OUR PICKSMicrosoft Report Signals ‘Great Concern’ for Dam Cybersecurity | Integrated Approach Needed at the Southern Border | You Probably Shouldn’t Panic About Measles — Yet, and more
· In Reversal, More Areas Allow High-Speed Police Chases
Supporters of policy rollbacks say police pursuits can reduce crime; some experts aren’t so sure
· Russian Hackers Accessed U.S. Government Emails in Microsoft Breach, CISA Says
The alert comes a week after Microsoft was faulted in a DHS report for fostering a security culture that enabled a similar China-backed cyberattack last year
· Microsoft Report Signals ‘Great Concern’ for Dam Cybersecurity, Top FERC Official Says
The company’s products are heavily used in the dam sector, the official said
· The Integrated Approach Needed at the Southern Border to Degrade the Flow of Narcotics into the Homeland
A wall is a feasible plan, but it will only make a difference if integrated into a holistic border security program
· You Probably Shouldn’t Panic About Measles — Yet
Disease surveillance has so far kept the infection at bay in the US, but the CDC has renewed concerns
· Colorado Is Latest State to Try Turning Off the Electrical Grid to Prevent Wildfires − a Complex, Technical Operation Pioneered in California
The U.S. power grid is the largest and most complex machine ever built. It’s also aging and under increasing stress from climate-driven disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes and heat waves
In Reversal, More Areas Allow High-Speed Police Chases (Amanda Hernandez, Stateline)
During several years of efforts to refine policing tactics — ranging from mandating body-worn cameras to limiting or banning excessive use of force — many states and law enforcement agencies nationwide imposed more restrictive car chase policies to protect civilians and officers.
Now, state legislators and some local and state agencies are turning back the dial, moving to relax the rules on high-speed vehicular pursuits largely because of concerns about crime, according to news reports and a review of testimony by Stateline.
A handful of jurisdictions have rolled back restrictions over the past year, including Florida, the District of Columbia, San Francisco and Washington state. On the other side, Michigan restricted chases, and Hawaii also is considering legislation that would set more restrictive statewide pursuit standards.
Policing experts suggest that state legislative changes nationwide have been influenced by various factors, such as political pressure or high-profile incidents. They expressed doubt that allowing more high-speed chases would significantly lower crime.
Russian Hackers Accessed U.S. Government Emails in Microsoft Breach, CISA Says (David Dimolfetta, Nextgov)
Kremlin-backed operatives that accessed sensitive Microsoft systems in January through brute-force password guessing techniques successfully exfiltrated email correspondence from federal civilian agencies, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Thursday.
The software giant issued an alert on the group, dubbed Midnight Blizzard by industry security researchers, near the start of the year. The hackers, linked to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, are using data “initially exfiltrated from the corporate email systems, including authentication details shared between Microsoft customers and Microsoft by email, to gain, or attempt to gain, additional access to Microsoft customer systems,” CISA said in the emergency directive.
CISA said that the company will provide necessary metadata on the compromised emails to affected agencies, as well as the metadata for all stolen agency correspondence. CyberScoop first reported on the directive last week, citing three government officials familiar with the matter.
Microsoft Report Signals ‘Great Concern’ for Dam Cybersecurity, Top FERC Official Says (David Dimolfetta, Nextgov)
A DHS oversight report that faulted Microsoft for a slew of failures enabling a Chinese cyberespionage campaign last year presents a “great concern” for the dam sector, which relies heavily on Microsoft products, a top Federal Energy Regulatory Commission director told a Senate panel Wednesday. (Cont.)
