytics for Decisive Analytics. He is currently a cybersecurity principal analyst at Forrester.

EU Begins to Tackle Cyber Warfare with Targeted Sanctions

Taking a firm geopolitical stand, the European Union imposed sanctions on targeted individuals and entities from Russia, China and North Korea in a sign that it was tackling cyber warfare head on.

As part of the measures, the six individuals and assets of the three institutions will be frozen and the people involved won’t be allowed entry into the bloc, the EU said in a statement on Thursday, adding that EU companies and individuals are forbidden from sending funds to those on the list.

The EU targeted the individuals and entities over their involvement in the attempted attack against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2018 as well as the 2017 Not Petya cyber attacks, a virus that first infected computers in Ukraine demanding $300 in cryptocurrency to unlock systems before spreading to Europe and the U.S.

Both events were attributed to Russian actors by government officials.

EU officials also hit groups with penalties over their involvement in the 2017 Wannacry ransomware assault that affected hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries, which U.S. officials have attributed to North Korea.

In addition, sanctions were also imposed on those involved in hacking operations — tied to Chinese spies — that targeted the world’s biggest IT service providers.