Chinese Researcher Causes DHS to Investigate California Power Grid

Network analyst Jian-Wei Wang of Dalian University of Technology in China, used public information to demonstrate how to cause a power spike that could cause serious power failures throughout a power grid network in California.

An article, published in New Scientist, brought Wang’s study (which has been publicly available since March) to the attention of DHS officials who are now reportedly reviewing the problem.

The problem, known…

SANS Institute Report on Top Cyber Risks

The SANS Institute published a report Tuesday highlighting the top cyber risks based on data collected from government and the private sector. According to the report, websites and unpatched software are the greatest cyber risks.

More than 60 percent of attacks on the Internet are against websites and often take the form of “convert trusted websites into malicious websites,” according to the report. The other main focus is…

Hathaway Optimistic on Direction of Cybersecurity

At the ArcSight Protect 09 conference, keynote speaker Melissa Hathaway, former acting senior director for cyberspace at the White House, pointed to her belief that the federal government is moving in the right direction for securing cyberspace. However, she highlighted that currently the nation is not where it should be in terms of protecting cyberspace, and more needs to be done.

Hathaway warned cyber incidents involving…

Lack of Cyber Czar Criticized

The chairs of the House Cybersecurity Caucus urged President Barack Obama to appoint a “cyber czar” quickly. In the letter dated last week, Rep. Michael McCaul (R.-TX) and Rep. James Langevin (D.-RI) highlighted Obama’s failure to successfully appoint a candidate to head cybersecurity issues.

The letter pointed to two major issues stressed by the December 2008 Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th President, namely that a national strategy…

Army Developing Manual for Fighting in Cyberspace

The U.S. Army is currently working on a manual for using cyberspace as a war fighting platform that will be released in October. Once the manual is completed, it will provide battlefield commanders with a coherent guide to exploiting cyberspace in military operations.

The new doctrine is focused on both the offensive and defensive capabilities of cyberspace. The manual is set to cover concepts such as attacking the…

Raytheon Buys out BBN Technologies

Raytheon, which recorded more than $23 billion in revenue for 2008, announced recently it has settled on terms to purchase BBN Technologies, an R&D company involved in the development of the Internet.

Raytheon is looking to build its capacity as a leading player in technology services to the government, alongside the likes of Northrop Grumman and Booz Allen Hamiliton.

BBN Technologies has developed a number of cybersecurity systems for…

Revised Cybersecurity Emergency Bill

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W. VA), has written a revised draft of the proposed cybersecurity bill. The bill had initially caused alarm among interested parties due to language allowing the President to shut down the Internet in the case of a cybersecurity emergency. The current draft still gives the President the ability to declare a cyber emergency as well as the right to alert in the event of cyber attacks.

President…

Greg Schaffer Assistant Secretary of DHS’ Office of Cybersecurity on Cyber “In-Fighting,” US-CERT and the Cyber Battleground

Greg Schaffer, assistant secretary of DHS’ Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, recently spoke to InformationWeek about US-CERT and the shifting terrain of cyber warfare.  Schaffer suggests that much of the perceived “in-fighting” and cyber “turf wars,” often portrayed in media as bitter administrative squabbles between government agencies, private industry, and the military, is really just the result of fundamental changes in the cyber landscape over the past ten…

Director of National Cyber Security Center, Phil Reitinger, Outlines His Cyber Priorities:

Phil Reitinger, Director of the National Cyber Security Center outlined his priorities for securing America’s cyber assets in a recent interview with InformationWeek.  Here are the highlights:

 Building Capability: “That’s primarily about people. I have some awesome people here at DHS; we have a great team, but we just don’t have enough of them yet…” Building Partnerships: “We’re defining our partnership models, making sure they’re as efficient as possible, that…

Bipartisan Cyber Legislation To Include Increased Emphasis on Training and Certification, Ditch Presidential Emergency Powers

Forthcoming bipartisan cybersecurity legislation from Senators J. Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) will undergo some significant modifications.  The revised legislation will remove a controversial provision that enables the President to effectively turn off the internet in the event of a major cyber attack and feature a greater emphasis on training and certification for federal cyber professionals in order to ensure that the government employs a properly trained workforce, properly educated and trained…