The Potential for Cyber “Sabotage”
The US military’s newly launched US Cyber Command continues to make news this afternoon, as Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the command and chief of the National Security Agency, warned, “The potential for sabotage and destruction is now possible and something we must treat seriously.” According to the Washington Post, the US is “carefully monitoring military computer networks for sabotage.”
And just when we started thinking Congress was making progress on cyber legislation in the House and Senate, Federal Computer Week reports that “cyber policy is snared in legislative tangle.” While more than 35 cybersecurity-related measures are currently hold-up in Congress, the news site claims, “Observers don’t rule out the possibility of a bill becoming law this year, but many think it’s unlikely because other important items on the administration’s legislative agenda are lined up ahead of it.”
Yet with all the recent cybersecurity hype, including new legislation, federal appointments and spending, NextGov questions, “Is it enough?” More cybersecurity news from the day follows…
Read more…
“The Cybersecurity Changes We Need”
Catching up from Memorial Day weekend and making Cybersecurity News this morning, Harvard advisers in a Washington Post op-ed point out “The Cybersecurity Changes We Need,” noting that we must “adopt and embed sometimes-costly security solutions into our core infrastructures and enterprises and stop playing the game of chance.”
Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office says that the Department of Veterans Affairs is vulnerable to a cyber attack. And GovInfoSecurity finds a way to link cybersecurity to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Read more…
Cyber Coordinators and the Cyber Command
Following up from yesterday’s report, key Senate cyber staffer Sameer Bhalotra’s name continues to be tossed around as White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt’s potential deputy coordinator.
Wired’s “Danger Room” features a story on the military’s new U.S. Cyber Command (“CYBERCOM”), stating that after years of planning for the operation, there is “nothing new.” On the defense, Baltimore Business Journal is reporting that the new Command would bring nearly 1,000 jobs to the military’s cyber headquarters at Ft. Meade.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen said he is “particularly concerned about cyberspace.” Addressing the US Air Force Academy’s graduating class of 2010 in a commencement speech, Mullen noted that cyberspace, threats and attacks “will change how we fight.”
Clinton Comments and Hackers Attack
Making Cybersecurity News this morning, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton comments on Obama’s National Security Strategy, highlighting “the new and complicated threats that underscore and drive much of the interaction between powers in the world today: terrorism, proliferation, climate change, cybersecurity, energy security and many other forces at work in our world.”
CNET is reporting that Media Temple, a company that hosts websites for Adobe, ABC, Sony, NBC, Time, Volkswagen and Starbucks, fell victim to an online attack. Meanwhile, cyber criminals take $100K from a Salt Lake City credit union. And House Reps. Watson and Langevin call for a National Office for Cyberspace…
Read more…
“National Security Strategy”
“National Security Strategy” were the buzz words of the day, as the Obama administration rolled out its 52-page approach to protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure. The White House document states: “Effectively protecting cyberspace requires strong vision and leadership and will require changes in policy, technology, education and perhaps law.”
The full-text White House plan can be viewed here (PDF).
Read more…
Intelligence Committee Staffer to the White House
Howard Schmidt, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator, is expected to announce the appointment of Sameer Bhalotra to White House Deputy Cybersecurity Coordinator, NextGov reports.
Bhalotra, a key cyber staffer on the Senate Intelligence Committee and former member of the Commission on the Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, has managed the cyber budget for several years , gaining support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The Pentagon and the Private Sector
Making Cybersecurity News this morning, the Associated Press is reporting that a top Pentagon official yesterday proposed a program to extend a government computer security system to private sector businesses. Meanwhile, the New York Times says President Obama is offering up his first formal National Security Strategy, including a look into cyber threats. Additional morning news follows…
Read more…
Cybersecurity News 