DHS & Public Safety Canada Started Joint Cybersecurity Action Plan

DHS & Public Safety Canada Started Joint Cybersecurity Action Plan

A joint venture Cyber Security plan has been announced by US Department of Homeland Security and Canada. According to the official website of Public Safety Canada - PS Canada along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are pursuing a coordinated approach to enhance the resiliency of our cyber infrastructure. The Cybersecurity Action Plan (the Action Plan) between PS and DHS seeks to enhance the cybersecurity of our nations through increased integration of PS' and DHS' respective national cybersecurity activities and improved collaboration with the private sector. This Action Plan represents just one of many important efforts between Canada and the United States to deepen our already strong bilateral cybersecurity cooperation.

As the Internet knows no borders, all countries have a responsibility to prevent, respond to, and recover from cyber disruptions and to make cyberspace safer for all citizens across the globe. Due to a shared physical border, Canada and the United States have an additional mutual interest in partnering to protect our shared infrastructure. This Action Plan aims to articulate a shared approach to fulfill PS' and DHS' vision of working together to defend and protect our use of cyberspace and to strengthen the resiliency of our nations. These efforts, combined, advance the objectives articulated by President Obama and Prime Minister Harper in the February 2011 declaration, Beyond the Border: A Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness.

This Action Plan outlines three goals for improved engagement, collaboration, and information sharing at the operational and strategic levels, with the private sector, and in public awareness activities, for activities conducted by PS and DHS. The Action Plan establishes lines of communication and areas for collaborative work critical to enhancing the cybersecurity preparedness of both nations. The Action Plan's goals and objectives are to be conducted in accordance with the June 2012 Statement of Privacy Principles by the United States and Canada. This Action Plan is intended to remain a living document to be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as needed to support new requirements that align to the Plan's key goals and objectives. It intends to support and inform current and future efforts to advance the goals of Beyond the Border, which ultimately seeks to enhance broad bilateral cooperation on cybersecurity efforts across both governments.

Goals and Objectives:-

1. Enhanced Cyber Incident Management Collaboration between National Cybersecurity Operations Centers

PS' Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre intends to work jointly with DHS' United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team and Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team towards the following objectives:

• 1.1 Increase real-time collaboration between analysts by improving existing channels for remote communication and arranging in-person visits;
• 1.2 Enhance information sharing at all classification levels and collaborate on training opportunities, while promoting inter-agency coordination, as appropriate, as well as the proper protections for information, as outlined in the Statement of Privacy Principles;
• 1.3 Coordinate on cybersecurity incident response management, relating to defense, mitigation, and remediation activities and products, including with other public and private entities consistent with each country's laws and policies;
• 1.4 Align and standardize cyber incident management processes and escalation procedures; and
• 1.5 Enhance technical and operational information sharing in the area of industrial control systems security.

2. Joint Engagement and Information Sharing with the Private Sector on Cybersecurity

Due to the shared nature of critical infrastructure between Canada and the United States, PS and DHS intend to collaborate on cybersecurity-focused private-sector engagement for cybersecurity activities for which they are responsible through the following objectives:

• 2.1 Share engagement approaches for private sector;
• 2.2 Exchange and collaborate on the development of briefing materials for the private sector;
• 2.3 Jointly conduct private sector briefings;
• 2.4 Review approaches and align processes for private sector engagement through requests for technical assistance and non-disclosure agreements; and
• 2.5 Standardize protocols for sharing information.

3. Continued Cooperation on Ongoing Cybersecurity Public Awareness Efforts

Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and everyone, including our citizens, has a role to play. With increased media attention devoted to cybersecurity incidents and with the continuing growth of electronic commerce and social media, it is imperative that citizens receive clear and trustworthy information on how to manage cyber threats to themselves and their families. Ensuring that government's cybersecurity awareness messages are consistent across our border helps to deliver that information effectively and consistently. PS Communications, the DHS Office of Public Affairs, and the National Protection and Program Directorate's Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C) intend to continue to work together as they:

• 3.1 Collaborate on public awareness campaigns (websites, social media activities, education material, etc.);
• 3.2 Collaborate on Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October); and
• 3.3 Share and coordinate messaging on issues of common interest.

Governance of the Joint Action Plan:-

Senior officials within PS and CS&C intend to review and provide additional guidance in order to update this Action Plan on a quarterly basis. This Action Plan is intended to be a part of broader inter-governmental coordination across government agencies in both the United States and Canada.

