Cybersecurity

WASHINGTON — The entity charged with protecting federal agencies from bad cyber actors issued a rare emergency directive Thursday, warning they should quickly take steps to protect themselves from vulnerabilities found in VMware. VMware is a cloud computing and virtualization... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice can now get a handle on the number of cybercrimes happening in the U.S. after President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Thursday granting the department the ability to track crimes that have... Read More

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers at a Senate hearing renewed warnings Wednesday that Russian cyberattacks remain a serious threat as the United States and allies continue their support for Ukraine. In the latest move, the European Union announced Tuesday it would end... Read More

WASHINGTON — The FBI is warning that computer hackers most likely based in Russia have compromised at least 60 organizations since last month with a new generation of a sophisticated programming language.  The targets of the ransomware attacks have included... Read More

WASHINGTON — The FBI issued a warning this week to farm cooperatives that ransomware attackers are increasingly trying to disrupt their operations during the planting and harvest seasons. The FBI announcement was one of several warnings about cyberattacks that are... Read More

WASHINGTON — There’s a new warning about cyberattacks on uninterruptible power supplies — essentially the backup batteries that allow near-continuous operation when there is a power failure. The Federal Communications Commission issued this warning Thursday to communications companies that often... Read More

WASHINGTON — If there was a single lesson to be learned from military leaders at a Senate hearing Tuesday, it was that the world has become a very dangerous place in recent years. Russia’s attack on Ukraine threatens to spill... Read More

WASHINGTON — Legislation that would improve data collection for cybercrimes and cyber-enabled crime was brought up for business in the House on Monday by Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va. The bill, entitled the Better Cybercrime Metrics... Read More

WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday urged private companies to bolster their cyber defenses, citing intelligence that suggests the Russian government is exploring “options for potential cyberattacks” on entities and critical infrastructure in the United States. “To be clear,... Read More

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a new warning that the invasion happening in the Russia/Ukraine region may increase the risk of cyberattacks in the U.S. health system.  “Every organization in the United States is at risk from... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will not rule out risks of major cyberattacks against U.S. targets as it continues its political support for Ukraine amid rumblings of war with Russia. White House press spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday the U.S.... Read More

LONDON (AP) — Cybersecurity and space are emerging risks to the global economy, adding to existing challenges posed by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum said in a report Tuesday. The Global Risks Report is usually released ahead of the annual... Read More

A major outage in Amazon's cloud computing network Tuesday severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. companies for more than five hours, the latest sign of just how concentrated the business of keeping the internet running has become.... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has been on a crusade for swift and sweeping reform of Big Tech platforms, introducing a number of bills and even publishing a book titled “Antitrust” that looks at the history of policy toward... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is at risk of creating a two-silo cybersecurity strategy impeding its ability to adequately address ever-evolving cyber threats from bad actors overseas, a former assistant secretary of defense said Friday. Speaking at an American Enterprise Institute... Read More

GEORGETOWN, Del. — Shareholders are suing software provider SolarWinds Corp. in the Delaware Court of Chancery claiming the company directors should have known of, and yet did nothing to mitigate, the risk of the massive data breach that took place... Read More

WASHINGTON — Large-scale cyberattacks continued this week in the United States and abroad as computer security experts told a congressional panel Tuesday that more government intervention is needed. On Monday, Microsoft announced that Russia-backed hackers were trying to steal information... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced on Wednesday it would institute new export controls over cybersecurity items such as cyber intrusion software that can be used maliciously. The department’s new policy also creates a... Read More

WASHINGTON -- If everyone were to employ proper cyber hygiene like multi-factor authentication or not clicking on links in phishing emails, more than 85% of cyberattacks would be prevented, said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, Thursday.  “The best hack is the... Read More

North American governments should come together to create a trilateral strategy to assess and address threats in a holistic risk-based approach to cybersecurity that includes a minimum set of standards, said three experts yesterday. As much as the pandemic has... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency has met President Biden’s cybersecurity executive order’s “highly aggressive deadlines so far,” but there is “still a lot of work to do,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly Wednesday.  Kicking off the 6th... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Identity authentication is taking a front-and-center role in the administration's approach to ensuring robust cybersecurity across the U.S. government, according to Carole House, director of cybersecurity and secure digital Innovation at the White House National Security Council.  It... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A cybersecurity expert told a congressional panel Wednesday that private industry alone cannot be expected to effectively confront the kinds of cyberattacks that have wreaked havoc on U.S. computer networks in recent years. He testified to a House... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation distributed a Flash report on Friday warning of indicators of compromise from the Hive ransomware known to have infiltrated business networks. The ransomware utilizes multiple mechanisms as attachments to gain access and “Remote... Read More

U.S. Census Bureau computer servers were exploited last year during a cybersecurity attack, but it didn't involve the 2020 census, and hackers' attempts to keep access to the system were unsuccessful, according to a watchdog report released Wednesday. The attack... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Congress took a stab Thursday at improving the nation’s cybersecurity as the federal government mobilizes more resources against ransomware and hackers. Both President Joe Biden and members of a House Homeland Security subcommittee described threats to U.S. computer... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — As a member of the secretive Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Angus King has reason to worry about hackers. At a briefing by security staff this year, he said he got some advice on how to help... Read More

WASHINGTON -- As the international blame game over ransomware heats up this week, the U.S. government is scrambling for solutions with increasingly combative strategies. Legislation that won tentative approval in Congress on Monday anticipates a bigger role for the U.S.... Read More

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday rejected an accusation by Washington and its Western allies that Beijing is to blame for a hack of the Microsoft Exchange email system and complained Chinese entities are victims of damaging U.S. cyberattacks. A... Read More

WASHINGTON — Despite our reliance on space technology for things like communication, transportation, food, and health care — not to mention national security — our national space assets aren’t officially designated as critical infrastructure. Humanity is already dependent on space,... Read More