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Cyber insurance is especially useful for small companies
Yes, many cyber crimes are covered — if implicitly — by current insurance policies under clauses such as fraud and dishonesty (for data sabotage), theft (sensitive data removal), general property terms (disclosed personal data), etc.; still, small companies which rely on outside vendors would be advised to demand policies which are more explicit in their coverage of cyber crime
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CBP hails C-TPAT 2007 achievements
DHS’s Custom and Border Protection agency says that Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program made major contributions to U.S. security in 2007 by keeping a close eye on the supply chain bringing goods into the U.S.
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New method for anthrax decontamination developed
Yellow Jackets, SMD researchers develop an X-rays and UV-C light-based method for anthrax decontamination; it is rapid and nondisruptive, and also less expensive than currently available decontamination methods; it kills anthrax spores — even those hidden in crevices and cracks — within two to three hours without any lingering effects
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Companies, government responses to war game draw mixed reviews
Details emerge of a $3 million, invitation-only war game — Cyber Storm —which simulated what DHS described as plausible attacks over five days in February 2006 against the technology industry, transportation lines, and energy utilities by anti-globalization hackers
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Spam, Q4 Email Threat Trends of 2007
A steep rise in attacks using social networking techniques which target user psychology and behavior patterns; spammers launched attacks by predicting user behavior patterns, such as looking for easy cash and discounted gifts during the holiday season, and preying on consumer trust to generate interest in cheap pharmaceutical products and stocks
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Emphasis shifts to analytical tools rather than building sturdier walls
The $169 million PayPal paid for Israeli on-line security specialist Fraud Sciences is part of a larger trend in security: “Security is less a matter of keeping everyone outside the outer wall and more one of detecting them sneaking through the premises,” as one analyst put it
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Marks & Spencer loses personal information on 26,000 staff
A laptop belonging to Marks and Spencer was stolen in May 2007, joining a lengthening list of personal data breaches in the United kingdom; Information Commissioner’s Office takes action against company
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RFID technology ever more pervasive, pt. I
RFID tags are everywhere — on boxed goods, in some computer printers, car keys and tires, on shampoo bottles and department store clothing tags; they are also in library books, contactless payment cards, passports, and travel documents; they introduce efficiency and security to the supply chain, but also allow companies and organizations to track the behavior and shopping patterns of individuals
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MSV to operate two mid-Atlantic radio talkgroups
Specialist in hybrid satellite-terrestrial communications network will operate radio talkgroups which will allow emergency units from several states to cooperate more easily during emergencies
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IOTV Body Armor, Improved Outer Tactical Vest
Soldiers have complained that the standard body armor is too heavy, too hot, and too cumbersome; the Army is now deploying new body armor: It is three pounds lighter, provides more coverage in the small of the back, sits higher around the armpit area, and sits lower on the torso
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Disgruntled employee deletes 7-years worth of architectual drawings
An employee in a Florida architectural firm believed she was about to be fired; she came to the office on Sunday and deleted 7-years worth of drawings and blueprints, valued by the firm at $2.5 million
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Estonian student convicted for 2007 attack against Estonian Web sites
A 20-year-old Estonian student has been fined $1,642 for launching a cyber attack which crippled the Web sites of banks, schools, and government agencies
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GAO cites barriers to antiviral, vaccine roles in pandemic
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that a pandemic vaccine might play little role in the early phases of a pandemic because it will take 20 to 23 weeks to develop and produce a targeted vaccine
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Product profile: Zone Multi Sensor Control Platform (MSCP)
An innovative solution from an Australian company allows security managers better direction and control of the organization’s security system and the information streams these systems generate; massively redundant peer-to-peer architecture has many benefits: flexibility, scalability, and cost savings on hardware and professional IT staff
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What are the security risks of virtualization?
Server virtualization can aid security, but virtualized environments bring their own headaches as security threats can originate externally and internally in a virtualized environment
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More headlines
The long view
Using Drone Swarms to Fight Forest Fires
Forest fires are becoming increasingly catastrophic across the world, accelerated by climate change. Researchers are using multiple swarms of drones to tackle natural disasters like forest fires.
How Climate Change Will Affect Conflict and U.S. Military Operations
“People talk about climate change as a threat multiplier,” said Karen Sudkamp, an associate director of the Infrastructure, Immigration, and Security Operations Program within the RAND Homeland Security Research Division. “But at what point do we need to start talking about the threat multiplier actually becoming a significant threat all its own?”