To Download The Full Cybersecurity Action Plan Between Public Safety Canada and the Department of Homeland Security Click Here

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DSH is Taking Anonymous More Seriously & Issued A Security Bulletin To Warn About The Upcoming Cyber Threats

The Department of Homeland Security is beginning to take Anonymous and other non-professional cyber-attackers more seriously as it issues a warning about potential attacks.

The United States Department of Homeland Security warned the security community about potential attacks from hacking collective Anonymous over the next few months. The Sept. 2 security bulletin from the DHS National Cyber-Security and Communications Integration Center warned financial services companies to be on the lookout for attackers operating under the Anonymous umbrella to "solicit ideologically dissatisfied, sympathetic employees" to the cause. The collective recently took to Twitter to persuade employees within the financial sector to hand over information and access to enterprise networks. Though such attempts may have been unsuccessful so far, "unwilling coercion through embarrassment or blackmail may be a risk to personnel," the DHS bulletin warned.

DHS issued the bulletin primarily for cyber-security professionals and staff in charge of protecting critical infrastructure. The bulletin also refer to new tools that Anonymous may be using in launching future attacks. Anonymous has been primarily using the Low Orbit Ion Cannon, a fairly simple testing software that can ping a server repeatedly, to launch its distributed denial of service attacks. Some of the members have been working on a new DDoS tool, based on JavaScript,  dubbed #RefRef.

The new attack tool is said to be capable of using the server's own resources and processing power to launch a denial of service attack against itself, but "so far it's unclear what the true capabilities of #RefRef are," the DHS said in the bulletin. The tool is slated to be released Sept. 17.

DHS also referenced the "Apache Killer" Perl script that can be used to launch denial of service attacks against Web servers running the popular Apache software. Apache developers released a patch earlier this week to fix the vulnerability in Apache 2.2. Administrators have been urged to patch their servers immediately.

The DHS also mentioned three cyber-attacks and civil protests Anonymous has already announced. "Occupy Wall Street" is the first scheduled one, for Sept. 17. Announced by a group Adbusters in July and actively supported by Anonymous, the goal is to get 20,000 individuals to gather on Wall Street to protest various U.S. government policies. Similar rallies targeting financial districts are being planned in Madrid, Milan, London, Paris and San Francisco.

Another protest in October, also led by Adbusters, is scheduled to be held at the Washington, D.C. National Mall to mark the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. There is also the supposed Nov. 11 attack against Facebook and Project Mayhem, scheduled for Dec. 21, 2012, DHS warned. There are indications that Project Mayhem would be a combination of physical disruption and targeting of information systems.

The bulletin itself is unusual in that DHS hasn't commented on the activities of Anonymous ever since the group stepped up its efforts over the past few months, attacking federal agencies and private corporations to protest a wide range of issues. As anyone following the security space undoubtedly knows, there have been at least one or two attacks by Anonymous, even more, each week for the past few months, so the bulletin may be just stating the obvious when warning of future potential attacks.

"Anonymous has shown through recently reported incidents that it has members who have relatively more advanced technical capabilities who can also marshal large numbers of willing, but less technical, participants for DDOS activities," the DHS said.

-News Source (e-Week)

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EPIC Sues DHS Is Monitoring Suspicious Words on Social Networks

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), has filed suit in US District Court against the Department of Homeland Security. The grounds for the suit is a refusal by DHS to reply to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by EPIC in April of this year.

According to EPIC’s Press Release the center of the issue is a plan by DHS to create fake accounts on social networking sites and use those accounts to monitor the networks for certain key words – such as “drill,” “infection,” “strain,” “virus,” “trojan,” and others. The complaint was filed in the District of Columbia, and asks the court to compel DHS to process EPIC’s FOIA request, as well as to order DHS to produce the records EPIC has requested, to acknowledge EPIC as news media, and to pay EPIC’s legal bills for the suit.

The impetus for EPIC’s request was an announcement by DHS that it planned to implement a Social Media Monitoring and Situation Awareness Initiative, whereby it would monitor social media sites in order to gain realtime information on events. The DHS announcement states that the goal of the initiative is not to collect personally identifiable information except in extreme cases – e.g., a person trapped in rubble with their mobile phone who is posting their status (as happened during the Japanese tsunami).

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Unveils Cybersecurity Bill

Members of the House Homeland Security Committee unveiled legislation Thursday that would authorize the cybersecurity functions of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and establish a quasi-governmental entity to coordinate cybersecurity information-sharing with the private sector. The bill, called the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act (PrECISE), would station a national clearinghouse for information relating to potential attacks on critical infrastructure, such as electric grid, water facilities, and financial service systems.

