The Cybersecurity (CS) Digest is a curated bi-weekly news summary for cybersecurity professionals. It is transmitted in an HTML-formatted email and provides links to articles and news summaries across a spectrum of cybersecurity topics.

CSIAC ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Free CSIAC Webinar Tuesday Dec 19th @ 12:00 EST – Blockchain: Applications, Security Promises and Internals - CSIAC

In this webinar, Blockchain technology will be introduced from the perspectives of applications, extensible interfaces, security promises and internal mechanisms. Blockchain supports the secure storage of transactions and honestly runs smart contracts. Blockchain's internal mechanisms are sophisticated and can be viewed from different angles. This webinar will present the transaction, storage, mining-based consensus and other mechanisms under the hood.

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Cyber Crime:

SWIFT Warns Banks on Cyber Heists as Hack Sophistication Grows - Reuters

Brussels-based SWIFT has been urging banks to bolster security of computers used to transfer money since Bangladesh Bank lost $81 million in a February 2016 cyber heist that targeted central bank computers used to move funds. The new warning provided detail on some new techniques being used by the hackers.

Inside Airbnb’s Russian Money-Laundering Problem - The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast found a number of recent posts on several Russian-language crime forums, in which users were looking for people to collaborate with to abuse Airbnb's service. According to Rick Holland, VP of strategy from cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows, these operations rely on an individual or group using legitimate or stolen Airbnb accounts to request bookings and make payments to their collaborating Airbnb host. The host then sends back a percentage of the profits, despite no one staying in the property.

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Cyberwarfare:

A Fight Is Brewing Between Congress and the Military Over Cyber War - Next Gov

U.S. military commanders want more authority to launch cyber operations. But Congress is mulling new restrictions and reporting requirements, setting up a showdown that will shape American defense in the network era.

U.S. Government Shares Technical Details on North Korean Hacking Campaign - Reuters

The alert, from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, said North Korean hackers were using a type of malware known as "FALLCHILL" to gain entry to computer systems and compromise network systems. The FBI and DHS had issued a warning in June that squarely blamed the North Korean government for a raft of cyber attacks stretching back to 2009 targeting media, aerospace and financial sectors, as well as critical infrastructure, in the United States and globally. Tuesday's alert included the publication of IP addresses the FBI said were linked to the hacking campaign and was intended to help private industry guard against the attacks.

Coast Guard Cyber Command ‘Just as Important as Cutters and Aircraft’ - Federal News Radio

The U.S. Coast Guard has a split-identity - it's a military service, but it falls under the purview of the Homeland Security Department, not the Defense Department. That means its Cyber Command has to balance the competing demands of protecting operational capability in an armed conflict with protecting infrastructure during peacetime.

This Country’s Hacking Efforts Have Become too Big to Ignore - Cyberscoop

While hackers linked to China, North Korea and Russia have dominated headlines over the past year, similar groups in Iran have caused significant damage while drawing far less attention.

Cyber and Space Weapons Are Making Nuclear Deterrence Trickier - Defense One

Stability was an overriding concern at last week's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on nuclear command authority, the first in four decades. Senators wondered aloud whether one individual - the American president - should have the sole authority to direct a nuclear attack. The focus is understandable, but there are other challenges to nuclear stability that deserve more attention than they're getting.

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Data Security:

1.4 Billion Clear Text Credentials Discovered in a Single Database - 4iQ

A Massive Resource for Cybercriminals Makes it Easy to Access Billions of Credentials.

Uber paid 20-year-old Florida man to keep data breach secret – sources - Reuters

A 20-year-old Florida man was responsible for the large data breach at Uber Technologies Inc last year and was paid by Uber to destroy the data through a so-called "bug bounty" program normally used to identify small code vulnerabilities, three people familiar with the events have told Reuters.

Nope, this isn’t the HTTPS-validated Stripe website you think it is - Ars Technica

How extended validation certificates can be used to scam, not help, end users.
Tags: Encryption, Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)

The Dark Side of ‘Replay Sessions’ That Record Your Every Move Online - Wired

When internet users visit Walgreens.com, a software company may record every keystroke, mouse movement, and scroll, potentially exposing medical conditions such as alcohol dependence, or the names of drugs a user has been prescribed, according to Princeton researchers.

MacOS Update Accidentally Undoes Apple’s “Root” Bug Patch - Wired

When a company like Apple rushes out a software patch for a critical security bug, it deserves praise for protecting its customers quickly. Except, perhaps, when that patch is so rushed that it's nearly as buggy as the code it was designed to fix.
Tags: Apple

Blockchain and Digital Currency:

Millions ‘stolen’ in NiceHash Bitcoin heist - BBC

"Highly professional" hackers made off with around 4,700 Bitcoin from a leading mining service. The hacked service was NiceHash, a Slovenia-based mining exchange.
Tags: Cryptocurrency

Emerging Technology:

Small Antennas Could be a Big Deal for the Air Force - Armed with Science

Researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, in partnership with Northeastern University, recently developed an ultra-compact antenna that uses a whole different approach in transmitting and receiving signals. This breakthrough could be a big step in the miniaturization of many military and commercial communication systems.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence:

“AI” to “EI” – Moving from Fear to Flourishing in the Age of the Algorithm - IEEE USA InSight

It's easy to get caught up in the idea that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be one of two things: our destroyer or our savior. It's time to move beyond this dualistic narrative. The "either or" comparisons create fear or unrealistic expectations, neither of which pragmatically move society forward. Part of shifting this narrative is evolving a new framing for the term, "Artificial Intelligence."
Tags: Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The Truth About Machine Learning In Cybersecurity: Defense - Forbes

A considerable number of articles cover machine learning and its ability to protect us from cyberattacks. Still, it's important to separate the hype from the reality and see what exactly machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can do right now in cybersecurity.

Mobile Security:

Janus Vulnerability Allows Android App Takeover - Infosecurity Magazine

An Android vulnerability has been uncovered that allows attackers to modify apps in an undetected way, without affecting their signatures.
Tags: Android

Private Sector:

Cybersecurity Skills Shortage Creating Recruitment Chaos - CSO Online

CISOs recognize these issues and many organizations are actively hanging a "help wanted" sign to find cybersecurity talent. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to bring new people onboard. Why? Experienced cybersecurity professionals are in high demand, so organizations are engaged in a battle royale to coax them away from their present employers and outbid others for their services.
Tags: Cyber Workforce

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Most Popular:

Big Step Forward For Quantum Computing - Science Daily

Harvard researchers have developed a specialized quantum computer, known as a quantum simulator, which could be used to shed new light on a host of complex quantum processes, from the connection between quantum mechanics and material properties to investigating new phases of matter and solving complex real-world optimization problems.
Tags: Quantum Computing

CSIAC Supported Communities

CSIAC supports several communities of practice, such as the Cyber Community of Interest (COI) Group and research & development working groups.

Technical Resources, Policy and Guidance

This list of related sites provides additional sources to pursue the topic of Cybersecurity. The sites include Government organizations, including federal agencies, Department of Defense and military service agencies, commercial organizations, and academic institutions.

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