Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Obama. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Obama. Sort by date Show all posts

The Obama Campaign Website get Hacked

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 7/07/2011 12:03:00 pm


The Obama campaign website was hacked on Tuesday and invited supporters to two fake anti-government events hosted by an unnamed "Commy Obama."
The campaign's application for mobile devices, such as iPhones and iPads, directed users to two events titled "Rules of Politics" scheduled for noon on Tuesday in Washington.

"1. Politicians and other public servants lie," read the event description provided on the Obama campaign website."
2. Politicians tell you what you want to hear and offer to provide things for 'free' to get votes. 
3. When government buys, the people pay."

The 430-word message lists 21 total anti-government criticisms, none of which target Obama, another politician or a particular political party by name.
The twenty-first note quotes the late Adrian Pierce Rogers, a Southern Baptist preacher who served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1979 to 1988. 
"'You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom,'" the author writes, quoting one of Rogers' more famous sermons. "'When half of the people get an idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.'”
The Obama website was hacked one day after Fox News' Twitter account was hijacked and spread false information saying Obama had been assassinated.
Update: Obama campaign adviser Ben LaBolt sent an e-mail to The Washington Examiner Tuesday afternoon saying the events calendar is user-generated, so the security of the website has not been compromised. The campaign removed the event from its calendar following the Examiner's report.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

President Obama & Congress Will Issue Long Awaited Executive Cyber Security Order

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 2/12/2013 07:05:00 pm

President Obama & Congress Will Issue Long Awaited Executive Cyber Security Order 

Last week we reported that Pentagon has declared that they are moving toward a major expansion of its cyber security force to counter increasing attacks on the nation’s computer networks, as well as to expand offensive computer operations on foreign adversaries. Just one week after this declaration another crucial movement came from the U.S. government.  A secret legal review on the use of America’s growing arsenal of cyber weapons has concluded that President Obama has the broad power to order a pre-emptive strike if the United States detects credible evidence of a major digital attack looming from abroad. According to sources President Barack Obama will issue a long-awaited cyber security executive order this week. Two former White House officials told the publication that the order is expected to be released after Tuesday night's State of the Union address. 
Given his status as commander-in-chief, Obama seems to be the clear choice, but since cyber warfare is such a new and unknown thing, the government hasn't actually figured out the rules of engagement yet. In the past couple of decades, the power to use America's cyber weapons has been shared between the Pentagon and the various intelligence agencies. With the exception of a series of strikes on the computer systems that run Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities an attack that Obama ordered himself the U.S. hasn't launched any major cyber attacks in recent memory, however. This probably won't be the case in the future. So the government is working on new rules of engagement, as it realizes that the capabilities of cyber weapons are evolving at a startling rate. The rules will be not unlike the set that governs how drone attacks are ordered and who orders them. Cyber warfare certainly stands to affect the average American more, though.  On Capitol Hill this week, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) and Rep. Mike Rodgers (R-Mich.) are set to reintroduce the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
According to an exclusive report the bill would allow the government to share classified cyber threats with the private sector so that those companies can then protect their systems from cyber attacks. The bill was killed last year due to privacy concerns. Civil-liberty groups argued that the bill allows companies to exchange too much personal information back and forth without regulation. 







SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

President Obama to Introduce Cybersecurity Proposal Today

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 5/13/2011 10:48:00 pm


Believing the U.S. to be too vulnerable to cyber-terrorism, President Obama will later today introduce a proposal to address the threat.
The law will address “complex and systemic national vulnerabilities that place the American people and economy at risk,” an administration official said.
To many Americans “cyber-security” may sound nerdy and irrelevant to their lives, but the nation’s top national security officials have been warning about the threat as dire and potentially catastrophic.
Last June, CIA director Leon Panetta told ABC News’ This Week that he worried about cyber security.
“We are now in a world in which cyber warfare is very real,” he said. “It could threaten our grid system. It could threaten our financial system. It could paralyze this country, and I think that's an area we have to pay a lot more attention to.
In February Panetta testified to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that “the potential for the next Pearl Harbor could very well be a cyber-attack.” 
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the committee: “This threat is increasing in scope and scale, and its impact is difficult to overstate.”
The administration official tells ABC News that while the Obama administration “has taken significant steps to better protect America against cyber threats,…it has become clear that our nation cannot fully defend against these threats unless certain parts of cybersecurity law are updated.” The official said that President Obama’s “proposal strikes a critical balance between strengthening security, preserving privacy and civil liberties protections, and fostering continued economic growth.”
National security officials estimate there are now roughly 60,000 new malicious computer programs identified each day. As just one example, in April 2010 telecommunications companies in China rerouted about 15 percent of the world's online traffic, affecting NASA, the U.S. Senate, the four branches of the military, the office of the Secretary of Defense and a number of Fortune 500 companies by displaying false computer data that rerouted data through Chinese internet servers for about 17 minutes.
The White House estimates that there were approximately 50 cyber-related bills introduced in the last session of Congress. Senate Democrats wrote to President Obama and asked for him to weigh in.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

