DVIDS – News – Green Berets use disruptive cyber technology during Swift Response 2024

In 1991, U.S. Army Colonel (ret.) John Collins wrote The Truths of Special Operations Forces (SOF). These five verses describe what it means to be a SOF soldier and how the force must operate to be successful. The most important of these is truth number 1: “People are more important than hardware.” However, SOF capabilities have evolved significantly since 1991, and while people remain the most important asset, hardware has driven the evolutionary change.

Technological advances have enhanced the capabilities of those in the SOF community. Not only do they master air, land and sea, but they now have a fourth domain. Cyberspace has become a central part of the battlefield and is quickly becoming as critical to battlefield superiority as the physical domain. That’s why teams at Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) trained with disruptive cyber technology this month during exercise Swift Response 2024 near Skillingaryd, Sweden.

“This allows us to target a target, use the signaling equipment to gain access to all Wi-Fi networks emanating from that target, and then monitor activity from that location for a period of time,” explained a member of the ODA team with a protected identity.

“It’s a very useful tool for us because it gives us a second perspective and helps us paint a clearer picture of our target,” he said.

During the exercise, the ODA team mentioned above identified a target building and used a Remote Access Device (RAD) to identify the networks emanating from the facility. They were able to crack the Wi-Fi password, enumerate the network, and execute exploits on the target computer in the building. This allowed the team to tamper with security cameras, door locks, and other security systems in the building.

While one team was in charge of manipulating the building through cyber jamming, a second ODA team conducted an infiltration operation in the facility. They performed a military free fall jump (MFF) and marched 11 kilometers to reach the building, which they were able to enter without any problems thanks to the cyber jamming. From there, they placed jammers to erase all traces of the attack and left the premises.

By training on a range of tools, the team gains the ability to master them and live up to the second SOF truth, which is that quality is more important than quantity.

“In a real-world situation, this would allow us to obtain intelligence in a way that has not always been available to us,” explained the INFIL ODA team commander. “If we need to accomplish a specific objective or task, we now have the ability to obtain critical intelligence in a way that is undetectable if we do our job properly,” he said.

The third SOF truth is that special operations cannot be mass-produced. The ability to hack into a building using cyber technology is not unique to the special operations community, but the ability to do so while also completing an MFF jump and a 7-mile walk undetected is a SOF capability that, when combined with the cyber capability, gives special operations a unique, exclusive skill set, the ODA cyber team member said.

“We can see what’s happening and we know what the INFIL team is doing,” he said. “We have the whole scenario in view.”

The fourth truth of special operations forces is that special operations forces cannot be assembled after an emergency. They must be established, ready to deploy, and fully competent. That is why training in exercises such as Swift Response is so important. It allows team members to hone their skills in an unfamiliar environment and put their knowledge to the test.

Advances in hardware are due to the fifth SOF truth, which is that SOF requires non-SOF support. Cyber ​​disruption is not a brand new technology, but a tool that is constantly evolving. Staying up to date with technology is a critical task, said the ODA cyber team member.

“It’s a skill we need to train and keep up to date with,” he said. “Because it’s evolving so quickly, the equipment we use today could be out of date next year. It’s been five years since I first went to school – so much has changed in that time, I feel like it’s a whole new world,” he said.

While progress is inevitable, the five truths of special operations forces remain. New capabilities are incorporated into established practices, and the entire machine evolves. Working with allies and partners like Sweden during exercises like Swift Response 24 enables special operations forces to uniquely counter malign influences, build interoperability, respond quickly to emerging threats, and, if necessary, deter aggression.