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.

RECENT HEADLINES:

Critical Infrastructure:

Raytheon, DARPA Developing Advanced Tech to Protect US Power Grid Against Cyber Attack - Raytheon

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, has awarded Raytheon multiple contracts to research and develop technologies that will detect and respond to cyber attacks on the U.S. power grid infrastructure. The contracts, which total $9 million, were awarded under DARPA's Rapid Attack Detection, Isolation and Characterization Systems program.

WannaCry Ransomware Hits U.S. Critical Infrastructure - eSecurity Planet

A Department of Homeland Security official told Reuters earlier this week that some U.S. critical infrastructure operators have been affected by the recent WannaCry ransomware campaign.

Cyberwarfare:

APT3 Threat Group a Contractor for Chinese Intelligence Agency - Dark Reading

The APT3 hacker group that has been active since at least 2010 and is believed to have stolen intellectual property and confidential data from numerous Western government and military targets is actually a contractor for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).

Cyber Crime:

Heartbleed vs. WannaCry: A Tale of Two Cyber Attacks - Federal News Radio

If there was ever a case to be made for why agencies and organizations invest in cybersecurity protections, look no further than the recent WannaCry ransomware attack.

‘Doomsday’ Worm Uses Seven NSA Exploits (WannaCry Used Two) - CNET

The recently discovered EternalRocks joins a set of highly infectious bugs created from the NSA's leaked tools.

Symantec Says ‘Highly Likely’ North Korea Group Behind Ransomware Attacks - CNBC

Cyber security firm Symantec said on Monday it was "highly likely" a hacking group affiliated with North Korea was behind the WannaCry cyber attack this month that infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide and disrupted hospitals, banks and schools across the globe.

Researchers Discover Another Ongoing Cyberattack Using NSA Hacking Tools - ABC News

Cybersecurity researchers have identified a second ongoing global cyberattack that has quietly hijacked hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, including many in the United States, for a massive cryptocurrency mining operation.

High Performance Computing:

HPE Debuts Its Next-Gen Computer–Sans Much-Anticipated Memristors - Scientific American

The prototype now on display at The Atlantic's On the Launchpad: Return to Deep Space conference in Washington, D.C., features 1,280 high-performance microprocessor cores—each of which reads and executes program instructions in unison with the others-with access to a whopping 160 terabytes (TB), or 160 trillion bytes, of memory.

Network Security:

Split Tunnel SMTP Exploit Explained - Securolytics

The Split Tunnel SMTP Exploit allows an attacker to bypass an organization’s email security gateway and inject messages with malicious payloads directly into the victim’s email server. This exploit targets a newly discovered vulnerability in popular Email Encryption appliances as a backdoor.

Private Sector:

The Need for Urgent Collective Action to Keep People Safe Online: Lessons From Last Week’s Cyberattack - Microsoft

We should take from this recent attack a renewed determination for more urgent collective action. We need the tech sector, customers, and governments to work together to protect against cybersecurity attacks. More action is needed, and it’s needed now. In this sense, the WannaCrypt attack is a wake-up call for all of us. We recognize our responsibility to help answer this call, and Microsoft is committed to doing its part.

Public Sector:

HHS Ramps Up Cyber Threat Information Sharing - GovInfo Security

A series of email alerts from the Department of Health and Human Services about the WannaCry ransomware campaign - and a number of related daily conference calls with industry stakeholders - appear to be part of a ramped-up push to improve cyber information sharing in the healthcare sector.

NIST Workshop Debates New Cybersecurity Framework - The Hill

The National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded a two-day workshop Wednesday developing the first update to cybersecurity guide recently mandated for use by federal agencies.

Quantum Computing:

Quantum Computing Demands a Whole New Kind of Programmer - Singularity Hub

Quantum computers finally seem to be coming of age with promises of "quantum supremacy" by the end of the year. But there’s a problem-very few people know how to work them.

Scientists Achieve Direct Counterfactual Quantum Communication For The First Time - Science Alert

Quantum communication is a strange beast, but one of the weirdest proposed forms of it is called counterfactual communication - a type of quantum communication where no particles travel between two recipients.

FEEDBACK FROM PREVIOUS DIGEST:

Most Popular:

Hundreds of Apps Using Ultrasonic Signals to Silently Track Smartphone Users - The Hacker News

Your smartphone may have some apps that are continuously listening inaudible, high-frequency ultrasonic sounds from your surroundings and they know where you go, what you like and dislike - all without your knowledge.

Making Sense of Cybersecurity Qualifications - CSO

It's a growing problem for many employers. Increasingly, hiring companies must sift through resumes that tout cybersecurity-related degrees, certificates, industry certifications, apprenticeship credentials, digital badges, micro master’s degrees, nanodegrees and other credentials - trying to determine what a candidate really knows and how those credentials fit together.

Proposed NIST Password Guidelines Soften Length, Complexity Focus - ThreatPost

A comment period has closed on NIST's new password guidelines for federal agencies that challenge the effectiveness of traditional behaviors around authentication such as an insistence on complex passwords and scheduled resets.

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.

The Cyber Shield Newsletter - New Mexico Counterintelligence Working Group (NMCIWG)

The Cyber Shield is a Cyber Newsletter for Counterintelligence, IT and Security Professionals associated with DoD and USG agencies. There are no distribution constraints. If you would like to subscribe, please contact Paul Losiewicz at plosiewicz@csiac.org

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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