The Secret Service is Investigating Fox News Twitter Hacking Case

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 7/07/2011 11:40:00 am


The Secret Service said Monday that it will investigate the recent hacking of the Fox News political Twitter account. Hackers took control of the account on Sunday and used it to tweet fake news of President Obama’s assassination.
Fox News said in a statement that it had alerted the Secret Service of the incident and was told by spokesperson George Ogilvie that the law enforcement agency would do “appropriate follow up.” 
Meanwhile, the Think Blog at Stony Brook University said that it had spoken with a representative of the group that claimed to be responsible for the hack, The Script Kiddies. Late Sunday night, the hackers changed the logo of the Fox News account to a Script Kiddies logo and referenced the group, tweeting at the @AnonymousIRC account, for instance, that “TheScriptKiddies would love to assist.” These tweets were removed before the six tweets regarding Obama’s fake assassination were posted on Monday. Several Script Kiddies accounts that bragged about the hack have also been removed. The Secret Service, whose job it is to protect the president, has made it clear that it doesn’t take talk of the president’s assassination lightly, even on social networks. When a Facebook poll asked “Should Obama be killed?” in 2009, the Secret Service tracked its source to a juvenile (no charges were filed). Similarly, two Twitter accounts that tweeted “ASSASSINATION! America, we survived the Assassinations and Lincoln & Kennedy. We’ll surely get over a bullet to Barrack Obama’s head” and “You Should be Assassinated!! @Barack Obama” after the healthcare reform vote last year both inspired Secret Service investigations.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

NSA Refused to Disclose Obama's Secret Cyber Security Directive

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 11/27/2012 12:33:00 am

NSA Refused to Disclose Obama's Secret Cyber Security Directive

The cyber security directive of United States President Barack Obama has been twisted a little as the National Security Agency (NSA) has refused to release details of a secret presidential directive document that would establish a broader set of standards that would guide federal agencies in confronting Cyber threats. Several experts are presuming that the cyber security directive could allow the military and intelligence agencies to operate on the networks of private companies, such as Google and Facebook. According to the last week report by Washington Post, cited several U.S. officials saying that Obama signed off on the secret cyber security order, believed to widely expand NSA’s spying authorities, in mid-October. “The new directive is the most extensive White House effort to date to wrestle with what constitutes an “offensive” and a “defensive” action in the rapidly evolving world of cyber war and cyber terrorism,” the report states.  
The Electronic Privacy and Information Center (EPIC), filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to make the document public because it said the measure could expand NSA’s Cyber security authority. “Transparency is crucial to the public’s ability to monitor the government’s national security efforts and ensure that federal agencies respect privacy rights and comply with their obligations under the Privacy Act,” said EPIC’s request.
EPIC said that NSA denied the request on Nov. 21 arguing that it doesn’t have to release the document because it is a confidential presidential communication and contains information that is classified “Secret” and “Top Secret” by the agency. NSA said disclosure of the order could “reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.” The agency said EPIC could file an appeal with the NSA/Central Security Service denial and EPIC said it plans to do so. The privacy group said it is litigating similar FOIA requests with NSA, including the release of NSPD 54, a 2008 presidential directive setting out the NSA’s cyber security authority. The group called NSA a “black hole for public information about cyber security” in an official statement to Congress earlier this year. National Security Agency whistle blower William Binney said in Mid July that the U.S. government is secretly gathering information “about virtually every U.S. citizen in the country”, in “a very dangerous process” that violates Americans’ privacy.
Former President George W. Bush signed a presidential order in 2002 allowing the National Security Agency (NSA) to monitor without a warrant the international (and sometimes domestic) telephone calls and e-mail messages of hundreds or thousands of citizens and legal residents inside the United States. The program eventually came to include some purely internal controls -- but no requirement that warrants be obtained from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and the foreign intelligence surveillance laws require.



