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Ex-Savannah Morning News Manager Sentenced in Employee-Theft Case
Savannah Morning News (GA) (05/24/13) Skutch, Jan
Former Savannah Morning News circulation sales and marketing manager John M. McGettigan pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing $33,031.33 from his employer between June 11, 2007, and April 21, 2008. He was charged in a November 18, 2009, indictment with theft and forgery by computer, as he manipulated invoices from kiosk sales between October 9, 2006, and July 14, 2008, sending the money from the sales to a company run by his wife instead of the Savannah Morning News. McGettigan received a 10-year, probated sentence that includes restitution of $31,031.33 to the newspaper and 250 hours of community service. He is also required to stay away from the Savannah Morning News building and refrain from threatening or harassing any newspaper employees.
Cannes Film Festival 2013 Hit by Second Suspected Jewellery Heist as £1.7m Diamond Necklace Stolen
The Independent (United Kingdom) (05/24/13) Goldsmith, Belinda
The Cannes film festival in France was the scene of a suspected €2 million diamond necklace heist on Thursday, with one of the pieces on display by the Swiss jeweler De Grisogono going missing. The necklace was part of De Grisogono's 20th anniversary collection, according to company founder Fawaz Gruosi. The collection was being displayed May 21 by 20 models at an event hosted at the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France -- a town just outside of Cannes. The jeweler said 80 bodyguards, local police, hotel security, and De Grisogono staff had all been present during the event, but a check at the end of the night showed the necklace was missing. Police are currently investigating whether the disappearance of the necklace was a case of theft, or simply a case of misplaced inventory. This suspected theft follows the theft of some $1.4 million worth of gems from the Swiss jeweler Chopard on May 16.
IP Theft Costs US $300 Billion Per Year: Report
Voice of America News (05/23/13)
A report by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property (CTAIP) has found that intellectual property theft costs the United States more than $300 billion annually. The commission recommends that the federal government impose economic sanctions against countries where those crimes originate, particularly China, which it says is responsible for 80 percent of all IP theft. Other countries at the top of the list of perpetrators include Russia and India. It also called for import bans and blacklisting from financial markets. The CTAIP additionally said that the president's national security adviser should take the lead on managing the government's response to intellectual property theft. U.S. officials have already taken some diplomatic steps to crack down on hacking against the U.S. government and private businesses to steal trade secrets. Despite this focus on cybersecurity, the commission's report found that intellectual property theft often occurs via stolen equipment, bribery, or pirated software.
The CSO Perspective on Risk Management
Help Net Security (05/09/13) Zorz, Mirko
Candy Alexander, CSO at Long Term Care Partners and member of the International Board of Directors for ISSA, in a recent interview gave her perspective on the value of risk management, threat mitigation, and security awareness. She says risk management programs should be simple, and should accomplish these three goals: identify real risks to the important items within the company; mitigate the risks; and continuously monitor the environment. Doing this properly, she says, involves talking with the business to understand what they see as critical to their operation, and then focusing on areas within the environment where the important things are. Regarding the evolving role of the CSO and the job market for aspiring security professionals, Alexander says it is important to be flexible and to stay current with technology and how it is being used. She uses bring-your-own-device (BYOD) as an example of a trend that security professionals ignored for a long time, to their detriment, before finally acknowledging. "You need to keep your ear to the ground and know what's going on as quickly as possible," she says. "Build trusted relationships with as many people as you can -- often times I have found out what's going on from my 'informal/off the record' conversations." Because it is not realistic to address all potential security risks, Alexander says risk management programs must focus on protecting what matters. Security awareness and training are important, but these should be limited to only what pertains to an individual's job function. "People get overloaded with information as it is, so providing security messages based on role or function is key. A consideration is to be sure to provide examples of 'why' it is important. People want to do the right thing, so if they know why they must use a certain safeguard -- they will," Alexander notes. As a final piece of advice to CSOs handling business issues surrounding risk management, she urges them to continue building relationships with other people -- get to know what their goals are and what their business processes are, in order to carry out a thorough and accurate risk assessment.
Effective Threat Defense Requires Clear Security Focus
SC Magazine (UK) (05/02/13) Baldock, Martin
Organizations recognize that security risks are acute, but they typically fail to have a consistent strategic focus. Recent research indicates a need for a dual focus and aligning physical and technology security initiatives. For example, Verizon's 2012 data breach investigations report revealed that 10 percent of breaches involve some form of physical attack, while a further 5 percent result from "privilege misuse." Physical tampering was cited as the second most dangerous threat action used in single-action breaches, following the "exploitation of default or guessable credentials." Other surveys have produced similar findings, such as the physical theft of computers by outsiders. Organizations ideally should merge cyber security risks with improved physical security management. At the same time, there needs to be greater interaction between IT security and physical security teams. Both teams need to acknowledge that cyber attacks may expose failings in the physical security of the premises, and that increased cyber risk may require more restricted physical access to certain areas of the building and office equipment. Any investigation into physical or cyber breaches needs to involve both IT and physical security experts, and the integrated security approach should be monitored by individuals at middle-management.
