Officials Debate Who Should Head Cyber: DHS Or Pentagon

Disagreement over the military’s role in cyber space and litigation concerns are major factors delaying the U.S. government’s efforts to form new rules for cyber engagement, Defense News reports.

Zachary Fryer-Biggs wrote May 7 that officials have not yet delegated the authority to protect critical domestic infrastructure to either the Department of…

UK Defense Ministry Suffers Cyber Attack Via Facebook

In early March, reports surfaced that U.S. and British leaders had mistakenly accepted Facebook friend requests from an illegitimate profile of NATAO Senior Commander and U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis.

Similar methods have now led to compromise of information from the U.K. Defense Ministry’s top secret system, AOL Government reports. 

Stavridis has been the subject of many…

Report: Natural Gas Pipeline Companies Subject To Ongoing Cyber Attacks

The Department of Homeland Security has alerted natural gas pipeline companies that they may be subject to a four-month series of cyber attacks, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Continuing attacks reportedly started in December 2011 and could affect Canadian natural gas pipeline companies as well, according to the DHS alerts. 

The Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team,…

US, EU Officials Discuss Cyber Cooperation; Jane Holl Lute Comments

The U.S. and European Union have developed cooperative cyber crime investigations but officials suggest developing policy for a concrete partnership may prove more difficult, GCN reports.

U.S. and E.U. officials met in Washington Wednesday at an event hosted by Center for Strategic and International Studies and the European Security Round Table. 

Defining the government’s…

Navy Seeking Ship Traffic Data Analytics Tools

The U.S. Navy wants tools for analyzing ship traffic data in real time and giving naval officers alerts when necessary, NextGov reports. 

Current radar systems can observe and track ship traffic, but do not provide tools to analyze and spot enemy tactics, the Navy said in request for proposal documents. 

Analytical software and tools would allow the…

Report: Iran Cyber Threat Perceptions Fueled by House Hearing

Experts told House lawmakers this week that they believe Iran is a bigger threat than China or Russia, having passed developmental stages for offensive capabilities and moved onto defensive efforts in cyberspace, GCN reports. 

Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, told attendees of a joint House Homeland Security Committee subcommittee meeting…

Defense Research Arm Asking Universities to Help Make Sensory Semiconductors

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and a group of chipmakers want to partner with organizations to research and develop nanotechnology that imitates human sensing functions, NextGov reports. 

DARPA’s Focus Research Program issued a solicitation on FedBizOpps Monday, seeking ideas from U.S. universities for computing systems and architectures that could intelligently adapt to…

DARPA Seeking to Have Dense Forests Clear for Communication

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants communication capabilities for soldiers in areas where troops are usually unable to stay connected, NextGov reports.

Whether in a dense forest or a harsh natural environment, the agency wants soldiers to be able to connect wirelessly to critical data, according to a solicitation. 

DARPA wants to choose…

Report: Iran Oil Organizations Suffer Stuxnet-Like Attack

Reports surfaced Monday that Iran’s main oil terminal and the oil ministry suffered a cyber attack by a virus similar to the Stuxnet worm, Reuters reports. 

The virus was detected inside the control systems of Kharg Island, which handles Iran’s crude oil exports, the report said.

The state oil company company reported that the terminal remained…

DHS Cyber Group Says NIST Cyber Controls Have Flexibility

Not all security controls the National Institute of Standards and Technology provides are completely mandatory, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber division.

The division issued fiscal 2012 guidance to auditors that the NIST control special publication 800-53 document insists flexibility, Fierce Government IT reports.

The division said there is considerable flexibility in applying controls…