Flawed Cyber War City Exposed by IDF

On June 8, 2014, IDF exposed a four-year-old Cyber War Unit. Young officers showed Lego-style models of nuclear reactors, anti-aircraft weapons, railroads and civilian infrastructures. "Wow" Hebrew media exclaimed, unquestioning obvious flaws.

Wowawiwa! A Cyber War City

"Wowawiwa!" said a Hebrew speaking comedian in the 1990's. His wow on steroids caused an entire country to laugh. In 2014, Hebrew media made the unpleasant noise while falling into a carefully set trap. "There is nothing like a good scare before breakfast. Convince the citizens that an attack is imminent and they will do anything," is the main gossip of senior civil servants enjoying a high-tea in a sunny afternoon.

Cyber City exposed by IDF The section shows anti-aircraft missiles and a nuclear reactor Cybercrime, Cyberterrorism, and Cyberwarfare

In 2010, Stuxnet hit hard the Iranian centrifuges. In 2012, Flame hit hard the Middle East.^* In 2014, Israel exposed the complementing side of its cyber war activities.

Cyber War Room exposed by IDF The lieutenant wears an "aleph" uniform, meaning that the installation is within a urban area, most probably Tel Aviv Cyber Warfare: Techniques, Tactics and Tools for Security Practitioners

Today, the IDF exposed its cyber war school. Considering that its commander is only a major, it is not large. Several hundreds of soldiers are said to be trained per year there; the number makes sense. After passing the courses they are scattered among different units, including one specifically protecting the General Headquarters.

Some of them specialize in the protection of single computers containing sensitive data; others are deployed on virtual junctions between administrative computers and infrastructures.

The latter group studies in a Cyber War City. Built as a model, a Lego-style city controlled from a computer, it includes a nuclear reactor, missile batteries, trains, a stock exchange building, and civilian infrastructures. Trainees must assume that cyber spies are collecting information continuously and planning an attack. Their role is to identify these activities before the attack.

Cyber Reactor exposed by IDF Cybercrime, Cyberterrorism, and Cyberwarfare

Water and stocks seem to be the Zionists' greatest fears. Tampering with the water supply of the nuclear reactor in Dimona might result in a catastrophic accident. Hitting the database of Tel Aviv Stock Exchange might result in a serious setback of Rothschild's Paradise.

"There is no 100% safety," one of the officers said, achieving the desired scare effect. Of course, the scare works on both directions. Allow me to return the favor.

The Law of Momentum Preservation, is it a law? Related: Tabloid Science Did you know? Israeli Anthrax Developer Resigns

Is that a law? Really?

One of the worst sins committed in high-schools and sometimes even in introductory university courses is the presentation of low level scientific models as unarguable Laws of Nature, or whatever name is in vogue at the given time-space coordinates where the course is being taught.

Instead of explaining that the equations are an approximation based on specific assumptions and conditions of the system, the lecturer prefers to present it as an absolute truth. It is easier to say "Newton said that" than to explain the wider reality.

The Law of Momentum Preservation is a good example. It is a very convenient law because it allows designing endless exercises easily.

"A rotating cannon shoots skywards, please calculate the change of speed of Earth's rotation and the length of the new day." "The bullet crosses a semisolid layer of butter before being deflected by a Mythbuster's designed hollow tube; please calculate the exit speed, angle, and energy. Is it lethal?"

Cyber Warfare: Techniques, Tactics and Tools for Security Practitioners

The lazy lecturer forgot to tell a tiny detail. The Law of Momentum Preservation exists only in closed systems. The latter does not exist, except as approximations and computer simulations.

The same is true for computer simulations; attempting to solve a problem numerically, instead of theoretically, results in dangerous shortcuts.

Simulations often work by creating a numerical model of the system. The scientist working in such a way does not know the principles governing the system. He just attempts to numerically mimic it.

It may work in certain conditions, but invariably, if the starting conditions are changed or the system is checked under new constrains, a numerical model will fail because it does not relate to the basic principles of the system.

Like equations, simulations are just a model of reality. They are not reality. A model may fail, reality does not fail; it is, it exists. Any different claim is Tabloid Science.

The Big Bang Theory

Young people graduated second rate high schools and were conscripted by the IDF. "Can you solve a partial differential equation?" asked the adjutant officer.

Without waiting for the obvious answer he added, "It does not matter. The army needs people in the Cyber War Unit." Young soldiers spend a training period using a model. Do they understand the difference between the model and the real system? Do they comprehend the shortcuts, the inaccuracies, the approximations done while constructing the model? Nothing in their education has prepared them for that. They are technicians working along the lines of protocols written by others.

Bad Science Cybercrime, Cyberterrorism, and Cyberwarfare

Will they later confuse secondary and tertiary systems existing in reality but not in the model with an attack? Will they recognize attacks on components not simulated by the Cyber City? A Cyber City may fail, a real city does not fail; it is, it exists, and it may even be destroyed. Congratulations IDF and Happy Dimona to you too!