Monthly briefing from the Open Briefing intelligence unit on developments in remote-control warfare. This month: NATO designates cyberspace as an operational domain and includes cyber attacks in Article 5; newly-released official estimates of casualties from US drone strikes step in right direction but too limited; Iraqi special forces play critical role retaking Fallujah from Islamic State; and more.
Tag: remote control warfare
Remote-control warfare briefing #15, May 2016: Shadowy Russian private military company fighting alongside Spetsnaz in Syria, US officials explore scenarios for Islamic State ‘dirty bomb’ attacks, studies find mass surveillance having negative impact on democracy
Monthly briefing from the Open Briefing intelligence unit on developments in remote-control warfare. This month: shadowy Russian private military company fighting alongside Spetsnaz special forces in Syria; US officials explore scenarios for Islamic State ‘dirty bomb’ attacks using drones; studies find mass surveillance having negative impact on democracy and informed debate; and more.
UK actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Intelligence briefing #4
This briefing provides an update on recent developments in the conflict against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. It includes the MoD response to an Open Briefing Freedom of Information request and an overview of UK military actions in the two countries, including ground operations - an often overlooked element of the UK campaign. It also discusses the substantial cache of IS documents recently handed to Sky News.
Remote-control warfare briefing #13, March 2016: The dangers of fully-autonomous weapons, UK government’s draft surveillance legislation challenged, UAE and Saudi Arabia pledge special forces to confront Islamic State
Monthly briefing from the Open Briefing intelligence unit on developments in remote-control warfare. This month: The dangers of fully-autonomous weapons discussed at World Economic Forum for first time; UK government’s draft surveillance legislation threatened by European Court of Human Rights ruling and parliamentary committee criticism; UAE and Saudi Arabia pledge special forces to confront Islamic State and support Syrian armed opposition; and more.
Open Briefing in the news
On 11 January 2016, the Remote Control project published a groundbreaking new report from Open Briefing on the potential hostile use of civilian drones. The report was widely covered in the news media, including by the Guardian, Daily Mail, Express and BBC, as well as in the technology press, including Wired and Tech Insider. Open Briefing analysts also gave several interviews to TV and radio news programmes, including RT.
Hostile drones: Supplementary risk assessment
This briefing is provided as a supplement to the Open Briefing/Remote Control Project report Hostile drones: The hostile use of drones by non-state actors against civilian targets. Our findings are based on a risk assessment involving 270 individual likelihood/impact judgements taking into account the type of threat group, the type of unmanned vehicle, the theatre, the nature of the threat and the target.
Press release: Civilian drones at risk of being used by terrorist and other hostile groups. Stricter regulation and countermeasures needed, new report finds
A new report from Open Briefing has found that as ever-more advanced drones are available to the civilian market there is an increased risk of drones being used by non-state actors against British targets. As approximately 200,000 civilian-use drones are being sold worldwide every month, the legislation currently governing the civilian use of drones is struggling to keep up with the speed at which new drones are being developed and put to novel uses.
Hostile drones: The hostile use of drones by non-state actors against British targets
In this groundbreaking report for the Remote Control project, Open Briefing has analysed over 200 commercially-available drones and assessed known drone use by non-state groups, including terrorist organisations, insurgent groups, organised crime groups, corporations and activists. The report sets out a series of recommendations to mitigate the threat from the hostile use of drones, including specific regulatory, passive and active countermeasures.
