US cybersecurity adviser says protecting gov’t computers is too tough for any single agency

October 4th, 2009 Cybersecurity starts at home and in the officeWASHINGTON — When swine flu broke out, the government revved up a massive information campaign centered on three words: Wash your hands. The Obama administration now wants to convey similarly clear and concise guidance about one of the biggest national security threats in your home and office — the computer.

October 4th, 2009 Obama aide hopes Gitmo closing deadline can be metWASHINGTON — The White House's national security adviser says the Obama administration is hard at work on fulfilling President Barack Obama's deadline to shut down the Guantanamo detention center for suspected terrorists. But James Jones also says that meeting Obama's deadline to close the facility by Jan.

October 1st, 2009 Homeland Security to hire up to 1K cyber expertsWASHINGTON — The Obama administration has given a green light to the Homeland Security Department to be more competitive and choosey as it hires up to 1,000 new cyber experts over the next three years, the first major personnel move to fulfill its vow to bolster security of the nation's computer networks. The announcement follows a wave of cyber attacks on federal agencies, including a July assault that knocked government Web sites off the Internet and earlier intrusions into the country's electrical grid.

August 26th, 2009 SonicWall gets $500,000 government contractSUNNYVALE, Calif. — Network security technology company SonicWall Inc.

August 24th, 2009 Northrop Grumman cybersecurity team gets Army pactRESTON, Va. — Northrop Grumman Corp.

August 9th, 2009 Official: Closing Gitmo prison can be done by Jan.WASHINGTON —The White House national security adviser says he's confident the administration will meet President Barack Obama's deadline for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January. National security adviser Jim Jones says officials are working every day to find the right solution for dealing with suspected terrorists being held at the U.S.

July 22nd, 2009 Report: Shortage of cyber experts may hinder govtWASHINGTON — Federal agencies are facing a severe shortage of computer specialists, even as a growing wave of coordinated cyberattacks against the government poses potential national security risks, a private study found. The study describes a fragmented federal cyber force, where no one is in charge of overall planning and government agencies are "on their own and sometimes working at cross purposes or in competition with one another." The report, scheduled to be released Wednesday, arrives in the wake of a series of cyberattacks this month that shut down some U.S.

July 13th, 2009 South Korea lowers cyberattack alertSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's spy agency lowered the country's cyberattack alert Monday as affected Web sites returned to normal after suffering outages in a series of assaults that have cast suspicion on North Korea. Dozens of South Korean and U.S.

July 13th, 2009 South Korea's spy agency lowers cyberattack alertSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's spy agency lowered the country's cyberattack alert Monday as affected Web sites returned to normal after suffering outages in a series of assaults that have cast suspicion on North Korea. Dozens of South Korean and U.S.

July 12th, 2009 SKorea analyzes computers used in cyberattacksSEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police are analyzing a sample of the tens of thousands of infected computers used to crash Web sites in South Korea and the U.S., but conceded Sunday they may not lead to the culprit. South Korean intelligence officials suspect archrival North Korea was involved.

July 12th, 2009 SKorea analyses computers used in cyberattacksSEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police are analyzing a sample of the tens of thousands of infected computers used to crash Web sites in South Korea and the U.S., but conceded Sunday they may not lead to the culprit. South Korean intelligence officials suspect archrival North Korea was involved.

July 9th, 2009 Diplomats still struggling with laptop lapsesWASHINGTON — Nearly a decade after a State Department laptop containing highly classified information disappeared in an embarrassing security lapse, the agency is still unable to account for all of its portable computers, a government report said Wednesday. The State Department's inspector general said Wednesday that a review of a sample of 334 laptops belonging to four departmental bureaus found that 27 were missing at the time of the audit and that 172, including nine of 14 classified laptops labeled "secret," were not protected with encryption software, potentially risking sensitive information.

June 25th, 2009 Sources: Ex-cyberchief is top pick to head ICANNNEW YORK — Rod Beckstrom, the former U.S. cybersecurity chief who resigned in March amid persistent turf battles, is the leading candidate to run an international organization with oversight of the monikers behind every Web site and e-mail address, The Associated Press has learned.

April 23rd, 2009 NYPD computers targeted by international hackersNEW YORK — New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says international hackers try at least 70,000 times a day to gain unauthorized entry into the computer system of the nation's largest police force. But he said Wednesday all the attempts have failed because of a strong protection system that prevents security breaches.

March 31st, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO - Researchers have discovered the first easy way to detect the presence of the Conficker computer worm on networked computers, just days before the worm is scheduled to morph into a new form that could seriously compromise millions of computers, PC magazine reported Monday. Approximately 10 million computers are believed to be infected by the Conficker virus, which is programmed to contact its creators April 1 and receive new instructions that could create a massive spam-spewing botnet, or other actions that could compromise millions more machines.