U.S. to create cybersecurity military command!
WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - The Obama administration plans to create a new military command to focus on Pentagon computer networks and offensive capabilities in cyberwarfare, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing current and former officials familiar with the plans. The initiative will reshape the military’s efforts to protect its networks from attacks by hackers, especially those from countries such as China and Russia, the newspaper said.
Pentagon officials were quoted as saying the new command will be unveiled within the next few weeks.
The cyber command will likely to be led by a military official of four-star rank and initially would be part of the Pentagon’s Strategic Command, the newspaper said, citing officials familiar with the proposal.
Spokesmen for the Pentagon and White House were not immediately available for comment. President Barack Obama is expected to announce a plan to improve cybersecurity this month after completion of a White House review of the issue, the Wall Street Journal said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to announce the creation of a new military “cyber command” after the roll-out of the White House review, the report said, citing multiple military officials familiar with the plan.
The newspaper earlier reported that computer spies have repeatedly breached the Pentagon’s costliest weapons program — the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project.
The identity of the attackers and the amount of damage to the project could not be learned, the paper said.
The Journal quoted former U.S. officials as saying the attacks seemed to have originated in China, although it noted it was difficult to determine the origin because of the ease of hiding identities online.
The Chinese Embassy said China “opposes and forbids all forms of cyber crimes,” the Journal said.
Culled from Reuter News
McAfee Annual Security Report: Three Major Global Challenges Emerged
First, cybercrime isn’t yet enough of a priority for governments around the world to allow the fight against it to make real headway worldwide. Added to that, the physical threat of terrorism and economic collapse is diverting political attention elsewhere.
In contrast, cybercriminals are sharpening their focus. Recession is fertile ground for criminal activity as fraudsters clamour to capitalize on rising use of the Internet and the climate of fear and anxiety. Are we in danger of irrevocably damaging consumer trust and, in effect, limiting the chances of economic recovery?
Second, cross border law enforcement remains a long-standing hurdle to fighting cybercrime. Local issues mean laws are difficult to enforce transnationally.
Cisco: Worldwide cyber security threats set to rise as economy slows down
Cisco report warns of more sophisticated, targeted internet attacks, says spam accounts for nearly 200 billion messages each day, approximately 90 per cent of worldwide e-mail.
Cisco has warned that internet-based attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and specialised as profit-driven criminals continue to hone their approach to stealing data from businesses, employees and consumers. In the 2008 edition of the Cisco Annual Security Report, the company identifies the year’s top security threats and offers recommendations for protecting networks against attacks that are propagating more rapidly, becoming increasingly difficult to detect, and exploiting technological and human vulnerabilities.
“Every year we see threats evolve as criminals discover new ways to exploit people, networks and the internet. This year’s trends underscore how important it is to look at all basic elements of security policies and technologies,” said Patrick Peterson, Cisco fellow and chief security researcher.
According to the report:
- The overall number of disclosed vulnerabilities grew by 11.5 per cent over 2007;
- Vulnerabilities in virtualisation technology nearly tripled from 35 to 103 year over year;
- Attacks are becoming increasingly blended, cross-vector and targeted;
- Cisco researchers saw a 90 per cent rise in threats originating from legitimate domains, nearly double what was seen in 2007;
- The volume of malware successfully propagated via e-mail attachments is declining. Over the past two years (2007-2008), the number of attachment-based attacks decreased by 50 per cent from the previous two years (2005-2006).
- According to Cisco, spam accounts for nearly 200 billion messages each day, approximately 90 per cent of worldwide e-mail. The US is the biggest source at 17.2 per cent. Other countries who contribute spam include Turkey (9.2 per cent), Russia (eight per cent), Canada (4.7 per cent), Brazil (4.1 per cent), India (3.5 per cent), Poland (3.4 per cent), South Korea (3.3 per cent), Germany and the UK (2.9 per cent each).
- Phishing. While targeted spear-phishing represents about one per cent of all phishing attacks, it is expected to become more prevalent as criminals personalise spam and make messages appear more credible.
- Botnets. Botnets have become a nexus of criminal activity on the internet. This year, numerous legitimate Web sites were infected with IFrames, malicious code injected by botnets that redirect visitors to malware-downloading sites.
