Cyber security warnings continue to accrete to the Sochi Olympics. Several analysts pooh-pooh reports of rampant hacking (notably NBC's somewhat breathless account of its experiment in vulnerability) but their objections come down largely to noting that the cyber threat at Sochi is no greater than that normally encountered in international travel. The games make for headlines, but to be alarmed by wireless vulnerability, as Gartner says, "try your local Starbucks." Such risks explain security officers' return to network access controls.
Iranian hackers are accused of compromising Nepal's presidential Website. Facebook may have blunted the Syrian Electronic Army's attack, but the SEA's tactics are worth a look.
Stolen HVAC contractor credentials were the entering wedge of the Target breach. The contractor seems more sinned against than sinning, but here's the important lesson: poor network segmentation let the attackers through the crack. The FBI warns other retailers, and chip-and-pin technology attracts more attention.
The black-market cost of "APTs" drops as they're deployed against a wider range of targets. The Russian hacker labor market supplies much of the coding talent.
Israeli start-up Cyactive makes large claims of effectiveness, but discuss: does their "evolutionary" approach to malware amount to more than a signature-based approach?
Waking Shark II, participants say, should have been more challenging. Still, it demonstrated the importance of information sharing. The US Department of Homeland Security would agree.
Turkey begins censoring Internet sites.
Look to a 1970s railroad merger case for clues as to how the US Supreme Court may handle surveillance.