25 Mar 13. General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions recently opened a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to helping commercial and public sector customers prevent, contain and analyze cyber attacks. General Dynamics’ network defense and forensics services team is based at the Columbia, Md., lab. This team works closely with customers to combat advanced cyber attacks by assessing their security posture; designing, building and managing a security infrastructure that is capable of discovering and containing advanced threats; and responding to sophisticated attacks quickly and effectively when they occur.
Staffed by professionals with decades of experience protecting networks and solving the toughest cyber incidents, the new lab employs the latest technology innovations and threat intelligence from across the General Dynamics family of cybersecurity products and solutions and the industry at-large. Drawing on this unique depth and breadth of experience, the team helps customers after an attack by identifying and containing attacks, recovering critical data, performing network forensics and helping build up network defenses to protect against future threats. In the event of a breach, the team preserves evidence and maintains detailed evidence logs to help prosecutors more effectively identify and pursue cyber criminals. The team has played an instrumental role in gathering and analyzing forensic evidence and providing it to law enforcement to help indict and convict multiple groups of organized international cyber criminals.
27 Mar 13. Cassidian and Astrium Services have successfully completed the final validation tests for their remote solution for linking Tetrapol tactical cells using Astrium Services’ satellite communication services. The aim is to provide operations centres and the departmental fire and rescue services in France with access to dedicated satellite communications that are available 24/7, in particular for crisis situations. At any time and anywhere, it will provide them with reliable means of communication irrespective of the condition of terrestrial networks. The tactical cell of Cassidian, 3G IDR (Independent Digital Repeater), is a fully autonomous radio communications solution that can be linked with Tetrapol networks. It allows task forces to communicate in extreme situations and in areas where there is no radio coverage. Up to now, the 3G IDR has allowed autonomous Tetrapol tactical coverage to be created to meet the need for temporarily extending or backing up the Tetrapol network. The test results have demonstrated that several tactical cells can be remotely linked to extend the tactical radio coverage via the satellite communications service provided by Astrium Services on behalf of the French General Directorate of Civil Security and Crisis Management (Direction générale de la sécurité civile et de la gestion des crises – DGSCGC). This satellite link can also be used to transmit voice communication and data (terminal geo-location and SMS) from the tactical cell to the control room thanks to an IP interface module Radio Access Gate (AGR-IP). The major advantage brought by this new solution is that, for the first time, it is possible to remotely manage the AGR-IP Tetrapol terminal on the field from the control room via satellite link, to change the communication channel, the type of communication or to select the radio coverage if several are available.
27 Mar 13. U.S. Law to Restrict Government Purchases of Chinese IT Equipment. Congress quietly tucked in a new cyber-espionage review process for U.S. government technology purchases into the funding law signed this week by President Barack Obama, reflecting growing U.S. concern over Chinese cyber attacks. The law prevents NASA, and the Justice and Commerce Departments from buying information technology systems unless federal law enforcement officials give their OK. A provision in the 240-page spending law requires the agencies to make a