US Special Forces hackers attack during this 2024 operation

It’s always been the case that underestimating the ingenuity and true courage of the Green Berets, the U.S. Army’s special forces, can often be a fatal mistake. With the advent of cyber warfare as a key component of the modern battlefield, that hasn’t changed. If proof were needed, look no further than Exercise Swift Response 2024, which recently took place in Sweden. Special Forces operatives used the latest disruptive cyber tactics to gain superiority and how. Green Beret hackers are certainly not easy to appease, and when they have you in their sights, things can get messy very quickly. The ability to “access all the Wi-Fi networks coming from the target and then monitor the activity from that location for a period of time,” explained one identity-protected Operational Detachment Alpha soldier, “gives us another set of eyes and helps us paint a clearer picture of our target.”

ForbesNew NSA report blames Russian military hackers for US attacks since 2020By means of Davey Winder

The Five Truths About Special Operations Forces

An article by Sgt. 1st Class Tim Beery on the U.S. Army website references the facts about the five special operations units from 1991 as established by U.S. Army Colonel (ret.) John Collins.

These truths are:

1. People are more important than hardware.
2. Quality is better than quantity.
3. Special units cannot be mass-produced.
4. Competent special operations units cannot be created after an emergency has occurred.
5. Most special operations require assistance from forces other than SOF.

While these truths are far from outdated, they have evolved. Nowhere is this more evident than in truth number one, where people are of course the most important, but hardware has changed beyond recognition in the 33 years since the originals were written. “Cyberspace has become a major component of the battlefield,” Beery said, “and has quickly become as crucial as the physical realm in battlefield superiority.”

Hacking enemy buildings during Swift Response 2024 exercise

For example, during exercise Swift Response 2024, the ODA special forces team identified a target building. The team then hacked the Wi-Fi password for the building’s network and performed exploits on the devices inside. “This allowed the team to manipulate security cameras, door locks and other security systems in the building,” Beery said.

ForbesYour country needs you: Report hackers now, US government saysBy means of Davey Winder

It doesn’t take a Sun Tzu-style military genius to realize that the ability to not only gather such vital information but also control the target environment is a monumental advantage for the attacking force. During this exercise, one team was focused on hacking and manipulating the building, while another team led the physical infiltration operation. The second team, which not only had to make a military-style free-fall parachute jump but then march a total of seven miles to reach the target, was able to enter through unlocked doors, unobserved by security cameras. “From there,” Beery said, “they deployed signal disruptors to erase any trace of the attack and left the premises.”

The fact that the cyber team is monitoring the operation, seeing in real time what the infiltration team is doing and controlling the target environment undetected is a game changer.