Cybersecurity
Nation's nuclear power plants prepare for cyberattacks
The threat to digital systems at the country's nuclear power plants is considerable, but the sector is better prepared to defend against potentially devastating cyberattacks than most other utilities, according to government and industry officials and experts.
Cybersecurity
Managers: Walk the Security Talk
What kind of manager are you? Two kinds of manager seem to exist today: those with a technical background, and those without. But more often than not, managers don't have the technical background that they need to be successful.
Cybersecurity
RIM Makes Nice
In the latest attempt by Research In Motion to juggle the privacy of its customers with the demands of foreign governments, the company offered to lead an industry forum in India to develop recommendations for policies and processes aimed at preventing the misuse of encryption technologies.
Cybersecurity
Military Expedites Cyber Hires
There's a big <a href="http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123213689">need</a> in the Air Force for cybersecurity professionals. So much in fact, the U.S. military branch has been authorized to use a faster hiring process to help fill more than 680 positions.
Cybersecurity
Defense Networks Breached in 2008
The <em>Washington Post</em> reported on Wednesday that Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III says in an article to be released today that malicious code on a flash drive inserted in a military computer in 2008 in the Middle East "spread undetected on both classified and unclassified systems."
Cybersecurity
Consider Cloud Computing Consequences
As agencies move to cloud computing - accessing basic computing services and applications over the Internet - some unforeseen consequences will occur. The Office of Management and Budget and the CIO Council want to head them off before they become serious.
Cybersecurity
Debate Over State's Cyber Strategy
Michael Ono <a href="http://huffpostfund.org/blog/2010/08/22/cyber-security-state-department-model-or-cautionary-tale">posted a column</a> on Sunday at <em>The Huffington Post</em> citing an April inspector general report criticizing the State Department's alternative cybersecurity practice of continuous monitoring. The process is an alternative to the long reporting cycles required in the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act.
Cybersecurity
Attack of the Facebook Quizzes
Social engineering attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent, and I've profiled a few in this <a href="http://cybersecurityreport.nextgov.com/2010/08/social_media_guidelines.php?oref=latest_posts">blog</a>. But I recently read an intriguing <a href="http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/privacy/disney-princess-you_33328">white paper/research report</a> on some of the dangers of Facebook and other social media websites. The real risk is divulging too much information about ourselves via online quizzes and user profiles. This particular white paper is titled "Which Disney Princess are YOU?" The author writes:
Cybersecurity
DHS to automate watch list feeds
The Homeland Security Department and the Terrorist Screening Center will use a program to simplify how DHS receives information from the government's centralized terrorist database.
Cybersecurity
Intel's purchase of McAfee not a game changer for security
The buy pushes the chip maker further into the cyber market, but it won't affect development.
Cybersecurity
Sounds from Cyber Camp
The US Cyber Challenge summer camps have concluded, and by all accounts they were an overwhelming success. Three states -- Delaware, California, and New York -- hosted camps this year. I found a fun story on NPR and I wanted to make sure people had a chance to hear it.
Cybersecurity
Roles and responsibilities key to making cybersecurity work
Security experts emphasize the need for pending bills on the Hill to clarify who has cyber oversight.
Cybersecurity
Social Media Guidelines
Does your <a href="http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid186_gci1378868_1,00.html">company</a> have a social media governance policy? It ought to. These days the Internet is a public arena with a microscope over top. The rules are also different, <a href="http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/article_cbf4912e-a931-11df-b4ec-001cc4c002e0.html">and evolving</a>. Things you might be able to get away with saying to someone or a group, face-to-face, might not come across properly online.
Cybersecurity
Spotty coordination on cyber threats is recipe for disaster: GAO study
Industry partners say security warnings from government often aren't detailed or fast enough to prevent breaches.
Cybersecurity
US-VISIT Gets First CTO
Chase Garwood, until recently chief information officer for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Homeland Security Department, last week started work as the chief technology officer for US-VISIT (a.k.a. the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program).
Cybersecurity
Officials hope unique identifiers will sharpen procurement data reporting
Agencies may have to develop a unique identifier for their contracts and orders under a proposal meant to improve the quality of federal data.
Cybersecurity
Government, industry fall short in sharing cyber threat data
Government and industry need to do a better job of sharing information about cybersecurity threats to U.S. critical infrastructure, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Cybersecurity
Password crackers have a surprising secret weapon
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have found an unexpected tool for brute-force attacks on password-protected systems. Their findings: A seven character password is "hopelessly inadequate."
Cybersecurity