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National Security — No Comments
03
Aug 12

U.S. Chamber of Commerce leads defeat of cyber-security bill

This vote proves that the Republicans are no more interested in America’s national security than the Democrats. It’s all about loyalty to the lobbies. Something must be done about the cyber threat. Nothing is more urgent. And the government failed us again. This vote should be remembered if we devastated by an attack:

Earlier this year, top national security officials held a classified briefing in the Capitol for about half the Senate, warning that the country’s crucial infrastructure was highly vulnerable to a major cyber attack and urging Congress to move swiftly to require new safeguards.

Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among those who pressed for a White House-backed cyber-security bill to regulate privately owned crucial infrastructure, such as electric utilities, chemical plants and water systems.

If the senators didn’t act, they argued, it would make it harder to stop hackers, criminals and hostile nations from wreaking unimaginable havoc, such as knocking out sections of New York City’s electrical grid for days during a summer heat wave.

But theU.S. Chamber of Commerceand other business groups strenuously opposed the measure, condemning it as excessive government interference in the free market and arguing that cumbersome federal regulations could hamper companies trying to defend against cyber intrusions.

Terrorism/War — No Comments
25
Jul 12

Former FBI cyber cop worries about a digital 9/11

I’ve been arguing this point for some time. Unfortunately we still haven’t woken up to the imminent danger. The government is behaving like it did prior to September 11th. And we are not demanding action be taking to prevent it:

In April, an obscure U.S. government agency slipped a hair-raising disclosure into its monthly newsletter: Hackers had successfully penetrated the networks of several natural gas pipeline operators.

Here was a rare public acknowledgement that hackers are currently laying the foundation for a critical-infrastructure attack — the nightmare scenario that keeps cybersecurity pros up at night.

The natural gas attackers got in through “convincingly crafted” emails that appeared to be internal and went to a “tightly focused” list of targets, according a Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity team. The campaign lasted three months before it was discovered.

In his opening keynote Wednesday at Black Hat — one of the largest annual gatherings of security researchers — Shawn Henry, the FBI’s longtime top cybercrime official, cited the natural gas intrusion as an example of the escalating stakes of cybersecurity.

“The adversary knows that if you want to harm civilized society — take their water away, do away with their electricity,” Henry said. “There are terrorist groups that are online now calling for the use of cyber as a weapon.”

The attacks that the public finds out about are “the tip of the iceberg,” said Henry, who recently retired after a 24-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “I’ve seen below that waterline. I’ve been circling below it for the last five years.”

What he’s seen there is a growing army of patient, sophisticated hackers who are siphoning off some of America’s key military and commercial intellectual property. Awareness is increasing, but companies are still in denial about the scale of the problem, he thinks.

Uncategorized — No Comments
04
Jul 12

Drone “Hijacking” Raises Security Concerns

Source:

Local governments and private businesses see them as a cheap and effective way of maintaining an eye from the sky.

But will the drones be fully under their control?

A college professor and his students say not necessarily.

A civilian drone aircraft was hijacked by Prof. Todd Humphreys and his graduate students at the University of Texas.

They were able to hack into the GPS signals of the drone, not only manipulating its flight path while flying over White Sands, New Mexico, but later landing it.