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The U.S. Government has decided to expand a program that scans Internet traffic in and out of defense contractors to include more private, civilian-run operations. Now more private sector employees will have their emails and Internet activities scanned. Those affected include big banks, utilities and transportation companies. Under last month's White House executive order on cybersecurity, the scans will be driven by classified information provided by U.S. intelligence agencies — including data from the National Security Agency (NSA) — on new or especially serious espionage threats and other hacking attempts. U.S. spy chiefs said on March 12 that cyber attacks...

Devastating cellphone hacks that hijack your most personal gadget and rob you of privacy and money have long been forecast. But even as smartphone users in Asia are beginning to suffer exploding bills and emptied bank accounts at the hands of hackers, U.S. users largely remain safe and blissfully unaware of the gathering threat. Criminals have been probing the systems that protect U.S. smartphone users for years, searching for the right combination of programming tricks and social engineering that would allow them to sneak onto users' phones. They took a year-old mobile virus named NotCompatible, which allows hackers to take...

In e-mail blasts this weekend, “Guccifer” sent documents stolen from the e-mail account of a former White House aide to congressional aides, political figures, and journalists. Armed with confidential memos to Hillary Clinton that were stolen from the e-mail account of a former White House aide, a hacker has distributed some of the documents to a wide array of congressional aides, political figures, and journalists worldwide. In a series of weekend e-mail blasts, the hacker known as “Guccifer” disseminated four recent memos to Clinton from Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime confidant of the former Secretary of State.

Under pressure from American industry to curb Chinese cyber attacks, White House national security adviser Thomas Donilon warned China on Monday that the United States will defend its computer networks from the attacks. Donilon said U.S. businesses share serious concerns “about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information, and proprietary technologies through cyber intrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale,” in a speech on Asia. “The international community cannot afford to tolerate such activity from any country,” he told a meeting of the Asia Society in New York. “As the president said in the state of the union, we...

Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox all fell to the mercy of the hackers Thursday. That is, in a controlled environment. Security firms Vupen and MWR Labs were able to crack the browsers during a condoned bug-hunt, with one company winning $100,000 for finding a huge hole. The Pwn2Own competition is an event at the CanSecWest conference in Vancouver. The competition was created by HP’s DVLabs as part of its Zero Day Initiative: an attempt to get more people to find and report bugs as opposed to exploiting them for personal gains.

President Obama two years ago rejected a series of tough actions against China, including counter-cyber attacks and economic sanctions, for Beijing’s aggressive campaign of cyber espionage against the U.S. government and private businesses networks, according to administration officials. Meanwhile, China recently issued a veiled threat to the United States about U.S. accusations of Chinese military cyber espionage. China told U.S. officials that continued U.S. public accusations of cyber espionage would render future bilateral discussions unproductive during recent U.S.-China talks following the release of a security firm’s report linking the Chinese military to cyber spying. On plans to deter Chinese cyber...

The explosion in smartphone use is leaving businesses vulnerable to cyberattacks since almost half of their employees’ mobile phones can become a target, according to new research. The 2012 Cyber Security Risk Report—published by Hewlett-Packard at the recent RSA security conference in San Francisco—found that mobile phone vulnerabilities rose significantly (68%) from 2011 to 2012, mirroring the growth of mobile applications and the use of smartphones. Of the mobile applications tested by HP, 48% of them were found to be vulnerable to unauthorized access. The European Council and Parliament are to consider a Commission-proposed cybersecurity strategy in the coming months....

Comments The Homeland Security Department has launched a new online resource that makes cybersecurity career and training information more readily available to federal employees and the public. The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website is part of an effort to elevate cybersecurity awareness as well as educate the government and public about education, careers and workforce development opportunities available in the cybersecurity field. “DHS is committed to working with our partners in academia and throughout the private sector to develop the next generation of cyber professionals to protect against evolving cyber threats,” said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. “NICCS...

WASHINGTON—Today, senior Administration officials provided an update on the Administration’s Priorities for Cybersecurity Policy at the Department of Commerce. Yesterday, the President signed an Executive Order (EO) on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity and a Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. These actions will strengthen the security and resilience of critical infrastructure against evolving threats through an updated and overarching national framework that acknowledges the increased role of cybersecurity in securing physical assets. "DHS actively collaborates with public and private sector partners every day to help prevent and respond to attempted disruptions to the Nation’s critical cyber...

