Trains, Planes and Automobiles

Jason Gewirtz has written a book called Israel's Edge about the country's Talpiot program which he describes in a March 27th 2016 interview with The Jerusalem Post. Gewirtz by the way works for CNBC (CNBC is an American basic cable, internet and satellite business news television channel that is owned by NBCUniversal News Group, a division of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast. ... In 2007, the network was ranked as the 19th most valuable cable channel in the United States, worth roughly $4 billion: source Wikipedia). He has also covered the 2006 Second Lebanon War from northern Israel. In other words, he is pro-Israel and about as mainstream as you can get. Here is what he had to say:

Created following the Yom Kippur War, after Syria, Egypt and many of Israel’s other enemies closed a major technology gap with it, Talpiot has for more than three decades helped advance Israel’s arsenal through the brain power and imagination of the young, Gewirtz said. 

“Instead of being trained to fight immediately, the few soldiers each year selected for Talpiot are taught how to think. In order to join this unit they have to commit to being in the army for 10 years, rather than the three years a normal soldier serves. Talpiot members are taught advanced level physics, math and computer science as they train with soldiers from every other branch of the IDF. The result: young men and women who can take their classroom experience and combine it with battlefield experience in order to become research and development machines,” he added.

He goes on to say:

I was first attracted to the program after seeing an article in the Hebrew media many years ago. I then started asking around an ulpan teacher who had a friend who had graduated from an early class. 

While he could not talk to me on the record, he led me to another graduate who could. That one led me to two more, and so on. By the time my interviewing was finished, I had interviewed almost 10 percent of the graduates of this program, which began in 1979. Every story was fascinating. While I could not use every story, for various reasons I wish I could have. Not all – but almost every graduate was extremely modest.” 

He described becoming “really hooked after one graduate explained to me that a Talpiot can make a one percent difference in a conflict or battle. That’s a big deal for one guy. They do it through technology, of course, but it is that technological advantage that gives Israel the edge it needs. It is also that technological advantage that David Ben-Gurion was so intent upon fostering when the country was founded... Israel must defend itself through a qualitative advantage and that is what Talpiot gives Israel – the tools for this qualitative advantage that is so necessary for Israel, and the Jewish people’s survival.” 

Well, having watched Brendon O'Connell's video on The Talpiot Program, the dire implications for the rest of the world quickly become apparent.

The Israeli infiltration of technology is quite disturbing but I want to focus on only one aspect here and that's the recent accidents involving United States warships. The Straits Times carried this article on August 23rd 2017 titled US warship collisions raise cyber attack fears. It's worth reproducing the entire article here:

SINGAPORE (AFP) - A spate of incidents involving United States warships in Asia, including a deadly collision this week off the Singapore coast, has forced the US Navy to consider whether cyber attackers might be to blame.

While some experts believe that being able to engineer such a collision would be unlikely, given the security systems of the US Navy and the logistics of having two ships converge, others say putting the recent incidents down to human error and coincidence is an equally unsatisfactory explanation.

The USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker early on Monday (Aug 21) as the warship was on its way for a routine stop in the city-state. The collision tore a huge hole in the hull, and left 10 sailors missing and five injured.

The navy  on Tuesday said some human bodies were found by divers in flooded compartments on the ship.

Chief of US Naval Operations John Richardson on Monday said he could not rule out some kind of outside interference or a cyber attack being behind the latest collision. However, he added that he did not want to prejudge the inquiry. His broader remarks suggested a focus on "how we do business on the bridge".

Admiral Richardson, when asked about the possibility of a cyber attack, said: "We're looking at every possibility... as we did with Fitzgerald as well."

Just two months earlier, in June, the USS Fitzgerald and a Philippine-flagged cargo ship crashed into each other near Japan, leaving seven sailors dead and leading to several officers being disciplined.

There were also two more, lesser-known incidents this year. In January, USS Antietam ran aground near its base in Japan, and in May, USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel. No one was injured in either incident. 

Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, refused to rule out sabotage in Monday's incident, saying all possibilities are being examined.

"We are not taking any consideration off the table," he told reporters in Singapore onTuesday, when asked about the possibility of a cyber attack in the latest incident.

HIGH TENSIONS

Analysts are divided on the issue, with some believing US Navy crews may simply be overstretched as they try to tackle myriad threats in the region. There is also the difficulties of sailing through waterways crowded with merchant shipping, they said.

