cybersecurity

As the U.S. Senate races toward its August recess, lawmakers are filing tons of amendments to the Cybersecurity Act, a number of them designed to add privacy protections.

The amendments are an effort to meet the wishes of pro-business Republicans and pro-privacy Democrats and to reach a compromise that can be enacted into law. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is pushing to get cybersecurity legislation voted on this week before the Senate breaks for recess in August.

The Democrat-based Cybersecurity Act of 2012, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) as it stands has already been modified to meet the needs … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Over the past two decades, hackers at Defcon and the feds have been circling each other suspiciously. The nation's top "spook" -- National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander -- giving a keynote at the hacker confab, shows just how much tensions have mellowed.

"I've spent 20 years trying to get someone from the NSA" to speak at Defcon, said Defcon founder Jeff Moss, who serves on the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council and is chief security officer for ICANN. "It's eye-opening to see the world from their … Read more

Netflix users may be getting closer to being allowed to disclose to friends what videos they're watching.

The Senate could vote on an amendment next week to the Senate Cybersecurity bill that would allow this kind of sharing, according to a report in the TheHill.com. Right now, because of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), Netflix users can disclose what other kinds of media they're enjoying but not videos.

The VPAA was implemented after reporters from the Washington City Paper obtained a list in 1988 of the videos rented by then Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. His … Read more

In a move to get cybersecurity legislation approved before the Senate recess, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and four colleagues introduced a modified version of their proposed cybersecurity legislation that adds privacy protections for consumers and removes government mandated security standards.

Republicans had opposed the initial version of the Democrat-backed bill, introduced in February, because it called for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assess power companies, utilities, and other firms that operate critical infrastructure for security problems and create performance standards -- provisions that were considered too regulatory and restrictive on businesses by Republicans in the Senate.

The new … Read more

Two U.S. senators are calling for a federal investigation of the power grid's potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities after a CNET article last month raised security concerns.

The request for a probe comes from Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Susan Collins (R-ME), the panel's senior Republican, who warned that lapses "could undermine part of the security system protecting our grid."

They sent a letter yesterday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking for an "expeditious comprehensive investigation into these allegations," which deal with digital signatures the industry … Read more

For most ordinary citizens, leaked information from a smartphone or tablet is a hassle but not a life-or-death situation. But for soldiers it can be another story.

The U.S. government is working to reinforce soldiers' devices against data breaches. According to The New York Times, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has given a $21 million grant to the company Invincea to protect soldiers' Android-based phones and tablets from cyber threats.

"By separating untrusted apps and content we are preventing the compromise of the operating system," founder of Invincea Anup Ghosh told The New York … Read more

Ever wondered what happens when unwanted activity is reported on Facebook, such as explicit photos, hate speech, or hacked accounts?

Facebook is aiming to make it easier for users to understand what it does when user reports are filed by publishing the "Reporting Guide" infographic today (see above).

"With a community of over 901 million people, Facebook maintains a robust reporting infrastructure made up of dedicated teams all over the world and innovative technology systems," the social network writes on the infographic.

Security technology used by U.S. electric utilities is flawed and could increase the odds of computer intrusions or sabotage, the chairman of an industry standards group warns.

Jesse Hurley, co-chair of the North American Energy Standards Board's Critical Infrastructure Committee, says the mechanism for creating digital signatures for authentication is insufficiently secure because not enough is being done to verify identities and some companies are attempting to weaken standards to fit their business models.

"These certificates protect access to control systems," Hurley told CNET. "They protect access to a $400 billion market. They protect access … Read more

The United Nations has seized on the appearance of the Flame worm, which targeted computers in the Middle East, to argue that it should have more authority to deal with cybersecurity threats on the Internet.

Last week, the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union circulated a statement about Flame saying the malware "reinforces the need for a coordinated response" that could come from "building a global coalition." It took credit for Flame's discovery, saying Kaspersky Lab identified it "following a technical analysis requested by the ITU." (See CNET's FAQ.)

ITU spokesman Paul Conneally … Read more