Cybersecurity Awareness

MON, OCTOBER 19, 4:39 PM EST

Posted by John Brennan

To help raise awareness among all Americans, the President has designated October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Last week, I wrote about some of the specific threats we face every time we use a computer.

However, we are not helpless against these threats. In a video released last week, President Obama identified some basic things that all computer users can do to improve their cybersecurity and better protect themselves online. In this post, I would like to expand further on these tips that computer users can adopt to improve their "cyber hygiene."

See President Obama's cybersecurity video:



Keep your security software and operating system up-to-date. At a minimum, your computer should have current anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a firewall to protect yourself from hackers and malicious software that can steal sensitive personal information.

For Windows users, Rightardia recommends the free Comodo firewall.  We use AVG Internet Security anti-virus which provides a firewall, ID protection, anti-virus, malware and Trojan protection as well as many other features.

We consider the Firefox browser to be more secure than Internet Explorer.If you have more than one PC, consider purchasing a family pack that allows the AV product to be installed multiple times. You can usually find some AV bargains on Ebay, but make sure you are bidding on a boxed disk set rather than a registration code that hackers will try to sell you. 



If a reader wants low cost security, the Linux operating system is far more resistant to viruses, Trojans and hacking than Windows. It has an assortment of free firewalls and free anti-virus products such as ClamAV.

Hackers also take advantage of Web browsers and operating system software that do not have the latest security updates. Operating system companies issue security patches for flaws that they find in their systems, so it is important to set your operating system and web browser software to download and install security patches automatically. Look for the yellow shield in the system tray for a warning that updates need to be installed:

Protect your personal information online. Millions of people have become victims of identity theft each year. One way that cyber criminals convince computer users to divulge their confidential personal information is through fake "phishing" emails, which are often cleverly disguised to look like authentic emails. Most browsers contains anti-phish technology. You can also download the Netcraft toolbar to perform this function or use Web of Trust which provides warnings about suspicious hyperlinks.

Be wary of clicking on links in emails that are unfamiliar and be very cautious about providing personal information online, such as your password, financial information, or social security number.

Know who you are dealing with. It is remarkably simple for online scammers to impersonate a legitimate business, so you need to know who you are dealing with.

If you are thinking about shopping on an unfamiliar website, do some independent research before you buy. Similarly, before you download software, be sure that the software developer is trustworthy. Cyber criminals will often embed the capability to steal passwords and files into free software using Trojans.

Learn what to do if something goes wrong. If your computer gets hacked, the effects may be obvious (e.g., deleted or corrupted files), or they may be subtle (e.g., slow computing performance).

As a first step, you should scan your computer with updated anti-virus software. You may wish to get professional assistance through your computer’s manufacturer, computer retail store, or local computer technician.

You can also alert the appropriate authorities by contacting your Internet Service Provider or the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can assist if you are subject to identity theft. You can also forward spam or phishing emails to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

To learn more about cybersecurity tips please visit www.onguardonline.gov and www.dhs.gov/cyber.

John Brennan is Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

source: White House blog

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Tom Davis, Cyber Czar?

Time magazine reported on Friday that former Republican congressman Tom Davis of Virginia is the White House's leading candidate to be the first cybersecurity czar.

Tom Davis, a moderate Republican from Virginia, has emerged as a leading candidate for the Obama administration's newly created position of cybersecurity czar. Sources familiar with the White House's deliberations on the subject say Obama officials feel a Washington power player would make a better candidate than a tech guru.

"They want someone who understands technology issues, but more importantly, knows how to get things done in Washington," says a cybersecurity expert who has been consulted by the White House. "There are very few people who have that combination of skills, and Davis is at the top of that short list."

Davis, who served in the House of Representatives for seven terms before retiring last fall, has extensive experience in tech policy. He authored the Federal Information Security Management Act in 2002, chaired the Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy and was a co-chair of Congress's Information Technology Working Group.