- Social engineering. The use of social engineering to entice victims to open a file or click links continues to grow. Cisco expects that in 2009, social engineering techniques will increase in number, vectors and sophistication.
- Reputation hijacking. More online criminals are using real e-mail accounts with large, legitimate Web mail providers to send spam. Reputation hijacking offers increased deliverability because it makes spam harder to detect and block. Cisco estimates that in 2008 spam resulting from e-mail reputation hijacking of the top three Web mail providers accounted for less than 1 per cent of all spam worldwide but constituted 7.6 per cent of the providers’ mail traffic.
Findings for the report came in part from Cisco Security Intelligence Operations, an aggregation of tightly integrated data and security services derived from multiple Cisco divisions and devices to continuously assess and correlate Internet threats and vulnerabilities. In 2009, researchers from Cisco security teams say they will be watching the following trends closely:
- Insider threats. Negligent or disgruntled employees can threaten corporate security. The global economic downturn may prompt more security incidents involving employees, making it crucial for IT, HR, and other lines of business to collaborate on mitigating threats;
- Data loss. Whether through carelessness, breaches by hackers, or from insiders, data loss is a growing problem that can lead to grave financial consequences. Technology, education and clear, well-enforced data security policies can make compliance easier and reduce incidents;
- Mobility, remote working, and new tools as risk factors. The trend toward remote working and the related use of Web-based tools, mobile devices, virtualisation, ‘cloud computing’ and similar technologies to enhance productivity will continue in 2009. It will be a challenge for security personnel. The edge of the network is expanding rapidly, and the increasing number of devices and applications in use can make the expanding network more susceptible to new threats.
Symantec Annual Underground Economic Report 2008
Symantec Annual Underground Economic report reveals booming underground economy
SYMANTEC Corporation recently released its Report on the Underground Economy. The report details an online underground economy that has matured into an efficient, global marketplace in which stolen goods and fraud-related services are regularly bought and sold, and where the estimated value of goods offered by individual traders is measured in millions of dollars. The report is derived from data gathered by Symantec’s Security Technology and Response (STAR) organisation, from underground economy servers between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008.
The potential value of total advertised goods observed by Symantec was more than $276 million for the reporting period. This value was determined using the advertised prices of the goods and services and measured how much advertisers would make if they liquidated their inventory.
Credit card information is the most advertised category of goods and services on the underground economy, accounting for 31 percent of the total. While stolen credit card numbers sell for as little as $0.10 to $25 per card, the average advertised stolen credit card limit observed by Symantec was more than $4,000. Symantec has calculated that the potential worth of all credit cards advertised during the reporting period was $5.3 billion.
The popularity of credit card information is likely due to the many ways this information can be obtained and used for fraud; credit cards are easy to use for online shopping and it’s often difficult for merchants or credit providers to identify and address fraudulent transactions before fraudsters complete these transactions and receive their goods. Also, credit card information is often sold to fraudsters in bulk, with discounts or free numbers provided with larger purchases.
The second most common category of goods and services advertised was financial accounts at 20 percent of the total. While stolen bank account information sells for between $10 and $1,000, the average advertised stolen bank account balance is nearly $40,000. Calculating the average advertised balance of a bank account together with the average price for stolen bank account numbers, the worth of the bank accounts advertised during this reporting period was $1.7 billion. The popularity of financial account information is likely due to its potential for high payouts and the speed at which payouts can be made. In one case, financial accounts were cashed out online to untraceable locations in less than 15 minutes.
During the reporting period, Symantec observed 69,130 distinct active advertisers and 44,321,095 total messages posted to underground forums. The potential value of the total advertised goods for the top 10 most active advertisers was $16.3 million for credit cards and $2 million for bank accounts. Furthermore, the potential worth of the goods advertised by the single most active advertiser identified by Symantec during the study period was $6.4 million.
The underground economy is geographically diverse and generates revenue for cybercriminals who range from loose collections of individuals to organised and sophisticated groups. During this reporting period, North America hosted the largest number of such servers, with 45 percent of the total; Europe/Middle East/Africa hosted 38 percent; followed by Asia/Pacific with 12 percent and Latin America with 5 percent. The geographical locations of underground economy servers are constantly changing to evade detection.
