Communicat.us

I’ve been following the news related to Google and GMail getting hack since the day it was discovered but as cyber security is not my forte, I didn’t fully understand it and more to the point, didn’t think I ever would. Thankfully, Kim Zetter, reporting for WIRED does an excellent job of explaining "Advanced Persistent Threats" (APT) to the rest of us. Here are just a few points from the article …

… the attacks are distinctive in the kinds of data the attackers target, and they are rarely detected by antivirus and intrusion programs … the intrusions grab a foothold into a company’s network, sometimes for years, even after a company has discovered them and taken corrective measures

… The attackers were in the firm’s network for a year before the [law] firm learned from law enforcement that it been hacked. By then, the intruders harvested thousands of e-mails and attachments from mail servers.

… Mandiant has seen malware and backdoors that were programmed to lay dormant for months — more than a year in one case — before awakening and sending a beacon to an external command center signaling that it was alive — long after the company thought it had eradicated the intruders.

The article outlines the process of attack …

• the attackers conduct reconnaissance to identify workers to target in spear-phishing attacks … then send malicious e-mails or instant messages that appear to come from a trusted colleague or friend

• the e-mails have an attachment or link to a ZIP file containing zero-day malware that exploits Microsoft Office or Adobe Reader vulnerabilities. they focus on obtaining elevated access privileges to burrow further into the network

• stolen e-mail messages and documents are collected and stored on a staging server inside the company’s network before being encrypted with custom algorithms and compressed into an .rar file.

• the files are then siphoned out in small random bursts generally via normal protocols

Read the full article @ "Report Details Hacks Targeting Google, Others", Wired.com

Two recent requests for public comment have been posted which may interest you. The first is a Cyber Security Workshop and the second deals with “Smarter Grid”.

Input Sought on Sept. 30 Cyber Security Workshop

As part of the Broadband Plan NOI, we specifically sought comments on cyber security.  In an effort to gather more data on this issue, we will hold a Cyber Security Workshop on September 30^th.  While the Workshop will be here in D.C., it will of course be accessible on the web.

- by Jennifer Manner – Deputy Bureau Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau

MORE >>

… and …

Seeking Public Comment on the Smart Grid

In releasing a Public Notice seeking public comment on Smart Grid communications, we hope to learn more about the communications networks being used in the Smart Grid:

• What networks are suitable for which types of applications?
• How available are these networks?
• What could be done to make networks more suitable or more available?
• How can the data generated by the grid be secured? How can it be used to drive efficiency and innovation?

**Please read the Public Notice and file comments using either ECFS Express or our standard submission page if you need to attach a file.

- by Nick Sinai – Energy and Environment Director, National Purposes Staff.

 

MORE >>

The IBM Federal CTO team hosted the “Emergent Technology Brief” today and there was both a lot of content and a lot of discussion. If you’d like to see what all the buzz was about, here is the list of topics and all the presentation materials have been posted.

1. Welcome – David McQueeney, VP & CTO, IBM Software Group Federal (audio)
2. Mission based Architectural Modeling Approach / UML for mission modeling (NCSC models) – Fred Mervine (audio)
3. Security / Cyber Security Concepts – John McLaughlin (audio)
   Security / Multi-Level Security SOA (with demo) – Robert Tabit
   Security / Cyber Defense Demo – Bernie Beekman
4. Federation / Transactioning Model and SOA Federation – Eric Nelson(audio)
   Federation / Information Management and Information as a Service & Metadata – Bruce Semple (audio)
5. Infrastructure Management / Enterprise Cloud Strategy – Howard Levenson (audio)
6. User Experience / Web 2.0, Mashups & Social Networking – Glen Salmon (audio)
7. Infrastructure Management / Enterprise Service Management – Mike Moomaw (audio)

If you attended or have a question after reviewing the material, post a comment and we’ll reply right here !