Archive for November, 2014
Russia building a unified system to defend against cyber attacks
Nov 26th
From: Russia Beyond the Headlines
By the end of 2014, the Russian government plans to review a law on critical information infrastructure that would enable the country to build a comprehensive defense system against cyber attacks. Igor Sheremet, one of the co-authors of the bill and board chairman of the Governmental Military-Industrial Commission, gave an interview to talk about the initiative.
RBTH: What cyber defense system does Russia already have in its arsenal?
Sony Pictures Network Held Hostage by Unknown Hackers
Nov 25th
From: Tom’s Guide
By Jill Scharr
“If you don’t obey us, we’ll release data shown below to the world,” read an ominous image taken from a computer at Sony Pictures Entertainment today (Nov. 24), after a malicious hacker or hackers apparently attacked the company network.
Activity at Sony Pictures has reportedly ground to a standstill, with most employees’ computer screens replaced by an eerie picture of a skeleton overlaid with the title “Hacked By #GOP.” The image, a photograph of which was posted to Reddit today by someone who claims a friend at Sony Pictures sent it to him, also claims that Sony Pictures’ “secrets” will be leaked online at 11 p.m. GMT tonight (6 p.m. EST).
Cyber Security Needs Its Ralph Nader
Nov 24th
From: DarkReading
It took thousands of unnecessary traffic fatalities to create an environment for radical transformation of the auto industry. What will it take for a similar change to occur in data security?
By every metric, driving an automobile is far safer today than it was in 1965, due to a combination of factors including government regulations and legislation, consumer awareness, and technology advances. The catalyst for all of this was one man: Ralph Nader.
Israeli breakthrough and special ops RFI
Nov 21st
From: FCW
Israelis unveil off-line access ‘breakthrough’
Researchers in the cybersecurity labs at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University have found what they’re calling a breakthrough method that can be used to remotely access critical infrastructure and federal computers without going online.
The method, dubbed AirHopper by researchers in a paper prepared for a conference on malware sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, can access small sets of data from an isolated computer via a mobile phone without using a cellular or Wi-Fi network.
U.S.-Nordic Defense Industry Cooperation: Adding Value to the Transatlantic Partnership
Nov 20th
Editor’s Note: For more information on energy security in the Arctic, see here. For more information on using TTIP to harmonize cybersecurity, see here.
From: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology/Zurich
Should Europe’s Nordic countries forge a stronger defense-industrial partnership with the United States? Michael Mohr and Erik Brattberg believe so. Closer ties will strengthen Nordic-Baltic defense capabilities, boost regional energy security and enhance the overall security of the Arctic and the rest of Europe.
By Erik Brattberg and Michael Mohr for Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR)
MIT wants to set drone cybersecurity policy
Nov 19th
From: The Hill
By Cory Bennett
A former top Obama administration official is hoping to help establish cybersecurity policy for driverless cars, delivery drones, and health and financial data.
Daniel Weitzner, President Obama’s deputy chief technology officer from 2011-2012, will head a new cybersecurity policy initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
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“This is the state of cybersecurity policy today: growing urgency, but no metrics and little science,” Weitzner said.
U.S. government warns on bug in Apple’s iOS software
Nov 14th
From: Reuters
The U.S. government warned iPhone and iPad users on Thursday to be on the alert for hackers who may exploit a vulnerability in Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iOS operating system that would enable them to steal sensitive data.
There was the potential for hacks using a newly identified technique known as the “Masque Attack,” the government said in an online bulletin from the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center and the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Teams.
University of Maryland hosts girls’ cybersecurity career workshop
Nov 13th
From: The Diamondback
Marissa Paiano/For The Diamondback
At about 10 a.m. Tuesday, a group of middle school girls wearing matching white T-shirts formed a line leading into the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.
The 350 girls from local schools were headed to the Cool Careers in Cybersecurity for Girls Workshop. The Maryland Cybersecurity Center and the Maryland Center for Women in Computing partnered with the National CyberWatch Center K-12 Division to host the annual event.
The event aims to foster discussion about cybersecurity careers and spark girls’ interest in the field.
Cyber security vulnerabilities in traffic lights, including some in Chicago
Nov 12th
From: Examiner.com
A new report identifies the city of Chicago among the U.S. locations utilizing Sensys Networks wireless technology in traffic light systems recently identified as vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The findings of a NBC 5 Chicago investigation released on Tuesday found that Sensys Networks systems are used in 10 countries, and 45 U.S. states — including Illinois. A Chicago Department of Transportation spokesperson told NBC reporters that only 12 intersections in Chicago utilize Sensys Networks wireless technology, but could not say whether a security patch issued by the company had been applied to the affected traffic lights.
The idiot economy – behind the ‘dark web’ cyber-crime busts
Nov 11th
From: The Spectator
Spectator Money is out, with ideas on how to make it, spend it and even how to be seen spending it. Freddy Gray looks at the ‘social economy’ – think tax loopholes for financiers of politically favoured endeavours; while Camilla Swift peruses credit cards such as Kanye West’s ‘African American Express’ and the Dubai First Royale,
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If true, could we blame 26-year-old ‘Defcon’? Sneaking around is for plebs; Silk Road 2.0 banked monthly commissions worth $400,000, the FBI estimates. Success breeds complacency and besides, if rappers and cronies and sheikhs needn’t be discreet, why should the geeks?