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Google Wallet Security |
09/28/2011
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Google Wallet allows users to simply enter a 4-digit PIN number and tap their phone enabled with a near field communication chip
in front of a payment reader to make their store payments. However,
like other payment mechanisms, prospective users will surely be wary of
using technology which can potentially expose their personal financial
information. Security analysts have already pointed out that the payment
method of using a 4-digit PIN can be exposed to hacking attacks, and
Google still needs a way to re-assure users that the Wallet is not
vulnerable to cyber crimes.
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Security Clearance |
09/27/2011
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More than 2.8 million federal
employees and at least 1 million contractors and consultants have
security clearances, according to a report by the Office of the Director
of National Intelligence.
The number represents the number of security clearances as of October
2010 and is an increase of roughly 45,000 from a year before. The report
marks the first time the government has inventoried the number of
people having access to classified material.
The report also shows the number of contractors holding clearances
declined slightly since October 2009. Contractors holding top secret
clearances in October 2010 numbered 524,990, down from 536,637 the year
before. Contractors holding confidential/secret clearances in October
2010 totaled 541,097, down from 552,088 the year before.
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Secure Communities |
09/26/2011
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A program that checks the
immigration status of all people booked into local jails needs
systemwide changes and may need to be suspended until its problems are
worked out, according to a review conducted by the Department of
Homeland Securitys advisory council.
The program, called Secure Communities, allows Homeland Security to
review the fingerprints of people arrested by state and local law
enforcement agencies against federal immigration databases.
The program has been criticized because some people arrested for minor
crimes, or on charges that are later dropped, are detained by
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, sometimes resulting in
deportation.
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Apple Security Concerns |
09/25/2011
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Wanted: experienced security
professional. Must have plan to thwart Chinese counterfeiters, protect
secret blueprints from spies and keep workers from leaving super-secret
unreleased smartphones behind in bars.
A day after a recent report surfaced that an Apple employee had lost a
prototype for a new but unreleased iPhone at a Northern California
watering hole, two job listings appeared on Apples website for managers
of new product security.
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The Transportation Security
Administration recently began experimenting with a new technique at the
airport in which officers engage in brief, casual conversations with
passengers and listen for any hints of suspicious behavior. The program
is modeled after an approach that has long been used by Israeli security
officials, but does not employ profiling, TSA officials said.
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The names and email addresses of
hundreds of U.S. intelligence officials — including some senior
officials in the Obama Administration — have been posted on an
anti-secrecy website after computer hackers allegedly swiped them from
the internal membership list of a prestigious national security
organization.
The apparent cyberattack on the Intelligence and National Security
Alliance, or INSA, is the latest example of the ability of hackers to
penetrate the computer systems of government agencies and private
companies — including those that pride themselves on their savvy and
expertise in cybersecurity.
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Youngsters May Experience Relaxed Security |
09/23/2011
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Children 12 years old and
younger soon will no longer be required to remove their shoes at airport
security checkpoints, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told
Congress on Tuesday. The policy also includes other ways to screen
young children without resorting to a pat down that involves touching
private areas on the body.
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Facebook Security |
09/22/2011
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Losing access to your Facebook account is not the hard part. Getting it back is.
A Facebook user can get locked out of their account after forgetting
their password, posting content another user has flagged as
inappropriate or offensive, being accused of using a fake name or, more
sinisterly, if their account was hacked.
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FISMA Security Accreditation |
09/21/2011
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Amazon has earned the FISMA
security accreditation from the US General Services Administration, a
key endorsement for its cloud security model that could increase
adoption among federal agencies.
FISMA, the Federal Information Security Management Act, is the fifth
major certification or accreditation Amazon has gained for its Web
Services business featuring the Elastic Compute Cloud
infrastructure-as-a-service platform.
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Hacking A Real Threat |
09/20/2011
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The computer hackers, chat room
denizens and young people who comprise the loosely affiliated Internet
collective have increasingly turned to questionable tactics, drawing the
attention of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other
federal investigators.
What was once a small group of pranksters has become a potential national security threat, federal officials say.
The FBI has carried out more than 75 raids and arrested 16 people this
year in connection with illegal hacking jobs claimed by Anonymous.
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The Evolution of Homeland Security |
09/19/2011
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The Department of Homeland
Security and state governments spend billions of dollars every year on
domestic security, helping cities and counties buy up-to-date equipment
and strategies for defeating terrorists.
Established in November 2002, the new department absorbed 22 different
federal agencies, with the idea of unifying homeland security efforts.
But after all this time, have those efforts made us safer?
In its early days, the Department of Homeland Security was something of a
makeshift affair. The first secretary, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom
Ridge, operated out of a double cubicle, a bit more modest workspace
than most of his fellow Cabinet officers. The computers at the various
agencies could not talk to one another, and there were the inevitable
turf wars.
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Security Spending Help With Natural Disasters |
09/18/2011
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Radios, emergency response
equipment and training paid for with homeland security money have turned
out to be a big help for agencies responding to devastating storms.
The legacy of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks showed up when
emergency workers in tornado-ravaged communities in Tennessee, Alabama
and Georgia responded to deadly tornadoes in late April.