-Source (GSN Magazine & Press TV)





SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

Controversial Cyber Security Bill CISPA Passed Again By The US House

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 4/23/2013 11:30:00 pm

Controversial Cyber Security Bill CISPA Passed Again By The US House

Couple of months ago we reported that the White House is planning for an executive cyber security order, from some official sources it has also come to know that the U.S. President Mr. Barack Obama has a special plan to re-introduce the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). Today that deceleration get executed as the US House of Representatives has passed the controversial Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act. This is the second time when CISPA have been passed by the White House, first it was rejected by the Senator while saying that the bill did not do enough to protect privacy. But yet again with the initiative of Obama and a substantial majority of politicians in the House backed the bill. Though there is a huge chance of getting rejected. According to some relevant sources it has been came to light that, this time also CISPA could fail again in the Senate after threats from President Obama to veto it over privacy concerns. Sources are saying that the main reason of re-introducing CISPA is the the President Barack Obama expressed concerns that it could pose a privacy risk. The White House wants amendments so more is done to ensure the minimum amount of data is handed over in investigations.  The law is passing through the US legislative system as American federal agencies warn that malicious hackers, motivated by money or acting on behalf of foreign governments, such as China, are one of the biggest threats facing the nation.  "If you want to take a shot across China's bow, this is the answer," said Mike Rogers, the Republican politician who co-wrote CISPA and chairs the House Intelligence Committee. 

On the other hand CISPA has also secured the backing of several technology firms, including the CTIA wireless industry group, as well as the TechNet computer industry lobby group, which has Google, Apple and Yahoo as members. By contrast, some other big names like Mozilla, Reddit has been vocal in its opposition to the bill. In the beginning the social networking giant Facebook supported CISPA but later they took back its support. The American Civil Liberties Union has also opposed CISPA, saying the bill was "fatally flawed". The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Reporters Without Borders and the American Library Association have all voiced similar worries.


-Source (BBC)






SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

Obama Proposes Anti-Hacking Laws

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 6/22/2011 12:32:00 pm



Hackers will face tougher penalties in the U.S. if the Obama administration's proposed cyber-security measures become law, in an attempt to deter attacks on critical online infrastructure.Under the new law, hackers would face 20 years in prison for endangering national security, 10 years for stealing data and three years for accessing a government computer.
The proposal doubles the penalties from current laws in nearly every category, responding with force to the spate of hacks that have made headlines this last month.The Obama administration first suggested the law last month, before the hacking group LulzSec broke into FBI, CIA and U.S. Senate websites. If prosecuted under the new law, its members could face hefty prison terms for flaunting national security.Compared to the anonymous hacks against Lockheed Martin and the International Monetary Fund, however, LulzSec's distributed denials-of-service, or DDoS, attacks against government websites were merely an annoyance.
Groups like LulzSec, who hack for the fun of it, may face the same sentences as serious data thieves under the cyber-security plan.
Either way, the trouble lies in catching computer hackers who use botnets and server mis-location to cover their tracks. Months after Sony's disastrous data breach left 100 million users' information exposed, Sony and the FBI still haven't found those responsible for the attack.
Tracking down "smoking keyboards" is not impossible, however, as Spain and Turkey proved by arresting members of the Anonymous hacking group. Spain's authorities captured three men accused of intending to publish "sensitive data" about Spanish politicians and policemen. Turkey nabbed 32 Anonymous hackers that had coordinated DDoS attacks against the Turkish government after the country announced plans to restrict Internet services starting this August.
Arresting hackers may deter some from attempting further exploits, but in Anonymous' case the group's loose-knit organization means hundreds of new hackers can rise to fill one member's shoes.
Furthermore, some hackers may have government backing, as IMF officials believe was the case in their hack and as Google alleges happened to them in China.If governments are indeed involved in some of the major recent hacks, things could get sticky, as the Pentagon is set to publish a policy to use physical force against online crime. As one official warned, "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."
The difficulties of catching and prosecuting hackers seem nearly insurmountable. But the new law in the U.S. could encourage a reduction in cybercrimes if it makes an example of even a few.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