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored.
Expression of Gratitude to Our Official Supporters, Partners and Sponsors
As we embark on the new year journey of 2009, the Board and Management of Global Network for Cybersolution Ltd/Gte would like to express our profound gratitude to all our pioneered anti-cybercrime and cybersecurity advocacy supporters, sponsors and partners.
We would like to give exclusive special recognition to the support of His Excellency, President Musa Yar’dua, -The President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Jonathan Goodluck, -The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , and the following government institutions and corporate bodies for supporting our historic and the 1st National Cybercrime and Cybersecurity conference in Nigeria;
Government Institution official supporters
- The Presidency
- Federal Ministry of Justice of Nigeria (FMoJ)
- National Information Technology Development Agency (N.I.T.D.A)
(Under Federal Ministry of Science and Technology) - Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC)
- Ghana-India Koffi-Annan Center of Excellence in ICT, Ghana.
- Directorate of Cybersecurity – Office of National Security Adviser
- Representatives of the Sokoto, Kano, Bauchi, Imo, Nassarawa, Rivers, Lagos, and Ogun State Governments
- Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC)
- Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC)
- Nigeria Police Headquarters
Professional Bodies Supporters
- Computer Professional of Nigeria (CPN)
- Nigeria Computer Society (NCS)
- Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA)
- Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN)
and host of others
Financial Institutions & Corporate Bodies/Sponsors
- First Bank of Nigeria PLC
- Access Bank of Nigeria PLC
- CHAMS PLC
- Dlink Nigeria Ltd
- Programmos
- System Specs Nig Ltd
- Omatek PLC
- Micromedia Computer Network Ltd
- Connect Technologies Ltd
- Olujinmi & Akeredolu Chambers
- Paradigm Initiative Nigeria
- Zinox Computers
- ennovate NIGERIA
We appreciate your support, participation, sponsorship, and partnership that enabled us to succeed during the 1st National Conference on Cybercrime and Cybersecurity hosted in Abuja this year. We have all pioneered the emergence of Cyber-safety and Cybe security-legacy for Nigerian, and Africa continental.
We assured you the outcome and recommendations of the conference have been submitted to all relevant federal policy making institutions in the country, right from the presidency, National Security Adviser office, Nigeria Communication Commission, Federal Ministry of Justice as well as National Info. Tech. Dev. Agency (NITDA). We can assure you that Federal Government is taking major step toward implementing some of the recommendations.
Our collective actions at the conference is just the beginning of the enthronement of anti-cybercrime and cybersecurity culture in line with Global Cybersecurity Agenda as mandated by World Information Summit on Information Society.
The sensitization conference is reawakening policy makers and National legislative leaders, and is alreadily yielding unimaginable results some of which are; altering yet-to-be release New National IT Policy, accelerating implementation of National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection policy, 2nd reading of Cybercrime Law bill at the senate, sensitization of all relevant IT security stakeholders and professional bodies, as well renewed National media awareness coverage focusing on Cybercrime and Cybersecurity in the country.
We wish to assure you of our continued commitment and renewed drive to providing Anti-cybercrime initiatives and Cybersecuirty Advocacy, and look forward to a more rewarding partnership with our supporters and sponsors in this new year of Cyber-Realignment.
Shortly, we would be sending to your mailbox our unveiling Cyber-Safety and Security programs for our nations’ vulnerabilities. Please watch out for these program.
We use this opportunity to wish you all a prosperous new year.
Thank you and best regards.
Chairman LOC - Cybercrime Conference ‘08
Tel: +234-9-7801555
E-Mail: segun@cybersolutionafrica.org
Alt. E-Mail: cybersolutionafrica@hotmail.com
Website: www.cybersolutionafrica.org
Top 10 Cybercrimes in 2008/2009
Twelve US based cyber security veterans, with significant knowledge about emerging attack patterns, worked together to compile a list of the attacks most likely to cause substantial damage during 2008 and 2009.
Participants included Stephen Northcutt, Ed Skoudis, Marc Sachs, Johannes Ullrich, Tom Liston, Eric Cole, Eugene Schultz, Rohit Dhamankar, Amit Yoran, Howard Schmidt, Will Pelgrin, and Alan Paller.
