August 2008 Archives

THANKS to Adobe for hosting at their San Jose, CA corporate HQ and THANKS to our speakers ...

Speaker presentations are now posted on the Members Only page, click here ...

Firebombs were intentionally set on a porch of an occupied home and in a car belonging to two UC Santa Cruz researchers in separate incidents early morning on Aug 2nd in what police have classified as acts of domestic terrorism.  To read more, click here...

Follow-up
Reward now $50,000 for information leading to an arrest.  For more info, click here...

Update:
It's been more than two weeks since a pair of firebombs rattled the university community in Santa Cruz.  To read more, click here...

As early as July 20, 2008 there appeared to be a coordinated DDOS attack directed against Georgia's Internet infrastructure.  To read more, click here...

UPDATE:
Many worked to assist "cyberlocked" Georgia.  To read more, click here...

UPDATE:
Experts say U.S. also at risk.  To read more, click here...

CBR Response Training
High value targets and high profile events within buildings present a tempting and dangerous target for terrorists planning chemical, biological, and radiological attacks. High occupant density, air handling systems, pressure differentials, and varying environmental controls present both opportunities for attackers and a complex environment that can confuse and disrupt security and emergency response efforts.

October 6-10, 2008 / Little Rock, AR

For more info, click here...

The Justice Department will soon release measures that will make it easier for state and local police to collect domestic intelligence and share the sensitive data with federal agencies.  To read more, click here...

Second Annual Conference and Technology Showcase
The Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
August 25-29, 2008

For more info about this event, click here...

After coming to the SF Bay InfraGard summer quarterly meeting in the morning of Aug 21st go to the August Silicon Valley ISACA meeting in the evening.

Topic:  DNS Security Flaw

For more info, click here...

A cross sector information sharing event.  Highlights the security issues associated with new technologies and applications that affect all critical infrastructures.  InfraGard is partner in presenting this conference.

Oct 6-8, 2008
Las Vegas, NV
For more info, click here...

Robert Riegle, director of DHS' state and local programs at the Homeland Security Department, discussed in the July issue of the Homeland Defense Journal that there have been great strides in three years in developing relationships with state and local law enforcement.  As the department prepares to continue under a new presidential administration -- its first transition -- many questions remain open.  To read more, click here...

The Air Force is suspending its effort to stand-up the USAF Cyber Command.  One reason given is that this will give the new incoming USAF management time to reconsider.  To read more, click here...

State attorneys general received thousands of complaints about online fraud and abuse in 2006 and 2007, but few states brought significant cases in response to those complaints, according to a report released from the Center for American Progress and the Center for Democracy and Technology.  California one of the worst!

To read the press release, click here...

To download the report, click here...

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has established a Commission on
Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency - the administration that will take office in January 2009.
The goal of the nonpartisan Commission is to develop recommendations for a comprehensive
strategy to improve cyber security in federal systems and in critical infrastructure.

To download the Commission's fact sheet, click here...

Cybersecurity commission' members recently participated in a panel discussion at Black Hat  ... "What we're really trying to figure out is how to collaborate" between government and industry "Information sharing is broken. It's a one-way send" ... "We're not recommending to do away with InfraGard" ... to read more about the recent Black Hat panel discussion, click here...

A recent report commissioned by the US Department of Defense examines a number of hypotheses that might explain why Al Qaeda has not launched another attack on US soil since 9/11, questioning whether US counter-terrorism capabilities simply have succeeded in thwarting another attack or terrorists harbor reasons for refraining from an attack.

To read a discussion on this report, click here...

To download the report (.pdf), click here...