Russian Hackers Spying on NATO: Business as Usual

Following the news of the new Russian 'Sandworm' hack that is exploiting a bug in Microsoft Windows to spy on NATO, EU, Ukraine and others, Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy for  Tripwire explains why this is no surprise:

"It's a short path from shoe phones to zero days. It's simply not surprising that this kind of activity has been going on. Russia, the United States, Britain and others have long histories of very strong and effective spy organizations. There should be little surprise that these groups have continued their missions through the boom of technology.

"Defending against such a targeted attack is extremely difficult. When the attacker is willing to spend significant resources to compromise you specifically, the playing field can be very uneven. As an industry, we tend to focus on the many broad threats that exist, but these kinds of targeted and sophisticated campaigns may actually do more damage."

Conflict and Cooperation in Cyberspace: The Challenge to National Security, edited by Panayotis Yannakogeorgos and Adam Lowther of the Air Force Research Institute, brings together some of the world’s most distinguished military leaders, scholars, cyber operators, and policymakers in a discussion of current and future challenges that cyberspace poses to the United States and the world. Maintaining a focus on policy-relevant solutions, it offers a well-reasoned study of how to prepare for war, while attempting to keep the peace in the cyberspace domain.

David Kahn recounts the desperate efforts to gather information during WWII and the Cold War

In this interview, David Kahn – universally regarded as the dean of intelligence historians – recounts the desperate efforts to gather information during World War II and the Cold War. In How I Discovered World War II's Greatest Spy and Other Stories of Intelligence and Code, Kahn provides insight into the dark realm of intelligence and code. By revealing the past, this work helps guide present and future intelligence efforts. Kahn is the author of The Codebreakers and Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boats Codes, 1939-1943, which was the basis for the movie U-571.

New Auerbach Series on Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Engineering

Edited by Ross Leo, Chief Systems and Security Architect at Cirrus Informatics, Inc., the objectives of this series include providing timely, well-researched, and informative pieces on the specific areas and issues associated with safeguarding America's critical infrastructures.

Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Engineering Series

If you're interested in finding out more about the series and participating in it, contact Ross Leo.

China: Agency Reports 500,000 Cyberattacks in 2010

is this a tit-for-tat? Is China making a clumsy effort to detract from it's own actions? Over the past years, I've heard some scary-smart guys talk about which security threats worry them most, and it's always China. Whether it's cyber espionage and warfare or malware burned into firmware, China is always at the top of the list. As long is China remains the low cost provider, the firmware threat will increase. But it is worrisome to think about all the computers, including those in sensitive areas, that have Chinese components always calling home. At least the US government is preventing Chinese companies from buying US high-tech manufacturers and service providers. Eventually, though, the Chinese will spread enough money around Congress to make this happen, too. This makes Russian cybercrime look pretty tame.