cybersecurity – On the National Security Beat

Digital Security for Journalists

SB Anderson — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 16:07:13 +0000

New report from the Tow Center and Knight Foundation: An ~80-page guide to digital security or journalists.

HTML version | PDF | Other electronic versions

Webinar on cyber crime

SB Anderson — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:27:32 +0000

Paul Rosenzweig shares his expertise to help reporters better understand cyber crime — how much money and intellectual property are we losing every day and what it means. How can governments around the globe coordinate to fight a criminal element that knows no boundaries? The webinar, organized by Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, was held on Oct. 16, 2013 from the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, IL and the Medill Washington Bureau.

Digital security guide and tips for journalists

SB Anderson — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:06:42 +0000

Journalists everywhere need digital security skills more than ever; we will need them even more in the years to come. In our latest “NSZ 101” how-to guide over at Medill National Security Zone, Frank Smyth, the executive director of consulting and training group Global Journalist Security, provides a basic primer on how to protect yourself in a world of phishing attacks, intercepted emails, digital surveillance, denial of service attacks and other security threats. Read the story.

Discussion about cybersecurity

SB Anderson — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:55:00 +0000

Josh Meyer and Tim McNulty of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative join former NSJI fellow Paul Rosenzweig and Trey Herr, a fellow at the Cybersecurity Policy Research Institute, for a discussion about cybersecurity on Feb. 28. Medill’s Marc Zarefsky moderated. Full details on the panelists.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Panel discusses cybersecurity; listen in

SB Anderson — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Listen to the discussion

WASHINGTON –– It’s serious and it’s here. It might be your stolen identity, it might be imposter status updates from your Facebook account, or it might be the shutdown of the electrical grid you rely on. But cyberattacks are a fact of life, a panel of experts noted, while cybersecurity is relatively uncharted legal territory, with less-than-optimal levels of acknowledgement and action by the government and industry.

“It’s one of those problems that if you do not deal with, it will deal with you,” said Harvey Rishikof, director of cybersecurity and the law at Drexel University’s iSchool.

The panelists at the Nov. 15 cybersecurity debate at the National Press Club, sponsored by the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative and the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security, were hesitant to give concrete statements about the size and nature of the cybersecurity threat, partially because much of the threat is cloaked in secrecy.

Read Full Story by Natalie Jones

Welcome to CyberCity

SB Anderson — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:37:00 +0000

Interesting Washington Post package this week explores an initiative that lets government hackers invade a virtual town of 15,000 people “who have e-mail accounts, work passwords and bank deposits. The power plant has employees. The hospital has patients. The coffeeshop customers will come and go, using the insecure WiFi system, just as in real life.”

CyberCity even has its own social network — FaceSpace. And its computers “simulate communications and operations, including e-mail, heating systems, a railroad.”

The Post compares the Pentagon’s cybersecurity exploration system to “the mock desert towns that were constructed at military facilities to help American soldiers train for the war in Iraq. But here, the soldier-hackers from the Air Force and other branches of the military will practice attacking and defending the computers and networks that run the theoretical town. In one scenario, they will attempt to take control of a speeding train containing weapons of mass destruction.”

The CyberCity story is part of the Posts’s Zero Day series on cyberspace security.

→ Full Story

For the reference folder: CRS on cybersecurity resources and reports

SB Anderson — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Via Steven Aftergood at Federation of American Scientists.

CISPA at-a-glance

SB Anderson — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:53:00 +0000

From PC World, here is a helpful Reader’s Digesty look at the Cyber Information and Security Protection Act that passed the U.S. House last week and that has some privacy experts a bit steamed.

The White House in a statement is on the record saying, “Legislation should address core critical infrastructure vulnerabilities without sacrificing the fundamental values of privacy and civil liberties for our citizens,” and has threatened a veto of CISPA-like bill if it’s the same as currently written.

Next up: The Senate, which has its own versions of cybersecurity bills.

RELATED: Detailed FAQ on CISPA from CNET (someone call the acronym police).

RELATED (sort of): A quiz on how much you know about cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity bills duel over rules for firms; ‘burgeoning anti-government fever’ afoot?

SB Anderson — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Cybersecurity bills duel over rules for firms; ‘burgeoning anti-government fever’ afoot?

OTB is generally not a fan or sharing turn-of-the-screw updates on federal legislation (usually, by time time somebody reads it, the screw has already been turned again), but this WSJ piece on the status of dueling cybersecurity bills in Congress does a good job of parsing out the differences and implications. Including a handy dandy graphic (below).

And be sure to watch the 60 Minutes piece on cybersecurity in the post right below this one.

SB Anderson — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:32:16 +0000

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf

This 60 Minutes piece on the Stuxnet computer virus is well worth a watch if you’re interested in cybersecurity and the implications on warfare, national security and covert activities.

(Source: http://cnettv.cnet.com/)