But others believe something more sinister may be going on.

Mr Itar Glick, head of the Israeli-based international cyber security firm Votiro, said the spate of incidents suggested that the Global Positioning System of US Navy ships could have been tampered with by hackers, causing them to miscalculate their positions.

He said: "I think that hackers could try to do this, and if they are state sponsored they might have the right resources to facilitate this kind of attack."

Mr Glick, who says he used to work on cyber security for Israeli intelligence, said  China and North Korea would be the most likely culprits.

Tensions are running high between North Korea and the US as Pyongyang makes strides in its weapons programme, after conducting two successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches in July.

Pyongyang has also been blamed for recent cyber attacks, including the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures, and the theft of millions of dollars from the Bangladesh central bank.

The US has repeatedly accused China of carrying out cyber attacks on American companies, particularly to steal intellectual property. Beijing however says it is also the victim of such attacks.

'SPOOFING'

Mr Glick pointed to a recent incident in June of apparent large-scale GPS interference in the Black Sea to illustrate that such disruptions are possible.

The interference, called "spoofing", disrupts GPS signals so ship instruments show inaccurate locations. It caused some 20 vessels to have their signals disrupted, according to reports.

Mr Jeffery Stutzman, chief of intelligence operations for US-based cyber security firm Wapack Labs said he thought the possibility of a cyber attack being behind the latest incident was "entirely possible".

"I would be very doubtful that it was human error, four times in a row," he said, referring to the four recent incidents.

Still, other observers believe such a scenario to be unlikely.

Mr Zachary Fryer-Biggs, from defence consultancy Jane's by IHS Markit, said even if something went wrong with the GPS system of a ship, other safety mechanisms should stop it from crashing, such as having people on watch.

"The collision only occurs if several other safety mechanisms fail," he said.

Mr Daniel Paul Goetz, from US-headquartered cyber security firm Lantium, said causing a collision would be complicated, as it would involve knowing the exact location, speed and bearing of both ships involved.

Mr Goetz, who says his background is in US military intelligence, also pointed to the level of technology used to protect the navy from such threats.

"The US military uses a GPS system that is highly secured, highly encrypted - the chances that somebody could take over US military ship is very close to zero," he said.

It's interesting what Mr Itar Glick, head of the Israeli-based international cyber security firm Votiro, had to say, namely:

... the spate of incidents suggested that the Global Positioning System of US Navy ships could have been tampered with by hackers, causing them to miscalculate their positions. He said: "I think that hackers could try to do this, and if they are state sponsored they might have the right resources to facilitate this kind of attack." Mr Glick, who says he used to work on cyber security for Israeli intelligence, said China and North Korea would be the most likely culprits.

Votiro was "established in 2010 in Israel, Votiro was founded by a team of senior security experts with extensive experience in the public and private sectors of intelligence-gathering and security organisations. Familiar with organisations’ requirements for securing their sensitive, proprietary data, Votiro develops and licenses unique security software solutions that help protect organisations from external cyber attacks."

Of course given Israel's grip on the United States, it's far more likely that this country would be the culprit rather than China or North Korea. The country had no qualms about attacking a United States warship as the USS Liberty incident on June 8th 1967 during the Six-Day War illustrates. The question is what would such a deception achieve for Israel?

Well for starters it would prove that such hacking can be carried out successfully "in the wild" rather than remaining a theoretical possibility. It certainly unsettles the United States navy and forces it to scrutinise the security of its telecommunications systems. This means more work for the cybersecurity firms that will apply patches of which Israeli intelligence quickly becomes aware. Also, just as the attack on the Liberty was an unsuccessful false flag attack by Israel designed to draw the United States into the Six-Day War, similar mischief may be afoot in the South China Sea.

Israel's decisions will be based on its own self interest and it will remain indifferent to whatever mayhem may be unleashed as a consequence. Within the United States, non-Israeli elements in the intelligence community, in finance, politics and the military will actively collude with Israel in achieving its goals (as happened with 9/11). If an outbreak of hostilities on the Korean peninsula is thought necessary, it will happen and it will probably be facilitated by Israeli patriots, currently serving in Talpiot or alumni who have infiltrated and compromised the security of the United States military defence systems.

