- Russia’s war in Ukraine has clearly demonstrated the consequences of communications failures.
- For US military leaders, the war underscores the need to manage their military’s electronic signatures.
- To do that, young soldiers will have to give up some habits, the Marine Corps’ top general says.
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The US Marine Corps’ top general said this month that the use of technology on the battlefield, especially during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has prompted the US military to rethink its operations as it faces a technologically advanced adversary. Ready for future fight together.
The risks posed by electronic emissions are major for Marines, and one of the most important may be that your electronics are giving away more information about you than you think, according to US General David Berger.
Under Berger, who took over as commandant in July 2019, the US Marine Corps has focused on developing capabilities to operate in a more dispersed manner that allow Marines’ electronics adversaries to track them, listen to their communications or permits assault. them.
“We have to be distributed. You must have sufficient mobility to move your unit frequently. You must learn all aboutlike some of us learned 30 years agocamouflage, decoy, deception, Berger said in a defense at a Writers Group event on 8 December. “What we didn’t worry about so much about 30 years ago is that every time you push a button, you’re making emissions.”
Berger said cell phones and other devices are part of everyday life for young soldiers, sailors and marines, and some habits have to be dropped in order to manage the emissions from those devices.
New Marine recruits hand out cell phones at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in October. US Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Jacob Hutchinson
“They don’t think anything of pushing a button. That’s what they do all day long. Now we have to completely undo 18 years of day-to-day communication and tell them this is bad. It will kill you.” , so turn on your cell.” Phone off,” Burger said at the event. “They’re like, ‘I won’t touch it. It just keeps on going.” No, there are parts of cell phones you don’t understand.”
The targeting of cell phones has been a feature of fighting between Russia and Ukraine since 2014. Russian hackers have used malware in phone apps to track Ukrainian artillery units and send propaganda to Ukrainian phones using simulators that mimic cell towers.
The phones have become a vulnerability for Russia since its military’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Ukrainian and foreign governments have noticed Russian soldiers using unsecured phones to talk to each other and their families in Russia. Ukrainians have reportedly tracked Russian generals making unsecured calls and used the information to launch attacks.
In recent years, the phones of allied troops in the US and Europe have also been affected by hacking attempts and alarm calls originated in Russia.
A Marine records a drum and bugle corps performance at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in March 2014. US Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Patrick J McMahon
Russian electronic warfare, including jamming and other interference, which has affected US operations in Syria and elsewhere, has become a major concern for the US military, which in turn has sought to improve its electronic-warfare capabilities and equip its troops. The focus is on limiting risk.
In 2018, the Pentagon banned the use of geolocation functions on phones by personnel in “operational areas” after it was reported that soldiers using fitness trackers could overestimate their locations and even the layout of their bases. were disclosing.
Securing communications and reducing electronic signatures are especially important to the Marine Corps as it operates small, mobile units in the western Pacific Ocean within range of the Chinese military and within Chinese intelligence-gathering platforms. Develops concepts for.
Marines test new technologies to provide more secure communications between their units and other forces, but using phones and other equipment could allow adversaries to track their movements in peacetime and attack them in wartime Is.
During an exercise in California in 2019, a Marine tipped off his unit by taking a selfie that revealed their location. “They were like, ‘Well, you guys are dead,’” a Marine general said at the time.
A US Air Force officer uses a land mobile radio as a B-1B bomber lands in Diego Garcia in October 2021. US Air Force/Staff Sgt. hannah malone
The collection of electronic signs is “absolutely becoming more and more ubiquitous,” Berger said this month.
Working in such an environment, Berger said, means “electronic signature management is huge,” adding that the Corps is moving toward signals-intelligence operations, “being pushed to a very low level of the force.” Some of us were addicted.”
The US Air Force, which is developing its own concept for operations spanning the Pacific, faces a similar challenge in managing electronic emissions, according to Chief Master Sgt. David Wolfe, Senior Enlisted Airman of the US Pacific Air Forces.
Wolff told Insider, “The Chinese in particular have a very strong intelligence network, so they’re trying to figure out what we’re doing. We’re doing the same thing, so it’s a game of cat and mouse.” It’s a game.” At a summit of senior enlisted leaders in Washington DC in August.
“We’re trying to help our people understand that everything you say and do is under surveillance by everybody,” Wolff said. “I mean, my phone is in my pocket right now. We could be being recorded right now and not know it.”
