In-brief: The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, sharpening an earlier analysis that found evidence for Russian tampering with the election.
GOP
Exclusive – Cyber Security in the Trump Administration: an Interview with Lt. Gen Michael Flynn
In-brief: In this special Security Ledger podcast, I interview Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret), a top advisor to President Elect Donald Trump about his thoughts on cyber defense and improving the security of government and commercial systems.
Report: Chaos of Sony Response Prompts Creation of New Cyber Agency | The Washington Post
In-brief: The Washington Post reports that the Obama Administration will announce the creation of a new agency to coordinate intelligence about cyber attacks. The move is, in part, a response to confusion following the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment in November.
N.S.A. Breached North Korean Networks Before Sony Attack – NY Times
The New York Times claims that the U.S. National Security Agency used intelligence gleaned from a clandestine operation to compromise North Korea’s cyber warfare unit to pin the blame for the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack on the reclusive Communist country. According to the story by David Sanger and Martin Fackler, the Obama Administration’s decision to quickly blame the hack on the DPRK grew out of a four year-old National Security Agency (NSA) program that compromise Chinese networks that connect North Korea to the outside world. The classified NSA program eventually placed malware that could track the internal workings of the computers and networks used by the North’s hackers and under the control of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the North Korean intelligence unit, and Bureau 121, the North’s hacking unit, which mostly operates out of China. It has long been recognized that North Korea, which lacks a mature information technology infrastructure, does much of […]
White House Backs Raft of New Cyber Security Laws
President Obama used a speech at the Federal Trade Commission on Monday to call for a raft of new laws and reforms that would protect the privacy and online security of U.S. citizens and corporations. Speaking at the FTC, President Obama highlighted a number of policies that he will propose in his State of the Union address to Congress. They include new laws aimed at endemic problems like identity theft and online tracking of consumer behavior. The visit was notable for being the first time a sitting President has visited the FTC in 80 years, since 1937 and the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Obama, who has been highlighting issues and ideas he will unveil in his State of the Union Address, said the address is one of a series of talks he will give this week focused on computer and online privacy. The President said he will follow his speech aimed at […]
