Cyber Security – #AllTheNews

Feds seek 5 years prison for journalist in hacking case

The Justice Department is seeking a five-year prison sentence for a journalist convicted of giving the hacker collective Anonymous login credentials used to deface a story on the Los Angeles Times website in 2010.

Prosecutors are complaining that Matthew Keys, 29, a social media maven who worked for two TV stations and the Reuters news agency, used digital media such as Twitter to thumb his nose at the legal system in the wake of the guilty verdicts a federal jury in Sacramento returned against him last year.

“He expressed contempt for the jury’s verdict,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Segal wrote in a sentencing memo filed Wednesday. “Minutes after the verdict, [Keys] tweeted, ‘That was b—s—.’”

“It is exceptionally rare to see a defendant engage in an after-verdict press campaign to undermine public confidence in the jury’s verdict.” Segal wrote. “It is a direct attack on the work of the jury and the validity of the verdicts. It undermines respect for law at a time when the public seems more willing to credit strongly worded criticism of traditional institutions.”

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/03/feds-seek-5-years-prison-for-journalist-in-hacking-case-220622

U.S. intelligence chief warns of ‘homegrown’ security threat

Director of U.S. National Intelligence James Clapper speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York March 2, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Attacks by “homegrown” Islamist extremists are among the most imminent security threats facing the United States in 2016, along with dangers posed overseas by Islamic State and cyber security concerns, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday.

In his annual assessment of threats to the United States, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned that fast-moving cyber and technological advances “could lead to widespread vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructures and U.S. government systems.”

In prepared testimony before the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, Clapper outlined an array of other threats from Russia and North Korean nuclear ambitions to instability caused by the Syrian migrant crisis.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-idUSKCN0VI1AQ

White House turns to Pentagon in major background checks overhaul

Demonstrators from the organization Code Pink wear toy glasses reading ''Stop Spying'' at the ''Stop Watching Us: A Rally Against Mass Surveillance'' near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 26, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The U.S. government will set up a new agency to do background checks on employees and contractors, the White House said on Friday, after a massive breach of U.S. government files exposed the personal data of millions of people last year.

As a part of a sweeping overhaul, the Obama administration said it will establish a National Background Investigations Bureau. It will replace the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Federal Investigative Services (FIS), which currently conducts investigations for over 100 Federal agencies.

The move, a stiff rebuke for FIS and OPM, comes after last year’s disclosure that a hack of OPM computers exposed the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information of roughly 22 million current and former federal employees and contractors, as well as applicants for federal jobs and individuals listed on background check forms.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cybersecurity-whitehouse-idUSKCN0V022F?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter

White House turns to Pentagon in major background checks overhaul https://t.co/Ap8OCh0KXn

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) January 22, 2016

FDA Issues its First-Ever Cybersecurity Alert

The FDA warned that the Symbiq Infusion System, manufactured by Hospira, contains vulnerabilities in its software that could allow a hacker to adjust the dosage of a drug.

The vulnerabilities were first detected by cybersecurity researcher Billy Rios, and later confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team.

The FDA says Hospira is aware of the cybersecurity weaknesses with the Symbiq Infusion System, and has recommended hospitals stop using them and switch to alternative infusion systems. The agency said it was not aware “of any patient adverse events or unauthorized access of a Symbiq Infusion System in a health care setting.”

Hospira has stopped manufacturing and distributing the Symbiq Infusion System, which was “due to unrelated issues,” according to the FDA. However, many of them are still available for purchase through medical supply companies. The FDA advised health care facilities to avoid purchasing the pumps from these third parties.

http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/fda-issues-its-first-ever-cybersecurity-alert?news=857125

FDA ISSUES ITS FIRST-EVER CYBERSECURITY ALERT

The FDA warned that the Symbiq Infusion System, manufactured by Hospira, contains vulnerabilities in its software that could allow a hacker to adjust the dosage of a drug.

The vulnerabilities were first detected by cybersecurity researcher Billy Rios, and later confirmed by theDepartment of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team.

http://www.infowars.com/fda-issues-its-first-ever-cybersecurity-alert/

Web Wars: German Army to Enter Global Cyberwar – German Media

The strategy guidelines serve as a basis for the new White Paper of the Bundeswehr, which will be released in 2016 and is designed to define the German security policy orientation.

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150723/1024972985.html

WEB WARS: GERMAN ARMY TO ENTER GLOBAL CYBERWAR – GERMAN MEDIA

The Bundeswehr is facing a major change of its strategy in cyber warfare. In addition to defense against cyberattacks, the German army is due to perform attacks on foreign states, DWN wrote, referring to a strategy paper of the German Ministry of Defense.