Earlier this week, I came across some coverage about some of the Australian Department of Defence’s (DoD) cyber-security strategies. While not completely fair, I found it an interesting study in contrasts between the Australian strategies/tactics and those recently outlined by the United States DoD.
Toney Jennings, CoreTrace CEO and a former Air Force information warfare officer, recently blogged on the US DoD’s “Strategy for Operating in Cyber-Space”. The main objective of his “DoD Cyberspace Strategy: Is the DoD really ready to embrace new technologies & companies???” post was to openly challenge the US DoD to modify their procurement and evaluation processes to enable small and innovative companies to assist in cyber defense. However, Toney also made a few other key points. Most relevant to this post is that Toney highlighted that the document was extremely high level and highly prone to status quo thinking and actions, e.g.,
“Unfortunately, a significant portion of the document is simply reiterating the government’s ‘business as usual’ tactics. I’ve got to believe that for the five strategic initiatives, the DoD already has active programs in place. Therefore, the first question that comes to mind is how effective are these defenses? I suspect that the fundamental problem with the existing defenses is that the government is using traditional security solutions that don’t measure up against evolving cyber attacks. The root of this problem stems from the fact that the government continues to favor status-quo, ‘no one ever got fired for buying from’ large companies and contractors.”
Which brings me to the Australian DoD. In contrast to the high-level US cyberstrategy document, the Australian DoD’s “Strategies to Mitigate Targeted Cyber Intrusions”” plan is detailed, well-researched and supported, and focused on proactively solving security problems rather than blindly reinforcing outdated and ineffective strategies. Continue reading this post…
In response to increasing cyber threats targeting the U.S. government, defense contractors and the nation’s critical infrastructure, the Department of Defense released its new strategy for protecting our nation’s systems and networks from cyber attacks. While it’s a nice first step, many critics are wondering if the government can actually pull it off. In the same vein, the shift to virtualization has many businesses re-thinking their existing security approaches. Will virtualization mark the end of traditional host-based antivirus solutions as we know it? Here are some of the top endpoint security stories for July 2011.
DoD’s cybersecurity plan creates more questions than answers
In July, the Department of Defense released its new strategy for operating in cyberspace, and how it plans to protect our nation’s computer systems and networks from cyber attacks. The plan includes a number of initiatives such as treating cyberspace as a domain it defends (with land, air, sea and space), introducing new network defenses to detect and stop malicious code, coordinating with the private sector, and working with other countries. However, in the article, “Critics: U.S. cyber security plan has holes, few new items,” the document has many analysts like Rich Mogull of Securosis wondering if the DoD can pull it off. Continue reading this post…
In today’s competitive market place, highly targeted marketing plans are essential for reaching your core audience and getting the most bang for your buck. This is what most organizations strive for, and hackers have taken note.
Over the past few years, cyber criminals have embraced a similar business model. Instead of playing the numbers game, which consists of randomly spamming tens of thousands of people in hopes of getting a small percentage of victims to click on their malicious code, malware attacks are now truly targeted. Acting sort of like niche malware, hackers design specific cyber attacks that target specific victims, companies and industries.
As a result, no vertical is safe today. Continue reading this post…
I believe that January has given us a nice preview of what is to come in 2011. From attacks targeting new platforms to the increasing “commercialization” of malware business models and toolkits, the ongoing need to secure endpoints — from servers to laptops, from SCADA systems to tablets–shows no sign of abating. Here are some of the top endpoint security stories for January 2011. Continue reading this post…
Record-breaking years can sometimes be a good thing, but not when it comes to malware.
According to PandaLabs, 2010 set a record for new online threats, with cybercriminals creating one-third of all malware in existence last year alone. The report found that throughout 2010 the average number of new threats created every day rose from 55,000 to 63,000.
With financial gain being the prime motivator behind the creation of new malware, the study also found that banking Trojans were the most prevalent type of attacks in 2010 at 56%, along with viruses (22%) and worms (10%). Despite all these findings, the one that struck me the most was that 52% of new malware created last year exists for only 24 hours. Then it’s gone. Continue reading this post…