Colonial Pipeline attack spurs new rules for critical infrastructure

Following a devastating cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, the Transportation Security Administration—which sits within the government’s Department of Homeland Security—will issue its first-ever cybersecurity directive for pipeline companies in the United States, according to exclusive reporti...

Calling for cybersecurity in infrastructure modernization

Yesterday, Rapid7 sent a group letter urging the Biden Administration and Congress to work together to integrate cybersecurity into infrastructure legislation. The letter was signed by 19 companies, industry associations, and nonprofit groups who collaborated on the recommendations. The letter...

Try This One Weird Trick Russian Hackers Hate

In a Twitter discussion last week on ransomware attacks, KrebsOnSecurity noted that virtually all ransomware strains have a built-in failsafe designed to cover the backsides of the malware purveyors: They simply will not install on a Microsoft Windows computer that already has one of many types o...

New US Executive Order on Cybersecurity

President Biden signed an executive order to improve government cybersecurity, setting new security standards for software sold to the federal government. For the first time, the United States will require all software purchased by the federal government to meet, within six months, a series of ne...

Pipeline Update: Biden Executive Order, DarkSide Detailed and Gas Bags

Colonial Pipeline Co. may have turned off the tap following Friday’s ransomware attack, but the news about the devastating assault keeps gushing. In the wake of the DarkSide cyberattack, President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at bolstering the federal government’s cyber defense...

Colonial Pipeline’s Ransomware Attack Sparks Emergency Declaration

The Biden administration has declared a state of emergency that covers 17 states and Washington D.C. in the wake of the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline Co., and is working with Colonial to restart operations. On Monday morning, FireEye also confirmed to Threatpost that it’s been called...

Biden Administration Imposes Sanctions on Russia for SolarWinds

On April 15, the Biden administration both formally attributed the SolarWinds espionage campaign to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service SVR, and imposed a series of sanctions designed to punish the country for the attack and deter future attacks. I will leave it to those with experience in...

Biden Races to Shore Up Power Grid Against Hacks

President Biden is putting the final details on a plan to encourage American electric utilities to strengthen their cybersecurity protections against hackers in the next 100 days, amid increasing cyberattacks. The White House push to boost electrical grid security comes in the wake of a report th...

More Biden Cybersecurity Nominations

News: President Biden announced key cybersecurity leadership nominations Monday, proposing Jen Easterly as the next head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and John "Chris" Inglis as the first ever national cyber director NCD. I know them both, and think theyre both good...

Biden Has to Walk a Fine Line When Fighting Disinformation

The president pledged to defend the truth, but how far can he go without impinging Americans’ rights or undermining his cause?...

Breaking Down Joe Biden's $10B Cybersecurity 'Down Payment'

President Joe Biden laid out a series of cybersecurity initiatives last week at his inauguration, including earmarking $10 billion for various cybersecurity defense initiatives. Those included hiring key security personnel to support for the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. The...

Streaming Traffic Peaks During Biden Inauguration

Live news streaming traffic during the Biden inauguration ceremony on January 20 peaked at 12 Tbps on the Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform. The peak, which occurred as now-President Biden was taking the oath of office just before 12 PM ET, is roughly 8x higher than what we typically see for mid-d...

Streaming Traffic Peaks During Biden Inauguration

Live news streaming traffic during the Biden inauguration ceremony on January 20 peaked at 12 Tbps on the Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform. The peak, which occurred as now-President Biden was taking the oath of office just before 12 PM ET, is roughly 8x higher than what we typically see for mid-d...

Rob Joyce to Take Over as NSA Cybersecurity Director

As the incoming Biden administration continues to shake up federal leadership, the National Security Agency announced Friday that Rob Joyce, who is currently serving at the U.S. Embassy in London, was named to lead its cybersecurity division. Joyce will inherit the job from Anne Neuberger, who wi...

Biden to Appoint Cybersecurity Advisor to NSC – Report

President-elect Joe Biden has reportedly tapped the National Security Agency’s cybersecurity director to serve in a brand-new cyber-role on his National Security Council. Anne Neuberger, a more than 10-year veteran of the NSA and its cyber-chief since 2019, will become the country’s deputy nation...

Data Privacy – Now’s the Time for the US to Catch Up

The recent Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, may have highlighted to many Americans just what happens to the wealth of personal information they regularly - and willingly - share online. It may be especially concerning, then, to know that companies in the United States aren’t required by...

The Biden Administration Will Have Its Hands Full With Russia

After four years of Trump kowtowing to Putin, the US has its work cut out for it...

Joe Biden Campaign Subdomain Down After Hacktivist Defacement

A subdomain used by President-elect Joe Biden’s official campaign website was defaced last week by a self-proclaimed Turkish hacktivist and still remains out of commission. The subdomain, vote.joebiden.com, was part of the official campaign website JoeBiden.com used by the Biden campaign leading ...

Trump Fires Security Chief Christopher Krebs

President Trump on Tuesday fired his top election security official Christopher Krebs no relation. The dismissal came via Twitter two weeks to the day after Trump lost an election he baselessly claims was stolen by widespread voting fraud. Chris Krebs. Image: CISA. Krebs, 43, is a former Microsof...

Firing of CISA Chief Christopher Krebs Widely Condemned

Government officials and cybersecurity experts alike condemned President Trump’s firing of Christopher Krebs by tweet Tuesday, as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA became the latest victim of the president’s housecleaning efforts after his failed bid at a...