Of course it's not only warships that can be remotely controlled. Commercial aircraft are certainly capable of being remotely controlled via the Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot if it is installed. Even Wikipedia includes this paragraph in its brief review of the technology:

There have been claims that the technology has been secretly fitted to some commercial airliners. Some have blamed it for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, whose cause is unknown as of 2016. According to Bob Mann, an airline industry consultant, there is no evidence that the Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot has ever been used in a commercial airliner. Safety concerns, including the possibility that such a system could be hacked, have prevented its roll-out.

If we assume the Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot was installed on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 then who would want to seize control of it and send it to a watery grave in the Indian Ocean. Well, we don't know that the plane ended up in the Indian Ocean. It's far more likely that it was directed to the joint US airforce base of Diego Garcia. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the base:

To the United States, Diego Garcia was a prime territory for setting up a foreign military base. According to Stuart Barber—a civilian working for the US Navy at the Pentagon—Diego Garcia was located far away from any potential threats, it was low in a native population and it was an island that was not sought after by other countries as it lacked economic interest. To Barber, Diego Garcia and other acquired islands would play a key role in maintaining US dominance. Here Barber designed the strategic island concept, where the US would obtain as many less populated islands as possible for military purposes. According to Barber, this was the only way to ensure security for a foreign base. Diego Garcia is often referred to as "Fantasy Island" for its secludedness.

Dr. Mahathir, the former prime minister of Malaysia, was not shy about putting forward his theory about what happened to the aircraft.

Dr. Mahathir suggested the United States' Central Intelligence Agency had knowledge of the disappearance of the plane with 239 people on board but was not sharing it with Malaysia. He also claimed that Boeing, the plane’s maker, and “certain” government agencies, have the ability to remotely take over control of commercial airliners such as the missing Boeing 777. Source

Mahathir had crossed swords with the World Bank over how to the country should handle the economic crises of 1997-8 and 2007-8. In an address in 2009 at the Beijing University on April 29th 2009, he had this to say:

Asians must therefore be prepared to develop new banking systems which would not be given the power to create unlimited money. The banks must have new sets of regulations and new supervision by trained Government agencies. There must be distinct limitations to what the banks are allowed to do. Bank financing should be limited to real business and trade. The loans must also be limited based on the assets owned by the banks. Loans in excess of this must be subjected to Government scrutiny and in big cases to Government approval.

Of course Flight 370 went missing on March 8th 2014 and Mahathir stepped down as Prime Minister at the end of October 2003. However, he has remained influential in the background of Malaysian politics and so certain western government agencies may have been deemed necessary to teach the country a lesson by "disappearing" one of the country's planes. The lesson might have been to not consider developing any new banking system as Mahathir had suggested the country do.

With autonomous/driverless cars and trucks becoming more common, remote hacking is quite possible and indeed is even possible with modern, conventional vehicles due to their high reliance on computer technology. There have been many suspicious crashes of vehicles being driven by people who had begun to ask too many awkward questions and irked the ruling elite. So welcome to a world where an increasing number of cars, buses, trucks, trains, aircraft and ships can be remotely controlled by anonymous hackers who will use them for whatever purposes their handlers direct.

Governments, organisations and individuals can be quickly brought to heel after witnessing such hijackings. Whatever the official explanation for the "incident" that befalls a vehicle and its occupants, the message is clearly understood by those to whom it is directed. Cease and desist, or else there'll be more of the same. In the case of individuals operating more or less independently, it is enough that they are forever silenced. However, others of a similar investigative bent, will take note of their colleague's demise and perhaps reconsider their own commitment. They will have to ask: is it worth it?

Of course, hacking into planes, trains and automobiles and causing death and destruction is to be used with restraint or else confidence in these forms of transportation will be undermined. There are other ways to target and destroy the reputations of individuals. Planting incriminating files in their computer systems is one way and is generally easy to accomplish. Hijacking their social media accounts is another. For example, posting a phoney "goodbye cruel world" message on social media can help explain someone's subsequent suicide when in fact they have been "suicided".

The overarching point of this entire post is simply that enormous power adheres to those with access to and control of the information technology systems that increasingly pervade our planet. These individuals are likely to be Israeli patriots, currently serving in Talpiot or they are Talpiot alumni. They are willing to carry out unquestioningly the instructions of their Zionist overlords. If they have any questions, they have the good sense not to ask them. They know they are expendable and so are their family and friends.