Archive for May, 2016
China Likely to Adopt Cyber Rules for Insurers Despite Foreign Business Concerns
May 31st
From: Insurance Journal
By Michael Martina
Controversial cyber security regulations for China’s insurance industry, now before the World Trade Organization (WTO), could soon take effect despite efforts by foreign business groups to persuade Beijing to change tack.
Those groups say the draft measures are vague and discriminatory, and industry experts say international insurers could be required to source substandard or insecure technology or software in order to do business in China, or use products incompatible with their global operations.
HHS Needs a Coordinated Cybersecurity Strategy, CHIME Exec Tells Lawmakers
May 27th
From: Health Leaders Media
The board chair of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives also cautioned against making the HHS chief information security officer a presidential appointment.
Coordination, not organizational reporting structure, should be the focus of federal efforts to defend against cyber criminals, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Board Chair Marc Probst told a congressional panel on Wednesday.
“Just as healthcare institutions must coordinate efforts to thwart cyber threats, it is vital that the Department of Health and Humans Services have a coordinated plan to address threats to the data and systems used and housed by the department,” said Probst, vice president and chief information officer at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, UT.
The Next Battle for Net Neutrality Is Getting Bloody
May 25th
From: Gizmodo
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This week, 58 tech companies, including Reddit, Yelp, and Kickstarter, asked the FCC in a letter to lead a transparent discussion about zero-rating practices. Basically, they want the same open discussion that spurred 4 million people to send comments to the FCC because they believe zero-rating policy could have a dramatic effect on the health of net neutrality in the US.
The FCC is reportedly scrutinizing zero-rating practices, but the agency is doing so behind closed doors. Companies that depend on an open and unbiased internet are very concerned about this. The letter notes:
More hacking and undercover work: Police chiefs answer to strong encryption row
May 24th
From: ZDNet
International police and cybersecurity agencies tackle the row over strong encryption — but their answer is likely to cause almost as many headaches as government-ordered backdoors.
By Steve Ranger
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Across Europe, police argue that the rise of uncrackable encryption, in particular end-to-end encryption, allows criminals to plot in secret, and that investigators should have some way of reading these communications when necessary.
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Congress is so bad at cybersecurity, two lawmakers sent advice to colleagues
May 23rd
From: ZDNet
The bipartisan duo said the advice comes after recent cyberattacks against Congress and a high-profile vulnerability in phone networks.
By Zack Whittaker for Zero Day
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House lawmakers Ted Lieu (D-CA, 33rd) and Will Hurd (R-TX, 23rd) penned an email to their colleagues Monday warning them of some of the biggest dangers and threats to their information and operational security, amid a recent spate of cyberattacks.
“Your devices will be subject to continuing cyber attacks,” the email wrote. Their advice was to, among other things, use complex passwords, two-factor authentication, and connect only to trusted networks — tips that just about every other person is told and can benefit from.
IBM Touts Blockchain to National Cyber Security Commission
May 17th
From: eWeek
IBM executive Jerry Cuomo testified before the President’s Commission on Enhancing National Cyber Security about the benefits of blockchain for transactions.
An IBM official testified on May 16 before the President’s Commission on Enhancing National Cyber Security about the potential for blockchain to become the technology foundation for conducting transactions over the Internet.
Jerry Cuomo, IBM’s vice president of blockchain, testified before the commission in New York City, stating that he believes the technology could potentially cause a “tectonic shift” in the way financial systems are secured and that government, technology companies and industries should work together to advance blockchain to enhance national security.
Pentagon’s Research Arm Seeks Wider Relationship With University Scientists
May 13th
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Arati Prabhakar, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
***Darpa’s director, Arati Prabhakar, a former venture capitalist and Darpa program manager, hosted The Chronicle in her office recently to discuss the agency’s interest in working with university researchers not only in traditional realms such as engineering but also in newly expanded initiatives into areas that include the biological and social sciences.
In the second part of our interview, below, Director Prabhakar discusses issues related to cybersecurity.
Is DHS’ Einstein now blocking porn on federal networks?
May 11th
From: FCW
By Adam Mazmanian
The security screen that monitors Internet traffic on federal networks for cybersecurity threats is getting new functionality that could have the effect of eliminating civilian federal employees’ access to pornography and other suspect content on work computers.
The Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate is adding “web content filtering” to the Einstein 3 Accelerated (E3A) security screen. The off-the-shelf managed service blocks certain web addresses associated with the delivery of malware, spam, phishing attempts and other potentially hazardous content.
FedRAMP Authorization Given to Dell Services Federal Government’s Cloud
May 9th
From: WashingtonExec
On April 22nd Dell Services Federal Government’s (DSFG) cloud offering received the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization which means that Dell Cloud for U.S. Government (DSG), DSFG’s multi-tenant cloud platform has met the security standards and requirements of the Federal Information Security Management ACT (FISMA).
UMD introduces new cybersecurity initiative to University Senate
May 6th
From: The Diamondback
By Grace Toohey
Provost Mary Ann Rankin introduced a multifaceted University of Maryland cybersecurity initiative to the University Senate body Thursday afternoon that would collaborate with federal agencies, private companies, current university programs and educational platforms to better drive development of the issue.
Rankin will send the Maryland Global Cybersecurity Initiative to the senate’s Research Council for consideration and deliberation next fall, and she said she hopes it will come back to the senate floor at the end of 2016.