cyber

The US Air Force (USAF) has made a public appeal for tech experts to help design cyber weapons. The call for help comes in a solicitation document, which is a formal request for non-military organizations to submit ideas. To encourage a response, ... the Air Force has announced that it could award contracts worth a total of $10 million. The document asks for ideas that could help the USAF "disrupt, deny, degrade, destroy, or deceive an adversary's ability to use the cyberspace domain to his advantage." It specifically refers to using cyber technology to weaken an enemy's ability to wage physical ... (view more)

An international report says that the term "cyber war" overstates the genuine security risks that national governments face in the online age. It goes on to note that officials need to plan for accidental incidents as well as attacks. The report, ... from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, says that comparing online attacks to an armed military conflict exaggerates the potential effects. It also argues that a financial crisis or a health pandemic would also be much more serious than cyber attacks. The key finding of the report is that most forms of attack against ... (view more)

Widely-known security firm McAfee has called last week's breaching of several major tech companies (including Google and Adobe) "the most sophisticated cyber attack... seen in years," even suggesting the operation could usher in a new age of cyber ... warfare. Attack a "Watershed Event," Says McAfee Discussing the attack on 34 tech companies in China last week, McAfee Chief Technology Officer George Kurtz was noted as saying, "I believe this is the largest and most sophisticated cyber attack we have seen in years targeted at specific corporations," adding, "What really makes this a ... (view more)

In the past, Russia and America were rivals. But now, it appears that that two are joining forces to fight a common foe, with hopes of tightening Internet security for the near and distant future. Insiders are calling the talks a new-age Geneva, ... akin to the nuclear arms discussions of an older generation. The purpose of these new meetings is to reduce the number of hacker attacks on major institutions, including government agencies, banks, businesses, and the military. According to reports, it's believed a common policy on cyber security will help reduce the number of these attacks, some of ... (view more)

New malware being used by cyber criminals takes hacking to a whole new level: it hides evidence of a fraud victim's dwindling bank balance by rewriting online bank statements on-the-fly. The hack employs a Trojan horse program installed on a ... victim's machine that alters HTML (hyper text markup language) coding before it's displayed in a user's web browser. The altered HTML code either erases evidence of a money transfer transaction entirely from a bank statement, or it alters the total amount of money balances and transfers. The hack buys cyber criminals more time before a victim finds out he ... (view more)

If you're a computer hacker, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants to hire you to help secure the nation's networks. Millions of digital attacks occur each day -- one of the most recent of which involves a breached fighter-jet project -- ... and has caused the DHS to put out ads looking for those who understand hackers. Ethical Hacking The DHS wants to hire so-called 'ethical hackers' to analyze threats and keep constant watch over government networks such as the Einstein program (PDF) and to develop ways to reduce vulnerabilities. In addition to hiring ethical hackers requested by the ... (view more)

According to reports, U.S. senators drafted legislation aimed at giving the federal government unprecedented authority over the nation's critical infrastructure, including the power to shut down or limit traffic on private networks during ... emergencies. The draft of the proposed legislation is allegedly intended to establish cyber-security standards to be imposed on both the government and the private sector, including companies providing software, IT work, or other services to networks deemed as 'critical' infrastructure, as well as mandating licenses for any and all individuals who administer ... (view more)