Davis also has good connections to the private IT sector. His district, the 11th, is peppered with technology companies. Since retiring from Congress, Davis worked for the consulting firm Deloitte.

Davis retired from the House last fall, because of his long track record with regards to technology policy. He is a respected figure in the federal IT community and would arguably bring more profile to the administration's cyber efforts than any of the other nominees.

His standing as a moderate Republican is also attractive, as it should give him the ability to reach out to key players in technology policy such as Sens. Collins, Lieberman and Coburn.

Davis made memorable quote at the end of his Congressional term: 

We are hearing a lot today from Republicans and their concern about their "brand," and Davis takes it to another level in his memo; "a congressional GOP brand tied to George Bush is struggling"; "...deep seeded antipathy toward the president, the war, gas prices, the economy, foreclosures and, in some areas, the underlying cultural differences that continue to brand our party."

And the kicker, "the Republican brand is in the trash can...if we were dog food, they would take us off the shelf."

Source: http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/06/tom_davis_to_be_cyber_czar.php


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New US cyber Czar Position

30 May, 2009, 06:59

Editor's Note: This article accompanies the preceding article that indicates the US will resume domestic Internet and email surveillance.

President Barack Obama is creating a “Cyber Tsar” to safeguard America's cyber space security. The person who's going to take on the job has yet to be named.

He or she will overlook the safety of government and military computer systems which have been subjected to hacker attacks.

Barack Obama says that right now the USA is ill-prepared to deal with any kind of cyber attack. Therefore, the country needs a “cyber superman” to handle such situations.

This person will not only report to the National Security Council, but the National Economic Council as well. Obama stressed the link between the economy and cyber security.

The president said that the Cyber Tsar would not monitor the Internet traffic of private companies. He also mentioned American citizens’ privacy and civil liberties.

Still, many are skeptical about the idea. Is this really a national security issue, they ask, or is this a way for the government to spy upon people online, to see what they are watching, reading or sharing?

Will personal privacy be in danger?

Gregory Nojeim, a senior counsel director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, believes that there cannot be enough built in to really forestall the possibility of putting personal privacy in danger.

“The report does a lot on privacy. I don’t want to minimize that, it does a lot on privacy, but the risks are enormous as well,” he said.

Dr. Ivan Eland, an expert from The Independent Institute, notes:


“The government always does this in the name of protecting people but it ends up snooping and overregulating.”

Why now?

According to numerous research reports, the United States would not be able to handle any kind of full-blown Internet crisis. Therefore, the overall situation –government officials explain – dictates the need for this “central commander,” to avoid the cyber analogue of the devastating Katrina hurricane of 2005.

With regard to the number of various governmental agencies in the United States, which do not normally share intelligence data with each other, they would unlikely be able to come up with a concerted common response to the potential threat.

The Obama administration seems to fear such a scenario, saying it would cause a great problem to the country.

Speaking of the economy, President Obama also mentioned that the US looses trillions of dollars because of hackers. He even went further saying that US economic prosperity depends on cyber security.

“Several thousand computers were infected last year by malicious software, Malware. While no sensitive information was compromised, our troops and defense personnel had to give up those external memory devices – thumb drives – changing the way they used their computers every day,” Obama said.

Enemies needed

And in his speech, Obama did point towards Russia.

“And last year we had a glimpse of the future face of war. As Russian tanks rolled into Georgia, cyber attacks crippled Georgian government websites,” Barack Obama said.

Interestingly, Obama chose to mention Georgia although the accusations of cyber attacks have not been confirmed even by the Georgian side.

“The problem with doing something like this is that you have to have a threat, and the threats aren’t well defined. So, I think, China and Russia are some of the countries that are not US allies, they have the capability to do this. So, naturally attention turns to them, and there’s sort of a left over Cold War mentality,” Dr. Ivan Eland said.

Obama is therefore coming up with one more position in a government whose expansion is far from virtual. With all the Tsars he is appointing, it makes one wonder if Obama is building an imperial family.




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