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Riots Erupt Across West Baltimore, Downtown
Baltimore Sun (04/27/15) Dance, Scott
Violence and looting has overtaken West Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, a man who suffered a spinal cord injury earlier this month after being arrested by city police. Police officers have been injured and buildings and vehicles are in flames. Looters loaded up cars behind a Rite-Aid, Save-A-Lot, and a hardware store on McMechen Street in Bolton Hill. Janice McCulley, the hardware store's owner, said she was "devastated." A confrontation near Mondawmin Mall escalated quickly as demonstrators pelted officers with rocks and bricks. Nearby, they looted a CVS drug store, which officials said had already closed, before it caught fire. As firefighters battled the blaze, rioters cut the fire hose. Additionally, 10 fire crews battled a three-alarm fire at a large senior center under construction. About five stores in the 600 block of Eutaw Street has busted windows and were looted after rioters came through. Boubacar Sall said looters destroyed his sister’s store, Benita’s and stole a television set and hair products. Rishan George, who lives on the block, said, “you call 911 and nobody answers." Earlier on April 27, police urged downtown businesses and institutions to close, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Lexington Market, a city courthouse, and businesses. City school officials said grief counselors would be available for students but classes were canceled for April 28. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake declared a curfew across the city starting April 28, and said "It’s idiotic to think that by destroying your city, you’re going to make life better for anybody." Gov. Larry Hogan activated the Maryland National Guard stating that "the National Guard represents a last resort."
FAA Raised Questions About Andreas Lubitz’s Depression Before Germanwings Crash
New York Times (04/30/15) Kulish, Nicholas; Clark, Nicola
Documents made public by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reveal that the U.S. agency was aware in 2010 that Andreas Lubitz, the pilot who flew a Germanwings jetliner into the French alps last month, had suffered an episode of major depression in 2009. It is now clear that Lubitz suffered a depressive episode in 2009 and was treated for most of the year with psychotherapy and two drugs: Cirpalex, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and mitrazapine, a drug used to treat major depressive disorders. Documents provided to the FAA by Lubitz' doctor in Germany say that the young pilot-in-training had been diagnosed with "reactive depression" that was the result of "modified living conditions." The onset of the depression coincided with Lubitz moving from his parents home to Lufthansa's flight school in Bremen, Germany. The FAA wrote to Lubitz in July 2010, requesting more information to confirm that he had recovered before it would issue him a pilots license so he could continue his training in the U.S. After being contacted by Lubitz' doctor, the agency granted his request for a pilots license, but told him that he would be prohibited from flying if his symptoms recurred or he reentered treatment.
Baltimore Residents at a Loss After Riots Close Some CVS Stores
Wall Street Journal (04/29/15) Mitchell, Josh; Fields, Gary
CVS Health Corp. has closed several Baltimore stores due to damage and safety concerns following Monday's riots, leaving many people without a place to buy groceries and prescriptions. CVS spokeswoman Carolyn Castel said the company is “formulating our rebuilding plans” for two stores with the most damage. Five outlets were closed earlier Tuesday, and the company shut at least another six on Tuesday evening. "We are really focusing today on a safe work environment for our employees, but being mindful of servicing our patients who have medical needs," Castel said. Residents of the Penn North Plaza senior living facility have depended on the CVS next door for their prescription drugs, snacks, and toiletries, as the nearest supermarket is at least six blocks away. Volunteers brought food to the facility on Tuesday, and Maryland State Del. Antonio Hayes said he and senior-center organizers were arranging prescription-drug deliveries for residents. Hayes suspects the looters to be high-school students who were encouraged by social-media postings and targeted pharmacies to sell their drugs on the streets.
White House Takes Cybersecurity Pitch to Silicon Valley
New York Times (04/27/15) P. A3 Sanger, David E.; Perlroth, Nicole
In a tour of Silicon Valley last week, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter announced a new military strategy for national cybersecurity while acknowledging the need to rebuild trust with tech companies. Carter called on software pioneers and entrepreneurs to work on fending off foreign hackers instead of building encryption technologies to defeat surveillance by the National Security Agency and other entities. His appeal was part of a government campaign to undo the damage by Edward J. Snowden's release of government surveillance information. Officials are calling for a technical compromise to allow greater security of electronic communications while allowing agencies to track suspected terrorists or criminals, but many computer security professionals argue that no such compromise is possible. Carter pointed out that, when it comes to cybersecurity, the most sophisticated threats and weapons are seen by banks, security firms, and Silicon Valley companies, which is the data that Washington needs most. Adm. Michael S. Rogers, head of the NSA, has proposed a split-key system, in which companies and the government, or another outside agent, each hold half of a key to unlock encrypted information, with court approval required to combine the two. Many tech experts reject that idea, saying it would be vulnerable to theft would motivate other governments to require the same.
