Cybersecurity

New Energy Chief Information Officer, A New Cybersecurity National Lab, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: The Department of Energy has named its former Deputy Chief Information Officer Bob Brese as the new CIO. More here. The National Security Agency will not reveal how many Americans had their communications monitored to senators out of privacy concerns. More here. The U.S. Computer EmergencyRead… Read more »

A Drone App Store, the Department of Defense Mobile Strategy, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity will fund research into how the brain connects concepts in order to build better analysis tools. More here. The Department of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics directorate is looking to create an Unmanned Aerial Systems ”app store” for mission-specific capabilities.Read… Read more »

Head of NSA Endorses the Cloud, China Tied to Cyber Attacks, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, endorsed using the cloud for sharing classified intelligence on cyber threats with critical industries. More here. A MeriTalk survey finds that federal employees blame training and investment for the gap between public andRead… Read more »

The State of National Network Defense, Navigation Without GPS, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working on an All Source Positioning and Navigation (ASPN) project to provide robust, seamless, low cost navigation with or without GPS. More here. Debora Plunkett, director of the National Security Agency’s Information Assurance Directorate, said that while our understandingRead… Read more »

Clues About the Origin of Flame, CIA R&D Focuses on Big Data, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: Kasperky Labs finds links to Stuxnet, and hence the U.S. and Israel, in the code for the Flame worm. More here. The 12th Annual Department of Defense Cyber Crime Conference is asking for abstracts for consideration to present a briefing, workshop, or panel discussion. More here.Read… Read more »

Hackers and Honeypots: Getting Things Done

It’s always been fashionable in the cybersecurity industry to throw up our hands and call cyber crime an intractable problem. We don’t have the technical skills to match hackers, attribution is impossible in cyberspace, we don’t have the legal framework for Internet crimes, or international cooperation is insufficient to go after the shadowy, transnational cabalRead… Read more »

Stuxnet Leak Investigation, NASA Developing Flight Software For Deep-Space Missions, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation into who leaked information on U.S. involvement in Stuxnet. More here. A federal judge estimates that the number of secret electronic surveillance orders issued each year is 30,000 and growing. More here. Major General Jaap Willemse saidRead… Read more »

The Strongest Tribe: Issues of power in cyberspace

Mikko Hypponen has a mea culpa about Flame that is worth reading. The F-Secure chief believes that antivirus companies, including his own, failed to detect Flame and that this failure has broader implications: The truth is, consumer-grade antivirus products can’t protect against targeted malware created by well-resourced nation-states with bulging budgets. They can protect youRead… Read more »

How Cyberpunk Killed Cybersecurity

This post is cowritten by AdamElkus and Alex Olesker. Before we begin, please understand just how hard it is for us to write this blog. I’ve read Neuromancer countless times, enthusiastically used Snow Crash in undergrad to talk about the future of international relations, and watched both Ghost in the Shell movies and the StandRead… Read more »