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Duo Behind Health Insurance Scheme Arrested on Theft, Money Laundering Charges
The Tennessean (03/28/13) Williams, G. Chambers
Two men allegedly engaged in a false health insurance operation that stole about $20 million from victims nationwide have been arrested on theft and money laundering charges related to the case. Texas resident Bart S. Posey Sr. and Tennessee resident Richard H. Bachman Jr. allegedly used premiums paid by customers who bought the phony health insurance to buoy their own accounts, eventually turning the deposits into cash which they later spent. The specific charges against the men -- conspiracy to commit theft in excess of $60,000, theft of $225,000, and money laundering -- are Class B and C felonies that carry jail terms of up to 12 years. Both men are currently being held in jails in Texas, with Bachman awaiting extradition to Tennessee. Posey has been denied bail until officials can prove from what source any bail money originated, for fear he could be using his victim's money to gain release from jail.
How CIOs Should Talk to the Board About Security
Wall Street Journal (03/26/13)
The growing number of data breaches and cyberattacks in the last five years have put Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in the spotlight in boardrooms across the country. According to Irfan Saif, a principal in the Security & Privacy practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Enterprise Risk Services business, it's important for CIOs and CISOs to make sure their security agenda is clear to other company leaders. Board reports, he says, should focus on the top four to six cyber risks the company faces and the primary risk indicators associated with each one. Reports should also track how risk indicators are trending and explain what might be causing spikes in cyberattacks or other dangers. Board members additionally need to know how the company is managing its security risks and how to keep them within acceptable limits. Finally and most importantly, Saif urges CIOs and CISOs to remain objective when evaluating the company's critical vulnerabilities and to be candid when presenting those risks.
Chinese Citizen Sentenced in Military Data-Theft Case
Washington Post (03/26/13) Finn, Peter
A Chinese citizen who worked at L-3 Communication's space and navigation division was recently sentenced in a New Jersey federal court to five years and 10 months for taking thousands of files related to a device the defense contractor was developing and delivering them to China. The device, called a disk resonator gyroscope, is a tiny chip that allows drones, missiles, and rockets to hit targets without satellite guidance. FBI officials said Sixing Liu, the accused Chinese citizen, is an example of the growing "insider threat" to U.S. secrets that has taken a back seat to recent high-profile cyber attacks on the nation. U.S. officials have said this type of espionage could be as damaging to U.S. national security and American companies as any cyber threat. David Smukowski, president of Sensors in Motion, a small company in Bellvue, Wash., helping develop the technology with L-3, said the loss of the technology could cost the U.S. military hundreds of millions of dollars. Court records show there have over the past four years been some 100 corporate defendants charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with stealing trade secrets or classified information for China from defense contractors like Northrup Grumman, Boeing, and General Dynamics. "America is a global leader in the development of military technologies and, as such, it has become a leading target for the theft and illicit transfer of such technologies," said John Carlin, acting assistant attorney general for national security. "The intelligence community has assessed China to be among the most aggressive collectors of sensitive U.S. information and technologies and our criminal prosecutions across the country reflect that assessment."
Youth Sports Groups Urged to Join Effort to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse
Washington Post (03/23/13) Wise, Mike
Retired professional athletes, Cal Ripken Jr. of the MLB, Joe Ehrmann of the NFL, and Sheldon Kennedy of the NHL have launched a campaign in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to prevent sexual abuse in youth sports clubs. Both Ehrmann and Kennedy were victims of sexual abuse as children playing in such clubs. To launch the campaign, the three men met with Pop Warner, USA Swimming, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and 50 other youth organizations. As a next step, the group plans to publish a document to provide a "gold standard" for preventing childhood sexual abuse that will be available on safetocompete.org. All youth sports organizations will be called on to adopt those guidelines, which were written with the input of pediatricians, law-enforcement officials, sports scientists, and abuse-prevention advocates.
N. Korea Readies Missiles After U.S. Stealth bombers Fly Over South
Reuters (03/29/13) Chance, David; Stewart, Phil
In a move in response to the U.S. military's recent B2 stealth bomber training sortie over South Korea, North Korea has put its missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific. North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim Jong-un, supreme leader of the country, issued the order to ready the missiles at midnight March 29, saying "the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation." South Korea's Yonhap news agency meanwhile reported an increase in troop and vehicle movements at the North's mid- and long-range missile sites. While North Korea has an arsenal of Soviet-era Scud missiles it could launch as U.S. bases in the South, its longer range Nodong and Musudan missiles have yet to be tested, but the country alleges they can reach bases in the Pacific.
