Microsoft Offers $250K Reward for Rustock Information

Microsoft recently announced it is offering a $250,000 reward for any information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those involved with the Rustock spamming botnet. The bounty is part of Microsoft’s ongoing campaign against the authors of the infamous malware.

Rustock, which is known as one of the Internet’s most damaging botnets, was responsible for sending around 30 million emails per day and infiltrating computers when users…

State Department Official to Attend East Africa Cybersecurity Workshop

Chris Painter, coordinator for cyber issues for the U.S. State Department, announced he is to appear this week as a keynote speaker at the East Africa Workshop on Cyberspace Security in Kenya.

The workshop, which includes discussions led by government, academic and private-sector experts, will address cyber crime and cybersecurity issues and focus on cellphone…

Boeing Announces Acquisition of IT Company

Boeing announced recently an agreement to acquire Solutions Made Simple Inc., an information solutions company known for its data integration framework products.

SMSi will operate within the information solutions division of Boeing’s Network & Space Systems business. The company is based in Reston, Va. and employs approximately 65 people.

According to Boeing,…

‘Anonymous’ Hacks NATO, Leaks Restricted Documents

Members of hacking collective Anonymous announced yesterday via Twitter they have breached the North Atlantic Treaty Organization system and accessed about 1 gigabyte of restricted material from the servers.

“We are sitting on about one Gigabyte of data from NATO now, most of which we cannot publish as it would be irresponsible. But Oh NATO….”, they tweeted. While they plan not to release the entirety of accessed reports,…

FBI Cracks Down on Company Selling Counterfeit Computers

BIZI INTERNATIONAL, INC., a company in Tyngsboro, Mass., was earlier this week sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to pay $219,439 in restitution to Cisco Systems, Inc. for selling counterfeit computer equipment, the FBI announced.

According to the bureau, the company pleaded guilty in March to trafficking in counterfeit goods.

BIZI obtained the equipment from somewhere other than an authorized Cisco distributor or reseller for a discounted…

Committee Approves Cybersecurity Bill

The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology unanimously approved a bill yesterday that enhances cybersecurity efforts across federal agencies.

The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2011, introduced by Congressmen Michael McCaul and Dan Lipinski, primarily addresses efforts at the National Science Foundation and the National Institute…

Investigators: China-Based Spies Behind IMF Hacking

Investigators looking into the recent cyber attack on the International Monetary Fund computer system have determined that spies connected to China are behind the breach.

According to Bloomberg, computer specialists spent several weeks piecing together information about the attack and recently completed an inventory of stolen documents, which is titled “operational impact assessment.” The results have not been made public.

Through examination of the attack methods and the electronic…

Senator: Electric Grid Security is Foundation to National Security

Sen. Jeff Bingaman this week urged lawmakers to take action on a bill that would strengthen security efforts for the nation’s electrical grid. Ensuring protection for the grid, he explained in a special report for The Hill, is a critical element national safety.

In his report, Bingaman explained the importance of a…

Sens. McCain, Levin: DoD Leaves Cyber Questions Unanswered

Sens. Carl Levin and John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee urged the Defense Department to clarify the military’s cyber role in a letter sent yesterday to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The letter states the DoD has failed to fully define DoD’s plan-of-action should a threat to national security arise,…

Harris Corporation, Sendmail to Create Email, Messaging Cloud

Harris Corporation announced today its agreement with Sendmail, Inc. to jointly develop and launch an email and messaging cloud service for commercial enterprises and government organizations.

Using Sendmail’s Sentrion Message Processing platform and Harris’ Trusted Enterprise Cloud and Cyber Integration Center, the two companies have designed an enterprise-grade email and cloud infrastructure secure and reliable…