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National Cyber Security Awareness Month

2013-10-01/1 Comment/in General Security/by SecurityOrb_Staff

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and it is an opportunity to engage public and private sector stakeholders – especially the general public – to create a safe, secure, and resilient cyber environment. Everyone has to play a role in cybersecurity. Constantly evolving cyber threats require the engagement of the entire nation — from government and law enforcement to the private sector and most importantly, the public.

Snowden documents reveal: NSA gathers U.S Citizens’ Social Connections’ data

2013-10-01/0 Comments/in General Security/by SecurityOrb_Staff

Snowden documents reveal: NSA gathers U.S Citizens’ Social Connections’ data

National Cyber Security Awareness Month

2013-10-01/1 Comment/in General Security/by SecurityOrb_Staff

Snowden documents reveal: NSA gathers U.S Citizens’ Social Connections’ data

2013-10-01/0 Comments/in General Security/by SecurityOrb_Staff

Snowden documents reveal: NSA gathers U.S Citizens’ Social Connections’ data

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National Cyber Security Awareness Month

2013-10-01/1 Comment/in General Security/by SecurityOrb_Staff

Cyberspace is woven into the fabric of our daily lives and the world is more interconnected today than ever before. We enjoy the benefits and convenience that cyberspace provides as we shop from home online, bank using our smart phones, and interact with friends from around the world through social networks. The Department of Homeland Security is committed to raising cybersecurity awareness across the nation and to working across all levels of government, the private sector, and internationally to protect against and respond to cyber incidents.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of National Cyber Security Awareness Month sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

Through a series of events and initiatives across the country, National Cyber Security Awareness Month engages public and private sector partners to raise awareness and educate Americans about cybersecurity, and increase the resiliency of the Nation and its cyber infrastructure.

This 10th anniversary, National Cyber Security Awareness Month looks ahead at the cybersecurity challenges for the next ten years, dedicating each week to a different cybersecurity issue:

	Week One (October 1-4): Launch of 10th Annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Cybersecurity is Our Shared Responsibility	The next ten years in cybersecurity are critical to ensure a safe, secure, resilient cyberspace where the American way of life can thrive. Given the stakes we must remain focused on meeting the challenges of the next ten years.
	Week Two (October 7-11): Being Mobile: Online Safety and Security	Emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity no matter where you are or what device you are using.
	Week Three (October 15-18): Cyber Workforce and the Next Generation of Cyber Leaders	Highlights the importance of fostering the next generation cyber workforce through education and training.
	Week Four (October 21-25): Cyber Crime	Focuses on national and local efforts to prevent traditional crimes like theft, fraud, and abuse that can also take place online.
	Week Five (October 28-31): Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity	Highlights the growing intersection between cyber and physical security when protecting the Nation’s critical infrastructure.

Do Your Part

While each week of National Cyber Security Awareness Month highlights a different element of cybersecurity, the overarching theme is the same. Together, we can maintain a cyberspace that is safer and more resilient, and that remains a source of tremendous opportunity and growth for years to come.

To get involved:

Find or register a local event on the official calendar.
Get information on how your government, law enforcement, business, school, or organization can take action during NCSAM.
Teach elementary, middle, and high school students about Internet safety and security.
Follow @cyber, @DHSgov, and post cybersecurity tips, news, and resources highlighting NCSAM on social media sites.

Original post at DHS Site

Snowden documents reveal: NSA gathers U.S Citizens’ Social Connections’ data

2013-10-01/0 Comments/in General Security/by SecurityOrb_Staff

Interesting article from our content partners at HackersNewsBulletin.com:

Latest Snowden documents reveal that National Security Agency has been exploiting US citizens’ personal information drawn from its huge collection of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections.

According to nytimes, these Graphs can help them identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information.

Leaked documents also reveal—for examine Americans’ networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes, Analysis of phone call and email logs have been allowing by the spy agency since November 2010, after N.S.A. officials lifted restrictions on the practice.

The policy shift was intended to help the agency “discover and track” connections between intelligence targets overseas and people in the US, a January 2011 NSA memorandum cited in the documents explained.

According to the nytimes’ report, the agency has been allowed to enlarge the communications’ data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data.

NSA officials declined to comment on, which phone and email databases are used to create the social network diagrams. The agency did say that the large database of Americans’ domestic phone call records, which was revealed by Mr. Snowden in June and caused bipartisan alarm in Washington, was excluded.

Orin S. Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University, told the NYT:

Read the rest here.