Thread by @BillyBostickson

1. British volunteer fighters may have triggered deadly strike on Ukrainian base after their phones were detected

"12 to 14 phone numbers starting with +44 were visible to surveillance equipment before the missile strike"

archive.ph/ttWcv

h/t @Justagi51907081

2. Dumb people with "smartphones"

So many soldiers, freedom fighters, guerillas,etc have been killed because they used phones

you would think people would learn?

Military Targeting Based on Cell Phone Location

justsecurity.org/7200/military-…

3. If the NSA can do it, the Russians also can...

NSA’s Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program @theintercept

theintercept.com/2014/02/10/the…

Whistleblower: NSA targets SIM cards for drone strikes, 'Death by unreliable metadata'

computerworld.com/article/247592…

4. Pocket Spies (Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine)

Smartphone actionable intelligence

computerworld.com/article/247156…

5. Other Issues

Ukraine 2014 - 2016

Russian hackers tracked Ukrainian artillery units using Android "implant"

reuters.com/article/us-cyb…

Russian hacking proves lethal after Ukrainian military app hijacked

cbsnews.com/news/russian-h…

6. Russia Gives Lessons in Electronic Warfare

Well worth a read:

ausa.org/articles/russi…

7. Hence, 3 reasons Moscow isn't taking down Ukraine's cell networks

politico.com/news/2022/03/0…

8. US & UK taught Ukrainians but forgot to tell the Foreign volunteers?

US, Poland & Ukraine based training courses for Ukrainian army taught them how to avoid this.

Secret CIA training program in Ukraine helped Kyiv prepare for Russian invasion

news.yahoo.com/exclusive-secr…

9. More on the CIA and MI6 training programs

“The US is training an insurgency,” said a former CIA official, adding that the program has taught the Ukrainians how “to kill Russians.”

news.yahoo.com/cia-trained-uk…

Discussed here (scroll down)

https://twitter.com/BillyBostickson/status/1504477667814699008

10. Maybe they believed the Samsung Hype?

insights.samsung.com/2020/09/29/sma…

11. Friend or Foe?

Mobile Devices and the Military: Useful Tool or Significant Threat? (2012)

academia.edu/2548183/Mobile…

12. The Psychological Aspect

Home, front, and mobile phones

The case of the Second Lebanon War (2018)

"The Availability Conflict"

"Emotional support in threatening situations"

"A sense of security"

journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/…

13. I am not a military communications expert ;)

but...

Despite US et al developing secure mobile phone over encrypted radio & satellite networks, e.g:

Sharing tactical data/battlefield

army-technology.com/features/featu…

Future of military comms/battlefield

defensesystems.com/it-infrastruct…

14. Problems Remain

"This drives a culture to use mobile phones to coordinate events. In many cases it could be perceived as being the primary means of communications. Adopting a culture of using mobile phones can have a very negative effect"

qinetiq.com/en/blogs/why-p…

15. For the curious, a whole thesis:

By Johan Sigholm, a Major in the Swedish Air Force who wrote it for the Swedish Defence University

Privacy Issues, and Cyber Threats on the Digital Battlefield (2016)

diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva…

16. Penetration, Surveillance & SORM

Apart from SORM surveillance systems, who is "inside" Ukrainian & Belarus Mobile Phone & Internet InfraStructure?

and Who is Who?

1. In Ex-Soviet States, Russian Spy Tech Still Watches You

wired.com/2012/12/russia…

techcrunch.com/2019/09/18/rus…

17. Warned!

“If you do go, make sure you turn off all your electronic devices before crossing the border - or, more simply, just don’t go at all”

They wanted us for cannon fodder, say British volunteers ‘tricked’ into fighting for Ukraine (16/03/2022)

archive.ph/WX1jr

18. Old School is Best School?

They don't know the language, they don't know who to trust, they are under enemy surveillance.

So, best communication device in such situations

1. Silence
2. No Phones
3. Pigeons to Poland ;)
4. One time Pad generated notes attached to Pigeons

19. Pigeon is your Friend (even in the 21st Century)

Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Columba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe

book4you.org/book/3497780/7…

Discussed here:

abc.net.au/news/2018-06-2…

20. As pointed out by @Justagi51907081

The Ukraine Telecoms Network may be compromised, although I'm sure they have been diligently working on securing it

But again, who is who and who can you trust?

https://twitter.com/Justagi51907081/status/1505958660408852497

21. On Pigeons and One Time Pads

Always wise to be well prepared in case of emergencies (communications breakdowns, EMP, technology failures, etc)

Best Resource on the Internet for One Time Pads:

ciphermachinesandcryptology.com/en/onetimepad.…

Please scroll down to the end for resources

22. Are one-time pads a thing of the past?

Some experts argue that OTP is no longer a system for today's needs & that it is impractical

6 Pages by Dirk Rijmenant explain why reality is very different & why OTP will eventually be the only future

ciphermachinesandcryptology.com/papers/is_one_…

23. Resources:

1 OTPs cryptomuseum.com/crypto/otp/ind…
2 One Page Summary
csuohio.edu/sites/default/…
3 Spies and Number Stations, Here to Stay
ciphermachinesandcryptology.com/papers/spies_a…
4 Cuban Agent Communications - Failure of a Perfect System
ciphermachinesandcryptology.com/papers/cuban_a…
5 German Analysis
scz.bplaced.net/m.html

24. "The Unconscious Mind has a tendency to revert to what it BELIEVES to be safe"

Report on the Problems with and Solutions to SOE Signal Ciphers (8 Pages)

drive.google.com/file/d/1ZM0BxD…

25. DIY OTPs

Complete Guide to Secure Communications with OTP Ciphers (27 pages)

ciphermachinesandcryptology.com/papers/one_tim…

26. Pub Quiz Question: Who invented the OTP?

"The invention of the one-time pad is generally credited to Gilbert S. Vernam and Joseph O. Mauborgne. We show that it was invented about 35 years earlier by a Sacramento banker named....XXXX"

Find out here:

academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8…

27. Try your luck with Operation Tinkerbell

Read the Intro:

ciphermachinesandcryptology.com/en/tinkerbell.…

The Game starts here:

operationtinkerbell.blogspot.com/p/briefing.html

Unroll Pigeons, One Time Pads, Hi-Tech and Dumb Phones @threadreaderapp

Don't forget to free a caged bird for good luck!

Update via @Justagi51907081

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…

Nothing New

The Pentagon is clearly worried (2017)

“The proliferation of internet-based communications and social media applications has elevated the potential for nefarious use that could affect our personnel"

Russia Targets NATO Soldier Smartphones

archive.ph/4ljD8

All summed up graphically by @jonginsf

https://twitter.com/jonginsf/status/1505976949159702539