"The risk of cyberattack by enemies of the United States is real, is ongoing and is growing," warned Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y., above left). "The PrECISE Act, in line with the framework set forth by the Speaker’s Cybersecurity Task Force led by Rep. [Mac] Thornberry [R-Texas], protects our critical infrastructure without a heavy-handed and burdensome regulatory approach that could cost American jobs."

Under Section 226 of the bill, the Secretary of Homeland Security "is authorized to maintain the capability to act as the focal point for cybersecurity through technical expertise and policy development." Further, the Secretary is ordered to "coordinate cybersecurity activities across the Federal Government, designate a lead cybersecurity official within the Department of Homeland Security, publish a cybersecurity strategy and provide appropriate reports to Congress."

In effect, the DHS would identify cybersecurity risks on a sector-by-sector basis and gather existing performance standards to procure the most efficient methods to mitigate identified exposures. The Secretary will review and collect standards and publish cyber-defense information for owners and operators of "covered critical infrastructure," which is defined as the "infrastructure that if destroyed or disabled would result in a significant number of deaths, cause mass evacuations, major disruptions of the economy, or significant disruption to national security."

"Cybersecurity is truly a team sport, and this bill gives DHS needed authorities to play its part in the federal government’s cybersecurity mission and enables the private sector to play its part by giving them the information and access to technical support they need to protect critical infrastructure," said Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Cybersecurity Subcommittee.

In addition to Reps. King and Lungren, the bill’s original co-sponsors include Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and Rep. Bob Turner (R-N.Y.) of the Homeland Security Committee, as well as Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.).

One key tenet of the legislation is the creation of the National Information Sharing Organization (NISO), a quasi-governmental entity that would be staged as a clearinghouse for exchanging relevant information regarding cyber threats and vulnerabilities. The organization would be a nonprofit entity consisting of a DHS-appointed board of directors, composed of members from five different federal agencies and 13 members of the private sector.

According to Section 242 of the bill, the NISO Would Have Three Primary Missions:-

First, facilitating the exchange of cyber threat information, best practices and technical assistance amongst its membership including the Government. Second, it would facilitate the creation of a common operating picture built from information contributed by technically sophisticated members such as the Government, Internet Service Providers, and other members with access to large amounts of network related information. Third, the NISO would act as a catalyst for cooperative research and development of member driven research projects. Additionally, the NISO would incorporate into its membership agreements for the transferability of intellectual property and integrate with the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center at DHS.

All in all, NISO’s purpose would be to establish a point of connection between the government and the private sector to pool information about potential cybersecurity threats and to collaborate on methods to prevent such threats from occurring.

While cybersecurity laws have brought a rare agreement between Republicans and Democrats, the two parties have quibbled over certain aspects of the legislation. Generally, House Republicans prefer more limited regulation and discretional incentives to ramp up securities, while Senate Democrats and the White House have suggested more stringent regulations monitored by the DHS.

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Cyber-Attack on US Natural Gas Pipeline Companies Network, Said DHS

Cyber-Attack on US Natural Gas Pipeline Companies Network, Said DHS

In a report Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said a major cyber attack is currently under way aimed squarely at computer networks belonging to US natural gas pipeline companies. DHS has issued at least three confidential warnings at the second highest alert level (Amber) to natural gas suppliers, giving a detailed warning of a wave of attacks. But the wave of cyber attacks, which apparently began four months ago – and may also affect Canadian natural gas pipeline companies – is continuing. That fact was reaffirmed late Friday in a public, albeit less detailed, "incident response" report from the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), an arm of DHS based in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It reiterated warnings in the earlier confidential alerts made directly to pipeline companies and some power companies. The attacks are said to have been carried out using spear-phishing techniques, in which criminals use specially crafted virus-infected emails to target specific company employees. 

Approximately 200,000 miles of these interstate natural gas transmission pipelines in the US supply 25 percent of the nation's energy. Pipeline safety has been a major issue in recent years, highlighted by the San Bruno, Calif. In Friday's public warning, ICS-CERT reaffirms that its "analysis of the malware and artifacts associated with these cyber attacks has positively identified this activity as related to a single campaign from a single source." It goes on to broadly describe a sophisticated "spear-phishing" campaign – an approach in which cyber attackers attempt to establish digital beachheads within corporate networks.

