D.C.'s Complicated View of Cyberwar, Regulation, Liability

MINNEAPOLIS – Lawmakers and politicians trying to equate cyberwar with a kinetic battle are misguided in putting the two on equal footing, said former National Security Agency general counsel Stewart A. Baker today in his keynote at the Cyber Security Summit. “Cyberweapons are not like nuclear...

Siemens Patches Five Vulnerabilities in SIMATIC System

Siemens released an update for two builds of its SIMATIC automation system this week, addressing a quintet of vulnerabilities, four of which are remotely exploitable. The German company’s SIMATIC WinCC, a SCADA system and SIMATIC PCS7, a distributed control system DCS are directly affected by the...

FTC Asks Data Brokers, Congress for Transparency, Regulation

The Federal Trade Commission called on data brokers to be more transparent and give users more control over their personal information in a comprehensive report issued yesterday. The 100-plus page document, “Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Acccountability,” .PDF criticizes the industry...

Experts Worry About Future of Critical Infrastructure Security

SAN FRANCISCO–The problem of critical infrastructure security has become a key issue in the last few years, as high-profile attacks such as Stuxnet and others have grabbed headlines and alerted politicians and others to the weaknesses facing these vital systems. It’s an issue that Eugene Kaspersk...

Full Disclosure List Rises From the Ashes For Fresh Start

When the Full Disclosure mailing list closed down last week, many in the security community wondered what, if anything, would fill the void. As it turns out, Full Disclosure will fill that void. John Cartwright, one of the creators of the list, announced on March 19 that he was shutting it down...

Advocates Seek 'Smart Regulation' of Surveillance Technology

The long shadow cast by the use of surveillance technology and so-called lawful intercept tools has spread across much of the globe and has sparked a renewed push in some quarters for restrictions on the export of these systems. Politicians and policy analysts, discussing the issue in a panel...

Bugging the Bug Market

PUNTA CANA–The Microsoft bug bounty program, started last year as a way to encourage researchers to develop new offensive and defensive techniques, has been a success so far and the company is looking for new ways to expand it in the future. Katie Moussouris, the security strategist at Microsoft...

EU Petition Seeks to Restrict Export of 'Digital Arms'

A Dutch member of the European parliament is supporting a grass-roots effort to restrict the export of surveillance software such as FinFisher and others, which are used by some governments and law-enforcement agencies to monitor their citizens’ activities. The effort, dubbed Stop Digital Arms, i...

FTC Reclaim Your Name Plan Would Regulate Big Data

Big data is big. So big in fact, Science Daily claimed in May that 90 percent of all the world’s data have been generated in the last two years. In early 2012, the New York Times’ Steve Lohr reported that the total amount of data in the entire world would double every two years from that point on...

California issued cease and desist order against Bitcoin Foundation

The Bitcoin Foundation has received a cease-and-desist letter from the California Department of Financial Institutions, which oversees banks, credit unions, and other financial organizations operating in the state. Jon Matonis, who is a board member at the Foundation, revealed the letter on Forbe...

Privacy in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing

REDMOND, Wash.–If one were to draw up a list of the most challenging jobs in the technology industry, chief privacy officer at Microsoft likely would be pretty near the top of it. For a company with the size and scope of Microsoft, the volume of potential privacy issues is nearly endless, and if...

APACHE breakthrough in the Directory IP restrictions.- Vulnerability warning-the black bar safety net

Today get a site,get the background. But open get the following error. 4 0 3 Forbidden Request forbidden by administrative rules. This situation is generally not home. Or limit IP. Clear the background first is there. Because it is the ECSHOP system,the background index. php can not...

Shift May Be Coming for Information Sharing on Attacks

ANAHEIM, CALIF.–The sharing of information on threats and attacks between government agencies and companies in the private sector has been tried numerous times and in many different ways over the last decade, with varying degrees of success. The need for information flowing in both directions...

Report: Toll Fraud Emerges as Android's Number One Threat

Mobile malware continues to run rampant, thanks to a growing glut of toll fraud malware – apps that have been engineered to bill its victims through premium SMS services. The malware type eclipsed spyware this year as the largest application-based threat according to mobile security firm Lookout...

Federal Commission Phished, Employees' Information Leaked

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFTC, an independent federal agency that helps regulate futures and option markets, was hit with a data breach last month according to an e-mail statement from the Commission that circulated online late last week. The e-mail confirmed an attacker was...

Civil Liberties Groups Wary As Little Known UN Body Seeks Greater Role In Regulating Internet

A little known United Nations body, The International Telecommunications Union ITU, is quietly making moves that would give that U.N. and its 192 member-states increased control of the Internet according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. An internal ITU planning document leaked to the Web...

MSNBC: Hackers Crack Credit Report Sites, Sell Profiles

Hackers are actively exploiting weak Web site security at leading credit rating agencies and stealing customer credit reports for resale on the black market, according to a report by MSNBC. Well trafficked websites like AnnualCreditReport.com, Equifax.com, or CreditReport.com are being hacked and...

FTC Privacy Framework Pushes for Do Not Track, Closer Inspection of Data Brokers

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new report on consumer privacy and online tracking and among the recommendations the commission makes is that data brokers make themselves known to consumers and be open and transparent about the data they collect on consumers. The FTC also says that...

Tor anonymity will become illegal with SOPA acts ?

Tor anonymity will become illegal with SOPA acts ? The Stop Online Piracy Act SOPA is the newest attempt by Congress and corporations in the United States to regulate the Internet. SOPA's proponents include the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry of America. They view...

Citing Crisis, Senate Leader Puts Cybersecurity Bill On 2012 Agenda

Citing a looming crisis over lax computer security, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Wednesday that the Senate will debate cybersecurity legislation. The move comes despite the lack of a coherent Senate plan and could set up a showdown with House Republicans over the government’s role in...