The weak link in security: People
The human user is the first line of defense in cybersecurity but also a persistent weakness.
Facebook gets friendlier for state, local organizations
Facebook has agreed to bend its rules on indemnification and on solving legal disputes in California as a result of negotiations with organizations that represent state and local governments.
A (relatively) safe way of moving to IPv6
NIST’s "Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6" identifies the likely security risks of using the new Internet Protocols on networks and offers guidance on avoiding them.
Phony White House e-card the work of spies?
A handful of government organizations apparently were targeted over the holidays by attackers using a phony White House Christmas e-card, which analysts say appears to be the work of the same gang that attacked government systems last February.
Exploit for critical flaw in MS Office found in the wild
Public availability of a successful exploit could lower the bar for attacking Microsoft Office through malicious RTF Word files, allowing remote execution of malware, security experts say.
Did security predictions for 2010 come true?
Last year’s predictions for what to expect in 2010 were not too far off the mark.
Out with the old security configurations, in with the new
The U.S. Government Configuration Baseline is an update of the security configuration requirements for government systems, and NIST is updating its guidance on using checklists to reflect them.
Stuxnet story is high-profile but still out of reach
After six months of analysis, the celebrity worm’s makers, target and impact are still unknown, but that has not stopped the speculation.
Ready to text-message 911?
The FCC has issued a Notice of Inquiry on how the nation’s public safety communications systems can integrate cellular and digital communications into a Next Generation 911 system capable of handling video and data as well as voice transmissions.
To secure agency systems, start at the top
Continuous monitoring of IT systems requires a strategic plan and involves all levels of employees, from senior managers to frontline workers, NIST says in newly released draft guidelines.
As IPv6 mandate looms, some agencies still don't 'get it'
The time for explaining and educating is past and agencies now must deal with the bits and bytes of enabling systems for the next generation of Internet Protocols, says IPv6 Task Force chair Peter Tseronis.
The WikiLeaks lesson? It’s classified.
WikiLeaks didn't reveal much in the way of truly sensitive State Department information, but the kerfuffle over leaked documents did shed a revealing light on the government's policies for classifying documents.
FISMA 'capstone' document ready for public scrutiny
The guidelines for enterprisewide information risk management, the latest in an interagency effort to harmonize information security requirements, define the underlying principles for implementing the Federal Information Security Management Act.
FBI accused of installing backdoor in OpenBSD operating system
Former FBI contractor alleges that agency had backdoors installed in the open-source OS to enable monitoring of VPNs that U.S. attorneys use.
Group aims to help secure the technology supply chain
The Trusted Technology Forum, formed by the Open Group, was formed to identify best practices for ensuring the security of the technology supply chain and promote the development of standards and accreditation programs.
Is U.S. sleeping on smart grid security?
A panel of security professionals warns that the United States could be creating a complex, intelligent power distribution system with a false sense of the seriousness of the threats posed against it and our ability to secure it.
The .net domain joins the DNSSEC fold
The .net domain, with 13 million registered names, is the latest and the largest of the Top Level Domains to have its DNS records signed with the DNS Security Extensions that help secure the Internet infrastructure.
Supercomputers guarding nuclear arsenal lack disaster plan, study finds
The supercomputer systems used by the National Nuclear Security Administration to assess the safety of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile do not have comprehensive contingency and disaster recovery plans to ensure their availability, a GAO concludes.
WikiWars: The face of future conflicts
The attacks and counterattacks surrounding WikiLeaks might be the first real instance of cyber warfare, with the government launching its own unconventional type of strategic denial-of-service attacks.
Public/private cybersecurity research ready for launch
NIST, DHS and a financial services committee formally agree to cooperate on cybersecurity R&D initiatives for the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure.
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