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:

New Cyber Awareness Video – Password Tips - CSIAC

Learn some helpful tips to make a more secure password.

Free CSIAC Webinar – Comply to Connect (C2C) - CSIAC

This webinar will describe Comply to Connect (C2C), an automated Network Access Control (NAC) solution that verifies that an endpoint is authorized and meets security requirements before allowing access to the network. These solutions take a standards-based approach to security and the goal is to always know what devices are on your network and to control what resources they can access.

RECENT HEADLINES:

Cyberwarfare:

Foreign Cyber Weapons ‘Far Exceed’ US Ability to Defend Critical Infrastructure, Defense Panel Says - Federal News Radio

On the civilian side, the new report warns that for at least the next five-to-10 years, other nations will have offensive cyber capabilities that "far exceed the United States' ability to defend and adequately strengthen the resilience of its critical infrastructures."

The Threat of Weaponized Machines - C4ISRNet

While government and military leaders have incessantly been asking industry for more automation in cyber network defense tools, some are also warning of the increased threat automation is posing on the offensive side.

Data Security:

How Did Yahoo Get Breached? Employee Got Spear Phished, FBI Suggests - ARS Technica

Malcolm Palmore, the FBI special agent in charge of the bureau’s Silicon Valley office, told Ars in an interview that the initial breach that led to the exposure of half a billion Yahoo accounts likely started with the targeting of a "semi-privileged" Yahoo employee and not top executives.

DOJ Indicts Russian Spies in Massive Yahoo Breach - Politico

In a landmark move, the Justice Department on Wednesday indicted four men, including two Russian spies, for hacking into Yahoo and stealing data on 500 million users.

Backup Error Exposes 1.37 Billion-Record Spamming Database - Data Breach Today

One of the world's allegedly most prolific spamming operations inadvertently left backup databases accessible online, exposing upwards of 1.37 billion records and a raft of internal company information.

Information Warfare:

Experts Warn Congress of Ongoing Russian Information Warfare Against Europe - CyberScoop

Former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik IIves was one of four experts who spoke Thursday on Capitol Hill about Russian hacking and propaganda efforts designed to undermine The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union.

Insider Threat:

FBI Prepares for New Hunt for WikiLeaks’ Source - The Washington Post

The FBI has begun preparing for a major mole hunt to determine how anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks got an alleged arsenal of hacking tools the CIA has used to spy on espionage targets, according to people familiar with the matter.

Experts Say WikiLeaks Exaggerating Contents of CIA Documents - The Hill

WikiLeaks published a trove of purported CIA files this week, renewing debate over government hacking and surveillance techniques. But many experts say the anti-secrecy group’s analysis of the data may have been intentionally misleading.

Legislation:

Legislators Grapple with Cyber War Rules - The Hill

Members of Congress are grappling with the new era of cyber warfare as the government works to define what acts in cyberspace should warrant a military response.

Network Security:

Samas Ransomware Uses Active Directory to Infect Entire Networks - Security Week

Unlike most ransomware out there, which focuses mainly on encrypting local files, Samas spreads inside the entire network to encrypt files on every server and computer, the researchers say. This operation is performed in three steps: the attackers steal domain credentials, identify targets via Active Directory reconnaissance, and then move laterally through the network.

Apache Struts 2 Under Zero-Day Attack, Update Now - Data Breach Today

Apache Struts 2 installations are being targeted - and hacked in large numbers - by attackers who are exploiting a zero-day flaw in the platform to remotely execute code, security researchers warn.

Private Sector:

Industry Calls for More Cyber Threat Context from DHS - FCW

"The sharing of individual indicators of compromise without context leaves practitioners asking more questions than having them answered," Intel Security Group vice president Scott Montgomery said at a March 9 hearing of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Public Sector:

White House Report Finds Cybersecurity Gaps at Federal Agencies - Bloomberg

Despite the U.S. government’s steps to tackle cybersecurity threats, hackers continue to target federal agencies and they experienced tens of thousands of incidents last year, according to a White House report.

Quantum Computing:

Quantum Computer Learns to ‘See’ Trees - ScienceMag

Scientists have trained a quantum computer to recognize trees. That may not seem like a big deal, but the result means that researchers are a step closer to using such computers for complicated machine learning problems like pattern recognition and computer vision.

FEEDBACK FROM PREVIOUS DIGEST:

Most Popular:

The Cybersecurity Problem Everyone Has, But No One Wants to Deal With - WashingtonExec

When you think about the threats to your company’s cybersecurity, you probably think of malicious emails and spearphishing, hacks and data theft, ransomware, malware, spyware, and all the other kinds of -ware. Chances are, you’re not thinking about your thermostat. Or your electric meter. Or your garage door

A Computer’s Blinking Light Could Transmit Data - Ben-Gurion Univ

A desktop computer’s tiny blinking LED light would hardly arouse the suspicions of anyone working in an office after hours. However, that LED could be silently winking out an optical stream of the computer’s secrets to a data-stealing drone.

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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