• Simulated ransomware attack highlights vulnerability of industrial controls

    Ransomware generated an estimated $200 million for attackers during the first quarter of 2016, and the researchers believe it’s only a matter of time before critical industrial systems are compromised and held for ransom. Cybersecurity have developed a new form of ransomware that was able to take over control of a simulated water treatment plant. After gaining access, the researchers were able to command programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to shut valves, increase the amount of chlorine added to water, and display false readings. The simulated attack was designed to highlight vulnerabilities in the control systems used to operate industrial facilities such as manufacturing plants, water and wastewater treatment facilities, and more.

  • Cybersecurity degree approved for Kennesaw State

    The cybersecurity field in the U.S. will need an additional 1.5 million workers by the year 2020. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on Tuesday approved an online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity at Kennesaw State University. The cybersecurity major includes elements of information technology, information security and assurance, and criminal justice, giving students a combination of technical knowledge and information security management skills.

  • How Florida is helping train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals

    Our increasingly connected and digital world is vulnerable to attack and needs more skilled professionals who know how to defend it. As connected devices proliferate, particularly smart devices creating what has been called the “Internet of Things,” the problem is getting worse. While we don’t know where and when the next cyber threats will arise, we can be sure that our society’s use of and demand for digital connections will only grow. As a result, we’ll also see the demand for cybersecurity professionals rise – and the opportunities for new ways of thinking, learning and collaborating.

  • Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity unveils 2017 research grantees

    The Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC) has announce the recipients of its 2017 research grants. In total, twenty-seven different groups of researchers will share a total of nearly $1 million in funding. CLTC says that the projects span a wide range of topics related to cybersecurity, including new methods for making crypto-currencies more secure; protecting health information stored on mobile devices; teaching high-school computer science students how to “program for privacy”; and exploring potential limits on the use of digital controls in nuclear reactors.

  • Protecting quantum computing networks against hackers

    As we saw during the 2016 U.S. election, protecting traditional computer systems, which use zeros and ones, from hackers is not a perfect science. Now consider the complex world of quantum computing, where bits of information can simultaneously hold multiple states beyond zero and one, and the potential threats become even trickier to tackle. Even so, researchers have uncovered clues that could help administrators protect quantum computing networks from external attacks.

  • Global entities come shopping for Israeli cybersecurity

    As computer devices and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity continue to break new boundaries and create changes to our lifestyle, new cybersecurity technologies to defend our tech-savvy lives are crucial. “We’re still at the beginning for the cyber arena. We still need the security solution for smart homes, we still don’t have security solutions for autonomous cars, or for connected medical devices or MRI machines, or for connected kitchen appliances. Every technology that will be introduced to our lives in the coming years will need a cyber solution,” says one expert.

  • NSA/DHS endorse DCC cybersecurity program

    Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe on last week praised Danville Community College for becoming the “first rural community college in Virginia” to earn a prestigious cybersecurity designation from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DCC is now one of just four community colleges in Virginia to achieve this milestone, which the governor called “a very big deal” for both attracting new industry and securing digital information.

  • 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.

  • $527K to develop a Web authentication middleware tool

    Recent studies have documented many problem areas within the current certificate-based authentication system such as errors and issues with server certificates, invalid chains and subjects, self-signed certificates, and popular websites not properly using them. DHS S&T has awarded $527,112 to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, to develop a Web authentication middleware tool that would significantly upgrade the current Internet website authentication process and improve online security.

  • Advancing the science of cybersecurity

    Cyberattacks on corporations, agencies, national infrastructure and individuals have exposed the fragility and vulnerability of the internet and networked systems. Achieving truly secure cyberspace requires addressing both the technical vulnerabilities in systems, as well as those that arise from human behaviors and choices. NSF awards $70 million to support interdisciplinary cybersecurity research.

  • Cybersecurity policy ideas for a new administration

    A new report, Cybersecurity Policy Ideas for a New Presidency, published by the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), aims to help the Trump administration prepare to tackle the complex challenge of cybersecurity. “This brief brochure reviews ideas we hope the incoming Trump administration will consider as it develops a new cybersecurity agenda,” the authors write. “We lay out options and programs — some simple, some less so — that the president should consider at each step in his first term.”

  • DHS releases Strategic Principles for Securing the Internet of Things

    DHS the other day issued a set of Strategic Principles for Securing the Internet of Things (IoT), Version 1.0. These principles highlight approaches and suggested practices to fortify the security of the IoT. They aim to equip stakeholders to make responsible and risk-based security decisions as they design, manufacture, and use internet-connected devices and systems.

  • Germany launches broad cybersecurity strategy

    The German government on Wednesday adopted a new cybersecurity strategy to counter a rising number of threats targeting government institutions, critical infrastructure, businesses, and citizens. The new strategy was adopted in response to a dramatic increase in sophisticated cyberattacks originating in Russia and China. Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday, and Interior Minister Thomas de Maziere on Wednesday, warned that Russia would be using hacking and disinformation campaign in an effort to influence next year’s election in Germany.

  • CyberSeek: An interactive resource for cybersecurity career information

    The U.S. rapidly growing cybersecurity jobs market has many more openings available than trained workers to fill them. For example, there are 128,000 positions for “Information Security Analysts,” but only 88,000 workers currently employed in those positions — a talent shortfall of 40,000 workers for cybersecurity’s largest jobs. Jobs requesting cloud security skills remain open ninety-six days on average — longer than any other IT skill. NIST last week introduced CyberSeek, an interactive online tool designed to make it easier for cybersecurity job seekers to find openings and for employers to identify the skilled workers they need.