Bradley County Emergency Management Agency director Troy Spence that the
biggest investment in homeland security has been a radio system that
allows agencies to communicate on a single network.
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Google Warns of Security Breach |
09/17/2011
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Google took the unusual step of warning Gmail users in Iran to secure their accounts,
a week after an unidentified hacker generated fake Web site
verification certificates that may have allowed the Iranian state to
monitor communications by its citizens, including dissidents.
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Hackers Break into Linux Foundation |
09/16/2011
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Just weeks after the kernel.org
Linux archive site suffered a hacker attack, the Linux Foundation has
pulled its websites from the web to clean up from a security breach.
A notice posted on the Linux Foundation said the entire infrastructure
including LinuxFoundation.org, Linux.com, and their subdomains are down
for maintenance due to a security breach that was discovered on
September 8, 2011.
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Worries About Security and Economy |
09/15/2011
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Few moments in history rival 9-11. Economically, these are equally rare times.
Is there a connection?
You bet. We live in a post-9-11 economy.
The terror of that Tuesday unfolded a shroud of security that simply makes ordinary life cost more today.
We replaced our lost domestic tranquility with expensive overseas wars.
The Federal Reserve revved its policy apparatus as never before and, in
the eyes of many, contributed to or perhaps caused the financial crash
that came seven Septembers later.
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Monitoring the Border |
09/14/2011
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TerraHawk, LLC, a Texas-based
small business, will be demonstrating its Mobile Utility Surveillance
Tower technology to House and Senate Members and Staff on Thursday,
September 8th. This patented technology is currently being fielded by
law enforcement agencies as a more practical and versatile solution for
emergency response, public event crowd control, general surveillance and
more prominently, as a deterrence asset against drug trafficking and
other illegal activity near our nations borders.
The MUST solution is a reasonably priced, ruggedly versatile platform to
integrate state of the art thermal cameras, ground radar, and other
surveillance technology and can be deployed within two minutes.
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Border Incursions |
09/13/2011
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A national watchdog group says
the Mexican Government incursion that happened just a few miles outside
of El Paso could be a major security threat to the nation.
The Zaragoza Bridge was very active on Thursday, just hours after
hunters reported being shot at and robbed by Mexican gunmen who crossed
the river into the United States. The Border Patrol says those gunmen
were Mexican Federal Police Agents, but they said the shooting and
robbery were not part of their initial investigation.
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Cyber Attacks Cause Government Concern |
09/12/2011
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The Dutch government said it
could not guarantee the security of its own Web sites, days after the
private company it uses to authenticate them acknowledged it had been
hacked. An official also said the government was taking over the
companys operations.
The announcement affects millions of people who use the Netherlands
governments online services and rely on the authenticator, DigiNotar, to
confirm they are visiting the correct sites. To date, there have been
no reports of stolen identities or other specific security breaches.
Officials stopped short of telling people not to use government Web
sites, but said they should heed warnings posted on the sites or from
their browsers.
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Never Forget September 11, 2001 |
09/11/2011
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Never Forget 9-11
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Remain Vigilant |
09/11/2011
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There is no specific or credible intelligence
suggesting that Al Qaeda is plotting an attack to coincide with the
10th anniversary of 9-11, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
said Friday.
Nonetheless, the federal government is urging Americans to remain vigilant as the solemn milestone approaches.
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Security Increase in Wake of Anniversary |
09/10/2011
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As the ten-year anniversary of
the September 11th attacks approaches, the FBI, TSA, and other
government security agencies are on heightened alert for possible terror
attacks.
FBI and intelligence agencies are ramping up security and urgently hunting for any clues of a terrorist plot.
Although there is no specific threat, intelligence officials say they
are deeply concerned that radicals are desperate to pull off an attack
against the united states.
Adding to their concerns is the fact that before his death, Osama Bin
Laden had repeatedly urged Al Qaeda to conduct attacks on the 9-11
anniversary.
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China Wants Bigger Role on Security Council |
09/10/2011
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In a refreshing step, China
shows faith in developing countries by affirming its support for greater
representation of developing countries in the UN Security Council.
Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hailong on Friday called for larger
representation of developing countries within the United Nations
Security Council, specifically African nations, in line with the UNs
goal for reform.
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A cyber-attack on the email
accounts of Texas police chiefs revealed the vulnerability even of the
states top cops and appears to have prompted a new investigation into a
notorious hacking group.
The stealthy group known as Anonymous claimed responsibility for Texas Takedown Thursday. The email accounts of 25 members of the Texas Police Chiefs Association were compromised and their contents posted online.
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Internet Voting |
09/08/2011
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Internet voting could make it
more convenient to cast a ballot in an election, but it is also riskier
than the current in-person voting system, according to a new report from
the provinces elections agency.
While there may be increasing public pressure to modernize B.C.s voting
process with online voting, it's up to provincial politicians to balance
the security risks that keep ballots safe and confidential, Elections
B.C. said in a discussion paper released this week.
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Security for Trusted Travelers |
09/07/2011
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Ten years after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks, airport-security screening is still in flux, with
complaints up, some travelers more outraged than ever and the
Transportation Security Administration embarking on a major strategy
shift.
