Cybersecurity News

As news from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) dominated media headlines this week, with the party’s 2012 platform making an effort to address security concerns, across the globe, companies and committees alike are taking measures to take on looming cyber threats.

Over in China, Huawei Technologies, the world’s second-largest telecommunications company, this week published a white paper, calling on international collaboration to address emerging cybersecurity challenges.

Cybersecurity is “a marathon not a sprint,” Huawei wrote in the white paper. “This paper favors and supports international collaboration, openness and trust as the foundation for a world where technology can continue to drive economic and social improvement for the majority of the seven billion citizens on the planet.”

But the new white paper was released just as news broke this week that the House Intelligence Committee would be investigating Huawei for potential national security threats posed by a spike in U.S. use of the Chinese company’s technologies.

“Huawei has received the committee’s invitation to testify next week, and will appear at the hearing if the appropriate arrangements are agreed with the committee,” William Plummer, a spokesman for the company said in a statement to Reuters. “The integrity of Huawei’s operations and performance and the quality and security of our products are world-proven, across 140 markets.”

Meanwhile, in Charlotte, N.C. this week, Democrats at the DNC released the party’s 2012 platform, advising that it would take “decisive steps” to counter the nation’s emerging threats.

“Cybersecurity threats represent one of the most serious potential national security, public safety, and economic challenges we face,” the platform stated. “Defending against cyber threats requires networks that are secure, trustworthy, and resilient.”

Democrats went on to suggest that the Obama administration had already “taken unprecedented steps” to defend against cyber attacks and that it would “continue to take steps to deter, prevent, detect, and defend against cyber intrusions by investing in cutting-edge research and development, promoting cybersecurity awareness and digital literacy, and strengthening private sector and international partnerships.”

Hinting to speculation that President Obama would move past continued congressional debates to issue an executive order on cybersecurity, the platform advised, “Going forward, the President will continue to take executive action to strengthen and update our cyber defenses.”

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Following are some additional cyber headlines you may have missed:

FEDERAL NEWS:

Democrats push for open Internet, cybersecurity (Washington Post)

Former cyber czar urges Obama to issue executive order to protect networks (National Journal)

DISA strategic plan focuses on enterprise, cybersecurity and efficiencies (FCW)

Official: Congress must establish electric grid cybersecurity authority (The Hill)

Clinton calls for US, China to work together on cybersecurity (The Hill)

FBI finds no evidence that AntiSec hacked its laptop (CNET)

FBI hack would pose ‘medium’ risk to iPhone users (CSO)

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW:

Software meant to fight crime is used to spy on dissidents (New York Times)

Businesses spend $10B total on cybersecurity each year (San Francisco Chronicle)

Oracle fixes Java exploits four months after hacker flagged bugs (Bloomberg)

Amid hacker attacks, security start-ups draw attention (New York Times)

Small-business tech security can be had at lower costs (USA Today)

INTERNATIONAL  OUTLOOK:

Insiders suspected in Saudi cyber attack (Reuters)

Cyber attack takes Qatar’s RasGas offline (Arabian Business)

Swedish websites shut down by hacker attacks (Associated Press)

NATO seeks technology to stem leaks from secret Afghanistan networks (Nextgov)

Vatican refuses to comment on cyber attack rumors (Catholic News Agency)

India’s PM directs NSA to tackle cybersecurity threat (Hindustan Times)

Hacker targets Directorate of Immigration website (Iceland Review)

Fake PM email creates flutter in Pakistan (Hindustan Times)

HACKING HIGHLIGHTS:

Hacker who infected 72K computers gets prison sentence (CNET)

Hacker steals $250k in Bitcoins from online exchange Bitfloor (Ars Technica)

Oxford University IT blunder sparks hacking fears (The Oxford Student)

Defining a growth hacker: Three common characteristics (Tech Crunch)

Pro-Assange hacktivist attacks UK police website (Press TV)

CYBER INSIGHTS:

Survey: Americans unfamiliar with cloud computing, fear cyber risks (Federal News Radio)

State-sponsored cyber espionage projects now prevalent, say experts (Business Insider)

Powerful cyber attack tools widely available, say researchers (ComputerWeekly)

State agencies need a big data strategy (InformationWeek)

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