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 – Cyber Threat Landscape: What can you do to mitigate the risks? - CSIAC

Cybersecurity is quickly becoming a top concern for every sector in our country. The worldwide reach of the internet means that cyber threats can come from hackers in the United States and from foreign countries. In this webinar, the head of Stakeholder Engagement for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center will speak about the emerging cyber threats to the government sector and what steps they can take to minimize the risk and mitigate these threats.

RECENT HEADLINES:

Data Security:

This is the Newest Tactic Cybercriminals are Using to Deliver Ransomware - ZDnet

Ransomware groups have evolved yet another new tactic in their quest to infect victims with malicious file-encrypting software, including those behind the notorious Locky campaign.

Even the US Military is Looking at Blockchain Technology to Secure Nuclear Weapons - Nextgov

The case for using a blockchain boils down to a concept in computer security known as “information integrity.”

Secure Passwords Can Be Sent Through Your Body, Instead of Air - University of Washington

University of Washington computer scientists and electrical engineers have devised a way to send secure passwords through the human body.

Security Analyst Says Yahoo!, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Tumblr All Popped by Same Gang - The Register

Five hackers are said to be behind breaches totaling up to a staggering three billion credentials from some of the world's biggest tech companies including the Yahoo! breach that led to the loss of 500 million credentials.

Brain Waves Can Be Used to Detect Potentially Harmful Personal Information - ScienceDaily

The more sophisticated the system, or the more critical, private information that system holds, the more advanced the identification system protecting it becomes.

Internet-of-Things:

A New Linux Trojan Called NyaDrop Threatens the IoT Landscape - Softpedia

The Krebs DDoS attacks have proven that the IoT landscape is a fertile ground that can breed huge botnets capable of launching massive DDoS assaults. As such, it should be no surprise that malware authors are now focusing their efforts on this sector and putting out new threats in the hopes of building the next Mirai botnet.

What Makes IoT Ransomware a Different and More Dangerous Threat? - TECHCRUNCH

Ransomware has already managed to carve itself a niche as one of the main cybersecurity threats of 2016. For the most part, IoT devices store little or no data, which would logically make them financially irrelevant to ransomware attacks, right?

Mobile Security:

FBI, Apple Eye New Fight Over Encryption - The Hill

The FBI and Apple could be heading for a new fight over access to a dead terrorist's iPhone.

Network Security:

Rogue Proxies Hijack HTTPS Traffic - E Hacking News

When the system is completely infected and web traffic including HTTPS can be seen by the proxy server, it enables attackers to redirect, modify and monitor the traffic and sensitive user information can be stolen without the knowledge of the owner.

Public Sector:

MD5 – A New Department of Defense National Security Technology Accelerator – Officially Launches with Disaster Relief Hackathon in New York City - U.S. Department of Defense

The MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator, a public-private partnership between the Department of Defense (DoD), New York University (NYU) and a large network of top U.S. research universities, is being officially launched at a hackathon today in Brooklyn, New York.

US Hands Over Control of Internet on Schedule – Despite Last-Ditch Protests - ZDNet

Even against a backdrop of political opposition, the US government has gone ahead and passed responsibility for the internet's naming system to ICANN.

Software Security:

Microsoft Says Hackers Have Exploited Zero-Days in Windows 10’s Edge, Office, IE; Issues Fix - ZDNet

Microsoft's October Patch Tuesday is a reminder why you shouldn't click links or open attachments from unknown senders.

Most Top Computer Science Programs Skip Cybersecurity - The Institute

Only three of the top 50 university computer science programs in the United States require students to take a cybersecurity course, and many don’t even offer a class on the subject, according to a recent study by CloudPassage, a cloud computing security company.

FEEDBACK FROM PREVIOUS DIGEST:

Most Popular:

NIST Unveils a Cybersecurity Self-Assessment Tool - Security Magazine

The Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder is a self-assessment tool to help organizations better understand the effectiveness of their cybersecurity risk management efforts. NIST is requesting public comments on the draft document, which blends the best of two globally recognized and widely used NIST resources: the organizational performance evaluation strategies from the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and the risk management mechanisms of the Cybersecurity Framework.

Hacker Attack on Satellites Could Plunge the World into ‘Mad Max’ - New York Post

Real-life Star Wars may not be only for a galaxy far, far away, an explosive new report finds.

Cybersecurity is Threatening America’s Military Supremacy - Tech Crunch

The challenge is that the capabilities and sophistication of state-sponsored and non-state hackers are increasing exponentially.

CSIAC SUPPORTED COMMUNITIES:

Cyber Security of Critical Infrastructure - Department of Homeland Security

CSIAC serves on the EO 13636/PPD-21 Research & Development (R&D) Working Group (WG) run by DHS S&T. If you would like further information, contact Dr. Paul Losiewicz at plosiewicz@csiac.org

Cyber Community of Interest (COI) Group - CSIAC

The Cyber COI engages in multiple activities and forums for coordinating cyber S&T strategies, sharing innovative ideas and technical approaches, promoting technology transfer and upcoming business opportunities, and in jointly planning programs across the Department of Defense and other government agencies. Membership is based upon approval by the Cyber COI group administrator.

TECHNICAL RESOURCES, POLICY & GUIDANCE:

Presidential Policy Directive – United States Cyber Incident Coordination - The White House

Opportunities Exist for DOD to Share Cybersecurity Resources with Small Businesses - GAO

DOD OSBP officials acknowledged that cybersecurity is an important and timely issue for small businesses -and therefore the office is considering incorporating cybersecurity into its existing outreach and education efforts. During the review, GAO identified 15 existing federal cybersecurity resources that DOD OSBP could disseminate to defense small businesses.

DHS S&T Collaboration Community - Ideascale

The National Conversation is intended to bring together everyone to play a role in shaping the future of homeland security technology. This means responders, operational users, citizens, academia, and industry.

The Department of Defense Cyber Strategy - Department of Defense

The purpose of this strategy is to guide the development of DoD's cyber forces and strengthen our cyber defense and cyber deterrence posture. It focuses on building cyber capabilities and organizations for DoD's three primary cyber missions.

Information Sharing Environment - ISE

The Information Sharing Environment (ISE) broadly refers to the people, projects, systems, and agencies that enable responsible information sharing for national security.

Standards & Reference Documents - CSIAC

View all Best Practices and Reference Documents on the CSIAC website.

The DoD Cybersecurity Policy Chart (Formerly the IA Policy Chart) - CSIAC

DoD Cyber Domain Resources - Department of Defense

DHS Cyber Security Strategy (“Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future”, 2011) - Department of Homeland Defense

DIB CS/IA Voluntary Information Sharing Program - DoD DIBNet

DoD's DIB CS/IA program is a voluntary program to enhance and supplement DIB participants' capabilities to safeguard DoD information that resides on, or transits, DIB unclassified information systems.

US-CERT Bulletins - Department of Homeland Security

Bulletins provide weekly summaries of new vulnerabilities. Patch information is provided when available.

US-CERT Alerts - Department of Homeland Security

Alerts provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits.

National Vulnerability Database - NIST

NVD is the U.S. government repository of standards based vulnerability management data represented using the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP). This data enables automation of vulnerability management, security measurement, and compliance. NVD includes databases of security checklists, security related software flaws, misconfigurations, product names, and impact metrics.

Trustworthy CyberSpace: Strategic Plan For The Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Program - NITRD

Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) - Committee on National Security Systems

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