FBI Official Says Terrorists are Seeking Cyber Capabilities

According to an FBI official, terrorists are presently attempting to harness the abilities of the Internet to conduct cyber attacks.

During a statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, the FBI’s Deputy Assistant Director of the Cyber Division Steven Chabinsky claimed the FBI is tracking terrorists who are looking into cyber capabilities.

Chabinsky did say there has not been any evidence of high-end sophistication…

Cyber Warfare, What Is It?

In a report recently published by McAfee, researchers examined the concept of cyber warfare, highlighting a number of nations are actively preparing for war in cyberspace.

As the United States and other nations think about cybersecurity, states will need to develop a common understanding of what constitutes cyber warfare.

Warfare, Clausewitz’s infamous “politics by other means,” is generally defined as a state actor using force against another state or…

Bruce McConnell of DHS Looks to Long-Term Solutions

The Department of Homeland Security has a central role to play in the future of cybersecurity. Given U.S. reticence to involve the military in protecting civilian networks, DHS will serve as a hub of coordination between the government and private sector spaces, each looking to better secure the nation’s critical cyber infrastructure. In the Office of National Protection…

Challenges of International Cybersecurity

International agreements form the foundation for international cooperation on a host of issues, from the proliferation of nuclear technologies, to chem/bio weapons, to terrorism, though no such foundations really exist for cybersecurity issues.

At a recent luncheon hosted by the World Affairs Council, Gen. Michael Hayden, former head of NSA and deputy director of national intelligence, Dr. Jim Lewis of CSIS and Dr. Jamie Saunders, counselor at the British Embassy…

US Employs Cyber Attacks Too

A number of foreign countries have been implicated in conducting cyber attacks in the past few years, including China and Russia (though it is unclear if it is government entities or individuals).

In a recent article in The National Journal, Shane Harris reports the United States has also conducted offensive cyber attacks against insurgents in Iraq.

According to Harris, in 2007 the Bush administration authorized the National Security Agency…

China and Cyber Attacks – How Involved are They?

Most cybersecurity experts, in the private sector and in government throughout the United States, believe the Chinese are one of the largest practitioners of cyber attacks against U.S. networks.

The Chinese are accused of using cyberspace to conduct espionage and prepare for possible future conflicts with the United States

The Chinese government officially denies it is actively attempting to breach U.S. networks. According to the The Washington Post, Wang…

Department of Interior not Cyber Secure

The Inspector General at the Department of Interior has failed the agency in an audit assessing cyber security. The audit claims that the current efforts by the DOI are well short of established minimums in for federal agencies.

The report highlighted a number of issues at the agency, including less than qualified cyber professionals (a problem that seems endemic to a number of federal agencies), lack of involvement…

Study Finds Persistent Threats to Goverment IT Systems

A recent study conducted by CDW-G has found that the number of threats against Federal civilian and DoD networks has increased or remained the same in the past year. Close to a third of federal organizations experience at least one cyber attack per day.

The report is based on a survey of around 300 IT professionals in government.  The majority of IT professionals surveyed stated that their needs…

NSF’s Jose Munoz on the Nation’s Cyber Infrastructure

Experts Speak on US Vulnerabilities

In case you missed the 60 Minute Segment this past weekend, below is a recap of the troubling information presented. The segment highlighted recent cyber attacks and looked at what the US is doing to move cyber security forward. It also included expert commentary from Mike McConnell, former DNI and presently at Booz Allen Hamilton, Jim Lewis of Center for Strategic and International…