New DoE Energy Center, Flaw found in Cisco IP Phones and more

By RyanKamauff

Here are the top cyber news and stories of the day.

• Four cybersecurity items that need less talk and more action – Jaikumar Vijayan of Computerworld has outlined four cybersecurity items that need less talk and more action in the new year. They are federal cybersecurity legislation, SCADA security, data encryption and strong authentication. Via Computerworld, more here.
• New $120 Million Department Of Energy Center Will Tackle Rare Earths Shortage – The US DoE is trying to combat China’s hold on rare earth mineral supplies by building a new Energy Innovation Hub. The Critical Materials Institute will pool the resources of a number of labs in order to find more rare earths. Via Popular Science, more here.
• GAO: Army network strategy poses significant risks, challenges that need oversight – A January 10 report from the Army GAO states that the new Army network strategy will require an enormous effort “that will affect all aspects of Army operations.” This new strategy could cost over $60B over 20 years. Via FierceGovernmentIT, more here.
• Cisco Acknowledges Security Flaw in IP Phones – After the reported security flaw in its IP phones was released, Cisco is now acknowledging the flaw. This weakness allows the phones (which are near universal in DoD) to become bugs. The researcher who discovered the flaw has released his own fix, but it may be some time until Cisco releases a patch of their own. Via eSecurity Planet, more here.
• Hackers find security flaw in Java software – DHS is advising users to disable Java in their browsers. Hackers have found a flaw that allows anything from virus attacks to ransomware installations. Since there is not yet a patch out yet, disabling Java is the best possible protection right now. Via Disaster News Network, more here.
• Cost-saving potential of health IT remains untapped, researchers say – a report from Rand Corp has found that US healthcare costs have risen to $2.8T, and that slow health IT adoption rates, lack of system interoperability, difficult-to-use systems and providers that haven’t figured out how to “reengineer care processes” to fully take advantage of health IT’s benefits. Rand believes systems need to be re-designed to be standardized and easier to use. Via FierceGovernmentIT, more here.

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