12 Feb 13. Smart phone charging increases cyber threat. Smart phone owners with access to government computers in South Korea have rapidly become the number one group of cyber security violators in the country.
Over a recent seven-day period, the Korea Theater Network Operations Center detected 129 cyber violations caused by smart phones alone. Most of the perpetrators did not realize they had done anything wrong. Violators don’t realize that computers recognize their phones as USB devices and that their software puts the network at risk. The Army’s information assurance policies, found in Army Regulation 25-2, prohibit the use of USB devices on its networks. Before being granted access to Army networks, users are required to take cyber security training. They also sign a user agreement that states that they will not use USB devices on government computers. Service members who violate the policy are subject to punishment under military law. Civilians may be reprimanded. (Source: ASD Network)
12 Feb 13. The Pentagon plans a massive expansion of the joint U.S. Cyber Command, potentially creating a rare pocket of job growth for troops in a force otherwise constrained by budget cuts. Incentive pays may be needed, experts say, to recruit, train and retain the troops, who would have specialized skills. The plan calls for expanding the current command of about 900 by adding several thousand more billets, according to Defense Department officials familiar with the plan. The exact number has not been finalized, officials said. About 80 percent of those slots will be for service members and 20 percent for civilians, said Gen. William Shelton, chief of the Air Force Space Command. The expansion will run from 2014 through 2016, and top Pentagon officials are developing plans for training and assigning troops to those joint billets, Shelton said. The jobs will likely be filled with enlisted troops and officers from both the active and reserve components, experts say. Competition will be tough because the cyber field is growing in the military and offers lucrative skills that merit high pay in the civilian job market. (Source: Defense News)
12 Feb 13. White House Issues Cybersecurity Order. The Obama administration on Tuesday ordered agencies to share classified threat information with companies operating critical infrastructure and called for the creation of voluntary security standards to protect systems critical to national security, such as the electric grid and water treatment facilities. The executive order, signed by President Obama, follows Congress’ failed attempts last fall to pass comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. Senior administration officials speaking on background Tuesday said the White House was forced to take action, considering the growing cyber threats that could potentially disrupt national security. (Source: glstrade.com/Defense News)
12 Feb 13. UK faces a current and future cyber security skills gap
A significant lack of skilled workers is hampering the UK’s fight against cyber-crime, says a leading engineering and technology organisation. The warning, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), coincides with a report from the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO warns that the UK faces a current and future cyber security skills gap, with “the current pipeline of graduates and practitioners” unable to meet demand. The IET has been working with the Cabinet Office to ensure a better mix of skills for the future. One of the ways it is hoped this will be achieve is by building software engineering best practice into undergraduate university degrees and encouraging more students to undertake postgraduate study of cyber security. The NAO report says that the internet economy in the UK accounts for more than £120bn – a higher proportion of GDP than any other G20 country. The cost of cyber-crime is estimated to be between £18bn and £27bn a year, the report says.
13 Feb 13. LM Cyber Systems