Tag Archives: invasion

In The Future Cyberwar Will Be Primary Theater For Superpowers

November 11, 2024 The Silo Leave a comment

Cybersecurity expert explains how virtual wars are fought

With the Russia-Ukraine war in full swing, cybersecurity experts point to a cyber front that had been forming online long before Russian troops crossed the border. Even in the months leading up to the outbreak of war, Ukrainian websites were attacked and altered to display threatening messages about the coming invasion.

“In response to Russian warfare actions, the hacking collective Anonymous launched a series of attacks against Russia, with the country’s state media being the main target. So we can see cyber warfare in action with new types of malware flooding both countries, thousands of sites crashing under DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks, and hacktivism thriving on both sides of barricades,” Daniel Markuson, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, says.

The methods of cyberwarfare

In the past decade, the amount of time people spend online has risen drastically. Research by NordVPN has shown that Americans spend around 21 years of their lives online. With our life so dependent on the internet, cyber wars can cause very real damage. Some of the goals online “soldiers” are trying to pursue include:

Sabotage and terrorism

The intent of many cyber warfare actions is to sabotage and cause indiscriminate damage. From taking a site offline with a DDoS attack to defacing webpages with political messages, cyber terrorists launch multiple operations every year. One event that had the most impact happened in Turkey when Iranian hackers managed to knock out the power grid for around twelve hours, affecting more than 40 million people.

Espionage

While cyber espionage also occurs between corporations, with competitors vying for patents and sensitive information, it’s an essential strategy for governments engaging in covert warfare. Chinese intelligence services are regularly named as the culprits in such operations, although they consistently deny the accusations.

Civilian activism (hacktivism)

The growing trend of hacktivism has seen civilian cyber activists take on governments and authorities around the world. One example of hacktivism is Anonymous, a group that has claimed responsibility for assaults on government agencies in the US. In 2022, Anonymous began a targeted cyber campaign against Russia after it invaded Ukraine in an attempt to disrupt government systems and combat Russian propaganda.

Propaganda and disinformation

In 2020, 81 countries were found to have used some form of social media manipulation. This type of manipulation was usually ordered by government agencies, political parties, or politicians. Such campaigns, which largely involve the spread of fake news, tended to focus on three key goals – distract or divert conversations away from important issues, increase polarization between religious, political, or social groups, and suppress fundamental human rights, such as the right to freedom of expression or freedom of information.

The future of cyber warfare

“Governments, corporations, and the public need to understand this emerging landscape and protect themselves by taking care of their physical security as well as cybersecurity. From the mass cyberattacks of 2008’s Russo-Georgian War to the cyber onslaught faced by Ukraine today, this is the new battleground for both civil and international conflicts,” Daniel Markuson says.

Markuson predicts that in the future, cyber war will become the primary theater of war for global superpowers. He also thinks that terrorist cells may focus their efforts on targeting civilian infrastructure and other high-risk networks: terrorists would be even harder to detect and could launch attacks anywhere in the world. Lastly, Markuson thinks that activism will become more virtual and allow citizens to hold large governmental authorities to account.

A regular person can’t do much to fight in a cyber war or to protect themselves from the consequences.

However, educating yourself, paying attention to the reliability of sources of information, and maintaining a critical attitude to everything you read online could help increase your awareness and feel less affected by propaganda. For the Silo, Darija Grobova.

Military

Canadian Provinces Most Likely To Survive Alien Invasion

July 31, 2023 The Silo Leave a comment

UFO Hearing – Shocking claims of alien technology defying the laws of physics are shared by whistleblowers

Captivated by extraterrestrial phenomena, our friends and experts at BonusFinder Canada took a crucial step in safeguarding humanity by conducting a study revealing which Canadian provinces are most likely to survive an alien invasion.

Residents of Harbour Mille, N.L., reported seeing three missile-like UFOs fly near their community on the night of Jan. 25, 2010, including this one photographed. ((photo-Darlene Stewart))

The Provinces Most Likely to Survive an Alien Invasion

Rank	Province	Alien Survivability Score /10
1	Nova Scotia	8.03
2	Manitoba	7.50
3	Newfoundland and Labrador	7.47
4	New Brunswick	7.06
5 tie	Alberta	7.02
5 tie	Quebec	7.02
7	Prince Edward Island	6.92
8	Saskatchewan	6.90
9	Ontario	6.65
10	British Columbia	5.96

The experts created a points-based index system evaluating:

Population and population density (per km²)
The average duration of UFO visits (minutes) and sightings per 100,000 people
Total forest area (thousands of hectares) and forest area as a % of land area
Fresh water area as a % total area
Police officers and active military service per 100,000
Number of food businesses
Number of farms, farms per 100 km² and employees in agriculture (in 1,000 people) per 100,000
Construction and manufacturing per 100,000
Healthcare professionals per 100,000
Scientific and professional personnel per 100,000

You can dig further into the data here.

