• U.S. should promote international cybersecurity standardization: Interagency report

    A new draft report by an interagency working group lays out objectives and recommendations for enhancing the U.S. government’s coordination and participation in the development and use of international standards for cybersecurity. The report recommends the government make greater effort to coordinate the participation of its employees in international cybersecurity standards development to promote the cybersecurity and resiliency of U.S. information and communications systems and supporting infrastructures. These efforts should include increased training, collaborating with private industry and working to minimize risks to privacy.

  • Hackers exploit flaws in mobile phones’ security

    Owners of smartphones have developed a sense of security, using them as if they were sitting in front of their computers at home. Once used for voice transmission only, mobile phones, or smartphones, have grown to become devices used for shopping, bill paying, bank transactions, and a host of other applications. Unfortunately, they are not nearly as secure as most users think they are. Hackers have found a number of flaws, and are capable of exploiting them.

  • Russia offers safe haven for a major botnet operator

    Recently the FBI offered a reward of $3 million for any useful information which will lead to the apprehension of Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev. Bogachev is notorious for creating the Gameover Zeus botnet, which the FBI had successfully shut down in mid-2014, but the agency failed to capture Bogachev himself. In early 2015 Bogachev managed to restore Zeus.The hackers behind Zeus are believed to have stolen more than $100 million since3 2011. Experts worry that botnet may be used for more than stealing money, and may become a weapon of cyber warfare.

  • North Wales wants to be “one of the most secure places in the world to do business”

    Glyndŵr University is to play a leading role in the fight against cybercrime. The Wrexham, Wales-based university hosted the first meeting of the North Wales Cyber Security Cluster on Thursday (23 July). The institution and North Wales Police saw experts in online security and e-crime join the forum, and also invited members of the public and business owners who have been targeted in the past to attend and share information and advice, in a bid, the organizers say, “to make North Wales one of the most secure places in the world to do business.”

  • DHS S&T licenses third cybersecurity innovation for commercialization

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) yesterday announced that another cybersecurity technology has been licensed for commercialization. This is S&T’s third technology that has successfully gone through the Transition to Practice (TTP) program and into the commercial market. The Network Mapping System (NeMS), developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is a software-based tool that tells users what is connected to their network so that they know what needs to be protected.

  • Why organizations fight data breaches differently

    Since digitalization began, organizations have understood how valuable their information is. In the wake of recent high-profile security breaches at retail stores such as Target and Neiman Marcus, a new study seeks to determine why differences exist in the level of information security control resources among organizations.

  • Abu Dhabi’s power system to be used for critical infrastructure cybersecurity study

    Abu Dhabi, UAE-based Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and MIT will use Abu Dhabi’s power system as a case study for developing a knowledge map of the power system and its cybersecurity shortcomings. The project is due to run for two years. At the end of this two year period, the collaborating institutions hope that data from the analysis of Abu Dhabi’s power system could be compared against data from the projects running concurrently in New York and Singapore to develop a comprehensive knowledge map, capable of being applied to critical infrastructure worldwide.

  • Underwriters of cyberinsurance policies need better understanding of cyber risks

    Demand for insurance that covers an ever-increasing range of cyberattacks is growing and evolving rapidly, and a number of insurance companies are seeking advice through sponsored events that can gradually educate their work forces. At Standard & Poor’s Rating Services 2015 Insurance Conference last week, a panel of insurance experts stressed the importance of insurance underwriters gaining a better understanding of cyber risks in order to make better property and risk assessments.

  • Companies making cybersecurity a greater priority, but hackers may still be gaining

    Companies are spending increasing amounts on cybersecurity tools, but are not convinced their data is truly secure and many chief information security officers believe that attackers are gaining on their defenses, according to a new RAND Corporation study. While worldwide spending on cybersecurity is close to $70 billion a year and growing at 10 percent to 15 percent annually, many chief information security officers believe that hackers may gain the upper hand two to five years from now, requiring a continual cycle of development and implementation of stronger and more innovative defensive measures.

  • NIST releases update of Industrial Control Systems Security Guide

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued the second revision to its Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security. It includes new guidance on how to tailor traditional IT security controls to accommodate unique ICS performance, reliability, and safety requirements, as well as updates to sections on threats and vulnerabilities, risk management, recommended practices, security architectures and security capabilities and tools.

  • D.C.-area becoming the Silicon Valley of cybersecurity

    A recent string of multi-billion dollar cybersecurity acquisitions in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area has led to the region being seen as a major hotbed for the industry. Spending by the Department of Defense (DOD) and a number of federal agencies has led to big contracts for many in the region, fuelling much of the growth. As the DOD focuses more of its budget on cyber issues and defense, the market has grown. “The D.C./NoVA/MD area, also known as the Cyber Corridor, is becoming the Silicon Valley of security,” say the CEO of one cybersecurity firm.

  • Criminals receive 1,425 percent return on investment from malware attacks: Report

    Trustwave yesterday released its 2015 Trustwave Global Security Report which analyzes the top cybercrime, data breach, and security threat trends from 2014. Among the report’s findings: Attackers receive an estimated 1,425 percent return on investment for exploit kit and ransomware schemes ($84,100 net revenue for each $5,900 investment); spam volume continues to decrease making up 60 percent of total inbound mail (compared to 69 percent in 2013 and more than 90 percent at its peak in 2008), but six percent of it included a malicious attachment or link, a slight increase from 2013.

  • Combating cyber threats to the global financial industry

    Today more than fifteen billion devices are connected to the Internet; in the next five years, that number will grow to fifty billion. With each new device presenting an opportunity to be infiltrated and compromised by hackers, it is easy to understand why the importance of cybersecurity continues to skyrocket. So explained keynote speaker Elizabeth Petrie, director of strategic intelligence analysis for Citigroup, who kicked off a one-day conference at the University of Delaware on cybersecurity issues impacting the global financial industry.

  • USMobile launches Scrambl3 mobile, Top Secret communication-standard app

    Irvine, California-based USMobile, a developer of private mobile phone services, yesterday launched Scrambl3, a smartphone app that enables users to create their own Private Mobile Network. When Scrambl3 users communicate with each other, Scrambl3 creates a Dark Internet Tunnel between their smartphones. This Tunnel cloaks the calls and texts by making them invisible on the Internet. Scrambl3 App for Android-based phones is available for a 60-day free beta offering from the Google Play Store.

  • Ongoing attack against oil tankers aims to defraud oil brokers

    A new report details a malicious and largely unknown targeted attack on oil tankers. First discovered in January 2014, the ongoing attack on oil cargos began in August 2013, and is designed to steal information and credentials for defrauding oil brokers. Despite having been compromised by this cyber-attack, which has been dubbed the “Phantom Menace,” none of the dozens of affected companies have been willing to report the invasion and risk global attention for vulnerabilities in their IT security networks.