30 Nov 11. As the government’s new cyber strategy calls for the public and private sector to work more closely on information security, the Cyber Defence & Network Security conference in January brings together military cyber commands, government, critical national infrastructure and industry representatives to share critical information on current cyber threats. Closer partnership between public and private sectors is crucial to the nation’s future economic prosperity, according to the government’s new cyber strategy. Continuing to rank cyber security as a tier 1 national security priority and committing millions of pounds to bolstering its cyber defences, the UK Minister for Business & Enterprise, Mark Prisk, underlined in the report not only the opportunities for British businesses to flourish within cyberspace, but also the risks that face organisations of all sizes: “With one of the largest online economies in the world, valued at £100bn a year, cyberspace is vital for the UK’s economic prosperity. However as well as bringing opportunities for businesses and their customers, cyberspace also brings threats. That’s why it’s important that we help all companies, from big multi-nationals to our small businesses take some simple, practical measures to protect themselves.” The current nature of the cyber threat, and the strategies being put in place by leading organisations against cyber attacks, is set to be discussed at Defence IQ’s Cyber Defence & Network Security conference in London in January. Attended by the UK Cyber Policy & Plans Team and with a dedicated focus day on defending critical infrastructure and businesses from computer network exploitation, industrial espionage and intellectual property theft, the conference also encourages information exchange between government and industry on the best methods to protect networks from cyber attacks. (Source: Yahoo!/PRNewswire)
02 Dec 11. A bill to let U.S. spy agencies share intelligence on cyber threats with private companies was backed by a House of Representatives intelligence panel on Thursday. In a 17-1 vote, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence approved the legislation that would expand a pilot Pentagon program for sharing classified and sensitive threat information with defense contractors and their Internet service providers. Under the measure, a longer list of companies would be eligible for access to classified data from the National Security Agency and other agencies. The bill was amended to expand privacy protections for data that companies give the government, including, potentially, data that Internet providers give about their customers. That data could be used only for cyber or national security, according to the amendment.
(Source: Reuters)
29 Nov 11. The International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA) and the COMNET Foundation for ICT Development2, announced a wide ranging agreement which aims to strengthen law enforcement capabilities in emerging economies. The ICSPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Washington D.C. formalising the collaboration with COMNET focusing on cyber security and cybercrime activities. Under the MoU, the organisations will work together to help developing countries across the Commonwealth to build their institutional and legislative capacity in fighting cybercrime. This will be done through the sharing of expertise and best practice including:
• Increasing harmonisation of domestic criminal laws as they relate to cybercrime;
• Establishing necessary procedural powers for investigation and prosecution;
• Setting up of legal frameworks that will enable international cooperation between governments, law enforcement agencies and the private sector;
• Building of operational and technical skills and capacities of the technical community and law enforcement to bolster investigative capabilities;
• Establishing fast and effective regime of international co-operation for investigation and pro