Payment Innovation Outpacing Security: Study
Credit Union Times (04/29/15) Urrico, Roy
A new survey by Experian and Ponemon Institute reveals concerns that virtual currencies, mobile payments, e-wallets, and other new payment technologies increase breach risks. Of the 748 U.S. based professionals involved in their company's payment systems, 68 percent indicated that pressure to migrate to new payment systems jeopardizes customer data. While 59 percent said EMV chip-and-PIN cards were an important part of their firm's payment strategy, just 53 percent believed they would reduce data breach risks. As for the innovations most likely to boost data breach risks, 65 percent cited virtual currencies, followed by mobile payments in stores (59 percent), e-wallets for retailers (58 percent), mobile payments on devices/apps (57 percent), and near field communications (54 percent). Forty-five percent of respondents said financial institutions were most responsible for ensuring payment systems security, while credit card companies and conventional or Internet retailers were cited by 40 percent and 21 percent of respondents, respectively. The researchers said, "Throughout our study, we found a large percentage of companies are likely to keep moving forward with deployment of new technologies despite concerns about security. More than half of respondents say customer convenience was a higher priority to their organization than security."
As Baltimore Residents Clean Up, National Guard Steps In
Wall Street Journal (04/29/15) Calvert, Scott; Palazzolo, Joe; Maher, Kris
Crowds of protesters in Baltimore quickly dispersed after brief clashes with police Tuesday night, the first night of a week-long 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew. The town was relatively quiet on Tuesday, following violent unrest on Monday that left 19 buildings and 144 vehicles burned, 20 police officers injured, and 235 people arrested. Government offices, schools, and business closed or cut back hours on Tuesday as residents in the more affected areas cleaned debris. John Hopkins University canceled classes in the city on Tuesday, and the Baltimore Orioles announced that they would take the unusual step of closing a scheduled game at its Camden Yards Stadium on Wednesday night to the public. Some 2,000 Maryland National Guards and more than 400 state troopers and officers from other states have poured in to Baltimore to ensure the violence did not return. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Tuesday defended her administration's response to Monday's unrest. Critics say the Baltimore police were too slow and lenient in their response to the initial unrest, which was largely led by groups of teenagers. Others defended the mayor's response, noting that a more heavy-handed response was ineffective and politically disastrous in Ferguson, Mo., last year.
Rescuers Struggle to Reach Outlying Villages Hit by Nepal Earthquake
Wall Street Journal (04/28/15) Pesta, Jesse; Bhattacharya, Suryatapa
Since a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on Saturday, official help has been slow to reach many parts of the country. Damaged roads, landslides, and heavy rains have limited helicopter flights in some areas, preventing supplies and search-and-rescue teams from reaching many people in need. Many areas of mountainous Nepal has only footpaths instead of roads, and it can take hours or even days to walk between villages. Authorities have been focusing rescue efforts on the capital, Katmandu, and other areas with larger populations. Residents of the small town of Sipa Ghat say that official help had not yet reached them by Monday evening, more than two days after the quake. Kamal Singh Bam, a spokesman for Nepal's national police, said that communications have been another challenge; central-government authorities were still unable to contact local officials in some areas.
Police Killings Rise Slightly, Though Increased Focus May Suggest Otherwise
New York Times (05/01/15) Wines, Michael; Cohen, Sarah
Despite spreading outrage over police killings of unarmed black men in communities around the nation, statistics show that such killings by police are at worst rising only slightly. The use of force by police is poorly reported and only unevenly monitored. However, according to the FBI, justifiable homicides by police officers ranged from 397 to 426 deaths annually since 2009, jumping to 461 in 2013. The FBI numbers are widely considered to be low. Independent monitoring of police homicides by groups like Fatal Encounters and Killed by Police put the numbers closer to 1,100 in 2014. While still high, numbers from individual cities indicate that the number of such killings has fallen dramatically over the decades. New York, for example, saw 91 people killed by the police in 1971, while only nine were killed by police in the city in 2013. However, the statistics also show that police violence tends to be highly localized, with certain cities such as Phoenix and Oklahoma City having unusually large numbers of police killings compared to cities like New York. They also confirm that African-Americans are far more likely to be the victims of police violence than whites.
NSA Surveillance Since Snowden Revelations Is Strong as Ever
Help Net Security (04/27/15)
A survey by Thycotic of some 202 attendees of the recent RSA Conference 2015 reveled that 94 percent believe that the National Security Agency's surveillance of U.S. citizens has increased or remained the same since the revelations of the NSA's domestic surveillance activities were first made public by Edward Snowden in June 2013. Nearly half of the respondents, 48 percent, said they believed the NSA has increased its surveillance of U.S. citizens since then, while 45 percent believe the agency's domestic surveillance activities have remained about the same. Only 6 percent believe that the Snowden leaks have actually led to decreased NSA surveillance. Two-thirds of respondents said they believe that Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows the NSA to collect bulk records of individuals' phone calls, should not be renewed when it expires on June 1. However, the respondents view of the cyber capabilities of the U.S. government was not all negative. Seventy percent said that they believed the new Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, which is tasked with producing coordinated threat assessments and sharing information with relevant government agencies, will have a positive impact on the nation's national security. Nearly half of responds also rated the U.S. has having the most sophisticated cyber hack capabilities.