White House sends Congress a long-awaited cybersecurity proposal

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 5/13/2011 11:44:00 pm



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.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

Obama Hired a Team to protect Pentagon Networks From Cyberattack

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 7/21/2011 04:10:00 am

An elite team of computer technicians assembled by the Obama administration to protect Pentagon networks from cyberattack shockingly includes a former Clinton official who “lost” thousands of archived emails under subpoena and who more recently left the Department of Homeland Security under an ethical cloud related to her qualifications, WND has learned.
The administration in May quietly hired Laura Callahan for a sensitive post at the U.S. Cyber Command, a newly created agency set up to harden military networks as part of an effort to prevent a “cyberspace version of Pearl Harbor.”

The move raises doubts about the administration’s vetting process for sensitive security positions. In 2004, Callahan was forced to resign from Homeland Security after a congressional investigation revealed she committed résumé fraud and lied about her computer credentials.
Investigators found that Callahan paid a diploma mill thousands of dollars for her bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in computer science. She back-dated the degrees, all obtained between 2000 and 2001, to appear as if she earned them in 1993, 1995 and 2000, respectively. She landed the job of deputy DHS chief information officer in 2003.

-News Source (Conservativebyte)

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

Several Twitter Accounts of CBS News (60Minutes, 48Hours & CBSDenver) Hacked

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 4/23/2013 11:30:00 pm

Several Twitter Accounts of CBS News (60Minutes, 48Hours & CBSDenver) Hacked By Syrian Electronic Army [#twithackery]

Yet again CBS one of the major commercial broadcasting television network of United States faced cyber attack. First it was hacker collective Anonymous who targeted CBS and managed to hack the TV network of CBS in January last year. The attack was done under the banner of Operation Megaupload. And now CBS have fallen victim of what it called twithackery, where hacker managed to gain temporary access of popular twitter accounts and broadcast fake tweets. This Sunday such twithackery targeted and compromised several twitter account of CBS. Infamous hacker community going by the name of Syrian Electronic Army claimed to have hijacked the twitter accounts of CBS, the list of the hijacked accounts include "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" which is maintained by CBS news program. Later it has been reported that another twitter account @CBSDenver has also been hacked, during this ongoing cyber attack. CBS acknowledged the whole phenomena and later a CBS spokeswoman confirmed that the accounts had been compromised. "PLEASE NOTE: Our Twitter account was compromised earlier today. We are working with Twitter to resolve." - said the CBS spokesman. Another message from CBS said, "A message that was posted earlier to this account was not written or sent by @60Minutes or its staff."

Here is the list of those fake tweets came from the hijacked accounts of CBS:- 
From @60Minutes account we got the following message -
  • "The US government is hiding the real culprit of the Boston bombing"
  • "The US government is sponsoring a coup in Venezuela and a terrorist war in Syria"
  • "Your duty is to protect your nation from the parasites that have taken your government"
  • "Obama wants to destroy the Syrian and American people. We must stop this beast" 

Other messages claimed: "Syrian Electronic Army Was Here via @SyrianCyberArmy" and suggested the action was in response to the suspension of the @Official_SEA account. Tweets sent out on the @48Hours account reportedly included: "General Dempsey calls for #Obama's arrest under new anti-terror laws #48hours" As soon as the issue get spotted, CBS regain those hijacked accounts and immediately deleted those rouge messages. Later the two accounts @60Minutes and @48Hours has been suspended. 
While talking about twitter hacking, widely known as #twithackery; we would like to remind you the following names, WWE champion John Cena, Star Rita Ora, Justin Bieber, Teyana Taylor,American pop singer Kesha, NBC News, Fox News Politics, USAToday, Lady Gaga’s Twitter Account, Anders Breivik, Mahesh Bhatt, Huffington Post; these are the famous names who have fallen victim to twithackery before CBS. 



-Source (BBC & Reuters)





SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

White House Calls China to Stop Hacking & Cyber Espionage Against U.S.

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 3/15/2013 12:49:00 am

White House Calls China to Stop Hacking & Cyber Espionage Against U.S.

