Russia

Cyber Order Puts DHS In Charge Of Oversight, Sets Deadlines

By


The Obama administration is getting ready to change the way the government handles cybersecurity.

The White House has drafted an executive order, a draft of which is currently circulating among federal agencies for approval, mirroring cyber legislation that recently failed to get through a Senate vote. Among other things, the order shunts much of the enforcement and management of cybersecurity issues to federal agencies. We understand that, contrary to some earlier news reports, the classified portion of the order does not contain significant new authorities but details those already existing. Keep reading →

Published November 20, 2012 at 12:15 PM

Don’t Wait For Cyber ‘Pearl Harbor’: Russia & China Are Stealing Our Lunch Now

By

As the Senate reconvenes to debate the Lieberman-Collins cybersecurity bill, President Obama himself has set the stakes in terms of preventing a future catastrophic attack. But some say the real and present danger is what’s happening under our noses right now, in an online theft of intellectual property that Cyber Command chief Gen. Keith Alexander called “the greatest transfer of wealth in history.” Keep reading →

Published July 30, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Cyber Intelligence: UN Arms Treaty – What About Cyber Arms?

By

Conventional arms transfers – Exports (US$ millions – 2005; 1990 prices). Refers to the voluntary transfer of weapons destined for the armed forces or intelligence agencies of another country. It includes ships, aircraft, missiles, artillery, armored vehicles and guidance and radar systems. It excludes trucks, services, ammunition, small arms, support items, components and component technology. SOURCE: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The 193 United Nations diplomats are driving a treaty that would be the first legally binding global treaty that would regulate the international arms trade. This treaty is expected to promote transparency and accountability in the arms trade. This is not new! Keep reading →

Published July 9, 2012 at 10:02 AM

Cybersecurity: Top Secret System Compromised

By

The Ministry of Defence Main Building in London.

Information became public last week about another successful cyber attack. While that has become the norm, what makes this different is that this successful attack hit the UK Ministry of Defence’s Top Secret System. Keep reading →

Published May 7, 2012 at 12:10 PM

Cyber Intelligence: Report Actually Names Names And Tactics

By

A relatively new report on the extent to which foreign spies are stealing U.S. economic secrets is gaining attention not only for what it concludes but also for the fact that it actually names names.

The report comes by way of the Office of the National Counter Intelligence Executive and is titled Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, 2009 – 2011. Keep reading →

Published January 3, 2012 at 11:13 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Acts Of Aggression Are Familiar, Yet Disturbing

By

It is getting to the point that those reporting acts of cyber aggression, particularly in the area of cyber espionage, think they are in a repetitive do-loop. It is the same story over and over again with the only difference being the list of victims.

The news of late has been the discovery of yet another sophisticated cyber attack that resulted in the collection of untold information, some general some sensitive, from the business community as well as defense contractors and government officials. Keep reading →

Published December 19, 2011 at 11:26 AM

Cyber Intelligence: Not One, But Two Worrisome Cyber Events In Past Week

By

Last week word began filtering out about a suspected cyber attack on a water treatment system in Illinois. After a preliminary investigation into a pump failure, the issue quickly became a cyber incident.

Further analysis suggests that the actual breach and malicious activities began a couple of months ago. Workers at the water treatment facility determined the system had been hacked and the IP address used to carry out the cyber sabotage was tracked back to a computer in Russia. Keep reading →

Published November 21, 2011 at 10:52 AM