A quick survey of recent cybernews . . .
***
Just a heads up, if you run a Google Search for “Tallinn Manual pdf,” you can find one on page 3 of the results. It has, needless to say, been a real pain to buy the book or attempt to read it in that viewer.
The Tallinn Manual is of course copyrighted, so I can’t post the PDF, but I can at least let you know it’s out there.
***
Via The Hill’s Jennifer Martinez & Brendan Sasso, CISPA cleared the House Intel Committee today and will probably head to the House floor next week. The article noted that Sens. Feinstein & Chambliss “are in the process of drafting their own cyber information-sharing measure.”
Apparently “privacy advocates” are still unhappy with the bill.
While we’re talking legislation, here’s another interesting The Hill article by Brendan Sasso explaining how Republicans are attempting to promote Internet freedom or, as Democrats put it, kill net neutrality. Here’s an excerpt from Sasso’s article:
The bill, sponsored by House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), would make it formal U.S. policy to “promote a global Internet free from government control and to preserve and advance the successful multi-stakeholder model that governs the Internet.”
. . .
Republicans have sought to repeal the FCC’s net neutrality regulations, formally called the Open Internet rules, since they were enacted in late 2010. They argue the rules unnecessarily burden businesses, but Democrats claim the rules are critical for protecting competition and consumer choice online.
***
Clarence Tsui wrote for The Hollywood Reporter on a new film that “will revolve around a U.S.-China task force pursuing a hacker hailing from the Balkans and based in a Southeast Asian country. . . .”
Who’s cast for the leading role? Chris Hemsworth. That’s right, Thor, God of Thunder. The same Chris Hemsworth who recently starred in the tragically terrible remake of Red Dawn, a movie originally written to center around a Chinese invasion of CONUS but was changed last minute to a North Korean invasion of CONUS. But I digress.
Legendary Pictures is behind this project, and wouldn’t you know it, they recently agreed to produce movies in China. Richard Bejtlich of Mandiant noted a few times today on Twitter that this is China exercising its soft power. I for one will instantly drop all criticism of the PRC once I see this gem of a movie.
***
Andy Sullivan reported for Reuters (relayed via Yahoo News) that President Obama’s budget proposal for FY 2014 “calls for more military “hackers” to head off escalating cyber threats from China, Iran, Russia and other countries. It would also bolster defenses for government and private-sector computer networks.”
Sullivan goes on to say that “Obama’s budget, released on Wednesday, proposes to boost Defense Department spending on cyber efforts to $4.7 billion, $800 million more than current levels, even as it plans to cut the Pentagon’s overall spending by $3.9 billion.”
John Reed analyzed the budget news for Foreign Policy, explaining that the $3.9 billion will “support the Pentagon’s previously announced plan to field dozens of cyber-combat teams that will protect the country from devastating cyber attack.”
Here’s the DOD FY 2014 budget request, btw.
***
ICYMI, here’s another Foreign Policy article written by John Reed exploring how U.S. military commanders are working to integrate cyber weapons into their arsenals.
***
Amid escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean government on Wednesday announced that North Korea was behind the massive hacking attack that paralyzed networks of local financial firms and broadcasters last month.
The South’s Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) on Wednesday said the attack bore similarities to previous hacking attempts by Pyongyang’s military-run Reconnaissance General Bureau.
Investigators said they traced the attack to six personal computers in North Korea, even though the hackers tried to disguise their origin by using Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in 40 different countries.
KISA said the North had previously used 22 of the locations during previous hacking attempts. It also said the attack employed malicious software previously linked to cyber attacks originating in the North.
***
For your consideration, a Heritage Foundation article written by David Inserra on harnessing the power of the private sector in cybersecurity.
***
Raphael Satter reported for the AP (relayed by U.S. News) on the fluctuating bitcoin market:
Advocates describe Bitcoin as the foundation stone of a Utopian economy: no borders, no change fees, no closing hours, and no one to tell you what you can and can’t do with your money. Just days ago the total value of bitcoins in circulation hit $2 billion, up from a tiny fraction of that just last year. But late Wednesday, Bitcoin crashed, shedding more than 60 percent of its value in the space of a few hours before recouping some its losses. Critics say the roller coaster currency movements are just another sign that Bitcoin is a bubble waiting to burst.
Leave a Reply