According to a threat posted on Anonymous information website Anon Relations.net, the loosely banded hacker collective will attempt to disrupt the State of the Union address Tuesday by preventing it from being broadcast online. **SNIP** The AnonRelations.net post cites a litany of offenses as motive for the threatened attack, from "tyrannical" legislation to the treatment of Internet heroes like Aaron Swartz and Bradley Manning. It goes on to state that hackers will "form a virtual blockade between Capitol Hill and the Internet," although onlookers may be skeptical of the group's ability to do this. A recent campaign against Israel during...

The White House is poised to release an executive order aimed at thwarting cyberattacks against critical infrastructure on Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter told The Hill. The highly anticipated directive from President Obama is expected to be released at a briefing Wednesday morning at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where senior administration officials will provide an update about cybersecurity policy. The executive order would establish a voluntary program in which companies operating critical infrastructure would elect to meet cybersecurity best practices and standards crafted, in part, by the government. Observers are expecting the president to briefly mention the...

On Thursday afternoon, less than a day after the Times' story was posted online, its ideological rival the Wall Street Journal revealed that it, too, had been attacked by Chinese hackers. On Friday, the Washington Post, following a scoop by a former staffer, was forced to admit that its networks had been penetrated for years. The Journal provided fewer details than the Times, but said that "in the most recent incident," hackers had managed to break into computers in the Journal's Beijing bureau in mid-2012. From there, the Journal said, the intruders were able to access the Journal's worldwide computer...

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned internet users at the Wilson Center this morning that cyberspace was becoming more dangerous as more and more Americans go online. “Every individual on the net is vulner – is a potential, uh, opening,” Napolitano stated, adding that the internet was a “great thing.” “We just want to make sure that everyone remains safe and free,” she continued. “So that requires everyone to take some responsibility, have good cyber-habits, make sure we use the phrase ‘Stop, think, connect.’”

The National Security Agency has shot down a Freedom of Information Act request for details about an elusive presidential order that may allow the government to deploy the military within the United States for the supposed sake of cybersecurity. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports on Tuesday that their recent FOIA request for information about a top-secret memo signed last month by US President Barack Obama has been rejected [PDF]. Now attorneys for EPIC say they plan to file an appeal to get to the bottom of Presidential Policy Directive 20. Although the executive order has been on the...

While Sabu and Topiary are firmly on the inside, the likes of The Jester and LulzSec Exposed are most certainly notInside Sabu Apparent founder and leader of LulzSec, he is a long-time hacktivist associated with senior Anonymous members. Decides who can join the group and who should be targeted. Attempts by rivals to uncover details about his real-life identity suggest he is a 30-year-old IT consultant skilled in the Python programming language who has lived in New York. The timing of some his tweets – tweeting "goodnight all" at 0700 BST, or 0200 New York time – implies he is...

Six members of the suspected computer hacking groups affiliated with Anonymous were charged—including the suspected ring leader, who directed the entire operation from a Manhattan apartment complex—after it was revealed one of the group's most high profile members has been working with federal authorities for months. Hector Monsegur, a 28-year-old American believed to use the name "Sabu" on the internet, was arrested by federal agents last year and has been cooperating with law enforcement ever since, officials said. He pleaded guilty last August, a plea unsealed in federal court in Lower Manhattan today. At least four of the five other...

The White House is being asked by attorneys to explain a top-secret presidential policy directive signed last month that may allow for the domestic deployment of the US military for the sake of so-called cybersecurity. Lawyers with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) have filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the office of US President Barack Obama in hopes if hearing more about an elusive order signed in secrecy in mid-October but only made public in an article published this week in the Washington Post. According to persons close to the White House who have seen the...

Petraeus could probably have used better technology. Its however safe to assume if you write something in a digital realm, the Federal Government can find it if they want to find it. If you need to be discreet, feel you deserve your privacy, or otherwise want the Government and others to stay away there are some good practices to follow...

Updated at 8 p.m. ET: NEW YORK - A suspected terrorist parked a van packed with what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb next to the Federal Reserve building in Lower Manhattan and tried to detonate it Wednesday morning before he was arrested in a terror sting operation, authorities said. The suspect, 21-year-old Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, is a Bangladeshi national who came to the U.S. on a student visa in January for the specific purpose of launching a terror attack here, authorities said. He allegedly told an undercover agent last month that he hoped the attack would disrupt...

First, let me say that I thoroughly believe Iran is our enemy and is virtually capable of any evil deed and/or atrocity in the name of Allah. And I further believe that Russia is behind Iran and its deeds – Trevor Loudon and I are in total agreement on this. I also agree with Trevor that there is a strong likelihood of Obama pulling an October surprise by striking Iran. That scenario is gaining in possibility every day, with Leon Panetta at the forefront. But it will be an attack that is for show and not for true defense. It...