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DHS & US-CERT Recommended to Disable Java in Web Browsers

DHS & US-CERT Recommended to Disable Java in Web Browsers Unless It's Absolutely Necessary

The running time is proving to be the worst period for Java, as it has been walking under serious security issues. Yet again security researchers have pointed out a zero-day security vulnerability in the Java program that hackers are exploiting. The exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability left open in Java 7 Update 10, released in October last year. It works by getting Java users to visit a website with malicious code that takes advantage of a security gap to take control of users' computers. Thus how Java is being used by cyber criminals to infect computers with malware. Oracle, hasn't specified the number of users who have downloaded Java 7 Update 10. However, Java runs on more than 850 million computers and other devices. When Oracle released Update 10, so it is predictable that more than 850 million devices run by Java is under threat. The exploit was first discovered by French researcher Kafeine, who claimed to have found it running on a site registering hundreds of thousands of page views daily. From that site, immediately that vulnerability and a large number of effected devices has been spotted in the wild. In Java 7 Update 10 the creator of Java, Oracle added several security control and fixed older bugs and promised more security enhancement, but its very unfortunate that Oracle failed to keep their promise. What ever after this newly discovered 0-day hole spotted wildly, Oracle Security Alert CVE-2013-0422 states that Java 7 Update 11 addresses this (CVE-2013-0422) and an equally severe, but distinct vulnerability (CVE-2012-3174). Immunity has indicated that only the reflection vulnerability has been fixed and that the JMX MBean vulnerability remains. Java 7u11 sets the default Java security settings to "High" so that users will be prompted before running unsigned or self-signed Java applets. It "strongly recommends" that Java SE 7 users upgrade immediately to avoid all kind of security hazards. 

After seeing all the drama, many of you have failed to keep trust in Java, and you all will be relieved when you will gone through the security advisory of CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) where they have clearly instructed to disable Java in your popular web-browser. In their official release CERT said "Unless it is absolutely necessary to run Java in web browsers, disable it as described below, even after updating to 7u11. This will help mitigate other Java vulnerabilities that may be discovered in the future."

You will see similar advice in the advisory posted on the official DHS US-CERT website where DHS also suggested to disable Java until and unless it is that much necessary. "To defend against this and future Java vulnerabilities, consider disabling Java in web browsers until adequate updates are available. As with any software, unnecessary features should be disabled or removed as appropriate for your environment." - said U.S. CERT in their advisory. 

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White House sends Congress a long-awaited cybersecurity proposal

