-
National Guardsmen, the new front line in cybersecurity
In an aggressive push to expand the military’s cyber warfare and defense capabilities, the National Guard has formed an increasing number of special cybersecurity units; National Guard cybertroops have proven to be particularly appealing solution, especially with defense cuts looming, as they cost less to train, maintain, and retain than active duty forces
-
-
Twelve Chinese hacker groups responsible for attacks on U.S.
U.S. cybersecurity experts say as few as twelve different Chinese hacker collectives, working at the behest of the government, are responsible for the majority of cyberattacks on U.S. businesses and government agencies; the bulk of the attacks are stealthy in nature and have resulted in the loss of billions of dollars’ worth of intellectual property and state secrets from the private and public sector
-
-
Electrical grid needs cybersecurity oversight: study
In a recently released report, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that a single federal agency should be tasked with protecting the United States’ electrical grid from cyberattacks; the Obama administration has proposed that DHS assume responsibility for the grid, while Congress has submitted proposals for both the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
-
-
MIT report warns U.S. electrical grid vulnerable
A new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warns that the U.S. electrical grid is vulnerable to cyberatacks; according to the report, the U.S. electrical grid’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities stem from weaknesses in processes, technology, as well as the actual physical environment
-
-
Shell fears cyberattack on oil infrastructure
Oil executives fear that a cyberattack on critical infrastructure could wreak havoc by destroying facilities or disrupting production
-
-
Government outlines cybersecurity R&D priorities
The Obama administration recently unveiled its plan for government sponsored cybersecurity research and development programs
-
-
SCADA systems’ vulnerability key weakness in Smart Grid deployments
The discovery of the Stuxnet worm in 2010 shone a harsh light on the fragility of industrial control systems (ICS), such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and has created a new urgency among security vendors and utility managers alike; new research forecasts that investments in ICS security will total $4.1 billion during the years between 2011 and 2018
-
-
GAO reports problems in cybersecurity hiring strategy
An audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that some government agencies have failed to effectively develop or implement cybersecurity workforce planning strategies; agencies also reported problems in filling some cybersecurity positions, particularly those requiring specialized skills
-
-
Top Nine cyber security trends for 2012
Imperva, a data security specialist, see nine emergeing cyber security trends in 2012; rise in big data and application DDoS attacks among key concerns; “Hacking, by nature, is a discipline that relies on innovation,” explained Imperva CTO; “Knowing future, potential threats helps security teams fight against the bad guys”
-
-
A Winner in DARPA’S Shredder Challenge competition
A small team from San Francisco won the $50,000 first prize in DARPA’s Shredder Challenge, a competition among teams trying to reconstruct shredded documents; in total, the winning team spent nearly 600 man-hours developing algorithms and piecing together documents that were shredded into more than 10,000 pieces
-
-
Lockheed Martin UK opens its U.K. cybersecurity center
Lockheed Martin UK has officially opened its first Security Intelligence Center (SIC) at Farnborough; the role of the SIC will be detection, identification, and response to information security incidents; this is accomplished by bringing together three primary capabilities: pervasive sensors, data management, and analyst collaboration
-
-
Both hackers and security vendors are embracing the cloud
Large-volume hackers are now using the cloud for lucrative large-scale attacks, using public infrastructure to put at risk companies which adopt ambitious but poorly considered cloud-computing strategies. Even as they move to the cloud, too many companies simply move their security and reliability problems from the current infrastructure to the new one.
-
-
Congressional approval of cybersecurity bill looks promising
Amid the partisan acrimony of the budget battles on Capitol Hill, the Obama administration and the Senate have made promising efforts to pass a sweeping cybersecurity bill in a rare show of bipartisan agreement; the bill is now at the top of the Senate’s agenda, and Senator Harry Reid (D – Nevada), the majority leader, said he plans to bring the bill to the floor during the first working session of 2012
-
-
Some smartphones are more vulnerable to attack
New research shows that some smartphones specifically designed to support the Android mobile platform have incorporated additional features that can be used by hackers to bypass Android’s security features, making these phones more vulnerable to attack
-
-
U.K. unveils new cyber defense strategy
The U.K. government last week published its new Cyber Security Strategy; the government said the new strategy sets out “how the United Kingdom will support economic prosperity, protect national security, and safeguard the public’s way of life”
-
More headlines
The long view
Ransomware Attacks: Death Threats, Endangered Patients and Millions of Dollars in Damages
A ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a company that processes 15 billion health care transactions annually and deals with 1 in 3 patient records in the United States, is continuing to cause massive disruptions nearly three weeks later. The incident, which started on February 21, has been called the “most significant cyberattack on the U.S. health care system” by the American Hospital Association. It is just the latest example of an increasing trend.
Chinese Government Hackers Targeted Critics of China, U.S. Businesses and Politicians
An indictment was unsealed Monday charging seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a PRC-based hacking group that spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.
Autonomous Vehicle Technology Vulnerable to Road Object Spoofing and Vanishing Attacks
Researchers have demonstrated the potentially hazardous vulnerabilities associated with the technology called LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, many autonomous vehicles use to navigate streets, roads and highways. The researchers have shown how to use lasers to fool LiDAR into “seeing” objects that are not present and missing those that are – deficiencies that can cause unwarranted and unsafe braking or collisions.