cyberwar

U.S., China pledge cooperation on cyberwar

China and the U.S. are facing guerrilla cyberwar and must work to avoid crises between the two countries, their top defense officials said yesterday after meeting in Washington.

"Because the United States and China have developed the technological capabilities in this arena, it's extremely important that we work together to develop ways to avoid any miscalculation or misperception that could lead to a crisis in this area," U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said at a joint press conference with Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Liang Guanglie.

It's no secret that the U.… Read more

China nabbing 'great deal' of U.S. military secrets

It's no secret the U.S. and China are waging a clandestine cyberwar. National Security Agency director Gen. Keith Alexander says it's hitting home hard.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Gen. Alexander said that China is stealing a "great deal" of the U.S. military's intellectual property, adding that the NSA sees "thefts from defense industrial base companies." According to a story in Information Week, he declined to provide any information on those attacks. However, he did confirm speculation swirling around the security space that China was behind last year's attacks on RSA.… Read more

Chinese hackers target U.S. Chamber of Commerce, report says

The United States Chamber of Commerce, the country's largest business-lobbying organization, was hacked by Chinese hackers, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing sources.

Although details are scant, it appears that the hackers had access to the Chamber's network for over a year before they were cleared out in May 2010, the Journal's sources say. The hackers stole six weeks of e-mail from four Chamber employees who were focusing their time on Asia, and could have gained access to all the information the Chamber has on its 3 million members. Although officials are unsure exactly what was … Read more

U.S., U.K. see cyberwar as facet of regular war

Reports from the United States and United Kingdom military this week indicate those organizations are more comfortable voicing an idea I find blindingly obvious: cyberwar is war.

First came news yesterday in the Guardian that the U.K. is developing offensive weapons that could be used in attacks on computing systems as "an integral part of the country's armory."

Then, today, the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. will consider responding with traditional military might to an attack on its computing infrastructure. "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile … Read more

OECD: Cyberwar risk is exaggerated

While governments need to prepare for cyberattacks involving espionage or malware, the likelihood of a sophisticated attack like Stuxnet is small, according to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

In a cyberwarfare report (PDF) released today, the OECD said that the risk of a catastrophic attack on critical national systems has been exaggerated. The majority of cyberattacks are low-level and cause inconvenience rather than serious or long-term disruption, according to a co-author of the report, professor Peter Sommer of the London School of Economics.

"There are many scare stories, which, when you test, don't … Read more

U.N. exec: Cyberwar could be 'worse than tsunami'

International cyberwar would be "worse than a tsunami" and should be averted by a global cybersecurity peace treaty, according to the head of the International Telecommunication Union.

Hamadoun Touré, who has been secretary-general of the U.N. agency since 1999 and is up for re-election in a few weeks' time, has targeted cybersecurity issues in his electoral pledges. Speaking at a London roundtable on Thursday, he said he had proposed such a treaty this year, but it had met "a lot of resistance" from industrialized nations.

"My dream, I said in Davos this year, … Read more

U.S. military cyberwar: What's off-limits?

LAS VEGAS--The United States should decide on rules for attacking other nations' networks in advance of an actual cyberwar, which could include an international agreement not to disable banks and electrical grids, the former head of the CIA and National Security Agency said Thursday.

Michael Hayden, who was the principal deputy director of national intelligence and retired last year, said the rules of engagement for electronic battlefields are still too murky, even after the Defense Department created the U.S. Cyber Command last spring. The new organization is charged with allowing the U.S. armed forces to conduct "full-spectrum … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1179: The guy who makes OK Go go (podcast)

On today's show, a special interview with Adam Sadowsky, president of Syynlabs, the OK Go video, "This Too Shall Pass." Turns out making that video was as hard to make as you might imagine. Also, we discuss the pending smellpocalypse coming out of Siberia.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) Episode 1179

Interview with Adam Sadowsky, president, Syynlabs OK Go – This Too Shall Pass – RGM version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

iPad coming on April 3, preorders on March 12 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10464361-37.html… Read more

Report: Countries prepping for cyberwar

Major countries and nation-states are engaged in a "Cyber Cold War," amassing cyberweapons, conducting espionage, and testing networks in preparation for using the Internet to conduct war, according to a new report to be released on Tuesday by McAfee.

In particular, countries gearing up for cyberoffensives are the U.S., Israel, Russia, China, and France, the says the report, compiled by former White House Homeland Security adviser Paul Kurtz and based on interviews with more than 20 experts in international relations, national security and Internet security.

"We don't believe we've seen cases of cyberwarfare," … Read more