The White House on Thursday sent Congress a formal proposal for cybersecurity legislation to help Senate lawmakers craft a passable bill from 50-some measures currently pending in both chambers.
The long-awaited framework would formally grant the Homeland Security Department oversight of cybersecurity operations within civilian federal agencies -- a role it has played in practice since last summer. Given the dearth of cyber experts in civilian agencies, the proposal would give DHS the same flexibility the Pentagon currently has to rapidly hire skilled professionals at competitive salary levels, Obama administration officials told reporters during a Thursday conference call.
The guidelines, which were expected to be released later on Thursday, largely rely on industry's know-how and willing compliance to certify their systems are safe and ask for federal assistance when attacked.
The proposal is silent on several sticking points, including cyberwarfare, classified information and the criteria for so-called critical infrastructure -- or systems that, if disrupted, could wreak havoc on national security. Such networks would be subject to greater regulation under a key Senate bill sponsored by the leaders of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The White House framework also stays clear of a dispute over whether the president should have the power to hit a "kill switch," shutting down the Internet during emergencies.
The guidelines were prompted by a request from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction over computer security for input from President Obama on the various congressional proposals, White House officials said. The HSGAC and commerce panels passed comprehensive cybersecurity legislation about a year ago, while numerous other congressional panels and individual members have introduced their own piecemeal measures. The executive branch took about a year to reach consensus on which provisions agencies would support and what new ones they would propose.
The proposal would make so-called intrusion prevention systems a permanent fixture in the federal government, according to a fact sheet. As opposed to intrusion detection systems, which flag attacks and alert the appropriate responders, prevention software can actively respond by blocking intrusions. The guidelines say DHS should have the authority to supervise all such programs, including the existing "Einstein" tool. Internet service providers also would have to use the applications for any government traffic they manage.
The White House plan touches on one security element of a growth area in government IT: cloud computing. The practice allows organizations to access computer power, storage and software stored on the Internet by a third-party provider, rather than build on-site server farms. Administration officials are concerned that state protectionist measures are hampering the cloud industry, so the proposal would block state governments from requiring that companies in their states build data centers there, unless authorized by federal law, the fact sheet stated.
The guidelines would enable industry to obtain immediate assistance from Homeland Security in responding to an intrusion, if they wish, officials said. Currently, when organizations ask DHS to review logs to determine when a hacker attacked, the department's ability to intervene is slowed by legal uncertainty. To protect individuals, if a firm or local government wants to share such information with DHS, the organization must first strip out identifying information that is irrelevant to the infraction, according to the fact sheet.
Companies and local governments would be granted immunity for sharing information with the federal government about new computer viruses and cyber events that have compromised their systems. Should entities choose to provide such information, their customers' privacy would not be violated, according to the proposal.
White House officials said their proposal focuses on transparency and incentives to ensure companies managing networks for critical infrastructure in industries like energy and banking are accountable for service continuity. The draft bill directs Homeland Security and the private sector to jointly figure out which operations are the most critical and prioritize the most important threats to those services. An outside commercial auditor would assess the company's plans for mitigating such vulnerabilities.
On the consumer side, the proposal would require that businesses notify customers of certain data breaches to reduce the risk of identity theft. Sony recently took heat for not immediately telling customers that perpetrators had infiltrated the company's online gaming and music networks. The administration's plan would loop together a patchwork of 47 state laws on data breach reporting.
Many in the legislative branch and business community applauded the White House plan on Wednesday.
"The Senate and the White House are on the same track to make sure our cyber networks are protected against an attack that could throw the nation into chaos," HSGAC Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., ranking Republican Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., said in a joint statement. The Senate and the administration "both recognize that the government and the private sector must work together to secure our nation's most critical infrastructure, for example, our energy, water, financial, telecommunications and transportation systems. We both call for risk-based assessments of the systems and assets that run that infrastructure."
The trio agreed with the administration that Homeland Security should take the lead in safeguarding civilian cybersecurity. Other lawmakers, particularly in the House, say the Defense Department, with its established expertise and deep pockets, should play a larger role in guarding U.S. networks. Currently, the Pentagon can monitor only the .mil domain and many civil liberties advocates would like to keep it that way.
Commerce Committee leaders also largely praised the proposed measure. "The White House has presented a strong plan to better protect our nation from the growing cyber threat," Chairman John D. "Jay" Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a statement. "I look forward to continuing to work with the White House, and my colleagues in the House and Senate, to pass a comprehensive cybersecurity bill this year."
Ranking member Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said, "While the administration's delay in providing critical input to the legislative process is regrettable, it is my understanding that the administration proposal parallels many of the objectives, particularly pertaining to modernizing the public-private partnership, that Sen. Rockefeller and I have advocated."
Officials with trade group TechAmerica generally supported Obama's framework but said they had lingering questions about the flexibility the proposal grants firms to tailor their security strategies.
"The administration's proposal is a clear step forward in the process and we hope that it strikes the right balance between accountability and innovation in this shared responsibility between the public and private sectors," TechAmerica President Phil Bond said in a statement.
"We encourage Congress and the administration to draw a bright line between critical and noncritical infrastructure," Bond said. "Industry and government need to work together to make the right determinations for what is critical, and what the implications are for that designation."
Should the government require firms to take certain actions, the law must provide liability protections to shelter companies from any unanticipated consequences, he said.
Given that the Senate has been pursuing cybersecurity legislation in a bipartisan fashion, and both parties in the House last year actually passed elements of the White House proposal, the expectation is that a law could be enacted this year.
Disagreements over engagement in cyberwar or the job of the Pentagon's National Security Agency and the new U.S. Cyber Command likely will be worked out in separate legislation. Pending House defense and intelligence authorization bills, for instance, address cyberwarfare and require the development of systems for detecting unauthorized activities on classified networks.
But talks on the civilian-oriented bill may take months, especially since all sides appear to want industry involved in the vetting process. One item overlooked in the White House proposal that Congress wants -- the creation of a Senate-confirmed cyber czar -- may take some time to negotiate. And Congress has never considered some of the information-sharing measures the White House introduced on Thursday.

