• Senior manager at Russia’s biggest cybersecurity firm arrested

    Kaspersky Lab on Wednesday confirmed reports in the usually reliable Kommersant newspaper that Ruslan Stoyanov, the head of the cybersecurity firm computer incidents investigations unit, was arrested in December. Kommersant said Stoyanov was detained along with a senior Russian FSB intelligence officer and that they both faced charges of treason. Kaspersky Lab is Russia’s biggest cybersecurity firm. “It destroys a system that has been 20 years in the making, the system of relations between intelligence agencies and companies like Kaspersky,” says one expert.

  • Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity launched

    The worldwide cybersecurity market is large and growing, with market sizing estimates ranging from $75 billion in 2015 to $170 billion by 2020. The size of the market is a response to the rising global cost of cyberattacks, which is expected to grow to $2.1 trillion by 2020. The Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity, aiming to be a hub for research, training, and industry collaboration, opened at the University of New Brunswick on Monday with more than $4.5 million in funding and the establishment of a research partnership with IBM.

  • GCHQ Cyber Accelerator selects first cyber security start-ups

    Seven start-ups, focusing on online security issues and threats, will join the new GCHQ Cyber Accelerator, powered by Wayra UK. The accelerator will be part of a government-funded cyber innovation center aiming to help keep the United Kingdom secure online. Each start-up will receive benefits including access to technological and security expertise, networks, office space, and mentoring. The accelerator aims to help the United Kingdom take the lead in producing the next generation of cybersecurity systems, boosting the country’s tech sector.

  • Russia waging disinformation war against Sweden: Report

    Researchers from the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Sweden’s leading foreign policy institute, have written that Russia has been using fake news, false documents, and disinformation as part of a coordinated campaign to influence public opinion and decision-making in Sweden. The Russian meddling in Swedish politics, and the methods used by Russian intelligence agencies to influence the tone of Swedish public discourse and direction of Swedish public policies, are similar to the methods and goals of the Putin government in interfering in the U.S. 2016 presidential election in support of Donald Trump.

  • St. Jude's cardiac devices vulnerable to hacking: FDA

    The FDA confirmed that St. Jude Medical’s implantable cardiac devices are vulnerable to hacking. Once hackers gain access to the device, they could deplete the battery or administer incorrect pacing or shocks. The devices — pacemakers and defibrillators — are used in heart patients.

  • DHS designate U.S. election infrastructure as a Critical Infrastructure Subsector

    The Department of Homeland Security has added the U.S. election infrastructure to the list of protected critical infrastructure sectors of the economy. The move comes in the wake of the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, which was aimed to help Donald Trump win the election. “I have determined that election infrastructure in this country should be designated as a subsector of the existing Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector. Given the vital role elections play in this country, it is clear that certain systems and assets of election infrastructure meet the definition of critical infrastructure, in fact and in law,” DHS secretary Jae Johnson said Friday:

  • FBI yet to ask for access to DNC servers

    It has been nearly a year after Russian government hackers began a systemic hacking campaign against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in an effort to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. It has been nearly six month since the same Russian government hackers hacked the Clinton campaign and stole e-mails and internal memos from campaign officials. It is now six months since the FBI said it was examining the DNC hacking, yet, the bureau is yet to examine the DNC servers. A DNC spokesperson said the bureau has not yet asked for access to the servers.

  • Attackers can make it impossible to dial 911

    It’s not often that any one of us needs to dial 911, but we know how important it is for it to work when one needs it. It is critical that 911 services always be available – both for the practicality of responding to emergencies, and to give people peace of mind. But a new type of attack has emerged that can knock out 911 access. These attacks can create extremely serious repercussions for public safety.

  • Hack-proofing RFID-equipped persona devices

    Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags have become almost ubiquitous – look carefully, and you will notice them in passports, credit cards, library books, office access passes, and even pet cats. The technology, which allows fast, automated identification of physical objects, is also a staple for many industries. But what would happen if RFID technology were compromised?

  • U.S. imposes sanctions on Russia for interfering in 2016 U.S. election

    The United States on Thursday has unveiled a series of retaliatory measures against Russia for its interference in the U.S. 2016 presidential campaign. The goal of the Russian hacking campaign was to help Donald Trump win the election and, more generally, compromise and corrupt the American political process. The retaliatory measures include the expulsion of thirty-five Russian diplomats and the closure of two Russian compounds based the United States. In a statement, President Barack Obama said Americans should “be alarmed by Russia’s actions” and pledged further action.

  • U.S. gov. agencies sued for slow response to Russian election hacking FOIA inquiries

    Jason Leopold, an investigative reporter who frequently writes for Vice, and Ryan Shapiro, a Ph.D. candidate at MIT and research affiliate at Harvard, who has gained a name for himself as a FOIA activist, have sued several federal agencies for agencies’ foot-dragging in responding to requests for documents related to the Russian hacking of the 2016 election.

  • Tackling cybersecurity incidents with recovery plan, playbook

    “Defense! Defense!” may be the rallying cry from cybersecurity teams working to thwart cybersecurity attacks, but perhaps they should be shouting “Recover! Recover!” instead. Attackers are increasingly racking up points against their targets, so NIST has published the Guide for Cybersecurity Event Recovery (link is external) to help organizations develop a game plan to contain the opponent and get back on the field quickly.

  • Russian government hackers used same malware in hacking of DNC, Ukrainian military

    The Russian government hackers who hacked the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Clinton campaign in order to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election, have also been hacking Ukrainian artillery units in eastern Ukraine. The hacking is aimed to help the Russian military target these units in order to help pro-Russian rebels who have been fighting the Ukrainian military in eastern Ukraine. Cyber experts have discovered that in both cases, the Russian government hackers used a piece of malware known as X-Agent.

  • Russian hacking of 2016 U.S. elections threatens to “destroy democracy”: Sen. McCain

    Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) said that Russia’s involvement in hacking U.S. political institutions and processes during the 2016 presidential election campaigns threatens to “destroy democracy” in its current form. The senator for Arizona warned there may soon be an “unraveling of the world order” and criticized the “absolute failure of the American leadership” to improve relations with Moscow. “There’s no doubt they were interfering and no doubt it was a cyber-attack. The question now is how much and what damage and what should the United States of America do? And so far, we’ve been totally paralyzed,” he said. “The truth is, they are hacking every single day.”

  • Health wearable devices pose new consumer and privacy risks

    Watches, fitness bands, and so-called “smart” clothing, linked to apps and mobile devices, are part of a growing “connected-health” system in the U.S., promising to provide people with more efficient ways to manage their own health. These personal health wearable devices, which are used to monitor heart rates, sleep patterns, calories, and even stress levels, raise new privacy and security risks, according to a new report.