Staying Anonymous in a Time of Surveillance

From Googling to emailing to social networking, every day millions of Americans unknowingly leave behind digital breadcrumbs while surfing the web, sometimes at the risk of compromising their anonymity. But while there is technology available to stay anonymous in a time of surveillance, experts say policies and legislation won’t protect web users from privacy invasion or from being attacked in cyberspace.

As…

RSA Conference Yields Expert Advice

Last week, RSA held its annual conference out in San Francisco, CA. The conference brought together cyber experts from around the world, along with notable speakers like DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Howard Schmidt, the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator.

The topics discussed range from cloud computing to…

US Getting Closer to Finding Google Hackers

US authorities believe they may have identified the programming author who wrote the code used in the hacking attacks against search engine giant Google, according to an article in the Financial Times. After the discovery last week of the possible complicity of two schools in China with known ties to the military, US analysts say they may have determined which Chinese programmer wrote the code that…

Mischel Kwon: Cybersecurity is a Group Effort

Cybersecurity is becoming a more central portion of the US national lexicon, particularly in Washington. Recently, the House passed the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, which has gone to the Senate for approval, and a variety of recent attacks on private organizations has brought cyber attacks into the daily news. Mischel…

Despite the Challenges, ‘Let’s Put Our Trust in Schmidt’

In December, President Barack Obama announced the appointment of Howard Schmidt to the position of cybersecurity coordinator, which has sat vacant since its creation in May 2009. Schmidt, a veteran of industry and previous administrations, will be responsible for coordinating the national effort to better secure U.S. cyber infrastructure.

The U.S. is consistently…

Acting Cyber Czar Says White House is not Behind in Cyber

The current acting Cyber Security Coordinator at the White House, Chris Painter, recently responded to the growing criticism targeting the White House’s inability to fill the position permanently. At the Federal Chief Information Officers Council’s 2009 Federal Identity Management and Cybersecurity Conference on Tuesday, he said “It’s a mistake to think that without a coordinator we’re not making progress,” according to an article on govinfosecurity.com.

Currently, Painter conducts…

US Must Engage International Community, Says Former Bush Assistant

As the United States moves toward a more coherent approach to cybersecurity, the question has been repeatedly raised around forming an international agreement on cyber attacks. Neill Sciarrone, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush for Cyber Security and Information Sharing, said, “taking a U.S.-centric approach is not a viable approach.”

At a recent conference hosted by Federal Computer Week and Juniper Networks, several former government cybersecurity professionals…

Diffused Cybersecurity Responsibilities

In the cybersecurity realm, a number of professionals have advocated for a centralized approach. The U.S. military has stood up a Cyber Command to coordinate cybersecurity for the DoD and DHS has gained the lead role in securing civilian government networks. Yet, one expert questions this highly centralized approach to cybersecurity.

In a recent interview with Nextgov, Mischel Kwon, former head of USCERT and currently serving as VP…

Mischel Kwon, Director of US Computer Emergency Response Team, Resigns

Mischel Kwon, director of the US Computer Emergency Response Team has resigned, reportedly due to frustration with bureaucratic obstacles and not having sufficient power to execute the functions of her office in Department of Homeland Security, according to Defense Tech.

Mischel Kwon, the fourth U.S. CERT director in five years, resigned on Friday. A Bush administration holdover, she took office in June 2008. Before that, she headed Information Security for the Department of Justice. …