Gulf states expect to see more infrastructure attacks, and are organizing cyber defenses to withstand them. (Iran's Fars News Agency claims, implausibly, that it has proof August's Shamoon campaign against Aramco—the attack that set off concerns about Gulf infrastructure—was a Pentagon provocation.)

SANS reports an ongoing Joomla and WordPress exploit. Microsoft warns that the Necurs rootkit, although two years old, continues its recent explosive expansion. Team GhostShell dumps account details from NASA, the FBI, and others. The Australian Defense Force Academy falls to hacking gadfly Darwinare—Sophos calls it a "stinkingly bad password breach."

Anonymous has launched its leak platform "Tyler" and promises "unprecedented" data releases by year's end. Russian criminals encrypt Australian doctors' patient files and demand ransom for decryption.

It's Patch Tuesday: expect Microsoft to issue its monthly security upgrades later today.

The Wall Street Journal notes companies are tying customers' real identities to online habits. US House Democrats and Republicans agree in principle to Defense cuts. TASC looks to the UK intelligence market as a hedge against US budget austerity. SafeNet names its next CEO. Hardware manufacturers continue to shuffle offshore manufacturing.

The US Senate blocks Defense Department plans to beef up its overseas human intelligence capabilities. The US will not leave WCIT-12—the perceived threat to do so was a misunderstanding. Russia and its supporters, for their part, back off calls for more Internet regulation.

The copyright infringement case against Megaupload takes an unexpected turn: the trial may force disclosure of Echelon program details.