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DHS Outlines $202 Million To Continuously Monitor Their Computers & Networks For Security Threats

DHS Outlines $202 Million To Continuously Monitor Their Computers & Networks For Security Threats

People like you, me or us those who are directly involved or associated in this security domain knows very well that cyber crime is in a saturated situation. Since last 3-4 years hackers have broken almost 99%, It's already became an International issue. Every day the said security system is getting compromised. To fight against this burning issue the Department of Homeland Security has outlined another program costs more than $202 million to arm federal agencies with new tools to continuously monitor their computer networks for security threats. Contracts for monitoring services will be awarded as early as next year. The tools will enable agencies to monitor their systems every 24 to 72 hours, and to diagnose and prioritize the biggest security weaknesses. Such programs are already in operation at two agencies, the State and Justice departments.
When it comes to continuous monitoring capabilities, “we are a little bit uneven across [the] dot-gov” domain, said John Streufert, director of DHS’ National Cybersecurity Division.
The tools will help agencies be aware of all hardware and software that has access to their networks and ensure they meet security standards. They also will continuously scan their networks for vulnerabilities so they can be quickly addressed when they appear. The tools will include dashboards that present to IT officials snapshots of their networks’ security status to enable quick response in the event a vulnerability. Agencies will have the option of providing their own monitoring using DHS-provided tools; purchasing a monitoring service from another agency or contractor; or obtaining a monitoring service for cloud-based systems from their cloud service providers.

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U.S. Water Supply System Under Cyber Attack, FBI & DHS is Investigating

Hackers from Russia have has allegedly remotely intruded into the industrial control systems of a hydroelectric power plant in the US state of Illinois. Reports in the US media say that the hacker managed to repeatedly switch the pump on and off, destroying it in the process. This would be the first time that parts of a country's critical infrastructure have been successfully attacked and crippled via the internet.

Although the FBI and DHS started to investigate the incident, they initially downplayed the risk – this provoked the alleged hacker, "prof", who proceeded to intrude into a second water utility in Houston, Texas. To prove his intrusion, he released five screenshots of the utility's SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system. 

After an investigation it was determined the system had been hacked into from a computer in Russia, the Washington Post reports.

An Illinois state fusion centre report on the attack said it is not known how many other systems might be affected.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that a water plant in Springfield, Illinois, had been damaged. He said: 'DHS and the FBI are gathering facts surrounding the report of a water pump failure in Springfield, Illinois.

'At this time there is no credible corroborated data that indicates a risk to critical infrastructure entities or a threat to public safety.'

A report from the Illinois terrorism and intelligence center said there had been problems with the system in Springfield for two to three months.

The system 'would power on and off, resulting in the burnout of a water pump,' the report said.

It added that cyber attackers broke into a software company’s database and got hold of user names and passwords of various control systems that run water plant computer equipment. The method used, hacking a security company to gain entry to another company, was employed earlier this year by cyber attackers in China.

They stole data from RSA, a division of EMC that provides secure remote computer access to government agencies. They then went on to get into the computer systems of companies, including Lockheed Martin.

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WikiLeaks supporter sues DHS over laptop seizure

A prominent WikiLeaks supporter is suing the U.S. 

government for unlawfully seizing and copying the contents of 

his laptop at an international airport after returning from 

Mexico.

"The computer is like an extension of my mind," David House 

told the WaPost.

"It is my notes, my writing, locations I've been."



House - co-founder of a Bradley Manningadvocacy group - said he was targeted by the DHS because of his support for the soldier, who stands accused of stealing and disseminating classified information.

"All these people working for the Manning Support Network, all of a sudden their names are in the open, and that is most worrisome."



Indeed, the laptop - which was held for a total of 49 days - contained personal/work e-mails, passwords, lists of potential donors and confidential messages from the Bradley Manning Support Network.



The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed concern over the seizure, as it believes the government lacked a crime and a "border-related" justification to search House's laptop which contained a significant amount of personal data. 



David Cole, a law professor at George Washington University, seemed to concur with ACLU's assessment.

"[If the government seized the laptop not for] valid customs law enforcement purposes, but rather to get intelligence about protected political associations or as a way of avoiding the requirements of criminal law searches, then it seems to me they're abusing the border search exception for purposes it was never designed to serve."

But Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior DHS policy official, emphasized the Supreme Court had previously ruled that "searches made at the border... are reasonable simply by virtue of the fact that they occur at the border."

"It's absolutely clear that if you were carrying around your Rolodex in your briefcase across the border, the government can take it, photocopy it and give it back to you without probable cause or a reasonable suspicion," he added.