The story of cyber espionage by Chinese hackers used to remain on the spot light due to its consistency, but now the situation get nasty and takes a new way as the national security adviser of U.S. President Obama directly pointed his finger to China. Many of our readers might take this issue lightly as earlier China has been blamed for engaging cyber attacks against different countries for many times. But this time there is a twist as the U.S. government vows to take the issue in a very serious manner. In his speech the national security advisory Tom Donilon said that "The international community cannot afford to tolerate such activity from any country," Like earlier China has denied any type of involvement and condemned the report for lack of hard evidence. But this time such reaction will not at all be entertained as the president said in the State of the Union, "we will take action to protect our economy against cyberthreats." The above two statements can be taken in both friendly warning or also in a serious threat. The White House already warned China to end the campaign of cyber espionage against U.S. companies, saying in its toughest language yet on the issue that the hacking activity threatens to derail efforts to build stronger ties between the two countries. 
Donilon did not directly accuse the Chinese government of launching the attacks on U.S. computer systems, only noting that the attacks are coming from inside the country. "Increasingly, U.S. businesses are speaking out about their serious concerns about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information and proprietary technologies through cyber intrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale," he said. Another important message came from the Obama administration saying United States “will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state” and called on Chinese leaders to get serious about cracking down on cyber-related crimes. 
While covering this story we would like to remind you that couple of weeks ago Chinese officials issued a same complain against United States where they blamed U.S. for engaging massive cyber attacks against Chinese military and defense system. If you look at the story of major cyber attacks of last few days we will find that the name of China has been involved several times for engaging cyber attacks against several high profile websites and organization of U.S. including New York Times, Twitter, NBC and so on. And if you refresh our memory then then we will find the scenario of big cyber attack and espionage by Chinese hackers have been spotted several times. In 2012 Chinese hackers had  breached Telvent's corporate network & gained control of US Power Grid. Also in the middle of last year, we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible. 


-Source (The Hill, Cnet & WT)




SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

Obama Administration Is Implementing Tighter Penalties For Cybercrimes

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 9/08/2011 05:13:00 pm


The Obama administration is seeking tougher sentences for people who are found guilty of hacking or other digital offenses, two officials said Wednesday.  
Associate Deputy Attorney General James Baker and Secret Service Deputy Special Agent in Charge Pablo Martinez said the maximum sentences for cyber crimes have failed to keep pace with the severity of the threats.  
Martinez said hackers are often members of sophisticated criminal networks.
"Secret Service investigations have shown that complex and sophisticated electronic crimes are rarely perpetrated by a lone individual," Martinez said.
"Online criminals organize in networks, often with defined roles for participants, in order to manage and perpetuate ongoing criminal enterprises dedicated to stealing commercial data and selling it for profit," he said.
Baker and Martinez appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the portion of the White House's cybersecurity legislative proposal that calls for stiffer penalties for cyber crimes as part of an update to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

The administration argues the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act should be updated to make CFAA offenses subject to its terms. That law is used to prosecute organized crime. 
Baker said hacking has increasingly become a tool of choice for crimes like identity theft, extortion and corporate espionage.
"As computer technology has evolved, it has become a key tool of organized crime," Baker said. "Many of these criminal organizations are similarly tied to traditional Asian and Eastern European organized crime organizations."
The administration's proposal also calls for a national data breach standard to replace the current patchwork of state laws. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) expressed concern that the proposed 60-day window for companies to notify customers their data has been breached would be too long, but Baker said the administration is willing to work with Congress on the issue. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) shifted the conversation to the portion of the White House plan dealing with protecting critical private sector networks from outside attacks.

Baker said the White House plan does not include any criminal or civil provisions for forcing companies to comply with Department of Homeland Security cyber security standards. "The idea was to create a lighter touch ... to build incentives into the system," Baker said.

Experts have warned that without some sort of enforcement mechanism companies will not take the necessary security precautions. Blumenthal echoed that stance, suggesting the administration "consider some kind of stick as well as a carrot." Industry has argued that resources are the main limitation and argued for incentives such as liability protection for firms that experience attacks. 
But Baker expressed agreement with Blumenthal and said the current range of incentives built into the system, such as the loss of investor trust, stock market value and privileged corporate data has not been enough to convince companies to take adequate security measures.


