Conficker Worm News Today

A year ago today, Apple released a software update to halt the spread of the Flashback worm, a malware strain that infected more than 650,000 Mac OS X systems using a vulnerability in Apple's version of Java. This somewhat dismal…

By GCN Staff Apr 12, 2021 Kentucky is planning to equip all the commonwealth’s 120 county clerks with Yubikey devices to enable two-factor authentication that will better protect the state’s voter registration system from unauthorized access. Users insert a Yubikey token into the USB ports on their laptops and touch its button to verify they are a local human user and not a remote hacker. The Yubikeys will be made available thanks to a federal grant obtained via a joint partnership of the K...

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley ranked nine technologies according to technical vulnerability, attractiveness to nation-state attackers and potential impact of a successful attack.

By Beau Hutto Mar 16, 2021 Nimble thinking affords organizations the ability to act and respond quickly amid evolving circumstances, and it’s key to both cloud adoption and capitalizing on cloud capabilities. Unfortunately, nimble thinking can be tough for federal agencies to integrate into operations that are subject to regulations and scrutiny.  Federal agencies have made progress on cloud adoption, but as top researchers over the past few years have pointed out, many are still struggli...

By Stephanie Kanowitz Mar 16, 2021 The Defense Department is preparing for 5G-based telemedicine experiments with technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and robotic surgery. DOD is expected to issue requests for prototype proposals from Joint Base San Antonio (JSBA) in Texas after releasing a statement of work for a 5G telemedicine and medical training project. The SOW sought industry input on development related to 5G-enabled AR/virtual reality-guided medical training, advanced telehealth...

By GCN Staff Mar 16, 2021 Cloud computing is helping reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions, potentially preventing more than 1 billion metric tons of CO2 from 2021 through 2024, according to a forecast from International Data Corp. According to the market research firm, a key factor in the reduction of CO2 emissions has been the aggregation of discrete enterprise data centers to larger-scale facilities that can more efficiently manage power capacity, optimize cooling, leverage the most ...

By GCN Staff Mar 16, 2021 The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has released supplemental requirements to ensure cloud service providers (CSPs) keep their container technology in compliance. Released March 16, the document, Vulnerability Scanning Requirements for Containers, bridges the compliance gaps between traditional cloud and containerized systems by describing “the processes, architecture and security considerations specific to vulnerability scanning for cloud systems u...

By Natalie Alms Mar 17, 2021 The Department of Labor is using $9.6 million from recently expanded Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to upgrade its enterprise data infrastructure. The new project will improve the availability of the agencys data by boosting operational efficiency and public services so that federal agencies and other data consumers can access information more easily. The Labor Department will use the funding to enable an evidence-based decision-making approach across enforceme...

By Alan Duric Mar 15, 2021 Government agencies have been unable to maintain trust in their cybersecurity capabilities this past year, and for good reason. The onset of the pandemic, followed by a year of tumultuous cyberattacks, has further damaged an IT infrastructure that had long been vulnerable to bad actors, nation-state and otherwise. The perfect storm of pandemic-related events and vulnerable infrastructure has challenged federal, state and local governments. Not only did 2020 see a mass...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s SocialCyber program aims to create a dynamic situational awareness capability that can preserve the integrity and security of open source software projects.