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Government

"Fourth of July" hacker jailed after hospital hack

Chuck Miller July 02, 2009

A Dallas hospital guard was ordered to jail following his arrest on charges of breaking into computers, planting malicious software and planning a massive distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Fourth of July.

Appellate court affirms that Zango can't sue Kaspersky

Dan Kaplan June 30, 2009

An appeals court has upheld a ruling that Kaspersky Lab did nothing wrong when it blocked users' access to Zango programs.

Former U.S. cybersecurity chief appointed CEO of ICANN

Chuck Miller June 26, 2009

The former cybersecurity chief at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is now the head of ICANN, a primary internet governance organization.

Defense secretary creates cyberspace command

Greg Masters June 24, 2009

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered the establishment of a unified U.S. Cyber Command to integrate cyberspace operations for the protection of Department of Defense networks.

Security expert wants feds to recruit volunteer pen testers

Dan Kaplan June 18, 2009

One respected security researcher wants to legalize the hacking of federal government and military websites -- and he wants everyone to hear him out.

Spam king Wallace could be jailed

Chuck Miller June 15, 2009

Sanford Wallace, the so-called spam king who has been sued on multiple occasions, may finally face prison time.

Iran election protesters use Twitter to recruit hackers

Angela Moscaritolo June 15, 2009

Political unrest resulting from the presidential election in Iran has escalated to a cyberwar between the Iranian government and activists, according to security experts monitoring the situation.

FTC releases FAQs on Red Flags Rules

Angela Moscaritolo June 12, 2009

A new frequently-asked-questions document aims to clear up some of the confusion around the Red Flags Rules.

Army ends ban on Facebook, Flickr, other social media sites

Angela Moscaritolo June 11, 2009

Updated: Certain U.S. Army bases that formerly blocked access to Web 2.0 sites now permit users to surf to sites such as Facebook and Flickr.

Father's Day phishing plug

Angela Moscaritolo June 08, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission announced Friday that it has created a Father's Day e-card to offer tips on how to avoid becoming a phishing victim. The animated fish-themed card gives examples of typical phishing emails and warns fathers against giving up personal or financial information and to be wary of opening suspicious attachments. The card is available at: http://www.ftc.gov/dad. — AM

DHS appoints former hacker, Black Hat founder to council

Angela Moscaritolo June 08, 2009

Jeff Moss, a former hacker who founded the Black Hat and DEFCON conferences, was one of 16 people appointed to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Sears, FTC settle spyware accusations

Dan Kaplan June 05, 2009

Sears has settled FTC charges that it wrongly collected personal data on consumers.

Virginia notifies breach victims

Dan Kaplan June 05, 2009

The Virginia Department of Health Professions this week began notifying about 530,000 people whose Social Security number was part of records that may have been exposed when hackers gained access to the agency's Prescription Monitoring Program database. The agency learned of the compromise when it received letters that the culprits were demanding a $10 million ransom be paid, or they would release some eight million patient records. State officials still are unsure what information may be at risk but said they are sending the letters as a precaution. — DK

DHS appoints new director of National Cybersecurity Center

Angela Moscaritolo June 03, 2009

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has appointed Philip Reitinger as the new director of the National Cybersecurity Center, a post left in March by Rod Beckstrom, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Monday.

Industry reacts to Obama's cybersecurity speech

Angela Moscaritolo May 29, 2009

The cybersecurity industry was abuzz Friday after President Obama, speaking before public and private sector leaders, announced a federal "cyber coordinator" will be appointed and unveiled a five-part digital infrastructure protection plan for the country.

Fed cybersecurity review out; "cyber coordinator" established

Angela Moscaritolo May 29, 2009

After much speculation, President Obama confirmed Friday that a new White House office will be dedicated to coordinating digital security efforts, to be led by a yet unnamed "cybsersecurity coordinator."

Setting cybersecurity as a national priority is just the beginning

Greg Masters May 27, 2009

A review of federal cybersecurity policies, scheduled for release Friday, will serve as a call to action for the public and private sectors.

Fed cyber-review out Friday

Chuck Miller May 26, 2009

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs announced Tuesday that President Obama will release the highly anticipated 60-day review of federal government cybersecurity initiatives on Friday. The report was developed by Melissa Hathaway, who started investigating federal cybersecurity infrastructure and policies during February, and delivered the finished document in April. Gibbs called the report is an important first step toward securing the nation's cyberinfrastructure. — CAM

New cyberattack technologies developed for U.S. military

Angela Moscaritolo May 26, 2009

The U.S. military is developing and testing several new offensive and defense cyberdevices, including a system that would enable non-expert military personnel to launch a cyberattack, a defense and aerospace industry publication reported last week.

Office of U.S. Marshals infected by Neeris virus

Angela Moscaritolo May 22, 2009

The office of U.S. Marshals was infected with a computer virus on Thursday that was able to infiltrate their computer network because the federal law enforcement agency was running an out-of-date anti-malware solution.

GAO report finds security lagging at federal agencies

Dan Kaplan May 21, 2009

Federal agencies continue to be lax in their implementation of information security programs, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Clinton White House data on missing National Archives drive

Angela Moscaritolo May 20, 2009

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has lost an external hard drive that contained copies of sensitive data belonging to the Clinton administration, the agency confirmed Wednesday.

Octomom's hospital fined

Angela Moscaritolo May 15, 2009

California health officials have fined Kaiser Permanente Hospital $250,000 after hospital employees illegally accessed medical records for octuplet mother Nadya Suleman. Hospital spokesman Jim Anderson told the Associated Press the state found that the hospital did not do enough to prevent the privacy breach. The hospital did, however warn workers to stay away from Suleman's files. — AM

Red Flags Rules help

Angela Moscaritolo May 15, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a template that helps entities with a low risk of identity theft comply with the Red Flags Rules. Low-risk businesses can include those who know their customers personally or provide services at customers' homes. The template provides a 4-step process for implementing an identity theft prevention program. — AM

Defense Department insider charged with espionage

Angela Moscaritolo May 13, 2009

A Defense Department official has been charged with espionage conspiracy after allegedly selling classified U.S. government information to an agent of the People's Republic of China.

Obama's 2010 budget calls for heavier cybersecurity spending

Chuck Miller May 11, 2009

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has asked Congress for $918 million to support its infrastructure protection programs.

Social Security Administration spoofed in phishing scam

Angela Moscaritolo May 11, 2009

Scammers have spoofed the Social Security Administration's website in a phishing scam targeted at those who will be receiving an economic recovery payment this month.

Waging war on cyberthreats

Max Huang, founder and president, O2Security May 08, 2009

Compromised information networks can put an organization's very life in jeopardy. Here are ways that firms can take the lead.

NERC president: Emergency cybersecurity help needed

Angela Moscaritolo May 08, 2009

Efforts of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) to secure the nation's power grid against cyberthreats cannot substitute for additional emergency authority at the federal level, urged Richard Sergel, president and CEO of NERC, in testimony during a Senate hearing on cybersecurity Tuesday.

Report: Web app hacks can invade air traffic control systems

Dan Kaplan May 07, 2009

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday shot down a U.S. Department of Transportation report that its air traffic control (ATC) systems have been compromised because of insecure web applications -- but the agency agreed with the report's call for better security.