NEWS...: February 2009 Archives

At the recent Black Hat DC conference Paul Kurtz's keynote address gave a sobering view of info sharing and deterrence in the cyber security world.

If there were a major failure of Internet infrastructure a "cyber-Katrina"--he said it simply isn't clear which government agency would be in charge of fixing it. "That's pretty darn scary," he added.  READ MORE

To see Dr. Kurtz's keynote at the Black Event and the Black Hat kickoff,  click here...

The U.S. Intelligence Communities' internal wiki Intellipedia has gotten glowing press reports and accolades, as well as input from thousands of analysts. However, the wiki still struggles to make a permanent home in the spy agencies, according to one of its evangelists.  READ MORE

OPINION:  This is not unusual, all too often technologies like this are a poor fit and/or hyped and implemented before they are sufficiently mature.

DHS has developed DHS Earth, a geospatial mapping and visualization application using Google Earth, to share data related to infrastructure protection and improve situational awareness. READ MORE

In a recent NY Times editorial Prof. John Arquilla from the Naval Postgraduate School discussed how swarming, smaller-scale terrorist violence appears to be an emerging threat.

The basic concept is that hitting several targets at once, even with just a few fighters at each site, can overwhelms counterterrorist forces that are often manpower-heavy, far away and organized to deal with only one crisis at a time. This approach worked in Mumbai, India, last November, where five two-man teams of Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives held the city hostage for two days, killing 179 people. The Indian security forces, many of which had to be flown in from New Delhi, simply had little ability to strike back at more than one site at a time. READ MORE

In a recent report to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence the Director of National Intelligence outlined the key findings of the "Annual Threat Assessment of the Intelligence Community." 

Given that Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups have made it clear that they would like to attack in a way that dramatically impacts America's economic stability, a catastrophic attack or attacks during this time of fiscal instability could be potentially devastating. READ MORE

Annual Threat Assessment of the Intelligence Community

President Obama has directed the National Security and Homeland Security Advisors to conduct an immediate 60-day review of the plan, programs, and activities underway throughout the government dedicated to cyber security. READ MORE

White House Brief

Areva Inc. - a Paris-based company that serves nuclear, wind, and fossil-fuel power companies - is warning customers that vulnerabilities affect multiple versions of Areva's e-terrahabitat package, which allows operators in power plants to monitor gas and electric levels, adjust transmission and distribution devices, and automate other core functions. MORE

In its annual study the Ponemon Institute found the total cost of coping with the consequences of a data breach rose to $6.6 million per breach, up from $6.3 million in 2007 and $4.7 million in 2006. READ MORE

The annual "Report Card" produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers concludes the nation's infrastructure programs still stands at a D average. Deteriorating conditions and inflation have added hundreds of billions to the total cost of repairs and needed upgrades. ASCE's current estimate is $2.2 trillion, up from $1.6 trillion in 2005. READ MORE