-News Source (The HILL, CCFA, HLS)

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

Fox News Politics Twitter Account Hacked & claims Obama shot in Iowa

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 7/04/2011 06:39:00 pm


Fox News Politics Twitter Account Hacked By The Script Kiddies. The Hacker spread a rumour that  

"Barack Obama has just passed. Neraly 45 Minutes ago. he shots twice in the lower pelvic area and in the neck; shooter unknown bled out."  

He also changed the description of the twitter from its original to  

"H4CK3D BY TH3 5CR1PT K1DD3S"



Later Fox News released a statement confirming the hacking and adding that "the hacking is being investigated, and FoxNews.com regrets any distress the false tweets may have created."

To See the statement Click HERE

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

DOD Said: Evidence Emerging of Chinese Planning Internet Attacks

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 8/28/2011 10:41:00 pm


The much-delayed 2011 Department of Defense (DOD) report on Chinese military and security developments highlights the growing Chinese emphasis on cyber security and cyberwarfare. As the report notes, “PRC military writings highlight the seizure of electromagnetic dominance in the early phases of a campaign.”
Coinciding with the release of the DOD report, media coverage has emerged of a China Central Television (CCTV) video clip of Chinese cyber activities aimed at dissident organizations. The clip, shown on CCTV-7, the official military channel of the state-run CCTV network, included screenshots of a computer program intended to allow a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack against a religious dissident group (Falun Gong). A DDOS attack often takes down an organization’s website, and such attacks have been used against Estonia and Georgia in recent tensions. The clip would seem to confirm that Chinese government entities are testing the means to seize electromagnetic dominance.

Strikingly, the six-second video clip indicates that the program can also mask itself by substituting a different electronic address, so that the attack, if traced, would be ascribed to third parties (in this case, reportedly the University of Alabama at Birmingham).
While the specific clip is undated and may be several years old, the program itself would seem to belie the Chinese claim that Beijing has no hand in the various cyber intrusions and activities that are regularly traced to Chinese Internet addresses. It also suggests that attacks traced to third parties may actually originate in China.
The program shown on the Chinese video underscores the problem with the Obama Administration’s assumption that the solution to growing U.S.–Chinese security tension is greater dialogue. The 2011 DOD report asserts that “the fundamental purpose for two countries to conduct military-to-military relations is to gain a better understanding of how each side thinks about the role and use of military power in achieving political and strategic objectives.” This assumes that the Chinese side wants what the U.S. side wants, “contacts at all levels that can help reduce miscommunication, misunderstanding, and the risks of miscalculation.” In short, it hopes that the Chinese are as eager as President Obama to extend an “open hand.”
But the creation of programs designed to mask IP addresses and mislead cyber-forensic specialists about the origin of DDOS attacks and other cyber activities is not a means of reducing miscommunications and misunderstanding, much less facilitating “common approaches to challenges… [and building] more productive working relationships.” Rather, it suggests a policy of seeking military advantage—something that the DOD report recognizes, but the Administration apparently does not.

To see the DOD report Click Here

-News Source (The Foundry & Defence.gov)

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

WikiLeaks Launches Vote WikiLeaks 2012 Donation Campaign (Presidential Election Intervention)

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 10/07/2012 07:41:00 pm

WikiLeaks Launches Vote WikiLeaks 2012 Donation Campaign (Presidential Election Intervention)

While Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are both rising their chances for the 2012 election as their respective party’s candidates who stood  in the coming US president election. In the mean time  WikiLeaks has launched "Vote WikiLeaks: 2012 Donation Campaign". Through this campaign WikiLeaks has threatened the pentagon once again.  According to the press release of WikiLekas on last Friday - Pentagon spokesman George Little demanded WikiLeaks destroy its publications, including the Iraq War logs which revealed the killings of more than 100,000 civilians. Little said: “continued possession by WikiLeaks of classified information belonging to the United States government represents a continuing violation of law”. The Pentagon also again “warned Mr Assange and WikiLeaks” against “soliciting” material from U.S. military whistleblowers. In response, WikiLeaks has decided to intervene in the U.S. election campaign.
The United States government claims Mr Assange and the WikiLeaks organization are within its jurisdiction. In reply, we place the Obama administration within our jurisdiction. All American school children are taught that being subject to laws without representation is an injustice. This is the backbone of the American Revolution. We claim our representation and now initiate a campaign to transform Democratic and Republican votes into economic and political support for WikiLeaks and its First Amendment values. This election day, do not vote for the Republican or Democratic parties. Instead, cast the only vote that matters. Vote with your wallet – vote for WikiLeaks.
The Democratic Party promised to open government. But instead it is building a state within a state, placing nearly five million Americans under the national security clearance system. It has classified more documents than any previous administration, classifying even the process used to decide who will live and who will be killed. The U.S. administration hurtles towards dystopia: secret laws, secret processes, secret budgets, secret bailouts, secret killings, secret mass spying, secret drones and secret detention without charge. The collapse of the Soviet Union could have led to the withdrawal of the U.S. security state, but without moral competition from another system it has grown unchecked to influence almost every American policy. Four more years in the same direction cannot be tolerated.

