Security

Federal Agency Demands, Competition Challenge Cloud Vendors
June 18, 2013

The GAO earlier this month found two key deficiencies in a cloud contract that the CIA intended to award to AWS. The GAO decision was prompted by a protest against the contract filed by IBM. GAO is the designated federal agency for handling challenges to federal contracts. The proposed contract provides for commercially managed cloud computing services for the federal intelligence community.

Tech Giants Dump Data in Trust-Rebuilding Bid
June 17, 2013

In the wake of recent revelations that the government has been tapping their networks to monitor users, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft in recent days have all published more information about those monitoring requests. Facebook, for example, reported that for the six months ending December 31, 2012, the number of user-data requests it received from U.S. government entities was between 9,000 and 10,000.

Google to Pit Technology Against Child Pornographers
June 17, 2013

Google is spearheading an initiative to build a picture-sharing database aimed at ridding the Web of child pornography. The company's new database will rely on "hashing" technology; once an image has been flagged as offensive, it uses an algorithm to identify that photo elsewhere on the Web. Despite widespread efforts to combat it, child pornography online is only growing.

Up, Up and Away: Google Balloons to Beam Internet Access
June 17, 2013

Regardless of how this turns out, at least they nailed the name. Google is launching about 30 superpressure balloons that will beam Internet access back to the ground. With equal parts brevity and self-deprecation, the effort has been dubbed "Project Loon." Taking flight from New Zealand, the balloons will sail around the world on a controlled path.

Ending the US' Cyberwar Against Its Citizens
June 17, 2013

I'm into fixing problems -- in fact, for much of my life I've been employed as someone who is brought in to fix a difficult problem. I don't see much point in just complaining -- either try to fix it, ignore it, or move someplace where it doesn't affect you. The current problem is that the U.S. appears to be conducting a cyberwar against its citizens.

From the Inevitable Files: Lawmakers Scrutinize Snowden-China Connections
June 14, 2013

Well, this was bound to happen. U.S. lawmakers said Thursday that the House Intelligence Committee -- the same House Intelligence Committee that trashed Chinese telecommunications companies last year -- will conduct a "thorough scrub" of connections between China and Eric Snowden. Snowden -- a "traitor," according to Committee chairman Mike Rogers, R.-Mich. -- is now believed to be in Hong Kong.

Is Verizon's Uncomfortable Silence Savvy PR?
June 14, 2013

Verizon is on the hot seat. It is at the center of the story about releasing customer information to the NSA. While Verizon does make information about every call available to the agency, the actual conversation is still private -- for now, at least. To date, Verizon has been quiet as the argument rages. Is quiet what you expect from the PR department of any company caught in such a storm?

Google Outs Iran for Pre-Election Phishing Expedition
June 13, 2013

Google announced it has been tracking and disrupting "multiple email-based phishing campaigns" in Iran. The campaigns, which have been going on for nearly three weeks, are targeting the accounts of tens of thousands of Iranian users. Google posits that the phishing is related to the Iranian presidential elections, which will be held Friday.

Iceland Won't Grant Snowden Asylum - Until He Gets There
June 12, 2013

As far as Iceland goes, Edward Snowden may be left out in the cold. Snowden, the whistleblower who made international headlines after leaking secrets about the U.S. National Security Agency's PRISM program, is believed to currently be in Hong Kong. Given Hong Kong's history of extraditing people to the United States, speculation has turned to where Snowden might go after Hong Kong.

Tech Industry Could Pay Stiff Price for PRISM
June 07, 2013

Technology firms in the United States might be impacted adversely by the National Security Agency's controversial PRISM program. Classified documents about the program leaked to The Washington Post and The Guardian indicate that major U.S. high-tech companies provide it data. This data is the major source of raw intelligence for the NSA's analytical reports, according to the agency.

Early Salvos Launched Ahead of Cybersecurity Talks
June 07, 2013

President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon meet to talk cybersecurity, but plenty of people on either side are talking already. A day after China's claim that it has data proving U.S. hackers have been attacking the Middle Kingdom, U.S. officials say Chinese hackers orchestrated "a massive cyberespionage operation against the 2008 presidential campaigns" of Obama and McCain.

Microsoft, FBI Flatten Monster Botnet
June 07, 2013

A coalition comprising Microsoft, the FBI, and financial-industry and tech firms has taken out more than 1,400 botnets that used the Citadel Trojan to steal victims' online banking information and information about their identities. Microsoft filed a civil suit last week against 82 alleged botnet operators and cut communications between the botnets and millions of infected PCs they controlled.

How to Password-Protect Your Digital Life
June 06, 2013

It's no longer acceptable to use birthdates, pet names and so on for passwords. These easily guessed words were never secure, but it didn't matter much in the past. Who cared if a black hat got into your email account? So what? However, things are much different today, because our lives are now digitally enveloped. Everything from banking to relationships is now inexorably online.

Hack Reports Fly Ahead of China, US Presidents' Meeting
June 03, 2013

Numerous new accusations have kept cyberespionage firmly in the media spotlight in the run-up to President Barack Obama's meeting this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Within 24 hours, stories broke about Chinese hackers pinching the designs for some of Uncle Sam's critical weapons systems and nicking the architectural plans for the $630 million headquarters for Australia's top spy agency.

SoftBank, US Forge National Security Deal
May 30, 2013

SoftBank has reached a national security agreement with U.S. authorities, perhaps clearing the way for the Japanese company to purchase Sprint Nextel. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about potential ties between SoftBank and Chinese telecommunications firms like Huawei. Chinese telecoms drew the ire of Congress in late 2012, and security rhetoric has recently ratcheted up.

Amazon Spreads Its Influence With Single Sign-In
May 30, 2013

Amazon on Tuesday announced a feature that lets users access websites using their Amazon account information. The goal of Login with Amazon is to reduce sign-in friction by providing secure credentials to websites, apps, games and other online access points on the Web, as well as on Android and iOS devices. Google+, Facebook and Twitter already offer similar social sign-in capabilities.

China to Conduct Digital War Games
May 29, 2013

President Obama will definitely have something to talk about. Beijing announced that China will conduct its first "digital war games," a proclamation that will likely do nothing to allay United States concerns about China's propensity for hacking and cyberespionage. The timing of the announcement is noteworthy: Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Obama next month to discuss cybersecurity.

'Comment Crew' Back in Action Against US Cybertargets, Says Mandiant
May 28, 2013

China and Iran were accused last week of renewing their cyberattacks on U.S. computer systems after a brief hiatus. A gang of Chinese hackers allegedly affiliated with the country's People's Liberation Army has resumed infiltrating U.S. computer systems after making a strategic withdrawal earlier this year, according to cybersecurity firm Mandiant.

Kim Dotcom: Two-Step Authentication Patent Is Mine
May 24, 2013

Kim Dotcom, founder of the seized file-sharing site Megaupload, hinted via Twitter that he might sue the slew of companies using two-step authentication, for which Dotcom claims to own the patent. Dotcom provided a link to a patent that deals with two layers of identification, corroborating his purported ownership.

Twitter Learns How to Do the 2-Step
May 23, 2013

Twitter has announced it is deploying a long-awaited security measure: two-factor verification. The move comes about a month after The Associated Press' Twitter account was hacked. Twitter is late to the game with this security tactic. A number of companies already feature it. However, the company must have scrambled to get it in place after hackers sent the stock market reeling last month