‘Anonymous’ Hackers Hit Justice Department

The Justice Department‘s website was shut down Thursday afternoon in what the FBI called a “denial of service attack.”

The hacking group “Anonymous” claimed responsibility for the attacks on its Twitter account (@YourAnonNews). The attacks are believed to be in response to an indictment and shutdown of the popular file-sharing website Megaupload.

“Anonymous…

Sony Appoints Former US DHS Official Philip Reitinger to Head Cybersecurity

Sony named Philip Reitinger, a former top U.S. Department of Homeland Security official, to lead its cybersecurity efforts months after a massive hacking attack.

Reitinger  has previously held security roles with U.S. National Cyber Security Center, Departments of Defense and Justice, and Microsoft. He has been appointed Sony’s chief information officer and senior vice president acting as Sony’s top cybersecurity executive…

BAE Systems: More Business after Sony Hack

BAE Systems said its cybersecurity division is getting more business in the wake of the attacks on companies such as Sony Corp, Bloomberg reports.

In the last half-year, there has been “a significant shift in the understanding of cyber threats within board rooms,” Martin Sutherland, managing…

Lebanese Gray Hat Hacker Targets Damascus University

A hacker who goes by the name Idahc defaced the homepage of Damascus University and posted a warning that additional government and Syrian education websites will be hacked, according to The Daily Star.

Sunday afternoon, the self-described Lebanese gray hat hacker took to Twitter and posted a message that said,  “Damascusuniversity.edu.sy OWNED,” with a link to a website where he had posted information from the university’s website.

“A message…

Hackers Claim 177K Email Addresses from Sony Pictures France Breach

In yet another round of cyber attacks, hackers have stolen more than 177,000 emails from Sony Pictures France, ZDNet reports. The two hackers, who go by the names of Idahc and Auth3ntiq, claim to have exploited an SQL flaw to get the information. The hackers posted information on Pastebin.com about their coup and a sample of the emails they stole.

In a recent interview on Forbes.com, Idahc said…

Government Official: Terrorists Lack Tech Skills to Pull Off Large-scale Cyber Blitz

A senior counterterrorism official says terrorist groups do not yet have the technical skills to launch a major cyber attack against the United States, The Associated Press reports.

Daniel Benjamin, State Department counterterrorism coordinator, said while insurgents are pursuing the emerging threat of such an attack, the majority…

Hacker Crackdown in Spain Brings Down Suspected Members of Anonymous

Spanish police today arrested three suspected members of Anonymous on charges of cyber attacking targets including Sony, governments, businesses and financial institutions, Reuters reports.

The suspects had been involved in the recent denial-of-service attack on Sony’s PlayStation online gaming store, as well as other cyber attacks on Spanish banks and Italian energy group Enel, the police said in a statement obtained by Reuters.

Describing the loose coalition of…

Robert S. Mueller: FBI Will Place More Emphasis on Fighting Cyber Threats

The FBI plans to intensify its attention on battling cyber crime as the agency wrestles with cyber attacks at companies such as Google and Sony, according to Bloomberg.

“We will increasingly put emphasis on addressing cyber threats in all of their variations,” FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said today…

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…

Sony Battles More Cyber Attacks

Sony is again battling hackers who are now attacking business units around the world, as the Japanese electronics giant today admitted three new attacks.

Hackers have targeted Sony Ericsson’s Canadian eShop website, affecting 2,000 users, a Sony spokesman said today. And yesterday, Sony said websites in three countries had been hacked, AFP reported.

One of those cyber attacks hit a Sony BMG music site in Japan, which was compromised by…