U.S. Sends Stealth Bombers Over South Korea in Practice Run
New York Times (03/28/13) Sang-Hun, Choe
The U.S. military recently announced it used two nuclear-capable B-2 "Spirit" stealth bombers to run a practice bombing sortie over South Korea on March 28, a move which reinforced Washington's commitment to its Asian ally in light of increased tensions between the country and its North Korean neighbor. The bombers made a nonstop round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., in a move the U.S. military officials said showed the country's ability to "conduct long range, precision strikes quickly and at will." The bombers delivered practice munitions over a bombing range on an island off South Korea's west coast. Both the B-52 bomber and the B-2 stealth bomber are capable of launching nuclear-armed cruise missiles, and Washington said the sortie was meant to highlight the "nuclear umbrella" the U.S. military maintains over South Korea and Japan. The B-2 training run was part of the U.S. military's ongoing Foal Eagle joint military drill with South Korea, which will run until April 30. North Korea recently cut off its last remaining military hotline with South Korea and warned of "substantial military actions," citing recent B-52 practice bombing sorties conducted by the United States.
Security, Safety Violations go Undetected at U.S. Bioterror Labs
Gannett News Service (03/27/13) Young, Alison
A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned the United States is at an increased risk for accidents at laboratories conducting research on potential bioterrorism agents because federal officials have not yet developed adequate national standards for lab design, construction, and operation, which the GAO called for more than three years ago. Another government audit by auditors at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in November 2012 meanwhile found failures by federal officials to detect security and safety violations at terrorism labs, including allowing employees at research facilities to remain on premises with expired security risk assessments. USDA inspection program officials called the results of the audit "unduly alarming" and refused to follow along with many of the auditor's recommendations. A spokeswoman for the USDA inspection program said its inspections "are effective at identifying deficiencies." U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), House Committee on Energy and Commerce chairman, meanwhile called the USDA auditor's findings "very troubling" and promised the committee would look into the issue.
U.S. Boosts Defense From North Korea
Wall Street Journal (03/25/13) Barnes, Julian E.; Johnson, Keith; Nissenbaum, Dion
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently said the United States would install 14 additional ground-based missile interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, by 2017 -- a 50 percent increase in the number of interceptors currently located there and in California -- in response to recent threats from North Korea and rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea has accelerated progress on its intercontinental ballistic missile program, but the precise range of their missiles is still uncertain. U.S. defense officials think North Korean missiles could reach Hawaii and Alaska, but not the continental United States, and officials believe the communist country has yet to develop a miniaturized nuclear warhead capable of being mounted on such a missile. Officials from the Pentagon pointed to recent developments in North Korea -- such as a long range missile test, a nuclear test, and the demonstration of a mobile launcher -- as evidence the country's missile technology was advancing more quickly than previously believed. North Korea has meanwhile threatened to attack Washington, D.C., and turn South Korea into a "sea of fire" following its recent repudiation of the 1953 Korean War armistice.
U.S. Prods Iraq to Stop Arms Going to Syria
Wall Street Journal (03/25/13) Solomon, Jay; Bradley, Matt
On a recent one day visit to Baghdad, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned the Iraqi government must work to cut off the flow of Iranian arms to Syria or risk losing American aid. The U.S. warning comes as significant pressure to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and serves as a gauge of his willingness to confront Iran over its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to U.S. officials. Iraqi officials offered no public comments following Kerry's challenge to the country, and no Iraqi officials stood beside him as he spoke at his Baghdad news conference. In his conference, Kerry told reporters Iranian arms supplies are helping fuel the ongoing civil war in Syria, a war that threatens to spread conflict to Iraq. Kerry explained Iranian airplanes were transiting Iraqi airspace to deliver their arms cargo to Syrian security forces. Iranian officials meanwhile maintain the over flights are only for the purpose of delivering humanitarian supplies to the war-torn region. "I made it very clear to the prime minister that the over flights from Iran are, in fact, helping to sustain President Assad and his regime," Kerry said. "I also made it clear to him that there are members of Congress and people in America who are increasingly watching what Iraq is doing."
Why Is Homeland Security Stockpiling Guns And Ammunition?
Albany Tribune (NY) (03/24/13)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced plans to purchase 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over the next five years. Several members of Congress have already questioned the Department's decision to stockpile weapons as well as ammunition, even as most agencies are tightening their belts to deal with the ongoing sequester. Thus far, they say DHS has yet to provide a satisfactory answer. Most recently, 14 House members have written to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano inquiring about the issue. It appears the ammunition will be used primarily by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but others are being allocated to the Social Security Administration, which is not part of DHS. Additionally, the agency has acquired a number of decommissioned Mine Resistant Armored Protection vehicles, leading critics to wonder whether they are being prepped for use in the United States.
Cyberattacks Seem Meant to Destroy, Not Just Disrupt
New York Times (03/29/13) Perlroth, Nicole; Sanger, David E.
