Government CIOs to Present at Federal Networks 2011

A handful chief information officers from government, including NASA’s Linda Cureton and Department of Veterans Affairs’ Roger Baker, are convening in February to attend the 24th annual Federal Networks Conference where senior decision-makers share their latest plans for how they will design, purchase and operate their networks as…

iPhone Users More Likely to Become Phished than BlackBerry Owners

A survey conducted by anti-phishing software maker Trusteer found the first respondents to click on compromised links are those using smartphones, in particular iPhones.

Additionally, mobile Internet users are three times more likely than desktop users to give out personal information to scammers. Help Net Security points out it is often hard to see a link’s URL in a smartphone browser window, which makes it…

Hackers Hit Brazilian Government Websites

Officials say hackers tried to take the Brazilian government’s website off the air a day after President Dilma Rousseff was sworn in, according to The Associated Press.

The government said in a statement the DDoS attack Sunday caused the website to become unstable, but it was never off the air. The attack “did not put the presidency’s site in danger” and no confidential information was…

Estonia Fights Cyber Threat with Volunteer Cyber Army

When other countries struggle to find skilled cybersecurity professionals to safeguard networks and systems, Estonia is the first nation in the world to tap a volunteer cyber workforce of programmers, computer scientists and software engineers as defenders of the nation’s digital battlefield.

Called the Cyber Defense League, the volunteer organization in…

Northrop Grumman Fills Leadership Positions in UK

Northrop Grumman Corporation has appointed Graham Wright and Kathy Salyan to key leadership roles in the U.K. aimed at extending the company’s intelligence-related business and boosting the U.K. footprint for technologies and capabilities important for national security.

The duo will focus on identifying new business opportunities and developing strategies to grow the…

iPad Hype Gives GovCon Firms New Opportunities

The iPad undoubtedly became one of the most-hyped products of last year, with a seemingly never-ending popularity. When legions of government employees embrace what some have dubbed the new BlackBerry for federal workers, government contractors specializing in computer and mobile security have found  themselves increasingly busy with developing new applications and systems to protect the masses of Apple…

Anonymous Attacks Tunisian Government for ‘War on Free Speech’

Web activists attacked and temporarily crippled several Tunisian government websites in an act of protest against the country’s embattled leadership.

At least eight websites were targeted, including those of the president, prime minister, ministry of industry, ministry of foreign affairs, and the stock exchange, Al Jazeera reports. The attack, which began Sunday night, coincided with a national strike, planned to take place Monday.

The current administration has curbed the flow…

Hackers Deface Indian Committee Website

Anonymous hackers on Sunday defaced the official website of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, a unit of the Indian National Congress, according to The Hindu.

Renjith Balan, IT adviser of the party, said he discovered the defacement at 7 p.m. The hackers posted several messages on the website, saying they were acting on the behalf of Pakistan. One of the messages said, “Kashmir…

Foreign-exchange Students Linked to Vietnamese Cyber-Crime Gang

A federal investigation dubbed Operation eMule has led agents to two foreign-exchange students in Minnesota who are accused of taking part in a cyber-crime ring in Vietnam that stole the identities of countless Americans and pilfered millions of dollars from online retailers.

According to Star Tribune, court documents identified major companies such as eBay, PayPal, Apple and Dell, as targets of the cyber gang. Authorities said stolen…

Australia ‘Very Serious’ about Cyber Crime, Says Minister

The Australian government says it is very conscious of the threat to the Australian community from computer hackers, ABC News reports.

A report published in an Australian newspaper reveals concerns cybersecurity is a fundamental flaw of Australia’s national security. The report by strategic think-tank the Kokoda Foundation also indicates the Intelligence Community…