• Briefly noted

    RSA uncovers IT secure fears stifling business innovation… DHS completes radiological/nuclear detection drill in southeast transportation corridor… Has pandemic complacency come home to roost?

  • DHS releases FY2009 guidance for $3 billion worth of grants

    FEMA requests applications for 14 programs for which it has allocated $3 billion; funded programs concentrate on state and local governments and strengthening community preparedness

  • "Digital DNA" to fight cyber crime

    Scottish researchers develop what they call “digital DNA”: It is based on analyzing the way in which users access data on their computers and then creating a digital fingerprint that is unique to each user

  • Good code, bad computations: A computer security vulnerability

    Beware of return-oriented programming — that is, if you want to make sure your computer or server is not tricked into undertaking malicious or undesirable behavior

  • Cyberattacks target U.K. national infrastructure

    The computer systems of critical businesses in the United Kingdom, such as power companies and large financial institutions, are being repeatedly probed to steal information or uncover weaknesses that could take them down

  • Briefly noted

    Australia opens national tsunami warning center… Document requirements announced for visitors to international peace garden… European data breach laws could land in 2011… Aberdeen: Unified threat management can shave IT costs

  • Briefly noted

    Global CCTV market analysis 2008-12… U.S. intelligence agencies spend $47.5 billion in 2008… Changing role for DHS in cyber security… Auditors: Private security in Iraq cost over $6 billion… China begins investigation of tainted eggs

  • Eight times more malicious e-mail attachments spammed out in Q3 2008

    Sophos reports identity thieves and hackers striking Windows users on all fronts; Russia becomes a more important player in the Dirty Dozen league of spam-relaying nations

  • Canadian universities study the two sides of the Internet

    Terrorists and hackers use the Internet to spread their nefarious programs; some governments use the Internet to spy on their citizens; Dalhousie is working on a way to spot criminal behavior, while U Toronto keeps censors at bay halfway around the globe

  • Energy companies targeted by Web-borne malware

    New report says the energy companies experienced more Web-based malware attacks than any other vertical market in the third quarter of this year, with an increased rate of exposure of 189 percent

  • Businesses to increase IT security budgets

    Ernst & Young finds that at least 50 percent of companies are set to increase their IT budgets, the current financial difficulties notwithstanding

  • Report: Private sector can better prepare for cyber attack risks

    New expert panel report suggests shifting control of corporate cyber infrastructures from IT departments to chief financial officers

  • New IRS computer systems vulnerable.

    The IRS is spending nearly $2 billion on two new systems which would more effectively handle the tax returns filed by $142 million Americans; Treasury IG finds vulnerabilities in both systems which would allow unscrupulous individuals to manipulate tax information — and do so undetected

  • FBI worried about increased cyber crime

    Head of the FBI cyber division says the number of victims of cyber crime, and the cost of that crime, are increasing; moreover, as many as two dozen countries have taken an “aggressive interest” in penetrating the networks of U.S. companies and government agencies

  • Chertoff urges industry to invest in cybersecurity

    About 85 percent of the U.S. critical infrastructure is owned and operated by private industry; DHS secretary Chertoff says this fact makes cybersecurity a shared responsibility between government and the corporations that control most computer networks