DHS, Idaho National Lab Win Award for Cyber Training Programs

The Department of Homeland Security‘s National Cyber Security Division and the Idaho National Laboratory have won the 2011 U.S. National Cybersecurity Innovation Award for creating a series of training programs on defending the power grid and other utility systems, according to a SANS Institute announcement.

The programs…

Cisco Wins National Cybersecurity Innovation Award

Cisco has won the 2011 U.S. National Cybersecurity Innovation Award for developing top cybersecurity talent by training IT architects to be security architecture sensors and enable security to be “baked” into software applications.

It is one of 14 companies selected from 50 nominations.

The SANS Institute recognizes innovative developments from companies and government agencies who have developed and deployed processes or…

DHS Crafts Plans to Protect Small Businesses from Hackers

After the recent onslaught of cyber attacks hitting corporate and public-sector websites, the federal government has devised a plan to protect small businesses from hackers, SCMagazineUS.com reports.

Released yesterday, the Common Weakness Risk Analysis Framework, developed by the Department of Homeland Security, MITRE Corp and SANS Institute, will help…

Alan Paller: Our Cyber Defense Must Be Near Perfect

The United States is more dependent on the Internet than other nations, Alan Paller, Director of Research at The SANS Institute, told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

During a hearing on June 15 to discuss the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, Paller told members of the Committee, “our…

Sameer Bhalotra to Back Up Howard Schmidt?

There have been some whispers in the capital that White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt will shortly name Sameer Bhalotra as deputy cybersecurity coordinator. Bhalotra is the senior cybersecurity staffer on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and has held the position since 2007.

A report by Adam Ross of the SANS Institute…

Cyber Defenders of the World Unite!

This week, RSA’s conference in California looks “ to drive the worldwide information security agenda,” says conference general manager Sandra Toms LaPedis.

As instances of cyber attacks continue to grow more prevalent, cyber warriors and national security officials are gathering in California to examine methods to enhance cyber defenses. The RSA conference,…

Haitian Disaster May Be Exploited by Cyber Criminals

Security researchers have a tendency to never underestimate the heartlessness of humanity. Following the recent earthquake disaster in Haiti, that has left significant portions of the country in ruins and caused widespread suffering, cyber criminals are set to exploit the disaster with a variety of scams.

A number of websites have already been established about the disaster. While no malicious websites have been detected, security researchers at the SANS Institute…

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…

Government Seeks Technology ‘Geeks’ Through Cyber Challenge

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) announced  a new initiative entitled the U.S. Cyber Security Challenge. With participation from the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, the Air Force Association and the SANS Institute, 10,000 tech-savvy high school and college students will compete through a variety of exercises, including live competitions, that challenge their cyber defense skills and overall cyber knowledge.  Promising cyber ‘whiz kids’ will be asked to participate…