Policy Observatory
FBI’s assistant director Joseph Demarest suggested three ways Congress could combat cyber threat: to update the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, to require businesses to provide prompt notice to consumers in the wake of cyber attacks, and for government and the private sector to share insights into cyber threats.
Irish Privacy Watchdog Steps in as Government Site Exposes Citizens’ Data
Sat 15 Nov 2014, 14:47
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has been forced to step in after it was revealed that a government online portal exposed citizens’ personal information, potentially putting it in the hands of identity fraudsters. The irishgenealogy.ie site inadvertently allowed users to build up detailed profiles of citizens free of charge and in just a few clicks – perfect fodder for cybercriminals.
FBI proposes Congress 3 ways to fight cyber threats
Fri 12 Dec 2014, 18:20
Sony Pictures was hacked
Mon 15 Dec 2014, 01:40
The major Hollywood movie studio first saw several unreleased movies uploaded then salary information about its employees. Leaks have also included medical information about employees, financial data, contracts for TV shows and, last week, the Outlook email boxes of two senior executives. Those email leaks revealed embarassing message exchanges with executives at Sony and other Hollywood studios.
ICANN says new gTLDs did not cause data breaches
Mon 15 Dec 2014, 21:20
CSO reports that an ICANN spokesman dismissed accusations that the recent growth in the number of generic top-level domains has caused data breaches. There are now more than 700 top-level domains such as .meme, .guru and .blog. The number of TLDs has exploded only recently -- between 1985 and 2012, the number of TLDs grew slowly, from five to 22. According to critics, the recent growth has been a windfall for cyber criminals.
EFF statement on Obama's cybersecurity law
Tue 13 Jan 2015, 19:20
EFF published a statement saying that introducing information sharing proposals with broad liability protections, increasing penalties under the already draconian Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and potentially decreasing the protections granted to consumers under state data breach law are both unnecessary and unwelcome.
Obama holds cybersecurity summit
Fri 13 Feb 2015, 03:20
US President Barack Obama has asked tech firms to share more information with security services and each other to tackle cybercrime.
The White House confirmed ahead of a cybersecurity summit bringing together leading industry and law enforcement figures that the president would sign an executive order.
It will also develop a common set of voluntary standards for the organisations to follow, including the protection of civil liberties, the White House said.
Mr Obama has also launched an intelligence unit to co-ordinate cyber-threat analysis.