Obama Resets War on Terror
Wall Street Journal (05/24/13) Nelson, Colleen McCain; Entous, Adam; Barnes, Julian E.; et al.
President Obama gave a speech at the National Defense University on Thursday in which he outlined his vision for how the fight against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups will be carried out in the coming years. Obama said that al-Qaida has been significantly weakened following the death of Osama bin Laden, and that the war against the terrorist network has entered a new phase. He added that the war on terrorism "must end" at some point, and that the 2001 congressional authorization for military action against terrorist groups and the countries that harbor them should changed and eventually be repealed to reflect this reality. The president also discussed the use of drones to target terrorists, and said that new restrictions will be put in place on the use of these unmanned aircraft. For example, new policies approved by Obama earlier this week state that only terrorists who represent "a continuing and imminent threat to the American people" will be targeted in drone strikes, rather than terrorists who pose a "significant threat to U.S. interests," which was the standard that was in use before. The change means that the U.S. may no longer target militant groups that threaten American allies. Finally, Obama said that he planned to continue his efforts to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
Rioting in Stockholm Spreads, Even as Residents Patrol Streets
Wall Street Journal (05/24/13) Hansegard, Jens; Ledel, Johannes
Swedish citizens began taking matters into their own hands to prevent riots around Stockholm on Wednesday night, though the violence spread to more areas of the capital early Thursday. These neighborhood watch groups are responding to a call from the Swedish Prime Minister to gain community support for police. Watch group members say they are fed up with what they see as an inadequate response by the government to stop the riots. Reports indicate that rioters, primarily young people, are throwing rocks at police and setting fires, including one at a police station and one at a restaurant. The riots began in the Stockholm suburb of Husby on Sunday, after a resident was killed by police about a week earlier. The 69-year-old man was shot in his home after he had been wandering the streets with a knife. Critics of the government have also suggested that the rioters are motivated by anger over racial or socioeconomic inequality or a breakdown in immigration policies. Residents in Husby say they are fed up with substandard schools in the area and intolerance against ethnic minorities.
UK Emergency Committee Meets After Muslim Terrorists Hack Soldier to Death
Fox News (05/23/13)
British Prime Minister David Cameron says that there is a strong body of evidence that suggests that the murder of a British soldier on Wednesday was an act of terrorism. The soldier was standing on a busy street in London near the Royal Artillery Barracks when he was approached by two men who were armed with a machete and a cleaver. The men then hacked the soldier to death and waited at the scene until officers from Scotland Yard arrived. After police arrived on the scene, they shot and wounded both of the suspected assailants and took them into custody. The entire incident was captured on video. The video also recorded one of the attackers saying that the attack was carried out to avenge the deaths of "Muslims who are dying every day." Meanwhile, two British officials said that they believe that the attackers were radical Islamists. Cameron and his advisers will be meeting to discuss the attack and its implications for security in the U.K.
Officials Say More Evidence Being Gathered as Benghazi Suspects Remain Under Surveillance
Associated Press (05/22/13)
In a move that showcases the Obama administration's move toward prosecuting suspected terrorists either domestically or in their home country, the White House is keeping strict surveillance on five men wanted for questioning in last year's attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi. The administration has adopted a more hands-off approach largely for fear that using the military to seize the men might harm relations with Libya and other post-Arab Spring governments, according to an anonymous administration official, though the White House has plans on the table for a military option that would bring the men into custody. The FBI earlier this month released photos of the five men taken by security cameras during the attack on the diplomatic compound and asked the public to provide additional information about them. The FBI said further evidence that the men were involved in the attack came from one of the men bragging about taking part in it. The FBI said the men have also had contact with regional jihadist groups, including al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The agency hopes the videos will show the suspects taking part in the setting of fires that killed the ambassador at the post, or the later firing of mortars at a CIA base where the surviving diplomats took shelter.
Former CIA Director Warns About Cyber Threats From North Korea
Wall Street Journal (05/21/13) King, Rachel
Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey testified before the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing on May 21 on cyber threats and security solutions, saying that the country was at risk of being hit with a particular type of cyber attack by North Korea. The attack would use the detonation of a nuclear weapon approximately 30 kilometers above the U.S. mainland to release electromagnetic radiation that could devastate 70 percent of the electric grid and cripple the nation's defenses. He also warned that Iran would soon be capable of launching an electromagnetic pulse attack. Woolsey recommended that the government set standards for the implementation of Faraday Cages, which can shield transformers and other equipment from electrical fields. Others believe that that traditional cyber threats are of greater concern, as the chances of the type of attack described by Woolsey are low. James A. Lewis, the director and senior fellow for the technology and public policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that electromagnetic pulse attacks are "a threat that people have worried about for literally decades without any evidence that it has any basis in fact." Though he acknowledged that it is technically possible that this type of attack would negatively impact the electric grid, he does not believe that a nation possessing only a few nuclear weapons would use on on an attack that may not succeed. Lewis maintains that the biggest cyber concern is coming from Iran, as malicious hackers linked to that country are thought to be behind several sophistical distributed denial-of-service attacks against U.S. financial institutions.
