Cybersecurity

Grant Thornton-TechAmerica Survey: Budget, Human Capital Top Agency CIO Concerns

Budget and human capital are the top two areas of concern within the federal chief information officer community as CIOs grapple with sequestration cuts and other budget reductions, according to a TechAmerica-commissioned survey. Grant Thornton helped the trade association conduct the survey and also spoke with other top IT officials at agencies, large programs andRead… Read more »

In Review: Symantec’s Annual Government Internet Security Threat Report (GISTR)

Cyberespionage and targeted attacks are on the rise-by 42%, according to Symantec’s annual Government Internet Security Threat Report (GISTR) report. This latest finding and others were published in Symantec’s annual Government Internet Security Threat Report (GISTR) report, which takes a year of security intelligence and knowledge collected from Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network. The report providesRead… Read more »

Are Big Data and Cybersecurity a Perfect Match? Plus Your Weekend Reads!

We all know by now that cyberspace is the next frontier and that attacks are getting more sophisticated and effective. But the key to keeping your network may be big data. Teradata and Ponemon Institute have looked at the results in their report: Big Data Analytics in Cyber Defense. Sam Harris the Director of EnterpriseRead… Read more »

Not Just for Fun Anymore: Why Social Media Should Be included in CyberSecurity Measures

The Associated Press Twitter hack might have been the wake-up call that we needed. Social media is a wonderful thing. It’s fast, reaching a large and diverse audience in no time and it provides a platform for interaction between an agency/company/organization/individual and its constituents/customers/patrons/fans. But that speed and distance could prove risky if a tweetRead… Read more »

Profiling a Data Breach – Where Should You Spend Your Cybersecurity Resources?

In the 2014 budget request the White House sent to Congress one of the few areas to not get cut dramatically was cybersecurity. But before we pour resources into protecting our networks from cyberattacks it is important to know from where and from who these attacks are coming. That’s where the annual Verizon 2013 DataRead… Read more »

How Can We Protect Critical Infrastructure When We Can’t Even Prevent Message Board Hacking?

Lately we’ve had some experiences in our area with hacking of construction message boards. At first, I figured it must have been some programmers who figured out how to get into the computer system. But after seeing another report of it today, I searched for “how to hack a highway message board” and found thereRead… Read more »

What’s Lurking Beyond Your Firewall? 11 Types of Cyber Attacks (GAO Report Pt. 2)

In a previous post, “9 Sources of Cyber Threats Highlighted in GAO Report,” Pat Fiorenza discussed Table 1 of GAO’s report Cyber Security: National Strategy, Roles, and Responsibilities Need to Be Better Defined and More Effectively Implemented, describing the various types of attacks that vulnerable users can fall victim to. In this blog, I willRead… Read more »

9 Sources of Cyber Threats Highlighted in GAO Report

Cyber attacks pose a significant threat to our nation. With the recent release of President Obama’s Executive Order, Improving Critical Infrastructure: Cybersecurity, and a companion policy directive for federal agencies, there has rightfully been an emphasis placed on cyber security. Although both pieces of information are steps in the right direction, they also are anRead… Read more »

Assessing the Nation’s Cybersecurity Strategy – 782% increase in cyber-attacks in 6 yrs.

The Government Accountability Office has looked at the growing number of cybersecurity threats facing our nation. And it’s no small number. The GAO says the increase in cyber attack reported to CERT in the last 6 years has grown by 782%. There were 5,500 incidents in 2006, last year there were 48,000. So what isRead… Read more »