Missile Defense, Cybersecurity among Stratcom’s Priorities

Missile defense and cybersecurity are among the top priorities for U.S. Stratcom’s, a division within the Defense Department. Its top priority is deterring a nuclear attack on the United States, said the organization’s top official.

Newly appointed head of the organization Gen. C. Robert Kehler testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and…

Ex-Tech Company Owner Pleads Guilty in E-Rate Program Scam

A former owner of an Illinois-based technology company has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program, the Justice Department announced this week.

Tyrone Pipkin, a former co-owner of Global Networking Technologies Inc. pleaded guilty earlier this week to conspiring to defraud the E-Rate program. Court document say Pipkin participated in the conspiracy to provide bribes and kickbacks to…

Study: Schools Plagued by Poor Cybersecurity

More than half of U.S. school districts have experienced malware outbreaks or hacking attacks on at least two occasions a year, leading to the conclusion that IT security is a resource-heavy, time-consuming effort schools struggle to manage efficiently.

Panda Security’s recent study Kindergarten‐12 Education IT Security Study, which surveyed 104 IT security managers…

Audit Reveals NASA Computers Vulnerable to Hackers

NASA’s inspector general has warned that computer servers used by the space agency to control spacecraft are vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to AFP.

An audit of NASA‘s network security found that six computer servers associated with IT assets that control spacecraft and contain critical data had vulnerabilities that could allow a hacker to take control of…

Lynn Honored with Eagle Award for Cybersecurity Efforts

The Pentagon’s second-in-charge was  recognized Monday as a leader in IT at an awards event held in Washington, D.C.

Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn, III accepted the “Eagle Award” during a banquet attended by roughly 1,000 participants, according to the American Forces Press Service. He reiterated a theme he has emphasized…

Five Convicted in Connection with Operation ‘Phish Phry’

Five people were convicted last week of federal charges for their roles in an international phishing scam that used spam emails and bogus websites to collect personal information that was used to defraud U.S. banks, according to FBI’s Los Angeles field office.

The five found guilty were among 53 defendants charged in the fall of 2009 as part of Operation “Phish Phry,” a multinational investigation…

China Main Suspect behind Aussie Gov’t Hack

A cyber attack that targeted at least 10 parliamentary computers in Australia, including one of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, has suspected ties to Chinese hackers, according to Herald Sun.

Government sources confirmed they had been told Chinese intelligence agencies were among a list of suspected foreign hackers. A probe is believed to have been initiated by Australia’s spy agency after intelligence agencies were tipped off to…

ManTech Awarded Contract with DOJ

ManTech International Corporation has been awarded a $1.1 billion contract with the Justice Department.

The six-year contract will provide a number of security and IT components with the goal of supporting DOJ in combating cyber threats and staying current with the latest in IT technology.

The Information Support Services Technology contract specifically provides DOJ with…

Study: Hackers Zone in on Stealing Trade Secrets, IP

Cyber criminals increasingly target business secrets and intellectual property in the global corporate economy, according to McAfee and SAIC, who teamed up to file a report on the current status of cyber threats affecting industry.

The companies’ joint effort “Underground Economies: Intellectual Capital and Sensitive Corporate Data Now the Latest Cybercrime Currency”…

Human Factor Missing in Cybersecurity?

There is too much of an emphasis in cybersecurity on “technical solutions,” and not enough focus on the nitty-gritty unknowns of human behavor in cyberspace, says Eric Bonabeau, the founder and chairman of cutting-edge “idea-incubator” Icosystem Corporation.

“The extent to which research and development in cybersecurity has been skewed toward ‘technical solutions’ is mind-boggling,” Bonabeau,…