Cybersecurity

White House Appoints Retired Air Force General as First Cyber Security Chief

As part of its effort to improve defenses against hackers, the White House today named a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Gregory J. Touhill as the first Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) -- the position was announced eight months ago as part of Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP). more

Israel Becoming a Go-To Place for Cybersecurity

A report released by IVC Research Center in advance of this year's annual Cybertech 2016, highlights how a tight interplay between industry, investors, and the government has turned Israel into a center of cybersecurity technology. more

Latest Study Suggests Computers Remain Infected Far Longer Than Previously Suggested

Contrary to previous security reports suggesting compromised machines remain infected for 6 weeks, experts at Trend Micro say these estimates are far from accurate. In its recent blog post the company said: "During the analysis of approximately 100 million compromised IP addresses, we identified that half of all IP addresses were infected for at least 300 days. That percentage rises to eighty percent if the minimum time is reduced to a month." Additionally the study also indicates that while three quarter of the IP addresses were linked to consumer users, the remaining quarter belonged to enterprise users. more

Reported Cyberattack Against Israel Only Ransomware to Regulatory Body, Electric Grid Not In Danger

Ransomware via a phishing attack was sent to Israel Electric Authority, not the power grid, as was heavily reported in mainstream media today. According to a cyber analyst in Israel (Eyal Sela) the media reporting so far is misleading with regards to the context around the incident, reports Robert M. Lee of SANS Institute. more

Website Security: Are Quantum Computers Going to Hack My Website?

No. Now, thank you for your attention. Last year, some security researchers were discussing a doomsday scenario, that without investing in quantum encryption, there would soon be no way to feel secure over the Internet. (I would add, that a feeling of security over the Internet is misleading at best.) Allow me to break down some of these security peculiarities, which could be worrisome. more

US Banks Face New Demands by Regulators for Higher Cyber Risk Management Standards

U.S. bank regulators on Wednesday outlined cyber security standards meant to protect financial markets and consumers from online attacks against the nation's leading financial firms," Patrick Rucker reporting in Reuters. more

US to Retaliate Russian DNC Hack, Will Hit Russia with “Proportional” Response

The White House on Tuesday vowed a 'proportional' response for Russian DNC Hack -- Intelligence officials say files were leaked to interfere with outcome of presidential election. more

US Intelligence Officially Accuses Russian Government for the DNC Hack

In a joint statement today by the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security, Russia has been blamed for hacking and publishing archived emails from the Democratic National Committee this summer. more

Stay Safe Online: Fifth Annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month

This month marks the fifth annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) will be actively engaging public and private sector partners through events and initiatives to increase overall awareness and minimize vulnerabilities. This year, according to DHS, 28 state governors signed a proclamation in recognition of National Cyber Security Awareness Month and 51 endorsements were provided by companies, non-profits, universities and government agencies. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. To learn more, visit DHS and StaySafeOnline.org. more

Longevity of Phishing Websites Dropped by 25% Since Last Year, Study Finds

A new phishing survey released by the Anti-Phishing Work Group (APWG) reveals that the longevity of phishing Web sites dropped by 25 percent over the last year. The survey has also revealed that a single criminal syndicate dubbed "Avalanche" was responsible for nearly one quarter of all phishing attacks in the first half of 2009. Indications are that the gang is continuing to claim a larger proportion of all detected phishing attacks. more

The Internet’s Legitimacy Gap: When Governance Outgrew Its Architecture

Internet governance is shifting from participatory forums to security-driven mandates. As authority accelerates ahead of legitimacy, technical systems face growing instability and operators absorb the risks of politically motivated control. more

G7 Nations Set Cybersecurity Guidelines for Financial Sector

The Group of Seven industrial powers today announced an agreement on guidelines aimed at protecting global financial sector from cyberattacks amidst a series of cross-border bank thefts by hackers. Jason Lange from Washington reporting in Reuters. more

Increasingly Aggressive Russia, Cyberwarfare a Growing Threat to UK, Says MI5 Chief

"In the first newspaper interview given by an incumbent MI5 chief in the service's 107-year history, Andrew Parker said that at a time when much of the focus was on Islamic extremism, covert action from other countries was a growing danger. Most prominent was Russia," Ewen MacAskill and Paul Johnson reporting in The Guardian. more

FBI Withheld Warning Democratic National Committee of Suspected Russian Role in Hack

Russian hackers believed to be affiliated with the Russian government continued to have access to Democratic Party computers for months during the critical phase in the U.S. presidential campaign, the sources have said. more

Moscow Calls US Accusations of Russian DNC Hack “Unprecedented Anti-Russian Hysteria”

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow says U.S. accusations that Russia was responsible for cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations lack any proof and are an attempt by Washington to fan "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria". more