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Cyber Security Summit Hosted By Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Cyber Security Summit Hosted By Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 

As part of the national Stop.Think.Connect campaign against cyber threats to computers in the private and public sector, the city of Mesa and the Department of Homeland Security are hosting a cyber security summit at the Mesa Arts Center on Wednesday, Sept. 26. The mayor of Mesa said on Wednesday that interest in the summit is growing, and that there also will be numerous representatives of government from throughout the state and a member of the Secret Service attending the event.  Kelvin Coleman, U.S. Department of Homeland Security director of state, local, tribal and territorial cyber engagement, will be the keynote speaker. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and District 3 councilman and Mesa Public Safety Committee chair Dennis Kavanaugh also will offer comments and help to facilitate questions during the event. “We use computers every day,” Smith said. “We don’t know how important computers are until they’re breached.”

-:Agenda & Other Details:- 

Date: September 26, 2012

Venue:- Mesa Contemporary Arts - Brown Sculpture Courtyard

1 E. Main Street
Mesa, AZ  85201 

7:30 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast sponsored by Siemens

8:30 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Mayor Scott Smith
• Councilmember Dennis Kavanaugh

9:00 a.m. Keynote Address

• Mr. Kelvin Coleman, Director, State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Cybersecurity Engagement Program DHS National Cyber Security Division

9:30 a.m. Convenience vs. Security Expert Panel

Current Threats in an increasingly Networked World Panelist Bios

John Meza (Moderator), Assistant Chief, Mesa Police Department

James Choplin, Special Agent, Electronic Crimes Task Force, U.S. Secret Service

Dr. Dee H. Andrews, Ph.D. Senior Research Psychologist, Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

Kristy Westphal, Director of Security Operation, T-Systems North America

Lonnie Benavides, Red Team Lead, The Boeing Company

Ilene Klein, City of Phoenix Office of Information Security and Privacy

Bill Kalaf, Executive Director - Intelligence-Led Policing, Mesa Police Department

 

During this session, the panel will outline and discuss many of the current threats affecting businesses, local government, users, such as social engineering, security of mobile devices and many of the trending applications on smart phones and PCs.

   

10:30 a.m. Networking Break

   

10:45 a.m. Closing Remarks

• Mayor Scott Smith

11:15 a.m. Adjournment

   

11:30 a.m. Post CyberSecurity Summit Break Out Session:  Methods for training supervisors to detect behavioral indicators of insider threat

Dr. Dee H. Andrews 

Senior Research Psychologist , U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences 

During this session, participants will get an overview of methods in training supervisors to spot and mitigate the cyber insider threat.  Statistics reveal that approximately 40% of the cyber incidents are caused by insiders.  

If you want to register for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cyber Security Summit then click Here. For additional information about Stop.Think.Connect. click Here

-Source (mesaaz.gov)

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DHS Issues Malware Warning Impersonating FBI & US Cyber Command

DHS Issues Malware Warning Impersonating FBI & US Cyber Command

If you think that only innocent computer users are just the only target of cyber criminals, then you are absolutely wrong. Recently United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, widely known as US-CERT; which is a part of Depertment of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Cyber Security Division has issued an emergency alert wile announcing a new effort by cyber criminals to spread Malware that impersonates Federal law enforcement (FBI) and other government agencies. The malware is a malicious software that installs itself on a users computer without a users permission or knowledge, “displays a screen claiming that a Federal Government agency has identified the user’s computer as being associated with one of more crimes,” reports the US-CERT alert. Explaining further, the malware then instructs the victim “to pay a fine to regain the use of the computer, usually through prepaid money card services.” The appearance of the message displayed on a users screen is intended to seem like a legitimate and official looking warning from the FBI or US Cyber Command. In turn, the impersonation effort by the cyber criminals seeks to leverage this to scare victims into paying the so-called fine immediately.

“Affected users should not follow the payment instructions,” US-CERT recommends, adding, “Users may also choose to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.” 

In their release US-CERT states:-

“US-CERT is aware of multiple malware campaigns impersonating multiple U.S. government agencies, including the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Once installed on a system, the malware displays a screen claiming that a Federal Government agency has identified the user's computer as being associated with one or more crimes. The user is told to pay a fine to regain the use of the computer, usually through prepaid money card services.”

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Researcher Security Hole Found in US Power Plants, DHS is Investigating

Researcher Security Hole Found in US Power Plants, DHS is Investigating  

Security researcher figure out seirous flaws in software for specialized networking equipment from Siemens could enable hackers to attack US power plants and other critical systems. A security expert said that he had found a backdoor in hardware from a Siemens subsidiary. The alleged flaw was made public by security researcher Justin W Clarke at a conference in Los Angeles. The equipment is widely used by power companies mainly based on US. Clarke said that the discovery of the flaw is disturbing because hackers who can spy on communications of infrastructure operators could gain credentials to access computer systems that control power plants and other critical systems. "If you can get to the inside, there is almost no authentication, there are almost no checks and balances to stop you," Clarke said.