Watch WikiLeaks’s Campaign Video below:-


You can donate to WikiLeaks using a variety of easy methods, including workarounds for Visa, MasterCard and PayPal. These donations go to fund WikiLeaks’ publishing and infrastructure costs and our legal costs to fight the financial blockade. For Detailed information about the campaign click Here. 






SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

White House Orderd to Issue New Cyber Security Policies

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 10/11/2011 06:22:00 pm


The White House will issue Friday an executive order on computer security to prevent breaches of the sort that occurred with the release last year of hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the Web site WikiLeaks.
The order, coinciding with National Cybersecurity Month, replaces an outdated policy predating the Obama administration and caps a seven-month review of procedures for handling classified information.
The order directs agencies to designate a senior official to oversee classified information sharing and safeguarding for the agency and enshrines a number of measures the Pentagon and other agencies have announced, including the Pentagon’s disabling the “write” capability on most computers in the military’s secret-level classified network to prevent downloading classified data onto removable drives.
“Our nation’s security requires classified information to be shared immediately with authorized users around the world, but also requires sophisticated and vigilant means to ensure it is shared securely,” Obama’s order said.
The order, first reported by the New York Times on Thursday night, also creates an interagency task force headed by the attorney general and the director of national intelligence to detect and prevent leaks from government employees  what is known as the “insider threat.”
It also calls for a Senior Information Sharing and Safeguarding Steering Committee with responsibility for coordinating interagency efforts and ensuring that agencies are held accountable for carrying out the policies and standards.

The White House notes that agencies have made “significant progress” in shoring up security. The Pentagon, for instance, has begun to issue smart cards with special identity credentials required to log onto the secret-level classified network. The cards allow holders access to only those portions of the network that contain information relevant to their jobs.
The Pentagon is also piloting insider-threat technology developed by the National Security Agency and is developing an information-technology audit to identify suspicious behavior on all Department of Defense systems.

-News Source (Washington Post)


SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

White House to unveil Cyber Security Strategy

Posted by Avik Sarkar On 5/15/2011 11:29:00 pm


Analysts at the National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) work at their headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, in September 2010. The White House plans to unveil its policy proposals next week for international cooperation in cyberspace.

The White House said Friday that it plans to release a policy document -- "US International Strategy for Cyberspace" -- at an event on Monday.
"This first-of-its-kind policy document offers our comprehensive vision for the future of international cooperation in cyberspace," the White House said in a statement.
It said the document outlines the US agenda "for partnering with other nations and peoples to ensure the prosperity, security, and openness that we seek in our increasingly networked world."
The State Department said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has made Internet freedom one of her priorities, will deliver keynote remarks at the event.
"The strategy lays out a comprehensive, principled vision for the future of cyberspace," the State Department said.
It said Clinton's remarks "will address the role of cyberspace in advancing the full range of US interests and the importance of international cooperation in advancing cyberspace as a foreign policy priority."
The White House said other top officials attending the event will include John Brennan, President Barack Obama's counter-terror chief, Attorney General Eric Holder, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
The announcement came a day after the White House proposed draft legislation aimed at toughening the defenses of government and private industry against the growing danger from cyber attack.

Obama has identified cybersecurity as a top priority of his administration and the White House legislation joins some 50 cyber-related bills introduced during the last session of Congress.
The White House bill would require critical infrastructure such as the power, financial and transportation sectors to come up with plans to better protect their increasingly Internet-connected computer networks.
The White House is hoping for action by Congress on the bill this year.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Site search