State Department Cyber Official: Cybersecurity a US Diplomatic Priority

A senior State Department official has said cybersecurity is now a diplomatic priority for the United States with Washington looking to strengthen partnerships to fight data theft and reduce the risk of conflict, Reuters reports.

Christopher Painter, coordinator for cyber issues for the State Department, said the nation faces…

McAfee Report: Mobile Malware is New Frontier of Cyber Crime

The first quarter of 2011 has proven to be a busy time for cyber criminals who are now making mobile malware the new frontier of cyber crime, according to McAfee’s Labs’ most recent Threats Report.

The security company revealed in its research that Q1 2011 was the most active first quarter…

Scotland Yard Official: Not Understanding Cyber Crime is Like Being Illiterate

Scotland Yard’s senior officer Janet Williams has stood up a “cyber flying squad” based at the London headquarters to pursue cyber criminals, according to the Guardian.

The 35-member cyber team has had significant success but has asked multinational corporations to contribute with their sophisticated cybersecurity, as “their intelligence systems are better than ours,” Williams said.

Williams…

Chinese Hackers Breach Hundreds of Gmail Accounts

A hacker in China gained access to hundreds of Gmail accounts, including those of senior U.S. government officials, military personnel, Chinese political activists and journalists, Google acknowledged yesterday.

On its official blog, Google said it recently detected a campaign to collect user passwords, likely through phishing. The breach seemed to originate from Jinan, China, and impacted the personal Gmail accounts of hundreds of users including…

IMF Preps for Possible Cyber Retaliation by Anonymous

The International Monetary Fund is preparing to counterstrike against a possible cyber attack from hacker collective Anonymous Operations, a spokesman said Wednesday.

“We are aware of the threat, and have taken appropriate action,” IMF spokesman William Murray said in an email, according to MarketWatch.

Zero Hedge earlier today published a post linking to an Anon Ops  Twitter account that implied hackers would target the IMF’s…

Defector Claims North Korea Grooms Cyber Terrorists

North Korea is expanding its force of future cyber warriors, and is even sending young hacker prodigies abroad to enhance their skills, according to a representative from a group of North Korean defectors, Korea Joongang Daily reports.

Kim Heung-kwang of the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity said yesterday North Korea has upped its number of cyber terrorists from 500 to 3,000.

When talented young hackers are identified,…

Software Security Firm Veracode Names Cyber Guru Richard Clarke to Board

Software security firm Veracode announced a high-profile addition to its board of directors: Former presidential counterterrorism adviser and renowned cybersecurity expert Richard Clarke.

Clarke is also chairman and CEO of Good Harbor Consulting.

In his role, Clarke will work closely with the company’s federal advisory board along with its senior…

Pentagon Deems Cyber Attack an Act of Warfare

The Pentagon has concluded that cyber attacks by foreign hackers can be classified as an act of war, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Citing three officials who had seen the Pentagon’s soon-to-be-released cyber strategy, WSJ said the plan would maintain that the current international rules of armed conflict are relevant in cyberspace. The Pentagon aims to use the plan…

Scammers Exploit Treasury Department

It is not unusual for cyber crooks to use various government agencies or officials to legitimize their scams, and now a scheme has emerged that misrepresents the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Victims report receiving an email claiming to be from the Treasury Department, stating their lost funds, which were stolen and diverted to a foreign account registered in…

Honda Canada Data Breach Affects Thousands of Customers

Thousands of Honda Canada customers may have had their personal information stolen after the company’s systems were hacked, The Canadian Press reports.

The company said the information accessed was related to a program in 2009 that encouraged customers to register at the myHonda website. Honda said compromised information included customer names, addresses, vehicle identification numbers and in some cases Honda Financial Services account numbers.

Details…