Government

Security Pros React to Potential Federal Data Law

A federal cybersecurity law edged closer to reality late last week when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to protect the personal data of Americans. The bill is a bipartisan effort sponsored by Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and co-sponsored by former Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, that would, among other things, force companies and data brokers to institute data privacy and security programs. Some technology professionals surveyed don’t think the Federal law will do much to help. Read the full article. [CSOonline.com] 

Facial Recognition Research Claims Near 100% Accuracy

Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb, professor and chair in the UM Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering has developed state-of-the-art
systems capable of photographing an image of someone’s face and ear and
comparing it against pre-stored images of the same person, with 95-100
percent accuracy. Read the full article. [Science Daily]

Microsoft’s Police Forensic Tool Leaked to Bad Guys

Microsoft’s Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) has made it into the hands of pirates, and their virtual ships are distributing it. The COFEE application lets officers grab data from password-protected or encrypted sources. That means you can now break the law twice over: download the software and then use it to steal information from other people’s computers.

Voters Test New Crytographic Voting System in Maryland

by Donald Sears

The state of Maryland tested a new cryptographic voting system on Election day that allowed users to confirm their votes online, as well as allow anyone to independently audit the system. Scantegrity is an optical-scan, open-source system that uses a combination of paper ballots and unique cryptographic codes inside the ballots. It was designed by David Chaum and researchers from MIT, Univ. of Maryland, George Washington Univ., the Univ. of Ottawa, and the Univ. of Waterloo. Read the full article. [Wired]

FBI Reports Malware on Rise in Electronic Funds Fraud

by Donald Sears

The FBI reports it has seen a rise of malware over the past few months targeting small and medium businesses and municipal government entities and school districts. Once a malicious attachment or link is opened, keylogging tactics obtain bank account info where criminals then initiate wire transfers or Automated Clearinghouse Transfers (ACH). The report also cites that in some cases individuals have been recruited to unknowingly help criminals with “work at home” jobs that tell them they will be working on sending these fraudulent funds transfers by Western Union or Moneygram. FBI has links to US CERT for help. Read the statement. [FBI]

Guilt by Association: Modem Hacker Arrested for Others’ Crimes

by Donald Sears

Hardware hacker and author, Ryan Harris, aka “DerEngel,” has been arrested in Boston for aiding and abetting intrusion and wire fraud. Harris oversees TCNiSO, a group who hacks cable modems and other hardware. Harris thinks he is being busted for the plights of those who took performance-boosting hacks and committed crime–something he says he never condoned or publicized on his website.

Senator Joe Lieberman Wants Head of Cyber Security to Reside in White House

by Donald Sears

Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Conneticut is set to propose a bill that would make the lead security post for the U.S. government a Presidential nominee approved by the Senate and accountable to Congress. This is in sharp contrast to the proposed hierarchy laid out by the ranking Republican leader of the Homeland Security panel, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who views the position as residing in the DHS, said Ed O’Keefe on his Federal Eye blog. Read the full story   [Washington Post]

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