Business Smart Security

And so, to confront one of the newest and most damaging crimes, it turned to one of the oldest tricks in human history: deception.
Timeline: Explore some of the technological advances that led to cyberspace and some examples of notable hacks.
The Waseca, Minn., company began planting fake data in Web servers to lure hackers into “rabbit holes” in the hopes of frustrating them into giving up. The bait was varied — including bogus user log-ins and passwords and phony system configuration files. Anyone who took it was being watched by Brown, their computer locations tagged and their tactics recorded.

To thwart hackers, firms salting their servers with fake data

Layered Cyber Defense

Keystroke-logger checks your identity as you type

The traditional password is notoriously troublesome as a way of keeping your devices secure. Many people use simple, easy-to-guess passwords like qwerty or 123456, or reuse the same one across multiple services, putting only one line of defence in front of their entire digital life.

David Hibler of Christopher Newport University, Virginia, and colleagues designed software called URIEL, which uses the average time between keystrokes as a surprisingly accurate way of identifying an individual. The software learns the user's typing style by measuring the time between key presses over 10 areas of the keyboard as a user types, and learns who they are as they type

Kill the Password

Why a String of Characters Can't Protect Us Anymore: You have a secret that can ruin your life. It's not a well-kept secret, either. Just a simple string of characters maybe six of them if you're careless, 16 if you're cautious that can reveal everything about you.

Strong Passwords Can't Save Us

The New York Times Is Wrong: Strong Passwords Can't Save Us: On Nov. 7, The New York Times ran a story called "How to Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away." Written by Silicon Valley correspondent Nicole Perlroth, the piece reigned over the paper?s Most Emailed List for a full week, and for a good reason: It's properly freaked out about just how vulnerable we all are ...

Cyberforensics

The Real Cyberforensics Used To Snoop On Petraeus (And You)

NYT coverage of the Flame Cyberweapon

This is the article that caused all the fuss--well the most recent fuss.

Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran

I went back and found this after reading David Ignatius' piece about leaks and journalists.

Flame Cyberweapon

Here is a news roundup from ThreaPost:

"Are the winds of cyber war blowing, or is the newly discovered Flame worm just a tempest in a teapot? Just days after it was disclosed to the public, the Flame worm is fanning the flames of controversy within the security world."

Military-Business Cooperation

ThreatPost: U.S. Cyber Command Using Classified Intel To Scare CEOs To Action

The U.S.'s Cyber Command is using special, classified briefings with private sector CEOs to scare them into greater vigilance about the threat of cyber attacks

 This is a big step in the right direction for an inclusive and layered national defense.

Wise Browsing

Wired: How to Use the Internet Wisely, for Your Health and Your Country's

There's a lot of bad information out there online. This guide can help you avoid the crap and become a savvier citizen of our digital age.

The Future (of cyber crime) is Now

It's not just your personal data that needs protecting, now your ideas are vulnerable too. Why steal a bank account number or diamonds from a jewelry store when you can steal a Billion dollar idea?

Kickstarter Data Breach Publishes 70,000 Startup Ideas

Browse Wisely

This is you browsing the internet

Here is a solid article from the NY Times about maintaining some level of privacy when using the internet.  It covers tools and methods

The bottom line:

"Companies like Google are creating these enormous databases using your personal information,” said Paul Hill, senior consultant withSystemExperts, a network security company in Sudbury, Mass. “They may have the best of intentions now, but who knows what they will look like 20 years from now, and by then it will be too late to take it all back.”

“I have nothing to hide, but I’m uncomfortable with what we give away" 

Slideshow: Travel Security

Threatpost:

How to avoid getting hacked while traveling

Your mobile device may be compromised before you even deplane 

American business and cyber security

smh.com.au

The Atlantic

We all know that cyber security is a pretty big deal these days and yet it doesn't really get that much attention outside the security industry. That must be why Richard Clarke is on a one man crusade to sound the alarm. Spectrum has a good summary of his latest comments:

"Every major company in the United States has already been penetrated by China."

Personal digital security for travelers

randomwire.com

Your personal, business, and national data is always at risk but when you travel internationally (China) the threat is immediate. Discover Magazine has a good post on the subject with links (NYTimes)

More Espionage from China

ChinaLawAndPolicy.com

As I have said, espionage--especially the cyber version--is a unappreciated and growing threat to the US. It might have even compromised the F-35 program.

Cyberdefense: Stuxnet

Threatpost.com has an update that provides some new details to the Stuxnet story that Wired got a lot of kudos for back in  July. Interesting stuff.

Chinese Espionage

Here is an interesting article about possible Chinese intelligence ops. I think foreign (e.g. Chinese) espionage poses the trickiest strategic threat to the US. Our strategic competitive advantage increasingly relies on our commercial (and defense) secrets. The international playing field is leveled when our advancements are known. We are historically bad at keeping secrets but global companies and information networks also make them more available. That's why I think counterespionage and counterintelligence--two traditionally lower priority missions--are going to be booming industries in both the public and private arenas.

"I don’t think American universities or think tanks take CICIR’s intelligence-collection or disinformation tasks seriously...”

Russian Cybercriminal caught

From Threatpost.com

Alleged Russian Cybercriminal Extradited to U.S.