German Rail Firm Fined $1.65M For Spying On Employees

The German railway firm Deutsche Bahn has received a $1.65 million fine from the Berlin Data Commission for 10 years of  employee data breaches, including spying on staff through personal email. Deustsche Bahn claims that it sifted through personal staff emails  in order to find proof of employee malpractice with its railway suppliers.The screenings have occurred at least three times over the past 10 years, including in 1998, 2002/3 and…

Another Reason to Update Security Software

A recent AP investigation uncovered a surprising side to child porn possession. Some individuals have recently been acquitted for possessing child porn because malware installed on their computer actually downloaded the images to their computer.

Law enforcement professionals are understandable skeptical about this defense. As the director of the Cyber Law clinic at Harvard, Phil Malone, said “It’s an example of the old ‘dog ate my homework’ excuse….

Cyber Jargon YOU Need To Know

As the use of the internet and technology grows, so do its terms and definitions. Here is a rundown of today’s most frequently used cyber terms.

We left something out? Please feel free to leave a comment below to further enhance our ‘cyber jargon’ glossary.

Authentication: Confirms that a computer program or individual attempting to access a system is authorized and is not infected with malware.

Botnet: Short for…

Sweden’s SIGINT Agency Hit by DDoS

Försvarets Radioanstalt (FRA), the SIGINT Agency in Sweden, was subjected to a distributed denial of service attack that lasted from Monday to Thursday, according to agency officials.

In a statement released by the agency, FRA officials said the attack did not hamper their ability to conduct their operations.

The website, FRA.se, was subjected to the attack Monday evening and was eventually resolved Thursday morning.

Earlier this year, the Swedish parliament…

National Journal’s Shane Harris: Issues in Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is one of most important issues being discussed in national security. Since…

NIST Role in Cyber Security Could Expand

A bill cleared a House subcommittee yesterday that could alter the role that the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) will play in cyber security. The Technology and Innovation Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee approved the bill that would make NIST responsible for coordinating the US government effort in establishing international cyber security standards.

The bill, titled the “Cybersecurity Coordination and Awareness Act,” also…

ICANN Internationalized: Potential Security Problems

Late in October, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), approved the use of non-Latin characters in web domain addresses. This move was widely hailed throughout the world, but may have an unforeseen cost.

The Information Systems Audit and Control Association has raised some significant concerns surrounding the move. By allowing non-Latin scripts, such as the Cyrillic alphabet (used in Russian and…

CSC Helps Train NextGen Cyber Pros

CSC has announced a research grant to move educational efforts for future cyber professionals forward. The grant was provided to the CyberWatch Center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

The CyberWatch Center is tasked with advancing cyber security education by helping to develop curriculum and Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions. CSC presently serves in an advisory capacity to the CyberWatch Center and is dedicated to…

INSA Calls on Industry to Lead in Partnerships

A recent paper released by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance has called for industry to take the lead in partnerships for cybersecurity.

The report points to the central role that the private sector must play in cybersecurity, given the majority of the digital infrastructure is in the hands of the private sector.

The report examined present public-private partnerships and put forth several recommendations for effective partnerships for cybersecurity,…

Competing Proposals for Cyber Coordinator

Last Friday, Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, outlined the key principles he hopes to include in legislation put forward with Susan Collins on cybersecurity, including a Senate-confirmed cyber coordinator positioned in the White House.

On Monday, Senator Susan Collins spoke before the Homeland Security Policy Institute at GWU and outlined her view that the cyber coordinator position should be…