Here’s their consensus list in ranked order:
- Increasingly Sophisticated Web Site Attacks That Exploit Browser Vulnerabilities - Especially On Trusted Web SitesWeb site attacks on browsers are increasingly targeting components, such as Flash and QuickTime, that are not automatically patched when the browser is patched. At the same time, web site attacks have migrated from simple ones based one or two exploits posted on a web site to more sophisticated attacks based on scripts that cycle through multiple exploits to even more sophisticated attacks that increasingly utilize packaged modules that can effectively disguise their payloads. One of the latest such modules, mpack, produces a claimed 10-25% success rate in exploiting browsers that visit sites infected with the module. While all this is happening, attackers are actively placing exploit code on popular, trusted web sites where users have an expectation of effective security. Placing better attack tools on trusted sites is giving attackers a huge advantage over the unwary public.
Underground Dark Market – International Triumph or the Tip of the Iceberg?
In October 2008, an internationally coordinated crime operation saw the arrests of 56 members of a transnational criminal network used to buy and sell stolen financial information. The “carder” forum hosted on the Dark Market website had attracted more than 2,500 registered members before its closure.
In addition to the arrests, police seized compromised victim accounts to prevent $70 million in economic loss through identity fraud.The FBI conducted the two-year operation with the assistance of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the US Department of Justice, the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), Turkish National Police – KOM Department, Bundeskriminalamt (German Federal Criminal Police) and the Landeskriminalamt Baden (State Police of Baden-Württemberg).
FBI Cyberdivision Assistant Director Shawn Henry said: “In today’s world of rapidly expanding technology, where cybercrimes are perpetrated instantly from anywhere in the world, law enforcement needs to be flexible and creative in our efforts to target these criminals. By joining forces with our international law enforcement counterparts, we have been, and will continue to be, successful in arresting those individuals and dismantling these forums.”
Myanmar Attacks – Political Protection
In July 2008, the websites of the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and New Delhi-based Mizzima News were hit by DDoS attacks that shut down their websites for several days. In August two community forums, Mystery Zillion and Planet Myanmar, were disabled and shut down and on September 17, The Irrawaddy, DVB and the Bangkok-based New Era Journal also experienced similar attacks.
It is thought that these concerted attacks were coordinated by the Burmese government in anticipation of the first anniversary of The Saffron Uprising – a peaceful protest by Buddhist monks, nuns, and students against an oppressive military regime. The websites were all known to support the monks. The attacks all appeared to mainly originate from China and Russia, the main diplomatic backers of the junta (military-led government) and where it has been suggested the junta have been receiving technical training.
The Growing Evidence of Cyberespionage and National Attacks
In May 2008, Belgium and India joined the growing force of countries claiming to be victims of attacks, believed to be originating from China. Thought to be a target because it houses the headquarters of both the EU and NATO in Brussels, Belgium has had emails containing spyware sent to State departments. Similarly, India claims its government and private sector networks are under constant cyberattack.
In August 2008, a coordinated cyberattack was launched against Georgia’s infrastructure, compromising Georgian government websites including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Georgian government said the disruption was caused by attacks carried out by Russia in connection with the conflict between the two States over the province of South Ossetia.
The Gold Rush
E-gold is a digital gold currency that allows for the instant transfer of gold ownership. Unlike in the case of credit cards, all payments are final and irreversible. There are currently more than five million e-gold accounts worldwide. Due to the anonymity provided to account holders it became a popular method for cybercriminals to turn illgotten proceeds into clean cash.
In July 2008, the brother of Joseph Yobo (the vice captain of the Nigerian national soccer team and one of the English Premier League Club Everton’s top soccer players), was kidnapped and a ransom of $10,000 was demanded in e-gold. This was clearly a new digital twist on an old crime.
Also in July 2008, e-gold Ltd. and its three directors pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and the “operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.” While e-gold’s executives are still to be sentenced, the company is confident that the business can reinvigorate itself.
In October 2008, e-gold made moves towards becoming fully legal by registering with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), one of the US Department of Treasury’s lead agencies in the fight against money laundering.