Report Says American Psychological Association Collaborated on Torture Justification
New York Times (04/30/15) Risen, James
A new report by a group of health professionals and human-rights activists says that the American Psychological Association secretly collaborated with President George W. Bush's administration to justify the torture of prisoners captured during the war on terror. The report uses newly disclosed emails to argue that psychologists were kept involved in the now-defunct interrogation program as part of administration efforts to maintain the program after the public disclosure of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. By involving health professionals, the Justice Department was able to argue that the program was legal and did not constitute torture, since it was monitored by health professionals. According to the report, psychologists from the CIA met with APA officials in July 2004, and the next year the association issued guidelines reaffirming that it was acceptable for its members to be involved in the program. “In 2004 and 2005 the CIA torture program was threatened from within and outside the Bush administration,” Stephen Soldz, a clinical psychologist and one of the report's lead authors, said in an email. “Like clockwork, the APA directly addressed legal threats at every critical juncture facing the senior intelligence officials at the heart of the program. In some cases the APA even allowed these same Bush officials to actually help write the association's policies.” APA spokeswoman Rhea Farberman denied that the association had coordinated its actions with the government.
Government Security Workers Have a Big Data Problem
CIO (04/28/15) Corbin, Kenneth
A new study from government IT consortium MeriTalk and underwritten by big-data analytics security vendor Splunk, finds that public-sector security workers' efforts are often slowed by an incomplete view of their infrastructure that contributes to slow threat detection. The more than 300 federal, state, and local security workers surveyed for the study reported that a threat will exist within their networks for 16 days on average before being detected. Eighty-six percent said that improved analytics could help their organization significantly improve its security posture. Large segments said that better big data analytics could improve agencies' ability to detect breaches, monitor data streams in real time, and perform better post hoc analyses of the causes of breaches. However, only 28 percent say they are using big data to improve security and only one in three said doing so was a priority within their organization. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said that their organization is overwhelmed by the volume of data they are now handling and 78 percent say that at least some of that data now goes unanalyzed, either due to a lack of resources or skills among workers. Almost all respondents said they were working to improve their security posture, with 65 percent of those saying they are investing in technology, and 51 percent saying they are deploying network analysis and visibility solutions.
Cyber General: US Satellite Networks Hit by 'Millions' of Hacks
The Hill (04/28/15) Matishak, Martin
Gen. John Hyten, the head of Air Force Space Command, the service branch component to U.S. Cyber Command, says that the service's space and satellite networks are under constant attack from outside groups. “There's millions of probes every year into our networks, from every corner of the world,” he said Tuesday during a Defense Writers Group breakfast. Probes include nation states, cybercriminals, and merely curious individuals. Hyten says that his organization has made significant progress over the last few years in understanding the threats from cyberspace. He noted, however, that the threats change constantly. Hyten says that “cost of entry” for space operations are still high for countries such as China, but the cost on cyber operations is “nothing."
FireEye Raises Revenue Forecast as Demand for Cybersecurity Rises
Reuters (05/01/15) Roy, Abhirup; Krishna Kumar, Devika
As governments and businesses increase spending to protect their networks from cyber attacks, cybersecurity company FireEye raised its full-year revenue forecast. Recent high-profile cyber attacks, such as the Sony attack, have forced companies to better protect their online security. FireEye uses cloud-based technologies to help government departments and businesses fight computer viruses that breach old-school antivirus software. By 2019, the global cybersecurity market is expected to grow to $155.74 billion from $95.60 billion in 2014, according to market research team MarketsandMarket. FireEye raised its 2015 revenue forecast to $615 million-$635 million from $605 million-$625 million.
High Volume DDoS Attacks Still Persistent
Help Net Security (04/29/15)
In the first quarter of 2015, there were 25 attacks larger than 100 Gbps globally, according to Arbor Networks' recently released global distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack data. The high volume of attacks to start 2015 mirrors a trend that has seen a dramatic increase in DDoS activity in the past year. Arbor Networks also found about 90 percent of attacks last less than one hour. Attackers are always changing their techniques, as SSDP reflection attacks are up dramatically year-over-year, with 126,000 monitored in the first quarter of 2015, compared with just three reported in the first quarter of 2014. Reflection amplification enables attackers to magnify the amount of traffic they can generate and hide the original sources of that attack traffic. The technique relies on the fact that many service providers still do not implement filters at the edge of their network to to block traffic with fake source IP addresses, as well as the fact there are many poorly configured and poorly protected devices on the Internet providing UDP services that offer an amplification factor between a message sent to them and the response. "Not only have volumetric attacks grown significantly in size and frequency over the past 18 months, application-layer attackers are also still pervasive," says Arbor Networks' Darren Anstee.
Russian Hackers Gained Access to Unclassified White House E-mails
Homeland Security News Wire (04/28/15)
Reports that Russian hackers gained access to unclassified e-mails to and from President Barack Obama are adding to concerns regarding the security of government communication systems. Last October, Russian hackers broke into the email archives of people working in the White House who regularly spoke to the president. Hackers were able to read e-mails that Obama had sent and received. Cybersecurity professionals are trying to figure out how hackers breached White House e-mail systems. One theory is that attackers could have infected government staffers' computer systems when employees were working off-site using external wireless networks. The Obama administration admitted that Russian hackers attacked unclassified systems at the Pentagon, the White House, and the State Department.
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