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Security Policies

Penn. Medicaid recipients' information on missing flash drive

Angela Moscaritolo October 22, 2010

Two health insurers said a flash drive containing the personal health information of hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania Medicaid recipients has gone missing.

Internal threats double as attackers shift strategy

Angela Moscaritolo July 28, 2010

Cybercriminals are partnering with malicious insiders, according to a report from Verizon Business and the U.S. Secret Service.

FTC delays Red Flags Rule enforcement until end of year

Angela Moscaritolo May 28, 2010

The Federal Trade Commission is, for the fifth time, pushing back the deadline for financial institutions and creditors to comply with the Red Flags Rule.

Report: Federal cybersecurity plan facing barriers

Angela Moscaritolo March 09, 2010

Federal agencies have overlapping and uncoordinated responsibilities for cybersecurity, according to a report released on Friday from the Government Accountability Office.

RSA Conference: White House declassifies U.S. cybersecurity initiative details

Angela Moscaritolo March 02, 2010

Howard Schmidt, the newly appointed White House cybersecurity coordinator, unveiled details on a Bush-era program to help secure the United States in cyberspace.

Study finds cyberthreats to be largest security concern

Angela Moscaritolo February 22, 2010

More than traditional crime, natural disasters and terrorism, the security threat that enterprise IT departments are most concerned with is cybercrime, according to a study by Symantec.

U.S. and Russian officials talk cyberissues

Angela Moscaritolo December 14, 2009

American and Russian officials recently met to discuss cybersecurity issues, such as collaboration among law enforcement bodies and the use of cyberweapons, the New York Times reported in its Saturday editions.

DHS secretary: Cybersecurity is shared burden

Angela Moscaritolo October 20, 2009

Cybersecurity is not the responsibility of one person or group since no one person is in charge of the internet, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday.

House subcommittee passes cybersecurity R&D; bill

Angela Moscaritolo September 25, 2009

The Cybersecurity Research and Development Amendments Act of 2009 would require federal agencies to develop cybersecurity research-and-development plans, as well as authorize grant funding and establish a scholarship program.

Security considerations critical in the cloud

Angela Moscaritolo September 17, 2009

IT departments are increasingly realizing the benefits of cloud security, but businesses must ask themselves a few questions before handing over control to a third-party.

Microsoft disputes password-stealing SQL Server bug

Angela Moscaritolo September 02, 2009

Researchers at a security company say they have discovered a vulnerability in Microsoft's SQL Server, but the software giant disputes the claim.

Can the president shut down the internet?

Chuck Miller August 31, 2009

A revision to the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the Rockefeller-Snowe draft bill in Congress, has drawn criticism because of concerns that it would give the president power to shut down the internet.

Purported malicious CD-ROMs actually part of pen test

Angela Moscaritolo August 31, 2009

A package sent to a credit union last week containing supposedly malicious CD-ROMs prompted a fraud alert from the National Credit Union Administration, but it was actually part of a penetration test.

Small businesses largely not PCI compliant

Angela Moscaritolo August 12, 2009

Though 83 percent of small businesses are familiar with the PCI DSS, just 62 are compliant, according to a recent survey.

US-CERT director resigns, plans to work for RSA

Angela Moscaritolo August 10, 2009

Another top cybersecurity leader has stepped down - news that comes in the wake of similar high-profile government resignations and a still-vacant federal cybersecurity coordinator post.

Energy companies say NERC standards inadequate

Angela Moscaritolo August 05, 2009

Updated: Respondents in a recent survey noted a number of issues with NERC's cybersecurity standards, including ambiguity over what they require and a need for further strengthening.

2010 budgets to fund app security and DLP, study shows

Angela Moscaritolo August 04, 2009

If security budgets go up next year, pros will be using the additional cash to buy application security and DLP technologies, a new study shows.

DoD might reblock Facebook, Twitter

Angela Moscaritolo August 03, 2009

Three months ago after an Army order lifted the ban on certain social networking sites, the Department of Defense said it is again questioning whether it should restrict access to popular web destinations.

Red Flags delay

July 30, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced that it will, for the third time, push back the enforcement deadline of the Red Flags Rule, which requires financial institutions and creditors to develop identity theft prevention programs. The new enforcement deadline is Nov. 1. In addition, the FTC will ramp up its efforts to educate small businesses about how to comply because many are still confused about their obligations, the FTC said. — AM

Report: NSA will monitor government networks

Angela Moscaritolo July 06, 2009

The National Security Agency will assist in a new program to monitor government traffic on private-sector computer networks, as part of a new program called Einstein 3, according to a published report.

Final settlement reached in CVS HIPAA violation suit

Angela Moscaritolo June 25, 2009

CVS Caremark must implement an information security program and obtain assessments of its effectiveness every other year for 20 years to settle federal charges.

Army ends ban on Facebook, Flickr, other social media sites

Angela Moscaritolo June 11, 2009

Updated: Certain U.S. Army bases that formerly blocked access to Web 2.0 sites now permit users to surf to sites such as Facebook and Flickr.

DHS appoints new director of National Cybersecurity Center

Angela Moscaritolo June 03, 2009

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has appointed Philip Reitinger as the new director of the National Cybersecurity Center, a post left in March by Rod Beckstrom, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Monday.

Industry reacts to Obama's cybersecurity speech

Angela Moscaritolo May 29, 2009

The cybersecurity industry was abuzz Friday after President Obama, speaking before public and private sector leaders, announced a federal "cyber coordinator" will be appointed and unveiled a five-part digital infrastructure protection plan for the country.

Fed cybersecurity review out; "cyber coordinator" established

Angela Moscaritolo May 29, 2009

After much speculation, President Obama confirmed Friday that a new White House office will be dedicated to coordinating digital security efforts, to be led by a yet unnamed "cybsersecurity coordinator."

"Chain of Trust" initiative launched to fight malware

Angela Moscaritolo May 19, 2009

A group of cybersecurity advocacy organizations have teamed up to fight malware on the web.

PCI appoints new board of advisers

Angela Moscaritolo May 18, 2009

A roster of new organizations will make up the second Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) board of advisers, including Bank of America, Wal-Mart and PayPal, the industry standards body announced Monday.

California water company insider steals $9 million, flees country

Angela Moscaritolo May 15, 2009

An insider at the California Water Service Co. in San Jose broke into the company's computer system and transferred $9 million into offshore bank accounts and fled the country.

Red Flags Rules help

Angela Moscaritolo May 15, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a template that helps entities with a low risk of identity theft comply with the Red Flags Rules. Low-risk businesses can include those who know their customers personally or provide services at customers' homes. The template provides a 4-step process for implementing an identity theft prevention program. — AM

Nearly half of IT security budgets deemed insufficient

Angela Moscaritolo May 13, 2009

It's no news that the current economic situation has put a strain on companies' finances, but a recent survey aimed to quantify the toll the recession has taken on IT budgets.