James Clapper: China’s Cyber Warfare Capabilities ‘Formidable Concern’ to US

China’s growing capabilities in cyber warfare and intelligence gathering are a “formidable concern” to the United States, the intelligence director told a Senate panel yesterday.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the Chinese have invested significantly in cyber warfare capabilities and “this is…

Anonymous Goes after Copyright Collection Agency

Anonymous has cyber attacked the website of copyright collection agency BMI as part of Operation Payback, the collective’s ongoing war against copyright and anti-piracy enforcers.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, BMI temporarily took down its website in response to the group’s denial-of-service attack and in a statement said the hackers were not able to compromise the agency’s security.

Anonymous members also released a statement saying…

EU Cyber Agency Cracks Down on Cyber Zombies

According to zombie lore, a surefire way to destroy one of the living dead is a shot to the head.

Now, EU’s cybersecurity agency, ENISA, has published a study on botnets, also known as cyber zombies. But neutralizing these zombies may be more difficult than their horror-movie brethren.

The report, titled “Botnets: Measurement, Detection, Disinfection…

35K Chinese Websites Hacked in 2010

Tens of thousands of websites in China were attacked by hackers in 2010, including 4,635 government websites, according to a report released by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China.

The report, quoted by People’s Daily Online, said government websites are vulnerable to cyber attacks, and websites of financial institutions have become hackers’ first choice. The number of compromised government…

Former State Dept. Contractor Pleads Guilty to Unauthorized Computer Access

A former State Department contractor pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally accessing confidential passport application files, according to the Justice Department.

Mark Carter, 51, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with unauthorized computer access.

According to the plea documents, Carter was a contract hire at the State Department and served as the network administrator in the Eastern District of Virginia. He…

ID Theft Tops List of Consumers Complaints

A list of top consumer complaints in 2010 has revealed that identity theft continues to be the No. 1 complaints category for the 11th consecutive year.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, of 1,339,265 complaints received last year, 250,854 – or 19 percent – were related to identity theft.

Debt collection complaints came in second place, with 144,159…

Australia’s Spy Agency Stands Up Cyber Espionage Team

Australia’s intelligence agency, ASIO, has created a unit to handle cyber attacks on security and business computer systems by foreign enemies, according to The Australian.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland detailed the government’s worries about the cyber threat in a speech yesterday, saying the explosion of cyberspace has expanded infinitely…

Suspects Nabbed for Selling Fake Olympics Tickets Online

Five people were yesterday arrested in England as part of a police operation targeting illegal cyber crime associated with next week’s launch of the London 2012 Olympic Games tickets, according to The Telegraph.

Detective Nick Downing, chief inspector in charge of the so-called Operation Podium, said the aim was to disrupt organized criminal networks involved in illegally selling Games tickets.

“The victims are those people who get scammed, have their…

DoD, DOE Score High on Transparency, Open Source Use

The departments of Defense, Energy, HHS and Homeland Security have ranked the highest when it comes to transparency and the use of open source, according to a new survey by Open Source for America.

The Federal Open Technology Report Card examined key indicators of open government and open technologies developed through…

Pentagon Investigates ‘Anonymous’ Threat against Quantico

The Pentagon has requested an investigation into Anonymous’ reported cyber threat against the military base used to hold Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is accused of leaking secret government documents to whistle-blower site WikiLeaks and “aiding the enemy,” The Financial Times reported.

Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan told AFP the probe was requested after news emerged that Anonymous…