The Department of Homeland Security said it was in contact with the firm to assess the claim. After this issue came in-front, the US Govt immeditely taken stpes & investigating the whole scenario. RuggedCom, a Canadian subsidiary of Siemens that sells networking equipment for use in harsh environments such as areas with extreme weather, said it was investigating Clarke's findings, but declined to elaborate. This is the second bug that Clarke, a high school graduate who never attended college, has discovered in products from RuggedCom, which are widely used by power companies that rely on its equipment to support communications to remote power stations.

In May, RuggedCom released an update to its Rugged Operating System software after Clarke discovered that it had a previously undisclosed "back door" account that could give hackers remote access to the equipment with an easily obtained password. The Department of Homeland Security's Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, which is known as ICS-CERT, said in its advisory on Tuesday that government analysts were working with RuggedCom and Clarke to figure out how to best mitigate any risks from the newly identified vulnerability. "According to this report, the vulnerability can be used to decrypt SSL traffic between an end-user and a RuggedCom network device," Read the full advisory. 

This is not the first time, earlier in 2011 - researcher found vulnerability in the security system of US Power Grid, form which NSA suspected that hacktivist Anonymous may even shutdown the entire US Power Grid. later The White House introduced an Electric Sector Cybersecurity Risk Maturity Model. For these kind of cyber security updates & news, just stay tuned with VOGH. 

-Source (Reuters & BBC)

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Said -Cyber Crime is As Threatening As al Qaeda

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Said -Cyber Crime is As Threatening As al Qaeda

The number of organized cyber crime has already kisses the sky. Keeping this scenario in mind Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, said that "the greatest threats in actual activity we've seen aimed at the West and the United States has been in the cyber-arena", in addition to "al Qaeda and al Qaeda-related groups" The comments highlight the increasing trend of political sparring and espionage proliferating on the Web. The Flame virus, believed to be driven by a western government, continues to grab headlines, while he also claimed that Google has introduced a tool to warn users of state-sponsored attacks on their accounts. Though gmail completely denied this blame while saying that Govt hired State-Sponsored attackers who ware accessing millions of Gmail accounts illegally. 

Napolitano also said the government is taking steps to be "proactive instead of reactive" in combating the new threats, adding that the worldwide cost of tackling cyber-crime - an estimated $388 billion (£250 billion) - is "already outstripping [the cost of tackling] traditional narcotics". 

A White House plan code-named Olympic Games was launched to infect Iran's nuclear program at the beginning of the Obama administration, though Washington denies the Flame virus, also targeting Iran, was part of the project, after it was found to have existed for a number of years.

-Source (IT Portal)

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Department of Homeland Security & U.S. Navy Hires Company To Hack Into Video Game Consoles

Department of Homeland Security & U.S. Navy Hires Company To Hack Into Video Game Consoles 

The U.S. government has hired a California-based company to hack into video game consoles, such as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, to watch criminals, especially child predators, and learn how to collect evidence against them. The $177,000 contract with Obscure Technologies of San Rafael, Calif., is being executed by the U.S. Navy on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security because of the Navy’s expertise in the field, officials said. Under the contract, Obscure Technologies will purchase used gaming systems from abroad that are believed to hold “sensitive information from previous users” and try to hack into them. Obscure’s experts will then report back on how they gained access to the systems, provide instructions to obtain users’ chat room activity, and even report back on the data gleaned, according to the contract and tasking documents. Obscure will also purchase new systems and construct a device that can capture data and activity, the documents state.
Over the past few decades, video game systems have grown in sophistication and capabilities by leaps and bounds. Consoles like the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox can be found in many U.S. households and are popular among servicemembers, with Internet access and hard drives that rival personal computers.
With these advances, Garfinkel said, the systems have become a playground of illegal activity for criminals. In 2008, law enforcement agencies contacted the DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate and requested help in analyzing gaming systems seized during court-authorized searches, Garfinkel said. While some tools exist to extract data from gaming consoles, the consoles are hard to crack as they are designed with copyright protection systems, he said. Navy and DHS officials declined to comment on whether the gaming consoles of Americans will ever be hacked and monitored. They also declined to comment as to whether the system manufacturers had been approached about this research.

-Source (Stars & Stripes)

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