Ants Serve as Model for Security System

Researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina have taken a novel approach to information security that is modeled on the defensive strategies of ants.

According to the Telegraph, “digital ants” travel computer systems looking for intruders, and once one is detected, the other “digital ants” come to help fight the threat.

The system is based on the defensive structure of ants, who patrol the colony for intruders. When…

Telcordia Selects Head of Cybersecurity

Telcordia Technologies, a company focused on telecommunications software, recently announced James Payne will serve as the general manager and senior VP of the company’s national security and cyber infrastructure division. The division is designed to help meet the growing need for cybersecurity solutions from the federal government.

Payne is one of the leaders in federal IT and will look to help the federal government meet its increasing security…

Subcommittee Approves Bill to Increase Cybersecurity Capability

A bill to increase research and funding for cyber security was passed unanimously by the House Science Research Subcommittee.

The bill requires DoD, NSF and DHS to develop programs to increase cybersecurity research and to authorize and grant funding for cybersecurity training.

The prospective legislation is meant to help better secure cyberspace by helping more potential cyber professionals receive training while also conducting long-term research on cyber threats and…

Phishing Worm on Twitter

A new phishing scam on popular networking site Twitter is spreading worms based on false links.

Users are invited by already hijacked Twitter accounts to click on a video link, where the worm then infects their computer.

Previously infected accounts are used to send an invitation to access a video to their friends. When the link is clicked, users are asked to submit login information on a falsified Twitter…

SECAF Briefing on Cybersecurity

The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum held a meeting on cybersecurity and the implications for government contractors.

The event featured Michael Kushin, CTO of ManTech International Corporation, and Robert Giesler, VP for cyber programs at SAIC.

The two speakers focused on the implications of the CNCI on opportunities for contractors. Some of the key areas highlighted were the Einstein NextGeneration (commonly called…

Inspector General Finds DoD Fails to Scrub Data

According to an audit conducted by the inspector general, the Department of Defense fails to remove sensitive data from IT platforms before disposal.

Additionally, some of the protocols for IT disposals are out of date and fail to account for new technologies.

The report cited a number of organizations that fail to adequately train personnel and follow current protocols for destroying data before disposing of IT equipment….

UK Cyber Research Center Opens

The Centre for Secure Information Technologies opened Wednesday and is housed at Queen’s University in the U.K. The center is set to be at the forefront of innovative technologies to counter cyber attacks.

The center hopes to bring together experts in the field to help make cyberspace more secure. They are developing technologies to scan large volumes of data to detect malicious software in cyberspace. The…

Interview With EDS, HP Company Cyber Expert Sam Chun: FISMA Must Be Updated

Cybersecurity expert at EDS ,an HP Company, Sam Chun, shared his views of FISMA, the new U.S. Cyber Command Center and where he believes the future of cybersecurity lies with TheNewNewInternet. Chun believes FISMA is outdated and inefficient. Lawmakers must begin to audit FISMA through dashboard technologies and also suggests a new ranking system be used during evaluations.  EDS, an HP Company will continue to support the…

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Backs Net Neutrality

During a speech at the Brookings Institute on Monday,…

Cyber Cemetery: The Final Resting Place for Government Websites

What happens to previous administration websites once a new administration moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Most government websites are promptly  deleted from the world wide web; causing final destruction of former administration  information and documents.

Librarians at the University of North Texas Library work to preserve former administration websites in order to maintain complete access to the public. Some previous administration ’dead websites’ contain information not available in hard copy, therefore  if a website is shut down by an incoming…