Alan Paller: Our Cyber Defense Must Be Near Perfect

The United States is more dependent on the Internet than other nations, Alan Paller, Director of Research at The SANS Institute, told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

During a hearing on June 15 to discuss the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, Paller told members of the Committee, “our…

Expert: Latent Vulnerabilities Require New Approach

While operating systems and networks may have gotten most of the attention lately as the favorite targets of hackers, the vast majority–at least 70 percent–of successful cyber attacks happen because of vulnerabilities in applications that are being compromised, according to Gartner Analyst John Pescatore.

To help stop vulnerabilities before they reach the code stage, HP Enterprise Services announced last week a new security service, HP Comprehensive Applications Threat Analysis Service…

INSA Chairwoman: Partnership is the Way Forward

In order to move froward with securing the nation’s networks, the government and private sectors must work together, Frances Townsend, Chairwoman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) board, told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee during a hearing June 15.

During a hearing to discuss the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset…

DHS Cyber Official: There is No Silver Bullet to Cybersecurity

The U.S. cybersecurity effort does not need the creation of a new agency or department, a senior DHS official told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a hearing Tuesday, June 15.

In reference to a cyber bill proposed by Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins and Tom Carper, Phil Reitinger, deputy under secretary of…

Cops Smash International Credit Card Scam Ring

Police in the United States, Australia and across Europe have arrested 178 people in an effort to smash a fake credit card production operation that has netted more than £17 million.

The investigation, which included participants from 14 countries, centered in Spain, where police discovered  5,000 cloned cards and 120,000 stolen credit card numbers. Police arrested 76 people and dismantled six cloning labs as well.

Raids were conducted in Romania,…

Feds Look to Block Sale of Cyber Crime Messaging Service

U.S. authorities may still block the sale of ICQ messaging software to Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian firm, according to The Register. The federal government is looking to maintain its access to transcripts of conversations among cyber criminals.

ICQ messaging, which was sold to Digital Sky back in April for $187.5 million, is a popular messaging for cyber criminals, particularly those from Eastern Europe.

“Every bad guy known to man is…

Featured Job- Cyber Area Strategy Lead with Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman is looking for a Cyber Area Strategy Lead The Cyber Area Strategy lead will develop the business strategy and customer relations activities for the Intelligence Systems Division’s Cyber Strategy activities, across multiple Business Units and multiple customer organizations. Areas of inclusion are: customers, competitors, vision statement development, opportunity identification (pipeline related), funding availability, risks and risk mitigation recommendations, M&A…

Cyber Crime on the Rise in the Netherlands

The number of instances of serious cyber crime in the Netherlands has reached 170 so far this year, compared to last year’s 150 incidents, according to a Dutch newspaper.

Elly van den Heuvel, head of the Dutch government’s emergency response team GOVCERT.NL, told Financieele Dagblad,  “We are under increasing pressure because cyber crime is growing and getting more complicated.”

Last month, hackers stole the personal information of…

Join the National Cyber Corps, See the World … Virtually

As the rate and sophistication of cyber attacks continues to grow, a debate is raging surrounding how to protect the federal and critical infrastructure networks. For Erik Laykin, managing director Duff & Phelps Global Electronics and co-practice chair for the company’s Discovery and Investigations practice, creating a National Cyber Corps could hold the answer.

Currently, programs exist to promote cooperation…

British Cyber Police See Budget Cuts

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that its budget for taking on cyber crime will be cut by the Home Office. Last week, The Register reported that the Police Central eCrime Unit’s (PCeU) budget would be cut by 30 percent.

The new ruling coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, which unseated Labour in the recent elections, has…