Archive for March, 2018
THE NEXT COLD WAR IS HERE, AND IT’S ALL ABOUT DATA
Mar 28th
From: Wired
TOM PENDERGAST
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Even in the United States, there are signs of movement toward embracing higher standards for data protection. The United States offers a program, called Privacy Shield, that enables American companies to certify that their data protection practices meet EU standards (though this program is questioned by privacy purists in the EU). And some of the most trusted US corporations go to great lengths to respect the data rights of people in other countries (see the recent Microsoft case before the Supreme Court). Likewise, individual states establish GDPR-like laws for their citizens (see New York’s recent cybersecurity regulation). The sheer volume of companies that are willingly modifying their data protection practices, at great cost, to become “GDPR compliant” should be evidence enough that there is appetite in the US business community for the certainty of a unified data protection regime.
Amnesty International Joins Criticism of Apple CEO Tim Cook on China
Mar 26th
From: National Legal and Policy Center
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Amnesty International announced Thursday it would initiate a social media campaign against Apple, because the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant caved to the Chinese government and agreed to allow its customers’ data to be housed on servers there.
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It also follows only a month after Reuters reported that Apple agreed to store encrypted keys used to access customers’ (or, users’) data storage accounts (such as iCloud).
Nine Iranians charged, sanctioned over sweeping hacking campaign
Mar 23rd
From: The Hill
Nine Iranian nationals and one Iranian entity on Friday were sanctioned by the Treasury Department and charged by the Department of Jusitice for allegedly hacking into hundreds of universities and other organizations, stealing information on behalf of Iran’s government.
The individuals worked in some capacity for an Iran-based company called the Mabna Institute, which investigators say was founded in 2013 to help Iranian universities and scientific and research organizations gain access to non-Iranian scientific materials.
The sad old-but-true joke of IoT security
Mar 19th
From: ZDNet
A new issues paper from ASPI highlights the risks to Australia’s critical infrastructure, but suggests that regulation and new government structures may not be ready to face the challenge.
By Stilgherrian for The Full Tilt
Finding the path to a secure Internet of Things (IoT) is like the old joke about a tourist asking for directions, according to Tom Uren. “Well if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here.”
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Uren is a visiting fellow at the International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), and is co-author with research intern Eliza Chapman of the issues paper, The Internet of Insecure Things, released on Monday.
NATO countries are working to determine when a cyber attack would trigger the collective defense provision
Mar 16th
From: Raw Story
NATO countries are working to determine when a cyber attack would trigger the collective defense provision in the alliance’s charter, a US general said on Thursday.
The alliance is “dealing with the issue around this and in cyber and working to define an understanding of what would be a trigger for Article 5,” General Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of NATO forces in Europe, told a US Senate committee.
Israeli researchers find cybersecurity flaws in baby monitors, web cameras
Mar 13th
From: The Times of Israel
Ben-Gurion University team was able to blast music through a baby monitor, turn off a thermostat and turn on a camera remotely
U.S. military ineffectively prepared to counter Russian cyber threats: NATO Europe commander
Mar 12th
From: The Washington Times
By Andrew Blake
The top U.S. general in Europe has become the latest high-ranking official to acknowledge weaknesses in the country’s ability to effectively counter Russian cyber threats.
Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti told lawmakers Thursday that the U.S. needs a better approach for dealing with cyberattacks and other electronic threats attributed to Russia, adding his name to a growing list of of government officials still wary of the risks posed by state-sponsored operatives in the aftermath of Moscow allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential race.
UK Government defends immigration exemption to data law
Mar 6th
From: The Law Society Gazette
Ministers have defended their proposal to exempt the Home Office from a key part of the data protection regime despite concerns raised by the legal profession. Culture secretary Matt Hancock MP told the House of Commons yesterday that exemptions from subject access requests are necessary to ensure that ’a minority of individuals cannot abuse data protection law with the sole intent of undermining immigration controls’.