McAfee uncovers massive global cyber snoop

McAfee vice-president of Threat Research Dmitri Alperovitch said the attacker was looking for information in military, diplomatic and economic domains.

China, why we do not retaliate is beyond comprehension.

CBR
China masterminded 'Operation Shady RAT' targeting over 70 organisations, governments, say analysts

Computer security company McAfee has said that it has discovered a massive global cyber spying operation targeting several US government departments, the UN and other governments across the world for five years or more.

Analysts say it is likely that China is behind the cyber espionage dubbed 'Operation Shady RAT' by McAfee. RAT stands for "remote access tool".

The Guardian reported that security experts at McAfee had discovered a "command and control" server in 2009 that was used to control the operation. On revisiting the server this March, experts found logs which revealed all of the attacks.

Victims of snooping campaign include: governments of Canada, India, South Korea, Taiwan, the US and Vietnam; international bodies such as the UN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency; 12 US defense contractors, one UK defense contractor; and companies in construction, energy, steel, solar power, technology, satellite communications, accounting and media, said an AFP report.

McAfee said there is evidence that security breaches date back to mid-2006.

Pentagon Unveils New Cyber Strategy

The Pathetic thing is the pentagon along with the rest of the U.S Government are so far behind everyone else on Cyber security.

Why is China allowed to continually hack our Systems?
Why is their never any retaliation?

The U.S. Gov. needs to pull its head out of its collective ass when it comes to what is going on in Cyber space, playing catch up with China will not be fun or easy.

China actively seeks out the best hackers in china to breach our systems, we should at the least do the same.

(RTTNews) - The Pentagon on Thursday unveiled a new cyber strategy emphasizing mostly on defensive tactics and admitted that it had suffered a major hacking attack in March in which sensitive information was stolen from one of its defense contractors.

Announcing the new strategy in an address to the National Defense University in Washington, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said it was aimed at strengthening and defending U.S. military computer networks against future cyber attacks.

"In the 21st Century, bits and bytes can be as threatening as bullets and bombs. It is a significant concern that over the past decade terabytes of data have been extracted by foreign intruders from corporate networks of defense companies," Lynn said.

The new Pentagon cyber security strategy designates cyberspace as an "operational domain" like sea, air and land with the aim of preventing others from using it for hostile purposes targeting U.S. military interests.

Lynn, however, stressed that the Pentagon was "committed to protecting the peaceful use of cyberspace," and said: "Establishing robust cyber-defenses no more militarizes cyberspace than a Navy militarizes the ocean.

"Our strategy's overriding emphasis is on denying the benefit of an attack. If an attack will not have its intended effect, those who wish us harm will have less reason to target us through cyberspace in the first place.

"If there is massive damage, massive human losses, [or] significant economic damage, it would be in those circumstances that I think the President would consider all the tools that he has — economic, diplomatic and as a last resort, military," he added.

Lockheed Network Reportedly Suffers Security Breach

You would think they would have their database more locked down, it is not like it is unheard of to be attacked.
Cyber security Should be job #1 when it comes to defense Contractors.

Foxnews
Hackers may have infiltrated the networks of top US weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing a person with knowledge of the attacks.

The security disruptions prompted the company to step up measures to protect its data. It wasn't immediately clear if any sensitive information was stolen or compromised.

Lockheed spokesman Jeffery Adams said the company, as a matter of policy, didn't discuss specific cyber threats or measures taken in response.

"However, to counter any threats, we regularly take actions to increase the security of our systems and to protect our employee, customer and program data," he said. "We have policies and procedures in place to mitigate the cyber threats to our business, and we remain confident in the integrity of our robust, multilayered information systems security."

Lockheed manufactures some of the most sophisticated US military hardware, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 Raptor. It is also a major international supplier of military equipment.

According to the person familiar with the situation, many employees were required to change their "SecureID" passwords. The move may have been prompted by an attack from hackers who may have penetrated the company's cyber defenses by using duplicate SecurID electronic keys made by EMC Corp.'s RSA security division.

Is the NSA's 'Perfect Citizen' the Ultimate Spying Tool?

This is when things get spooky , Government Intrusion of Privacy .

Perfect Citizen is needed , but access to everyday citizens PC's (Or internet activity) is just not Acceptable , and that is what this leads to .

No doubt something must be done , But instead of just stopping Bad Security Practices like letting workers at Nuke plants Browse the Internet , The Gov. feels it is necessary to just have access to everything !

My Problem is that Obama has already let it be Known that he would like Presidential powers to Block the internet and take control in a time of Crisis .


Foxnews
Could the NSA's new "Perfect Citizen" actually be used for spying on every citizen in the U.S.?

The name sounds like an action movie -- the heroic vigilante chases down the bad guys to aid his country and prevent a nuclear armageddon. It also sounds like the worst possible name for a government program intended to protect citizens, not spy on them.

The NSA's new cyber-security program Perfect Citizen will monitor nuclear power plants, train stations, and the electric power grid to safeguard against cyber-assaults.

And as the Wall Street Journal reported, the new program is intended to monitor cyber-terrorist threats and "would rely on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack."

According to that report, Raytheon was awarded a $100M contract to develop Perfect Citizen. (Raytheon declined to comment to FoxNews.com, as did the NSA other than describing Perfect Citizen in an official statement as a "research and risk-assessment" project that does not use sensors.)

How would such a system work? Why do experts fear it could be turned against us? And should the government really be in the business of installing sensors on the private power grid and at nuclear plants owned by private companies?

Intel Chief: U.S. at Risk of Crippling Cyber Attack

He said one critical "factor" is that more and more foreign companies are supplying software and hardware for government and private sector networks.

"This increases the potential for subversion of the information in ... those systems," Blair said.


Like Maybe China ?

Just three words " Deaf , Dumb ,Blind " !

Foxnews
The United States is at risk of a crippling cyber attack that could "wreak havoc" on the country because the "technological balance" makes it much easier to launch a cyber strike than defend against it, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said Tuesday.

Blair, speaking to the House Intelligence Committee, said U.S. tools are not yet up to the task to fully protect against such an attack.

"What we don't quite understand as seriously as we should is the extent of malicious cyberactivity that grows, that is growing now at unprecedented rates, extraordinary sophistication," Blair said. "And the dynamic of cyberspace, when you look at the technological balance, right now it favors those who want to use the Internet for malicious purposes over those who want to use it for legal and lawful purposes."

Blair said the United States must "deal with that reality," and warned of the catastrophic consequences of a major attack.

"Attacks against networks that control the critical infrastructure in this country ... could wreak havoc," Blair said. "Cyber defenders right now, it's simply the facts of the matter, have to spend more and work harder than the attackers do, and our efforts frankly are not strong enough to recognize, deal with that reality."

He said one critical "factor" is that more and more foreign companies are supplying software and hardware for government and private sector networks.

"This increases the potential for subversion of the information in ... those systems," Blair said.

Blair also told Congress Tuesday that the Internet is providing the fuel for the growing problem of "homegrown radicalization."

"That ... has been one of the most dangerous uses of the Internet," Blair said, explaining that foreign groups are using the Internet to organize attacks, give instructions and arrange financing.