Iran Hacks Energy Firms, U.S. Says
Wall Street Journal (05/24/13) Gorman, Siobhan ; Yadron, Danny
Current and former U.S. officials allege that a spate of recent cyberattacks against energy companies originated with hackers backed by the Iranian government. The names of the targeted companies have not been released, though officials say that some of the targets were oil and gas companies operating along the U.S.-Canadian border. In one attack, hackers were able to access control-system software for oil and gas pipelines. While no damage was done, cybersecurity experts are worried about the progress the attackers made, since the software that was accessed could allow them to manipulate the pipelines. There is no evidence that these systems have been tampered with. Even more concerning is that these attacks appear to be designed to gain information about the companies and their networks, which means they could merely be laying the groundwork for a much more serious attack. The U.S. government has warned that it may be forced to retaliate, claiming to have "technical evidence" that Tehran is supporting the cyberattacks. Iran has denied involvement in any hacking attempts.
New Citadel Malware Variant Targets Payza Online Payment Platform
IDG News Service (05/22/13) Constantin, Lucian
Trusteer has discovered a new variant of the Citadel financial malware that specifically targets users of the Payza online payment platform. Citadel is a Trojan that specializes in stealing online banking and payment credentials. According to Trusteer, the new variant targets Payza users with man-in-the-browser attacks where a Web page being visited by the user is modified in real time to dupe the user into divulging their credentials. The new Citadel variant modifies the Payza log-in page to include a field for the user's transaction PIN, which is required in order to make fund transfers, withdrawals, and payments. "By obtaining the victim's email, password, and PIN number, a cybercriminal can take over the account and commit fraudulent transactions," says Trusteer researcher Etay Maor. Payza was launched in May 2012 by London-based company MH Pillars, and is based on the Canadian payment platform AlertPay, which also is targeted by the new Citadel malware. MH Pillars says Payza is focused on the developing world, available in some 197 countries, and has more than 9 million users.
After Months of Hacks, Twitter Launches Heightened Security Features
All Things Digital (05/22/13) Isaac, Mike
Twitter has implemented two-factor login verification to enhance security for its users, following a string of successful hacks on highly visible accounts belonging to media outlets. The new security feature functions like most other two-factor login systems on the Internet; when a user tries to log into his account, he is asked to supply a cell phone number. Twitter will then send the user a code via text message, which the user will need to enter in order to login. The new security feature is something other Internet companies, like Facebook and Google, have had for some time. It is a completely optional addition for Twitter users. The feature could be difficult to use for Twitter accounts run by brands and agencies, since these accounts are typically maintained by several different people in a variety of locations. Such organizations may instead want to just use one computer for Twitter. For other users not wishing to enable the two-factor verification, Twitter recommends practicing good password management and limiting the number of authorized users.
Chinese Hackers Who Breached Google Gained Access to Sensitive Data, U.S. Officials Say
Washington Post (05/21/13) Nakashima, Ellen
Chinese hackers who broke into Google's servers in 2010 might have gained access to a database housing information on U.S. surveillance targets, some of whom included foreign spies, diplomats, suspected terrorists, and agents of other governments, according to sources close to the matter. Surveillance orders issued for such targets are classified under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Sources said the breach was likely aimed at uncovering the identities of Chinese intelligence operatives operating in the United States who had come under the watchful eye of American law enforcement. Hackers would have been able to see if the Gmail accounts of Chinese agents were being monitored under a court order, according to officials. This information, one official explained, could have been used to preemptively get agents out of the United States before action was taken against them. That same official said the Chinese could have also used the information to deceive U.S. intelligence officials with false information. Shortly after the hack, the FBI conducted an investigation and determined no damage had been done to national security from the breach.
Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets
New York Times (05/20/13) Sanger, David E.; Perlroth, Nicole
The report the cybersecurity firm Mandiant issued in February about Chinese hacks of U.S. companies and government agencies resulted in a brief lull in those attacks, though security experts and federal officials say that slowdown has since ended. Immediately after Mandiant released its report, hackers who worked for the People's Liberation Army's cyberunit took steps to hide, including removing the spying tools from the systems they had broken into and shutting down command and control servers. But about a month later, the hackers began to gradually start carrying out attacks again, often against the same organizations that they had targeted before, Mandiant says. The company noted that the hackers reinstalled many of the tools that allowed them to surreptitiously steal data and also broke into the computer systems of small Internet service providers and small businesses and used these systems to carry out new attacks. Mandiant says that the hackers are now operating at 60 percent to 70 percent of the level they were working at before its report was released in February. It remains unclear which companies have been targeted in this latest round of attacks, though Mandiant says that many of the victims have been attacked by the Chinese before. These companies include Coca-Cola, Schneider Electric, and Lockheed Martin, though none of them would say whether or not they had been attacked again.
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