Archive for March, 2014
OAS to Send Technical Assistance Mission to Colombia on Cyber Security
Mar 31st
From: Caribbean Journal
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The Organization of American States will be sending a technical assistance mission to Colombia on cyber security, the regional organization announced.
The mission, which will include more than a dozen international experts, is coming to the country at the request of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
The OAS said the regional institution was “very pleased to continue supporting the development of Colombia’s capabilities in this area, and in this regard and responding to the request by the Presidency of Colombia, contributing with this committee of international experts to strengthen the country’s cyber security and cyber defense, as well as providing ideas for the legislative and institutional framework of Colombia in the matter.”
Students Create Traffic Jam to Expose Cyber Lapse
Mar 28th
From: Technion
Two Technion computer science students created a fake traffic jam in Haifa by hacking the popular GPS locator Waze — all in the name of science. The students carried out the cyber-security test as part of their studies, and then reported the lapse to Waze. The navigational service is looking into how to prevent future attacks.
Overseas attacks on Chinese cyberspace rising
Mar 28th
From: PeopleDaily.com.cn
Editor: HuangJin, Yao Chun
(Xinhua) BEIJING, March 28 — Cyber attacks from overseas on China’s Internet are on the rise, according to a report released on Friday by the country’s Internet security watchdog.
Backdoor threats, phishing and trojans or botnets constitute three main forms of attacks, said the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team Coordination Center of China in a report covering 2013.
Last year, 31,000 overseas mainframes controlled 61,000 websites on the Chinese mainland through backdoor programs. Despite an annual decrease of 4.3 percent in the number of mainframes involved, the number of affected websites was up 62.1 percent compared to the previous year.
DHS Tells Congress That Good Cybersecurity Talent Costs Money
Mar 27th
From: InTheCapital
Homeland Security needs those experts to help protect the U.S. from digital attacks and needs Congress to make their hiring rules flexible enough to get the best, according to Phyllis Schneck, the department’s deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity.
Schneck testified to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday and according to The Hill, she was very explicit about why DHS has trouble getting the best people in cybersecurity to work for the federal government. She cited “six-figure differences” in salary along with stock options making most private sector gigs far more tempting to the average IT worker.
Cyber range training center added to 110th Airlift Wing at Battle Creek National Guard Base
Mar 26th
From: MLive.com
BATTLE CREEK, MI — The fourth cyber range hub in Michigan formally opened Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the 110th Airlift Wing on the Kellogg Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek.
It is the first cyber range, a state-of-the-art training center that allows for the testing of cyber security solutions without impacting organizational operations, on a National Guard installation.
The facility, part of Gov. Rick Snyder’s 2011 cyber initiative, is a collaboration between the state of Michigan, federal and local governments, colleges and Universities, the Michigan Army National Guard, the Michigan Air National Guard and Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit member-owned information technology provider.
Morocco New Digital Code To Put An End to Online Anonymity
Mar 25th
From: Morocco World News
By Karima Rhanem
Rabat – Morocco new digital code*, which has been retrieved for revision from the official website of the State General Secretariat of the Government, is generally believed to put an end to anonymity on the internet.
This decade-long awaited digital law, originally designed to protect citizens and consumers from different abuses they may face online, sparked an intensive cyber protest by internet communities about some of its provisions seen as threatening individual and collective liberties.
Tanzania inaugurates Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring System
Mar 25th
From: Zegabi
Tanzania’s Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has officially launched a telecommunication traffic monitoring system to facilitate the organization’s regulation of network operators in the country.
The system, provided by SGS-Societe Generale de Surveillance & Global Voice Group, is expected to improve the regulators’ ability to independently monitor mobile traffic, as well as the quality of service provided by operators and their compliance to prescribed standards.
STEM Stinks For Cybersecurity
Mar 24th
From: Forbes
I am getting fed up with the clamor on the part of policy makers for more degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as the path to success in the United States, especially in cybersecurity. The numbers don’t add up, and the problem of not having enough cybersecurity workers will not be solved in the short term by ramping up four year degree programs in cybersecurity.
I obtained one of those vaunted STEM degrees from the University of Michigan in 1982; a degree in aerospace engineering just when the Space Transportation System (the Shuttle) was in its final production phase and most rocket, jet, and airliner programs were on life support.
What’s Happening to the Internet?
Mar 20th
Editor’s Note: For more on the history of ICANN and internet governance, see FISMA Focus here.
From: American Thinker
It sounds like something you don’t want to know too much about. When you type an address into your computer’s browser, you go to that address. How your computer knows where to find the Google image of kittens and puppies isn’t your problem, is it?
Well, it might be. Not kittens, perhaps, but what if you want to find the Israeli Ministry of Tourism or the American Constitution?
Hacking a Boeing 777
Mar 19th
From: BankInfoSecurity.com
Can a Cyber-Attack Bring Down an Airliner?
By Eric Chabrow
Speculation surrounding the cause of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 hasn’t included the possibility of a cyber-attack, until now. A cybersecurity expert contends hacking an airliner is feasible.
“Bottom line: It’s not only conceivable, but Boeing itself has warned about it,” Carl Herberger, vice president of security solutions at network security solutions provider Radware, writes in a blog posted March 18.
Shouldn’t modern day commercial aircrafts be tested for cybersecurity vulnerabilities prior to granting airworthiness certificates?