TSA Administrator John Pistole promises the U.S. is finally moving
toward smarter checkpoint security rather than treating everyone the
same. This fall, the TSA will test a trusted travelers program in
Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Detroit, with expedited screening for select
frequent fliers of American and Delta airlines who are willing to turn
over background information.
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Security Warnings |
09/06/2011
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Homeland Security officials are
warning the public to beware of email scams and possible cyberattacks
related to Hurricane Irene and the upcoming 10th anniversary of the
Sept. 11 attacks.
New bulletins issued in recent days by the Homeland Security Departments
cybersecurity center said computer users should be wary of emails with
subject lines referring to the recent hurricane or 9-11, even if they
appear to come from reputable sources.
The emails could be so-called phishing scams that masquerade as
legitimate requests for personal information or fundraising pleas and
may include innocent-looking links to video or photos.
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Facebook Security Guide |
09/05/2011
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At last, at last. Facebook has
at last released its first official security guide, a long overdue
handbook to help the social media giants half-billion fans understand,
recognize and avoid the multitude of scams they face every day. With
headers such as Avoiding malicious script scam, Avoiding Facebook account thieves, and "Avoiding gaming scams, the 14-page Own Your Space
guide is full of not just suggestions, but detailed directions on how
best to navigate Facebook without falling through any number of
dangerous holes.
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TSA Anniversary on the Horizon |
09/04/2011
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This fall marks the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9-11.
It is also the tenth anniversary of the Transportation Security Administration which was created in response to the attacks.
Over the last decade the agency says it has prevented millions of
potential threats but people have also raised concerns about the TSAs
tactics.
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Comscore Security Case |
09/03/2011
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A proposed class-action lawsuit
filed in federal court in Chicago on Tuesday accuses online tracking and
analytics firm comScore of surreptitiously collecting Social Security
numbers, credit card numbers, passwords and other data from consumer
systems.
The lawsuit also accuses comScore of a wide range of other misdeeds,
including changing security settings and opening backdoors on end-user
systems, stealing information from word processing documents, emails and
PDFs, redirecting user traffic, and injecting data collection code into
browsers and IM (instant messaging) applications.
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Campus Security Apps |
09/02/2011
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With a tap on his smartphone,
University of Maryland student Shiv Krishnamoorthy can instantly alert
police as he walks through the dimly lit corners of the College Park
campus — and share with them his precise location, plus live video and
audio.
The app, which was developed by a university computer science professor
and a team of students in conjunction with campus police, is the first
of its kind in the small but growing field of smartphone apps for campus
security.
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Facebook Security a Mixed Bag |
09/01/2011
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Facebook this week announced a
major revamp to its privacy settings as well as a few new related
features. The overall consensus is that this is a step forward, but
security experts still have mixed feelings.
ESET, a Slovakian IT security company, declared that the changes were
positive. The company particularly underlined that they were good for
Facebooks average user who is clueless when it comes to privacy
settings.
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China Fears Lady Gaga |
08/31/2011
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Chinese officials have ordered
music by Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and other pop stars to be deleted from
download sites because the tunes could be threats to the countrys cultural national security.
The countrys Ministry of Culture ordered that a list of 100 songs --
including Lady Gaga's Judas and Perrys Last Friday Night -- be purged
from Chinese Web sites by September 15 because they have never been
submitted for mandatory government screening, according to the
Associated Press. A total of six Lady Gaga songs are on the list -- all
of them from her latest album.
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Utility Security |
08/30/2011
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A new report by Pike Research
forecasts that utilities will invest $4.1 billion in cyber security for
industrial control systems (ICS) between now and 2018. The cleantech
market intelligence firm also expects those investments to grow at a
steady rate, from $309 million in 2011 to $692 million annually by 2018.
The report, Industrial Control Systems Security, analyzes and forecasts
the ICS security market for smart grids and includes a detailed
assessment of the primary risks those smart grid systems face.
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Microsoft Finding Competitors Security Holes |
08/29/2011
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Researchers at Microsoft have
been quietly finding — and helping to fix — security defects in
products made by third-party vendors, including Apple and Google.
This month alone, the MSVR team released advisories to document
vulnerabilities in WordPress and Apples Safari browser and in July,
software flaws were found and fixed in Google Picasa and Facebook.
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Fake Pesticides a Security Concern |
08/28/2011
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Pesticides are a two-edged
sword. We take the risks of toxicological and ecological side effects
because the first priority is to feed a growing population of humans.
Those that cannot afford organic must trust the laws and regulations to
protect them. And all of us depend on those laws to prevent threats to
the sustainability of ecosystems upon which we rely. But a report this
week reveals that those laws are powerless in the face of a new threat:
fake, or counterfeit, pesticides.
The Wall Street Journal has brought to light examples like pesticides
produced with the solvent dimethylformamide, suspected of harming unborn
children in the womb, at concentrations as high as 30%. The solvent is
illegal in pesticides sold in Europe -- but here comes the hitch:
European laws do not allow customs agents to seize the fake pesticides
because pesticides are not covered by counterfeiting laws.
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