14 Nov 12. The U.S. Congress should conduct an in-depth assessment of Chinese cyber spying and consider imposing tougher penalties on companies that benefit from industrial espionage, a federal advisory group said. The recommendations by the bipartisan U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission reflect its stated concern that China has become “the most threatening actor in cyberspace.” In its annual report to Congress, the commission said the most notable trend in Chinese cyber-espionage over the past year had been “increasingly creative and resourceful targeting” across government, industry and civil society. Among these are stepped-up efforts to defeat so-called two factor authentication, it said, referring to the use of a security token in addition to a traditional password. Separately, Beijing appeared to be within two years of putting nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles on submarines as it continues to modernize and expand its nuclear stockpile, the report said, citing U.S. Defense Department estimates. Congress should require the State Department to spell out steps to bring China into existing and future nuclear arms control efforts, the group said. The report included 32 recommendations for congressional action on ties between the United States and China, the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economies. (Source: Reuters)
14 Nov 12. Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary George Little on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012. Secretary Panetta was disappointed to learn that the Senate failed to move forward on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, which would have enhanced our nation’s ability to protect itself against cyber threats, which are growing at an alarming rate. Cyber attacks threaten to have crippling effects on America’s critical infrastructure, and on our government and private sector systems. The U.S. defense strategy calls for greater investments in cybersecurity measures, and we will continue to explore ways to defend the nation against cyber threats. New legislation would have enhanced those efforts. If the Congress neglects to address this security problem urgently, the consequences could be devastating.
12 Nov 12. Lockheed Martin’s newly appointed CEO Marillyn Hewson is a strong supporter of the company’s cybersecurity division, an area in which colleagues say she will continue to focus efforts once taking the reins in January. Executives within Lockheed’s cybersecurity division touted Hewson’s prior engagements with their sector and her focus on educating the workforce about the increasing number of threats against company networks and suppliers. McMahon said she has discussed Lockheed’s cybersecurity efforts and plans to grow the market with Hewson. (Source: Defense News)
14 Nov 12. When cybersecurity legislation failed a key procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate this fall, experts said immediate widespread improvement of networks was unlikely. But a new public-private partnership is attempting to step in, providing a framework based on 20 security concepts designed to eliminate the vast majority of vulnerabilities and increase the cost of attack. The SANS Institute on Nov. 5 unveiled the Consortium for Cybersecurity Action, a group designed to bring together government and industry around the institute’s 20 “critical controls.” The new group is led by Tony Sager, who in June retired from the National Security Agency, where he was one of its top cyber experts. (Source: Defense News)
13 Nov 12. SELEX Elsag and Senetas launch CAPS-approved Ethernet encryptors. SELEX Elsag, a Finmeccanica company, and Senetas announce the launch of a new range of CESG Assisted Products Scheme (CAPS) approved products for resale and distribution to UK Government customers.
The Ethernet encryptors are high performance encryption platforms that provide maximum security within modern Ethernet networks. The units can be configured at speeds of 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps and 10Gbps. Ethernet encryption offers significant throughput