Recent cyber attacks on big U.S. companies like American Express and JPMorgan Chase seem to be aimed more at destruction of services than cyber espionage, according to experts. Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, a cybersecurity training organization, said hackers are increasingly pushing the envelope to see how far they can go and how much damage they can do before they are met with a response. While China is largely believed to be behind many of the cyber attacks aimed at U.S. companies, experts also think Iran is pursuing such tactics in an effort to damage a country which is cannot compare to militarily. "These countries are pursuing cyberweapons the same way they are pursuing nuclear weapons," said James A. Lewis, a computer security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. "It's primitive; it's not top of the line, but it's good enough and they are committed to getting it." Responding to hacking attacks can be tricky business, with some warning that pushing back against hackers could spur more aggressive attacks. What the attacks lack in elegance, they make up for in brute force. Iranian hackers launching distributed denial of service attacks on American companies have hijacked large, commercial data centers and used them to create traffic that substantially clogs the servers of the companies. "We don’t know how they make decisions," said Lewis. "When you add erratic decision making, then you really have something to worry about.”
Insider Theft: The Real Cyber Threat?
Wall Street Journal (03/27/13) Matthews, Christopher M.
While many companies are focusing on the risks posed by international hackers, cybersecurity experts say that employees can cause just as much of a threat as any outsiders. As Mike Dubose, the head of Kroll Advisory Solution’s cyber investigations practice, points out “More than two-thirds of all cyber cases involve company insiders, not outside hackers. And, that figure is probably under-reported because many internal breaches are not made public.” A recent survey by the AlgoSec security firm supports Dubose's statements, finding that most companies are more worried about insiders than foreign intruders. For this reason, more companies are instituting security measures to prevent data theft or other cybersecurity breaches carried out by employees. To do so, Dubose says, organizations should profile high-risk workers and monitor adherence to IT security policies. Red flags include unreported trips to foreign countries and access to classified information not related to their duties. Companies must also check for suspicious user patterns and put in place centralized logs for data access and transference, he explains.
Firm Is Accused of Sending Spam, and Fight Jams Internet
New York Times (03/26/13) Markoff, John; Perlroth, Nicole
A dispute between Spamhaus, a spam-fighting group, and Cyberbunker, a Dutch hosting services company, has escalated into one of the largest computer attacks on the Internet, causing widespread congestion to critical infrastructure around the world. Security experts say such attacks are getting increasingly severe and eventually could prevent users from accessing basic Internet services. The dispute started when Spamhaus, which uses volunteers to identify spammers, added Cyberbunker to its blacklist. The attacks, which are generated by botnet swarms, concentrate data streams that are larger than the Internet connections of entire countries, notes Akamai Networks' Patrick Gilmore. Cyberbunker thinks "they should be allowed to spam," Gilmore adds. The distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks have reached previously unknown levels, growing to a data stream of 300 billion bits per second. "It is the largest publicly announced DDoS attack in the history of the Internet," Gilmore says. Several Internet engineers say a key source of the problem is that many larger Internet service providers are not ensuring that traffic leaving their networks is coming from their users. Although that security flaw is well-known, only recently has it been exploited to the extent that it threatens the Internet's infrastructure.
Many Companies Silent on IP Protection as Cyber Threat Emerges
Wall Street Journal (03/25/13) Matthews, Christopher M.
Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting the intellectual property of companies, but 128 Fortune 500 companies currently have no policy to protect their intellectual property or trade secrets, according to recent publicly available data. A study conducted by KPMG found 681 million records at these companies have been affected by hacking since 2008, with a 40 percent increase in the number of publicly disclosed data breaches in the past two years. Data from Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP meanwhile shows more than 20 percent of the world's largest companies have no public policy on how to protect their trade secrets and intellectual property, meaning employees are left in the dark when it comes to combating potential threats from cyber attacks. "A company's first line of defense is its own employees," said Morgan Lewis partner Ryan McConnell. "Without a policy and training, these employees are ill-equipped to address this risk." While many companies have standard policies governing the protection of "proprietary information," most of these policies simply instruct employees not to disclose such information, according to Morgan Lewis data. The data showed companies ranging from Lockheed Martin to Amazon did not publicly instruct employees on how to protect intellectual property.
U.S. Homeland Security to Monitor More Private Civilian Web Traffic and Email
Hot Hardware (03/23/13) Colaner, Seth
The U.S. government will expand it Internet traffic-scanning program to include more private sector workers like those working at larger banks, utility companies, and "key transportation" companies, according to a report by Reuters. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will send data to telecommunications companies and cyber security firms for processing. These companies will then put together some of the statistics and report back to the government on any potential cybersecurity or cyberespionage threats. "That allows us to provide more sensitive information," a senior DHS official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We will provide the information to the security service providers that they need to perform this function." Using tech companies as information analyzers could help keep some of the more sensitive public information from the government.
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