Despite the Challenges, ‘Let’s Put Our Trust in Schmidt’

In December, President Barack Obama announced the appointment of Howard Schmidt to the position of cybersecurity coordinator, which has sat vacant since its creation in May 2009. Schmidt, a veteran of industry and previous administrations, will be responsible for coordinating the national effort to better secure U.S. cyber infrastructure.

The U.S. is consistently…

Government Contractors: Defenders of Our Networks

Despite the issues of in-sourcing and Secretary of Defense Gate’s cuts to military hardware programs, government contractors are seeking to diversify their offerings by moving into the cyber security realm. The US government is presently ill-equipped to handle the range of cyber attacks against US systems and networks and the private sector is stepping in to lend a…

Britain’s Conservatives Attack Labour Government over Cyber

Late last week, David Cameron, head of the Conservative Party in the UK, outlined his parties plans to handle national security issues. The plans highlight the central role that cyber security now plays in any national security discussions.

In the report, the Conservatives say “the reliance of developed societies and economies on networks and computer…

DOE to Set Up Cyber Force to Protect Power Grid

The US Department of Energy announced its plans to spend $8.5 million for a cyber security unit to help protect the US electric power grid according to an article on Networkworld.com. The unit, known as “National Energy Sector Cyber Organization,” will help to integrate smart grid technology to ensure the resiliency of US power grid networks.

Patricia Hoffman, acting…

Featured Job- Senior Cyber Testing Engineer with SAIC

The SAIC Information Operations Division of the Intelligence and Information Solutions Business Unit currently has an opening for a Senior Cyber Test Engineer. Must have a current Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Description of Duties: Prepare Developmental and Operational Test & Evaluation (DT&E/OT&E) plans and procedures, and conduct tests based on approved procedures • Perform hands-on functional testing of various IO systems, tools, and networks • Design developmental and operational network test plans and…

Australia Opens Center for Cyber War

The Australian Department of Defense has opened a new center for cyber security in Canberra. The center will be staffed over 50 existing staff from the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) and will also include representatives from Australian intelligence (ASIO), the Australian federal police and the Attorney General’s Office.

The center is supposed to eventually be staff by as…

Haitian Disaster May Be Exploited by Cyber Criminals

Security researchers have a tendency to never underestimate the heartlessness of humanity. Following the recent earthquake disaster in Haiti, that has left significant portions of the country in ruins and caused widespread suffering, cyber criminals are set to exploit the disaster with a variety of scams.

A number of websites have already been established about the disaster. While no malicious websites have been detected, security researchers at the SANS Institute…

DARPA Looks to Develop National Cyber Range

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) is moving forward with plans to develop at National Cyber Range through contract awards to Lockheed Martin and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Under the contracts, both will be responsible for developing prototypes of a National Cyber Range, which will help cyber testing through an advanced computer and networking system.

The…

Security Researchers Go on Offensive

A security firm and ISPs have colluded to take down the command and control servers of the Lethic botnet, according to an article on The Register.  Neustar, a security research firm, along with cooperation from ISPs, were able to attack the servers of the Lethic botnet, which was used in distributing spam.

This is the third major assault against spammers by security research firms in the past year. Cyber…

Featured Job- Cyber Threat Analyst at General Dynamics

Candidate will be part of a cyber threat analysis team, specifically the Surface Analysis Group.

Responsible for an advanced level of all-source analysis of cyber threats to US Federal Government networks. This position is unique to the cyber security profession in that it blends traditional intelligence analysis, open source research, technical research, and the ability to analyze a variety of near real-time and historical data. This position requires a…