data privacy Archives

Tag: data privacy

Trial Balloon: Will Obama’s Cyber Proposals Sink or Fly?

January 19, 2015 Paul Roberts

In-brief: President Obama is putting cyber security at the top of his agenda for the State of the Union Address on Tuesday. But security experts are warning that the proposed laws will complicate many aspects of their work in the name of fighting hackers. U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver his annual State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday. A raft of new proposals to strengthen the nation’s cyber security are at the top of his agenda. As the address draws near, however, information security professionals are warning that many of the President’s proposals will have a chilling effect on their work, using the cause of fighting hackers criminalizing activities that are essential to investigating their crimes. The President’s proposals have been outlined in a series of releases and speeches by the President in recent weeks, including an address at the Federal Trade Commission on protecting consumers’ […]

N.S.A. Breached North Korean Networks Before Sony Attack – NY Times

January 19, 2015 Paul Roberts

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 […]

Android in the Coal Mine: Open Source, Patching and Internet of Things

January 14, 2015 Paul Roberts

In brief: Google’s decision not to patch a security hole in versions of Android used by hundreds of millions of consumers is a bad omen for the Internet of Things and will likely push some Android users to alternative versions of the operating system.

On the Internet of Things, Cheap may Cost You | VentureBeat

January 12, 2015 Paul Roberts

Venturebeat has a nice, contributed blog post by Michael Daly, of Raytheon on the lurking problem of device insecurity within the consumer Internet of Things. As Daly sees it, mass adoption of Internet of Things technologies seems destined to leave us with environments populated by low-cost and vulnerable devices whose makers don’t consider their wares valuable enough to maintain. From the article: “Offering a constant stream of security patches and updates to keep low-cost devices safe and functional for the long-term requires money. If vulnerabilities are discovered, patches or updates might be issued, but only in the first year or two. The vendor expectation is that users will need to buy a full replacement or live with the risks — not to mention that users are not very likely to manage patches and updates for non-critical devices.” In contrast to the kinds of managed networks we’re used to – with vendors […]

White House Backs Raft of New Cyber Security Laws

January 12, 2015 Paul Roberts

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 […]