• Digital certificate standard compromised by hackers

    Researchers demonstrated exploits against the X.509 standard for digital certificates used by Secure Sockets Layer; Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Lentz, DOD’s chief information assurance officer, cited identity authentication as a key security challenge for the department

  • University of Detroit Mercy receives cyber security research contract

    The aim of the $551,500 federal contract is to develop and disseminate the knowledge necessary to ensure that the software that enables America’s business and critical infrastructure is safe and secure

  • Cobham reports a 32 percent increase in first-half profits

    Company benefits from strategic investments in military and government markets; its work with M/A-COM, which it acquired from Tyco Electronics in September 2008, had resulted in increased technology collaboration and new contract awards

  • Cybersecurity is now a must for the grid, II

    Cyber security has become a permanent part of running an electric plant because connectivity to the outside world is inevitable; plants are bringing together the expertise of consultants, vendors, and their IT departments to ensure that they are well protected

  • IT graduate sues school over failure to land a job

    Tina Thompson majored in IT studies at Monroe College in the Bronx, New York; she has failed to find an IT job, so she is suing the school for reimbursement of her tuition — $70,000 — plus an additional $2,000 “for the stress I have been going through looking for a full-time job”

  • Hacking schools flourish in China

    Chinese hackers have been on the forefront of sustained hacking and disruption campaign against Western business and government networks — some do it for fun, other for profit, but many do so on behalf of the Chinese government and its many intelligence and military agencies; ever wondered where all these hackers come from? “Hacker schools” are big business in China, generating $34.8 million last year

  • Cybersecurity is now a must for the grid, I

    In past years, electric plants have not worried about cyber security because they did not connect to the outside world; new data systems have changed that for most plants; plants bolster cyber security as NERC starts audits on Internet safety

  • Acting cybersecurity czar resigns

    Melissa Hathaway, acting White House cybersecurity czar who was in charge of preparing the 60-day cybersecurity reviews, resigned; she lost favor with the president’s economic team after she said it should consider options for regulating some private-sector entities to ensure they secure their networks; being a Bush administration hold-over did not help

  • Anti-theft software creates security hole

    A piece of anti-theft software built into many laptops at the factory opens a serious security hole

  • U r pwned: text messaging as a hacking tool

    Text messages appear on mobile phones without any interaction from the user, and sometimes with limited interference from the cellular network operators — giving criminals an opening to break into those devices

  • McAfee acquires MX Logic to enhance cloud security

    McAfee acquires MX Logic for $140 million; MX Logic has 40,000 customers and four million end users; the deal is designed to bolster McAfee’s existing “security as a service” portfolio; McAfee, alongside Panda and Trend Micro, is among the most aggressive players in the security market in talking up the benefits of cloud-based architectures

  • Clampi virus targets businesses' financial accounts

    A new virus is spreading, specifically targeting companies’ financial accounts; at least 500,000 computers have been infected by Clampi since March

  • Fort Meade leads the competition for new U.S. cyber center site

    Defense Secretary Robert Gates is recommending the Defense Department create a new agency, U.S. Cyber Command, at Fort Meade, Maryland; if Fort Meade is chosen, Maryland will see the addition of as many as 50,000 government and contracting jobs, bringing in salaries of about $1.7 billion annually

  • Cyber-criminals targeting social networks

    Cyber-criminals are drawn to the wealth of personal information supplied by users of social networks

  • Apple says jailbreaking may knock out transmission towers

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked the U.S. Copyright Office to instruct Apple to allow “jailbreaking ” — that is, modification of the iPhone’s software without Apple’s approval; Apple responded that modifying the iPhone’s operating system could crash a mobile phone network’s transmission towers or allow people to avoid paying for phone calls