• Nations could cripple U.S. with retaliatory cyberattack

    Last week Richard Clarke, a top adviser to three presidents, sounded a dire warning that the United States should avoid going to war with other nations because its computer networks systems are so vulnerable to attack

  • Detecting insider threat from massive data sets

    Researchers in a 2-year, $9 million project will create a suite of algorithms that can detect multiple types of insider threats by analyzing massive amounts of data — including email, text messages and file transfers — for unusual activity

  • Fewer but costlier cases of identity theft in U.S.

    Identity fraud in the United States fell 28 percent in 2010 to 8.1 million from an estimated 11 million in 2009, according to Javelin Strategy &Research. The problem: thieves are becoming more creative in their methods of obtaining personal information, and those who suffer from identity theft are facing higher consequences, with the average out-of-pocket costs nearly doubling in the same time period to $631from $387 per incident.

  • Chemical industry hit by “Nitro” cyberattacks

    In a string of cyberattacks, hackers have stolen critical formulas and plans from major chemical companies; the latest attacks, dubbed “Nitro,” were uncovered by Symanetec, which reported the hackers aims were corporate espionage rather than a terrorist attempt to procure chemicals

  • Americans anxious about identity theft

    Americans will go to great lengths to avoid identity theft, and many say they would take legal action against government or private organizations that compromise their personal data; more than half of surveyed Americans are willing to provide biometric data to secure their identities

  • CSAW winners to be announced Friday

    Cyber security is capturing the attention of a growing number of high school students, judging by the record participation in Polytechnic Institute of New York University’s annual Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) challenges; the competition will culminate this Friday, 11 November, with thirteen finalists vying for scholarships and cash prizes for their schools’ science programs

  • Making counter-hacking cool

    NYU-Poly will, for the first time, open cyber security awareness week events on 11-12 November to student guests interested in digital privacy and security — not just the so-called “cyber ninjas” who qualified as national finalists in feats of digital forensics, ethical hacking, and research; the event is expected to attract up to 400 student finalists, professionals, academics, and guests

  • China and Russia using cyberspies to steal U.S. secrets

    A new Congressional report concludes that Chinese and Russian hackers backed by their respective states are stealing U.S. trade and technology secrets to boost their economic development; the report, titled “Foreign Spies Stealing U.S. Economic Secrets in Cyberspace” and written by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, found that foreign hackers can easily gather large quantities of sensitive data without being detected because so much of it is stored on computers

  • DHS warns Anonymous may target critical infrastructure

    DHS is warning critical infrastructure operators that the international hacking group known as Anonymous has threatened to attack industrial control systems, the software that governs automated processes for nearly every major utility or production facility including factories, power stations, chemical plants, and pharmacies

  • EU and U.S. hold joint cybersecurity drill

    On Thursday, the United States and the European Union held their first joint cybersecurity exercise in Brussels, Belgium; the exercise, dubbed “Cyber Atlantic 2011,” was aimed at strengthening efforts to protect international critical infrastructures

  • Cyberterrorism - The weapon of choice a decade after 9/11

    Scott Schober, the president and CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems, warns of the growing threat from cyberterrorists; he writes that in ten years, “the terrorists’ weapon of choice may not necessarily be a 187,000 pound 767 jet loaded with fuel targeting” New York’s skyline, instead it will be pajama-clad hackers taking down an electrical grid, causing mass confusion in the aviation system, or targeting a nuclear power plant’s SCADA control system to create mass panic and chaos for millions

  • New iOS Forensic Toolkit circumvents iOS 5 security measures

    While Apple gave a minor facelift to the whole security system in iOS5, it made significant changes regarding keychain protection, replacing the encryption algorithm entirely; but criminals thinking they can thus use the latest iPhone and iPad devices to store information may want to think again, as a new information acquisition solution cracks the latest iOS5 security measures

  • Senior FBI official suggest creating alternative Internet

    With the number of cyberattacks on major corporations and government agencies on the rise, a top FBI official backed the call to create of a more secure alternative Internet

  • Electrical grid targeted by hackers

    The co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus warns that U.S. electrical grids are becoming increasingly attractive targets for hackers in a potential cyberwar

  • New partnership to promote cybersecurity education

    There will be a need of more than 700,000 new information security professionals in the United States by 2015; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate that there will be 295,000 new IT jobs created in the United States by 2018 — many of which will require cybersecurity expertise; new partnership focuses on cybersecurity training and education