NIST Releases Final Version of New Cybersecurity Recommendations

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its final version of a security framework for the federal government yesterday. The documen treplaces a two-month old draft for public review. SOme background can be found in a companion document entitled  “NIST, DOD, Intelligence Agencies Join Forces to Secure U.S. Cyber Infrastructure,”

An excellent breakdown of the document can be found at the GCN site.

Image is an aerial shot of the NIST compound.

Erhan J. Kartaltepe,
erhan.kartaltepe-at-utsa.edu

Cisco Releases its Annual Security Report for 2008

Cisco released its annual security report today. In its 52 pages, full of charts and graphs, the staff discuss online security risks and trends, threats and trust factors, cyber security threats, and conclusions with recommendations. There are many interesting factoids from the report, including:

• 90% of email sent worldwide is spam
• Disclosed security vulnerabilities grew by 11.5% from last year
• Over the course of 2008, Cisco saw 90% growth in threats originating from legitimate domains

Read the full report here.

Erhan J. Kartaltepe,
erhan.kartaltepe-at-utsa.edu

CSIS Report on Securing Cyberspace

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has just released a report arguing for the need to take immediate action in securing online systems. Its major findings are that cyber security is a major national security problem, decisions and actions must respect privacy and civil liberties, and a comprehensive national security strategy is needed to combat coming threats. An interesting 100-page result from a year-long study that's worth reading.

Erhan J. Kartaltepe,
erhan.kartaltepe-at-utsa.edu