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 – A Faster Method for Bot Detection On Social Networks That Eliminates The Need For Expensive Algorithms - CSIAC

In this presentation, we present a novel approach to detection of bots on social networks in near real-time. Our approach comprises of computationally simple comparisons and calculations, as opposed to the all too common machine learning approach to this problem, or non-real-time approaches that involve network analysis which is both expensive and time-consuming.

FEEDBACK FROM PREVIOUS DIGEST:

Cyberwarfare:

Hitting Back at Hackers: Debate Swirls on How Far to Go - Security Week

After a seemingly endless barrage of cyberattacks, debate is heating up on hitting back at hackers where it hurts.

RECENT HEADLINES:

Data Security:

SF MUNI Starts to Restore Systems, Says No Data Compromised During Attack - CSO Online

Focusing on the most critical systems first, the agency responsible for MUNI says IT teams are in the middle of their BC/DR process this morning. The IT staff jumped into action after a ransomware attack forced some systems offline during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The agency also says that claims of data exfiltration by the attacker are false.

Navy Says Personal Data of Over 134,000 Sailors Was Hacked - ABC News

Personal data belonging to 134,386 current and former sailors in the U.S. Navy has been compromised, the Navy said on Wednesday.

New NIST Guide Helps Small Businesses Improve Cybersecurity - NIST

Small-business owners may think that they are too small to be victims of cyber hackers, but Pat Toth knows otherwise.

Google Removing SHA-1 Support in Chrome56 - ThreatPost

The home stretch for SHA-1 deprecation is in full effect with Google on Wednesday announcing its final deprecation deadlines for the Chrome browser, and a cryptographic services provider warning that there’s still a long way to go to get sites off SHA-1 certificates.

DOD Announces Digital Vulnerability Disclosure Policy and “Hack the Army” Kick-Off - DoD

Building on the success of the “Hack the Pentagon” bug bounty pilot in which hackers from across the country were provided legal authorization to spot vulnerabilities in specific Department of Defense networks in return for cash payments, the Department of Defense (DoD) today unveiled two new initiatives designed to further enhance the DoD cybersecurity.

Hackers Target ATMs Across Europe as Cyber Threat Grows - Reuters

Cyber criminals have remotely attacked cash machines in more than a dozen countries across Europe this year, using malicious software that forces machines to spit out cash, according to Russian cyber security firm Group IB.

IBM and Ponemon Study Reveals Organizations Remain Unprepared to Respond to Cyberattacks - PR Newswire

Resilient, an IBM Company and the Ponemon Institute unveiled the results of the annual Cyber Resilient Organization study, which found that only 32 percent of IT and security professionals say their organization has a high level of Cyber Resilience – down slightly from 35 percent in 2015. The 2016 study also found that 66 percent of respondents say their organization is not prepared to recover from cyberattacks.

CryptoLuck Ransomware Emerges - SecurityWeek

A new ransomware family spotted for the first time recently is already being distributed via an exploit kit (EK).
Tags: Ransomware

Google Discloses Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability - Security Week

Google has disclosed a Windows zero-day vulnerability after Microsoft failed to release a patch within the 7-day deadline the search giant gives vendors when it finds a flaw that is actively exploited by malicious actors.

New Report: Into the Gray Zone: The Private Sector and Active Defense Against Cyber Threats - GWU

A new report from the GW Center for Cyber and Homeland Security offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of the legal, policy and technological contexts that surround private sector cybersecurity and active defense measures to improve U.S. responses to evolving threats

Emerging Technology:

Advanced Anti-Drone Protection and Neutralization System Unveiled - Homeland Security News Wire

Elbit Systems will use the Israel HLS & Cyber Conference, taking place this week in Tel Aviv, to unveil its ReDrone system.

Legislation and Regulation:

Congress Explores How to Bolster IoT Cybersecurity - Data Breach Today

It could boil down to a combination of implementing industry standards, incentives and regulations, a panel of experts testified at a joint House committee hearing on Nov. 16 exploring the role of connected devices in cyberattacks.
Tags: Cyber Legislation

Mobile Security:

What You Need to Know About the Phones That Were Secretly Sending Data to China - Consumer Reports

A serious, and potentially frightening, security vulnerability involving some Android smartphones came to light Tuesday.

Kryptowire Discovers Mobile Phone Firmware That Transmitted Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Without User Consen or Disclosure - Kryptowire

Kryptowire has identified several models of Android mobile devices that contained firmware that collected sensitive personal data about their users and transmitted this sensitive data to third-party servers without disclosure or the users' consent.
Tags: Mobile Security

Network Security:

Mirai Botnet Attack Hits Thousands of Home Routers, Throwing Users Offline - ZD Net

Germany's federal security office confirmed that almost a million customers in the country were affected by internet outages as a result of the attack.

IBM Opens New Cambridge, MA Security Headquarters with Massive Cyber Range - TECHCRUNCH

IBM opened its shiny new security headquarters in Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA, complete with what the company is calling the first commercial cyber range.

BlackNurse DDoS Attack Can ‘Overload Firewalls From a Laptop’ - Sophos

Now researchers at Danish firm TDC have documented a type of DDoS attack that uses modest traffic volumes to do the same job, possibly controlled from a single laptop.
Tags: Denial-of-Service Attacks, Network Security

Private Sector:

This New 3-D Printed Glove Can Dupe Fingerprint Scanners - Public Radio International

The latest wearable tech to get people talking isn’t an activity tracker or a watch. It’s a glove that gives the wearer an entirely new set of fingerprints, fooling even the best fingerprint scanners on the market.
Tags: Biometrics

Software Security:

NIST Special Publication 800-160, Systems Security Engineering: Considerations for a Multidisciplinary Approach in the Engineering of Trustworthy Secure Systems  - NIST

Engineering-based approaches to solutions are essential to managing the growing complexity and interconnectedness of today’s systems—as exemplified by cyber-physical systems, systems-of-systems, and the Internet of Things.
Tags: Secure Software

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.
Tags: Cybersecurity Strategy

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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