@CategoryFeature

NIST Scientist Wins Nobel Prize For Step Toward Quantum Computing

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A scientist working with the federal government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado in Boulder has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced today.

David J. Wineland and Serge Haroche, a professor at Collège de France and École Normale Supérieure, in Paris, were jointly recognized for their respective work in observing and analyzing the fundamental interactions between light particles and matter. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 9, 2012 at 12:20 PM

Cyber Intelligence Prompts New Warnings For US Banks

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On the heels of a well publicized distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on U.S. financial institutions came a warning about another coordinated and planned cyber attack against this critical infrastructure sector.

Cyber intelligence uncovered a fairly large, coordinated cyber attack that is said to use fraudulent wire transfers as the means of attack. This cybersecurity attack is said to leverage session hijacking in a man-in-the-middle cyber attack.

Man-in-the-middle cyber attack is defined as a compromise where the attacker is able to insert themselves between its target and the system or service in which the target is trying to access or use. An attacker accomplishes this by impersonating the system or service that the target is attempting to connect with by falsely rerouting the traffic to and from the service or by hijacking session data.

This attack is known to be initiated by spam and phishing emails, keystroke loggers as well as Trojans with remote access. A high attack concentration has been seen in the small and medium sized organizations and the transfer amounts have ranged from $400,000 to $900,000.

Multiple cyber intelligence sources have warned that an estimated 30 U.S. based financial services institutions may be the targets of an organized cyber criminal gang that is said to be the entity behind this attack.

Just recently the FBI issued a warning about this threat. Their warning stated that the criminals behind this cyber attack were using multiple techniques to obtain customer log-in credentials. Once the criminals have these credentials, they initiate international wire transfers.

For additional information you should monitor the FBI, in association with the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

Kevin G. Coleman is a long-time security technology executive and former Chief Strategist at Netscape. He is Senior Fellow with the Technolytics Institute weekly blog for Breaking Gov on the topic of cyber intelligence. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 8, 2012 at 10:30 AM

HPSCI Chair Thinks New Threat May Rekindle Cyber Bill; Slams White House On Executive Order

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Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House intelligence committee, slammed the administration’s cybersecurity approach Thursday but expressed guarded optimism that his own stalled legislation — which the White House has threatened to veto — might be revived when Congress reconvenes after the election.

“There was a very good meeting with some members of the Senate,” Rogers told the audience at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s cybersecurity conference this afternoon, speaking immediately after NSA director Gen. Keith Alexander. (The Chamber has campaigned, successfully, against some cybersecurity legislation but endorsed Roger’s Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, CISPA). Keep reading →

 /  Published October 5, 2012 at 2:15 PM

NSA’s Alexander Courts Chamber Of Commerce On Cybersecurity

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WASHINGTON: NSA director and Cyber Command chief Gen. Keith Alexander stepped into the lion’s den Thursday to address the Chamber of Commerce, which helped kill cybersecurity legislation Alexander had strongly backed.

Over and over, Alexander reassured the business-dominated audience at the Chamber’s cybersecurity conference Thursday that the government sought to work together with industry as a “team” through “discussion” to secure the nation’s networks “in a way that is acceptable, and perhaps more importantly fiscally acceptable, to industry.” Over and over, he emphasized that “we don’t need the government in our networks to do this.” In other words: don’t fret about us; don’t fight against us; we won’t push a cybersecurity solution that business (read the chamber) finds intrusive or unaffordable. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 5, 2012 at 12:45 PM

Big Data’s Growing Pains: Talent Not Technology

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A group of technology leaders came to the Capitol this week to make the case that the age of “big data” is not only upon us, but also represents a powerful and practical way for federal agencies to create substantially more value for the public – for relatively little incremental investment.

That comes as refreshing news compared to the relentless promises of big savings that accompanied the dawn of cloud computing, which has proven far trickier to implement. The difference is due in large measure to the fact that big data is really more of a phenomenon than a technology. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 5, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Government Releases New Tool For Accessing Electricity Data

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration, which collects, analyzes, and disseminates much of the nation’s independent energy information, is making its data available to the public through a new online service for the first time that will allow developers to capture and present electricity data on the web and through mobile applications.

The new application programming interface (API), will give developers access to data on electricity generation, retail sales, and average prices, and the types of fuel that are used to generate electricity at the state and national levels, according to EIA’s Mark Elbert. Electricity generation and fuel consumption data for individual power plants with more than 1 megawatt of capacity also are available. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 2, 2012 at 11:46 AM

White House Spotlights Energy Data Tools To Help Drive Innovation

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White House officials brought together dozens of senior government leaders and private sector entrepreneurs Monday, including Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu, to demonstrate how energy data is fueling new products and services aimed at promoting greater energy efficiency in America.

The “Energy Datapalooza“was the latest in a series of White House-sponsored events designed to showcase innovative applications using government data – this one focused on the energy sector – hosted by Federal Chief Technology Officer Todd Park. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 1, 2012 at 6:02 PM

Dissolving Electronics Offer New Ways To Fight Infection, Treat Diseases

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Sometime in the near future, the military may begin using tiny, dissolvable electronic devices to help wounded soldiers to fight off infection. The technology opens potentials beyond the battlefield, allowing wider use of sensors and a variety of short-term medical applications as well as providing new ways to fight infection in existing surgical implants.

Developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Defense Department’s research and development shop, these “transient” electronic devices are designed to dissolve when exposed to water and can last for weeks, days or even minutes. The electronic components are made of superthin sheets of silicon and magnesium sheathed in silk. Silk is biocompatible, which means that it can be inserted safely into the body. How long a device lasts is determined by the thickness and crystalinity of the silk. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 1, 2012 at 7:00 AM

NSA Official Calls For Wider Cyber Accountability

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A top National Security Agency executive argued today that if the nation is to defend against escalating cyber threats, it will be increasingly important for individuals, corporations and institutions, including government, to be held more accountable for their contributions to, and their actions within, cyber space.

At the same time, there are limits to what actions private enterprises can take in protecting their networks, said NSA Deputy Director Chris Inglis, speaking at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance forum in Washington. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 26, 2012 at 3:52 PM

Tripling Of Mobile Attacks Prompts GAO Call For Stronger Safeguards

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Citing a near tripling in the number of malicious software programs aimed at mobile devices in less than a year, a Congressional report is recommending the FCC and other federal agencies take a greater role urging private industry to develop stronger mobile security safeguards.

Cyber criminals are taking increasing advantage of inherent weaknesses in mobile devices and the applications that run on them, said Gregory Wilshusen, director of information security issues for the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress.

Wilshusen, who oversaw the just-released report, said that in less than a year, the number of variants of malware programs has risen from about 14,000 to 40,000, or about 185%, according to figures supplied by Juniper Networks. These threats and attacks exploit vulnerabilities in the design and configuration of mobile devices, as well as the ways consumers use them.

Attacks against mobile devices generally occur through four different channels of activities, the report found: Keep reading →

 /  Published September 25, 2012 at 12:45 PM
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