cybersecurity

Can the U.S. prevent a digital sneak attack?

NEW YORK -- Stuxnet was only the beginning.

As the United States' technology infrastructure ages, and Internet connectivity becomes ubiquitous, America's largest companies -- and government agencies -- are under fire from cyber attackers around the world.

But this isn't like conventional warfare: the days of nation-versus-nation are over. In the Digital Era, espionage is a shadowy game of rapidly changing affiliations where the attacks are swift, anonymous and devastating. So how can the U.S. stay ahead?

Experts gathered here at Bloomberg's 2012 Cybersecurity Conference to discuss exactly that. Northrup Grumman's Christopher Valentino, Raytheon's … Read more

CNET hosting CISPA town hall meeting April 19: Join us!

CNET is pleased to announce a public town hall meeting on the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, otherwise known as CISPA, tomorrow evening that we're hosting at our headquarters in San Francisco. (Update: We'll also be live-streaming the event. Click here.)

You're invited! Here's the information about the event, which will be held in our offices in the city's South of Market neighborhood, close to BART, CalTrain, freeways, and the Bay Bridge. The fine folks at Hackers and Founders are helping to organize it in advance of a House of Representatives floor vote expected … Read more

White House questions CISPA cybersecurity bill

The White House today expressed concerns about a controversial cybersecurity bill that would authorize Internet companies to divulge confidential customer records and communications.

Opposition from the Obama administration -- which stopped short of a veto threat -- could imperil the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which is scheduled for a House of Representatives floor vote next week. CISPA is intended to improve computer security by allowing companies and government agencies to share sensitive information.

In a statement provided to The Hill newspaper, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said:

While information sharing legislation is an essential component of comprehensive … Read more

CISPA gets a rewrite but still threatens Americans' privacy

New revisions to a proposed federal cybersecurity law still would permit Internet companies to hand over confidential customer records and communications to the National Security Agency.

A recent torrent of criticism prompted the politicians behind the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act to circulate a revised version (PDF) of CISPA this evening before an expected floor vote next week. But the authors made only relatively minor tweaks.

The legislation remains so broad that the NSA could vacuum up "all sorts of sensitive information like Internet use information and the contents of e-mails," ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson told … Read more

Anonymous hacks into tech and telecom sites

Anonymous is certainly making the rounds this week. First China, now the telecom and tech industry.

The hacker group has claimed responsibility for leading denial-of-service attacks on two technology trade association Web sites, USTelecom and TechAmerica, according to Bloomberg. Anonymous is reportedly lashing out because these organizations support a cybersecurity bill that some members of congress are working to pass.

The attacks began yesterday when users were unable to log onto the sites, reports Bloomberg. USTelecom represents telecom companies, including AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink; and TechAmerica's members include tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and Apple.

Both … Read more

DHS: Cybersecurity plays into online voting

As the 2012 presidential election revs up, 33 states now permit some form of Internet ballot casting. However, a senior cybersecurity adviser at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned today that online voting programs make the country's election process vulnerable to cyberattacks.

"It is premature to deploy Internet voting in real elections at this time," DHS cybersecurity adviser Bruce McConnell said at a meeting of the Election Verification Network, which is a group that works to ensure every vote is counted. He explained that all voting systems are susceptible to attacks and bringing in Internet … Read more

U.S. 'not winning' war with hackers, says FBI bigwig

With hackers around the world taking aim at business and government sites seemingly at will, one would think the FBI would have a solution. Think again.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in an interview published yesterday, FBI executive assistant director and cyber czar Shawn Henry said that despite recent arrests of alleged hackers "Sabu" and others, "we're not winning."

It might be hard to argue with Henry's assertion. Although dozens of hackers have been arrested worldwide, the attacks keep coming. Earlier this week, for example, hackers took aim at a military dating Web site … Read more

Google hires DARPA Director Regina Dugan

One of the Pentagon's most tech-forward leaders is heading to a new job at Google. Regina Dugan has been the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which works on military technology for the U.S. Department of Defense, for the past three years.

"Regina is a technical pioneer who brought the future of technology to the military during her time at DARPA," a spokesperson for Google told CNET. "She will be a real asset to Google, and we are thrilled she is joining the team."

Although Google confirmed Dugan's hire, it … Read more

U.S. senators: No time to lose on strengthening cybersecurity

Editor's note: This op-ed was co-authored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John D. Rockefeller IV, (D-W.Va.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). In February, these four senators jointly sponsored the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, a bill that has been in the works for more than three years.

Every day, rival nations, criminal syndicates and maybe even terrorists probe for weaknesses in our most critical computer networks, seeking to steal data, money, and identities. Even more dangerous is their potential to plant malicious code in industrial control systems that would allow them to seize control of a region'… Read more