Cybersecurity News

Another day, another attack … That may be the attitude of the South Korean government this morning, as the Associated Press reports that two more cyber attacks hit the country’s government websites over the weekend.

According to the AP, an investigation is underway, with all eyes looking to North Korea, after speculation that the country is running an “Internet warfare unit aimed at hacking into US and South Korean military networks to gather information and disrupt service.”

But it appears that the US isn’t waiting around for the possibility of an attack.  As new cybersecurity measures continue to propagate in the House and Senate, The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, introduced last week, continues to gain support, with The Hill now reporting that a 2:30 PM hearing will take place tomorrow to discuss the bill’s vitality.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), co-sponsor of the legislation, urged, “We cannot afford to wait for a ‘cyber 9/11’ before our government finally realizes the importance of protecting our digital resources, limiting our vulnerabilities and mitigating the consequences of penetrations of our networks.”

And while some technology corporations will spend thousands to lobby the legislation, Politico takes a look at one company that could care less about Capitol Hill —  Apple.  According to the article in today’s paper, Apple’s low profile on the Hill is “irking” some members of Congress.  Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), co-sponsor of the Cybersecurity Act of 2010, is particularly concerned that the company may have “more than technical innovations to hide.”

The article goes on to note that over the past couple of years, Apple has closed its Washington office, lacks a political action committee, skipped out on a major privacy hearing, and has visited should-be ally, the FCC, only four times in the past three years.

Additional news from the weekend follows…

VA to seek bids on $12 billion program (Washington Post)

Could cyber skirmish lead US to war? (MSNBC)

Boeing among defense firms fighting cyberterrorism (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Pentagon rushes to block release of classified files on Wikileaks (The Independent)

Researchers develop automated social cyber attack (eSecurity Planet)