Well, the week of 15 – 19 Feb 2010 was a fascinating one if you follow cybersecurity events. The bellwether stories are numerous, and reaction to them has been varied. Even if you don’t join in the debates of the blogosphere, it sure is fun to “watch.” On the serious side, these issues are all critical ones, and the number of experts (real ones, not the self-proclaimed variety) who hold widely varying positions shows the challenge of this field.
Small plane crashes into IRS building in Texas – USA Today
Fire officials said Thursday one person was unaccounted for after a small plane slammed into the second story of an office building in Austin, sending fire and thick, black smoke billowing from the windows. Harry Evans, assistant chief of the Austin Fire Department, said two people were taken to the hospital and another person could not be found.
Senate confirms 27 Obama nominees – Government Executive
Faced with the threat of dozens of recess appointments next week, the Senate confirmed 27 of President Obama’s nominees Thursday evening, including three Treasury Department deputies and a top Homeland Security Department intelligence official.
DHS to Watch Social Media and Web sites for Possible Terror/Disaster Info – Palmetto Scoop
If you’re an active member of the microblogging service Twitter and you’re discussing the Vancouver Winter Olympics, then be warned: Big brother is watching you… and they’re not afraid to admit it.
Former Clinton, Bush Officials to Gather in D.C. for Simulated Cyber-Attack – CQ Homeland Security
One of the most worrisome questions in the national security world is what would happen if the nation were struck by a large-scale, coordinated cyber-attack. A group of former officials from the George W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations are going to try to provide an answer next week.
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) has published a superb document – Contested Commons: The Future of American Power in a Multipolar World (January 2010). It covers comprehensively all the various domains and is a weighty tome. My interest in it is the fifth chapter, “American Security in the Cyber Commons,” which if it stood alone would be one of the best documents on the issues in the cyber realm I have seen.
Workplace violence is an important threat; it also demonstrates how much security departments can add value to the company, rather than simply be a cost. While corporate security departments are often seen as a necessary evil cost center with little to contribute but managing the gate guards – manned by knuckle-dragging former law enforcement and military personnel without a clue about “real business” – they actually can be an important part of the company’s self perception and management and a critical source of time-sensitive information and analysis.
KEPHART: Underwear bomber warning – Washington Times The 9/11 Commission recommendations on border and aviation security eerily predicted an attempt such as that made Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. One of the key phrases from the commission’s report is that “for terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons.” This plot has made clear […]
Intel chief: Al-Qaida likely to attempt attack in next 3 to 6 months – Chicago Tribune
Al-Qaida can be expected to attempt an attack on the United States in the next three to six months, senior U.S. intelligence officials told Congress Tuesday.
Charles Krauthammer – The handling of the Christmas Day bombing suspect: the scandal grows – washingtonpost.com The Justice Department acted not just unilaterally but unaccountably. Obama’s own DNI said that Abdulmutallab should have been interrogated by the HIG, the administration’s new High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group. Perhaps you hadn’t heard the term. Well, in the very […]
Sponsored by:
