In the Headlines
Posted by LS on August 3rd, 2012
A couple of months ago, hackers successfully penetrated the networks of several natural gas pipeline operations, which worried a lot of people, especially in the US government. It was rare that hackers would target such a civil infrastructure but it provokes the question, what else could they attack? Could there be a digital 9/11?
If the cyber attacks continue attacking important infrastructure like the power grid, it can cause huge damages and power outages, affecting people and businesses. “I believe that people will not truly get this until they see the physical implications of a cyber attack,” said Former FBI cyber cop, Shawn Henry.
Read more: Former FBI cyber cop worries about digital 9/11
http://cnnmon.ie/Rh373J
Last week, 5 US senators released a new version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, which is designed to protect American networks from hackers and cyber attackers. This, in turn, will be a large step in the right direction to protect the civil liberties and information of the American people. This new act will include tighter restrictions and new sweeping surveillance program and backdoor wiretapping. The Act also encourages companies to scale back on the massive emails they send with lots of people’s personal information.
Read more: New Cybersecurity Bill Provides Significantly Improved Privacy Safeguards
http://huff.to/T64zV4
Last week, President Obama wrote and op-ed in the Wall Street Journal to describe the risk of cyber security attacks to the American people, and why the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 is worth passing. David Gerwitz compares cyber security to Star Trek transporters, which if bad guys (hackers) are still able to ‘transport’ themselves into your home and steal your personal belongings and ‘beam’ out, which is correct analogy when it comes to protecting your computer from cyber attacks. The fact that cyber attacks can affect your personal information being stolen, but it also can affect operations like train stations, or anything basically controlling something that is connected to a network. So with this new act, it restricts, but is it enough to protect?
Read more: How cybersecurity is like Star Trek’s transporter
http://zd.net/QrKTMr