News & Events and Other Interesting Stuff: June 2010 Archives

National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 30, 2010 8:38 AM

The White House has released a national draft strategy outlining a plan that would eschew user names and passwords in favor of a digital identity, such as a smart identity card. The card could be used for such things as credit card purchases, banking and accessing health care records, as well as for posting blog entries anonymously and logging into e-mail systems using a pseudonym, according to the draft. Read More ...

White House Fact Sheet...

Download Draft Report...

AT&T Business Continuity Forum and Disaster Recovery Exercise

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 24, 2010 9:44 AM

AT&T invites you to attend the 2010 Safeguarding the Enterprise: AT&T Business Continuity Forum and Disaster Recovery Exercise to discuss the critical Business Continuity and Network Security issues you are faced with today.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 / 9:00 AM to 4:15AM
Doubletree San Jose Hotel,
2050 Gateway Place
San Jose, CA 95110

More Info ...

Cornerstones of Trust 2010 ...

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 23, 2010 9:08 AM

Thanks to Everybody who made the 2010 Cornerstones of Trust Conference a Success !

Weathering the Storm

DHS Geek Squad: No Power, No Plan, Not Enough Staff

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 17, 2010 8:49 AM

DHS Inspector General says the federal government still cannot adequately protect its networks. One big reason why is that the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) established to spot vulnerabilities in the government's networks, and coordinate responses when those flaws are exploited has neither the authority nor the manpower to respond effectively to the threat of cyber attacks. READ MORE

Statement of Richard Skinner, Inspector General DHS, Before the Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. House of Representatives, June 16, 2001 (.pdf)

The government may have to take "extraordinary measures" in responding to a cyber attack...

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 16, 2010 7:58 AM

National Cyber Security Center director Phil Reitinger testified during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that Congress should work with the administration to determine if new presidential emergency powers are needed to govern how key industries such as power plants, the electrical grid and vital financial systems respond during a cyber crisis. READ MORE

Related: Stance of top cybersecurity official surprises Senators, READ MORE

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing / June 15, 2010 / Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset: Comprehensive Legislation for the 21st Century ... Hearing Archive (includes web-cast and testimonies)

GAO: Key Challenges and Solutions to Strengthen Interagency Collaboration

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 10, 2010 8:33 AM

Information sharing across federal, state and local agencies poses some of the most significant challenges to collaboration. Concerns about the ability of state and local agencies to protect sensitive information they receive has created reluctance among federal agencies and private sector companies to share information. READ MORE

GAO Report (.pdf)...

New Cyber Chief Outlines Strategy

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 10, 2010 8:10 AM

USCYBERCOM chief discusses how the U.S. will fight espionage and crime ...OPINION: Is this the USCYBERCOM mission ... ?

General Keith Alexander, head of the new U.S. Cyber Command, recently called for for global rules of engagement for cyber-war, and for increased engagement with nations that are major sources of cyber crime and espionage, including Russia and China. READ MORE

NSA Trusted Computing Conference & Exposition

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 9, 2010 8:34 AM

The National Security Agency invites you to attend the first NSA Trusted Computing Conference and Exposition hosted by the Trusted Computing Division of the NSA/CSS Commercial Solutions Center (NCSC), in partnership with the High Assurance Platform® (HAP) Program Office. The theme for this year's event is Using the High Assurance Platform® to Create Security in a Connected World.

MORE INFO

SF Bay area Regional Food and Agroterrorism Workshop

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 9, 2010 8:27 AM

The FBI's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate, Countermeasure Unit II, Infrastructure Protection Team has developed and is hosting a SF Bay area Regional Food and Agroterrorism Workshop on July 21-22, 2010 in Napa,CA.

The Workshop will develop the investigative, intelligence and coordination efforts currently underway by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces in local field offices by allowing Federal, State and local law enforcement the opportunity to interact and cross-train on topics of basic food and agriculture security awareness with their counterparts with the Federal Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture and relevant food and agriculture security professionals.

Click to Register Download Flyer

California Meta-Leadership Summitt for Preparedness

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 8, 2010 4:20 PM

California Meta-Leadership Summitt for Preparedness

June 15-16, 2010

San Francisco Airport Marriott
1800 Old Bayshore Hwy
Burlington, CA

It's FREE ... For more info and to register: CLICK HERE...

The Five Dimensions of Meta-Leadership (.pdf)

Protecting Industrial Control Systems from Electronic Threats

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 7, 2010 8:27 AM

Joe Weiss, a member of the SF Bay InfraGard chapter, has recently published a book addressing the security of industrial control systems.

"This book is meant to help both the novice and expert in Information Technology (IT) security and industrial control systems (ICS) gain a better understanding of protecting ICSs from electronic threats," Weiss commented. "I wrote this book to fill a hole that exists in the professional world as well as academia - security is taught in the Computer Science departments while control systems are taught in the various engineering departments. This needs to change and this book will help,"
More Info on Amazon.com...

Graffiti artist's logo ... not a bomb threat ...

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 3, 2010 8:31 AM

OPINION:

True, things are not always what they seem.

I contend that this incident is actually an example of successful information sharing.

READ MORE

Cybersecurity Overhaul Progressing in Congress...

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 2, 2010 12:53 PM

Congress' decision to include key cybersecurity provisions in the House and Senate Defense authorization bills increases their odds for passage, said one security expert, although amalgamating numerous pieces of cyber legislation could make establishing a final consensus a challenge. READ MORE

Senate version gives the Feds "Emergency Powers" to secure civilian systems during emergency circumstances. if there's an "imminent cyber threat." ... provides the Department of Homeland Security broad authority to ensure that "critical infrastructure" stays up and running in the face of a looming hack attack. READ MORE

The FBI has taken appropriate steps to prepare to respond to a WMD incident

By SF Bay InfraGard on June 2, 2010 8:37 AM

A recent report prepared by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice warns that DoJ has not adequately prepared for a WMD attack. The same report concludes that the The FBI has taken appropriate steps to prepare to respond to a WMD incident. READ MORE

Download report (.pdf)...

June 2010 Archives