Plan to Dumb-Down the Power Grid In Name of Cybersecurity Passes Senate
The Senate passed a measure to establish a two-year pilot program to investigate the possibilities of analog systems to be integrated into the U.S. power grid in order to prevent cyber vulnerabilities. Introduced in 2017 and approved by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, a mirror version of the “retro
South China Sea and Taiwan among flashpoints for armed conflict in 2019, survey warns US policymakers
The South China Sea and Taiwan have made Council of Foreign Relations’ Centre for Preventative Action list of hotspots for potential armed conflict in 2019. While the issue of the South China Sea has been on the list before, it marks the first time that Taiwan has been included. North
The Amazing Ways Facial Recognition AIs Are Used In China
“The country on the cutting edge of facial recognition technology and the amazing ways it can be put to use is definitely China. While the Chinese government and many of the country’s current systems, large population (more than 1.3 billion citizens) and centralized identity data bases might make adopting facial
Poor Security Could Leave U.S. Defenseless Against Missile Attacks
“The Defense Department’s inconsistent security practices leave technical data about the nation’s missile defense system vulnerable to inside and outside threats, according to the agency auditor. The ballistic missile defense system is designed to detect and intercept incoming missiles before they hit their intended targets. The system is made up
Hackers are making their attacks look like they came from the Chinese government
“Hackers are increasingly using false flag operations that wrongly point the blame toward China for some cyberattacks, threat intelligence experts said. Because Chinese hackers often rely on publicly available tools for their operations, it is easy to mimic their signature viruses, Brandon Helms, the chief operations officers at Rendition Infosecurity,
Taxpayer IDs for 120 Million Brazilians Exposed Online
“A misconfigured server exposed the taxpayer identification numbers, or Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas (CPFs), for 120 million Brazilian nationals for an unknown period of time Before a Brazilian national can perform many tasks such as opening a bank account, creating a business, paying taxes, or getting a loan, they must first apply for a Cadastro
The Growing Gulf Between Silicon Valley and Washington: A National Security Issue
The gap between Silicon Valley’s tech giants and Washington, especially the Defense Department and the Intelligence Community, is a national security issue, according to a recent opinion piece in The Atlantic. While decisions on tough foreign policy actions against actors like China and Russia have become increasingly bipartisan, tech giants
How DHS is Trying to Separate Quality Cyber Tools from Snake Oil
How do you compare and test the efficacy of cybersecurity products and companies when the information is proprietary? In many situations, you cannot. The research division of DHS is currently trying to understand how comparisons could be possible that are based on rational actor notions. With cybersecurity companies selling their
Blurry satellite photos of military bases reveal more than they hide
“Open-source researchers often use satellite images, especially across multiple providers, to uncover information that is otherwise difficult to obtain. In November 2017, the World Bank released an analysis of satellite footage of ISIS-held territory to reveal that the statelet was struggling to produce oil. In September 2018, open-source investigation house
‘PowerSnitch’ Hacks Androids via Power Banks
“An inexpensive Android hacking tool can create a covert communications channel in the power current generated while a smartphone charges on a power bank. The so-called ‘PowerSnitch’ attack, which was demonstrated here this week by Oxford University researcher Riccardo Spolaor, shows that a determined hacker doesn’t actually need a network