• UN warns regulators of mobile phone vulnerabilities

    The United Nations  is warning telecommunications regulators and government agencies  about significant vulnerabilities in cell phone technology which would allow hackers to attack at least half a billion mobile phones worldwide.

  • Budget cuts force DHS to scale back cybersecurity programs

    Sequestration-mandated federal budget cuts are beginning to have an effect on DHS cybersecurity efforts. Since March, the department has been forced to cancel two conferences and three training sessions for utility companies on how to defend against cyberattacks.Security experts are concerned that the budget cuts are affectingimpacting cybersecurity efforts at a time where more money needs to be put into securing critical infrastructure.

  • Are nuclear weapons safe from cyber-attacks?

    Research will look into whether today’s nuclear weapons are safe from computer hacking. Specifically, the research seeks to address the question of whether the ability to use and the confidence in nuclear weapons is being eroded by new cyber capabilities being developed by an increasingly large range of actors.

  • Spending on cybersecurity for critical infrastructure to reach $46 billion by end of 2013

    The digitization of critical infrastructures has provided substantial benefits — improved productivity, better connectivity, greater efficiencies. Yet this digitization also carries significant risks. Always-on Internet connectivity has ushered in a new cyber-age in which the stakes are higher. Better to shield critical infrastructure, cyber security spending for critical infrastructure protection will hit $46 billion globally by the end of 2013.

  • U.S. research universities subject to sustained cyberattack campaign by China

    Leading U.S. research universities report that they have been subject to millions of Chinese hacking attempts weekly. The Chinese are aware that universities, and the professors who do research under the schools’ auspices, receive thousands of patents each year in areas such as prescription drugs, computer chips, fuel cells, aircraft, medical devices, food production, and more. The Chinese government-sponsored cyberattacks on American research universities are an expansion of efforts by China to steal information that has commercial, political, or national security value.

  • McAfee’s Phyllis Schneck leading candidate for DHS cybersecurity post

    Phyllis Schneck, the vice president and chief technology officer for public sector at McAfee, is the likely choice to be the next deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at DHS. The DHS deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity oversees DHS’s cyber operations, including its relationship with private businesses which run utilities and critical infrastructure.

  • Hackathons used by government, industry for app development, recruitment

    Local and state governments, the music industry and private businesses have begun to host “hackathons” in an effort to learn more about applications that steal and use their data, recruit candidates for cybersecurity jobs, and more generally celebrate the hacking subculture.

  • NIST biometric publication provides two new ways to identify people

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a new publication that broadens agency security options for Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards. The new publication adds iris images as biometric identifiers and on-card fingerprint comparison as options for the cards.

  • Cybersecurity funding increasing despite sequestration

    Sequestration-mandated cuts continue, but more money will continue to go to cybersecurity, and job opportunities in the field will continue to grow. The Defense Department intends to spend $23 billion on cybersecurity over the next five years, and that it is seeking more than $4.6 billion for cybersecurity in 2014 fiscal year, an 18 percent jump from the 2013 fiscal year.

  • U.S. Emergency Alerting System (EAS) vulnerable to hacking

    The U.S. Emergency Alerting System (EAS) is designed to allow for quick alerts during an emergency. Researchers uncovered vulnerabilities in the digital alerting systems, vulnerabilities which allow an attacker remotely to log in over the Internet and manipulate any system function. The attacker could disrupt a TV or radio station’s ability to transmit and could disseminate false emergency information.

  • U.S., China begin formal cybersecurity talks

    U.S. and Chinese officials have begun a week of formal discussions on cybersecurity. A bi-lateral group held its first meeting Monday at the State Department with both civilians and military officials included in the talks.

  • U.S. ports vulnerable to cyberattacks

    New study says that the U.S. largest ports are vulnerable to cyberattacks.The study argues that the level of cyber security awareness and culture in U.S. port facilities is relatively low, and that a cyberattack at a major U.S. port would quickly cause significant damage to the economy.

  • Growing cybersecurity opportunities for young Americans

    With the growing number of cyberattacks on U.S. companies, government agencies, and critical infrastructure, and the likelihood that such attacks will only increase, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of cybersecurity programs and educational opportunities for young Americans.

  • New expert network to advice organizations on how to keep data safe

    A new expert network which helps organizations safely manage and share sensitive data has been launched. The U.K. Anonymization Network (UKAN) will advise organizations and companies on how to minimize the risk that personal details of individual people are inadvertently revealed when data are used to create valuable services.

  • NSA revelations raise doubts about passage of cybersecurity legislation

    U.S. officials say the revelations about the National Security Agency’s(NSA) domestic surveillance programs could make it harder for lawmakers to pass a cybersecurity bill. Critics of the House cybersecurity bill, known as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which was passed earlier this year (it is still being debated in the Senate), argued the bill could lead to private information falling into the hands of the NSA.