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BonusFinder Canada can reveal that Nova Scotia‘s resilient spirit and strategic coastal location make it a province most likely to survive and endure an alien invasion, with a survivability score of 8.03/10. Having witnessed 22.38 UFOs per 100,000 people in the province, which is actually, the second-highest out of all the provinces, with New Brunswick having the highest (25.92 UFOs/100,000 people). Nova Scotia also has the highest number of active military service with 1011.98 per 100,000 people as well as the most scientific and professional personnel, with a total of 64.89 per 100,000 people.

The province also benefits from the 79% of forest-to-land area ratio, meaning they can be used to take cover to resist alien invaders. Nova Scotia is also very famous for the ‘Shag Harbour Incident’, which is a sighting of a UFO crashing into the waters of Shag Harbour leaving no trace other than yellow foam.

Manitoba takes second place, with an overall survivability score of 7.50/10. Manitoba has seen over 17 UFOs per 100,000 people, which on average last 17.69 minutes. The province benefits from 18,968 hectares of forest, and the highest percentage of fresh water-to-land ratio (15%), the same as Ontario. With 14,543 farms and 1,460.34 agriculturists per 100,000 people, the population’s satiety is in good hands.

Falcon Lake, located in Winnipeg, is one of Manitoba’s most notorious experiences with the unknown, as Stefan Michalak saw two vessels hovering above him in the night sky.

In third place is Newfoundland and Labrador, scoring 7.47/10. It has the second-highest number of scientific and professional personnel with 53.86 per 100,000 people and has the lowest number of UFO sightings with 0.59 per 100,000 people, for an average of 12 minutes. Despite having the lowest % of forest-to-land ratio (29%) and the least manufacturers (1.98 per 100,000 people), the province has the highest number of healthcare professionals per 100,000 people (8.72).

British Columbia, however, ranks the lowest in the research, with an alien survivability score of 5.96/10. Despite its breathtaking landscapes, with a high 63% of forest-to-land ratio, British Columbia’s vast and remote terrain may pose challenges, making it potentially less likely to survive an alien invasion due to its difficulties in coordination and defense – the second–lowest active military service (191.87 per 100,000 people). British Columbia also lacks agriculturists in the province, with 471.92 per 100,000 people.

Culture

How Canada Influenced American Civil War

August 23, 2019 The Silo Leave a comment

This August we saw the fifth U.S. Civil War re-enactment at Circle G Ranch, east of Cayuga, Ontario. On Sept. 13, re-enactors of the ‘Blue and Grey’ will go to battle in Otterville.

The American Civil War had a tremendous influence on the British North American colonies, and continues to be of mind.

At onset of the Civil War, Canada did not yet exist as a federated nation. When the war broke out in 1861, Canada was still a subject of Great Britain and had maintained an uneasy peace with its American neighbors since the War of 1812.

William Seward, the American Secretary of State during the Civil War, was an annexationist who felt that British North America was destined to become part of the United States. As it became obvious that the North would emerge victorious there was a fear the Union army would turn its eyes north of the border.

Many in the US government were supporters of Manifest Destiny, an ideology that stated America should conquer the continent. Canadians were concerned about the possibility of a US invasion.

The tensions between the United States and Britain, which had been ignited by the war and made worse by the Fenian Raids, led to concern for the security and independence of the colonies, helping to consolidate momentum for Canadian confederation.

In the election of 1864, the Republican Party used annexation as a means to gain support from Irish Americans and the land-hungry.

In 1866, an annexation bill passed in the US House of Representatives stating the United States acquire all of what is now Canada.

The Underground Railway- major sites in Ontario,Canada.

The Civil War also had an important effect on discussions concerning the nature of the emerging federation. Many Fathers of Confederation concluded the secessionist war was caused by too much power being given to the states, and thus resolved to create a more centralized federation. It was also believed that too much democracy was a contributing factor and the Canadian system was thus equipped with checks and balances such as the appointed Senate and the power of the British-appointed governor-general.

The guiding principles of the legislation which created Canada, the British North American Act, were peace, order and good government – in stark contrast to the perceived rugged individualism of the neighbours south of the border.

Since 1793, thanks to then Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, Upper Canada – now present day Ontario – had banned the importation of slaves.
Canadians were largely opposed to slavery, and Canada had recently become the destination of the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railway was a network of safe houses and individuals who helped runaway slaves reach free sates in the American North or in Canada.

It ran from about 1840 to 1860. It was most effective after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, which enabled slave hunters to pursue runaways onto free soil. It is estimated that about 30,000 reached Canada. Several communities were established in Ontario, including one east of Cayuga, at Canfield.

The Civil War claimed 7,000 Canadians and almost 620,000 US lives.

Between 33,000 and 55,000 men from British North America served in the Union army, and a few hundred in the Confederate army. Five served as generals, and 29 received the U.S. Medal of Honour. For the Silo, Toby Barrett MPP Haldimand-Norfolk.