• Cybersecurity firm discovers mutant computer viruses

    Cybersecurity firm BitDefender recently announced that it had uncovered multiple instances of computer viruses infecting other viruses to create “Frankenware”

  • DHS to work with Netherlands on cybersecurity

    On Wednesday DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano signed a letter of intent to work with the Netherlands on several critical cybersecurity initiatives

  • Helping software to help improve software

    The earlier a problem is detected, the easier it can be solved; before implementing complex programs in a time-consuming process, computer scientists also want to know whether they will reach the desired performance

  • House grills DHS for monitoring Twitter, Facebook

    Earlier this year reports surfaced that DHS had awarded General Dynamic an $11 million contract to engage in monitoring of social networks; members of both parties including blasted DHS officials for potentially violating the First Amendment and collecting information on citizens engaged in protected political speech

  • Quantum physics makes possible perfectly secure cloud computing

    Computer data processing and storage are increasingly done in the cloud; the challenge in cloud-based system is to ensure that clients’ data stays private; researchers have now shown that perfectly secure cloud computing can be achieved with quantum computers

  • Quantum technique for secret messaging

    Quantum cryptography is the ultimate secret message service; new research shows it can counter even the ultimate paranoid scenario: when the equipment or even the operator is in the control of a malicious power

  • Cell phone hackers can track your location without your knowledge

    Using a cheap phone, readily available equipment, and no direct help from a service provider, hackers could listen to unencrypted broadcast messages from cell phone towers

  • Anonymous takes down U.S. weapons manufacturer

    On Monday hacktivists from the group known as Anonymous announced that they had taken down the website of Combined Systems, a U.S. based weapons manufacturer; the weapons company drew the ire of Anonymous as well as human rights groups for its role in the suppression of the Arab Spring protests across the Middle East

  • Satellite telephony is unsafe

    In some regions of the world standard cell phone communication is still not available; in war zones, developing countries and on the high seas, satellite phones are used instead; the system, using an encryption algorithms of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), was considered unbreakable; in less than an hour, and with simple equipment, researchers found the crypto key which is needed to intercept telephone conversations

  • Anonymous takes down DHS website in hacking spree

    Last Friday the hacktivist group known as Anonymous momentarily took down DHS’s homepage along with several other high-profile attacks in a coordinated campaign

  • Justice Department appoints new CIO

    Last Friday the Justice Department appointed Luke McCormack as the agency’s new chief information officer

  • Bill would allow DHS to impose cybersecurity standards

    A bill before Congress would significantly increase the power of DHS to monitor the cybersecurity practices of industries and services which are part of the U.S. critical infrastructure

  • Ranking countries’ cyberattack preparedness

    A new McAfee cybersecurity survey concluded that Israel, Finland, and Sweden are leading other countries in “cyber-readiness”; the report says that China, Brazil, and Mexico are among the least cyber-prepared to defend these countries’ networks against cyber attacks

  • Hackers attack U.S. railways

    Last month hackers took control of passenger rail lines in the Northwest, disrupting signals twice and creating delays

  • 2012 business worries

    Businesses list the threats they are most concerned about in 2012; leading the list: unplanned IT and telecom outages, data breaches, and adverse weather