Sens. McCain, Levin: DoD Leaves Cyber Questions Unanswered

Sens. Carl Levin and John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee urged the Defense Department to clarify the military’s cyber role in a letter sent yesterday to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The letter states the DoD has failed to fully define DoD’s plan-of-action should a threat to national security arise,…

CIA Website Hacked; LulzSec Claims Responsibility

The public website of the CIA went down yesterday evening as hacker group Lulz Security announced on Twitter it had launched an attack, Reuters reports.

The site initially could not be accessed from multiple locations around the world, and service continued to be sporadic later in the evening.

LulzSec, which promises “high-quality entertainment at your expense,” has recently gone on a hacking spree, defacing websites, posting…

LulzSec Hackers Take Credit for Hack of US Senate, Gaming Company

Hacker collective Lulz Security has taken credit for hacking the U.S. Senate and Maryland-based gaming company Bethesda Softworks, according to media reports.

“Bethesda, we broke into your site over two months ago,” the group tweeted yesterday, according to The Los Angeles Times. “We’ve had all of your Brink users for weeks. Please fix your junk, thanks! ^_^”

The group also released

Senate May Attach Cyber Legislation to Defense Authorization Bill

The Senate is considering adding cybersecurity legislation to the defense authorization bill to ensure that some semblance of cyber legislation is passed this year, Sen. Thomas Carper told GovInfoSecurity.

“It’s hard to get a measure like cybersecurity legislation passed on its own,” Carper said.

Cyber backers are considering adding cyber legislation to a bill that…

Senate Looks to Combine Cyber Bills

The Senate is looking to combine the various cyber bills in an effort to pass cyber legislation this year, Senate staffers said at the Symantec Government Symposium yesterday.

There is broad consensus on what needs to be included in a cyber bill, according to Eric Hopkins, professional staff member for the Federal Financial Management Subcommittee of the Senate Committee…

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…

INSA Chairwoman: Partnership is the Way Forward

In order to move froward with securing the nation’s networks, the government and private sectors must work together, Frances Townsend, Chairwoman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) board, told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee during a hearing June 15.

During a hearing to discuss the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset…

Gourley: Intelligence Community Should Provide Unclassified Cyber Threat Assessments Annually

Last week, Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins and Tom Carper unveiled the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, S.3480. The bill will create a permanent Office of Cyber Policy in the White House and form a give the Department of Homeland Security the power to enforce cyber…

Lieberman and Collins Unveil Cyber Bill

Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me) unveiled a new cybersecurity bill yesterday along with Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper (D-De). The legislation looks to strengthen, modernize and coordinate federal civilian networks and select private sector networks that are part of the critical infrastructure.

The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, S.3480, would…

Senate Bill Looks to Fund DoD Cyber Programs

A Senate version of the fiscal 2011 Defense authorization bill that is slated for release later this week is likely to include funding for programs that will allow DoD and contractors greater access to services and tools related to cybersecurity, according to a NextGov report.

On May 28, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee,