Felhők Európa felett

Biztonságos felhőszámítástechnikát szorgalmaz az Európai Unió.

Cloud computing, wireless networks and supply chain integrity should be key areas of focus for IT security research in the next few years, according to a new report from the European Union security agency Enisa. The study, Priorities for Research on Current and Emerging Network Technologies, was produced as part of Enisa's ongoing research into how information security can support the new digital agenda for Europe and the wider Europe 2020 strategy. The report highlights five key areas which Enisa believes "present the greatest need for research within a window of three to five years". These are cloud computing, real-time detection and diagnosis systems, future wireless networks, sensor networks and supply chain integrity. Enisa argued that cloud computing research needs to be focused on policy and law enforcement challenges, as well as technical issues. "Cloud computing models can benefit greatly from the international harmonisation of data protection, retention and privacy regulations," the report noted. "Research is also needed to better understand the best practices and policies that will facilitate effective incident handling." Guidelines and standards must be developed to allow "meaningful and unambiguous evaluation and certification of the assurance of cloud-based services", the report continued. Enisa also recommended that research on wireless network security should focus on the requirements for resilience, and on "network mechanisms and intrusion detection and recovery mechanisms".

IT3 komment: A felhőszámítástechnika eredményeként újfajta biztonsági kockázatok jelentek meg. A Web 2.0-s alkalmazások gyors elterjedését az alkalmazások használatában rejlő gezdaságossági előnyök segítik. A további térhódításuknak komoly akadálya lehet a biztonság hiánya. A biztonsági problémák megoldása jelentheti a továbblépést a Web 2.0-ról a Web 3.0 felé.

Forrás: www.v3.co.uk

A cyberháború fenyegető árnya

Könnyen elképzelhető, hogy ha kitörne egy cyberháború, az Egyesült Államok elveszítené.

Few events have crystallized U.S. fears over a cyber catastrophe, or brought on calls for a strategic response, more than the recent attacks against Google and more than 30 other tech firms. The company's disclosure in January that it was attacked by China-based hackers -- and its subsequent decision to scale back operations there -- have stoked long-standing fears over the ability of cyber adversaries to penetrate commercial and government networks in the U.S. f a full-fledged cyberwar were to break out, the nation's economy would be hit hard. Banks might not be able function, electricity, water and other utilities could be shut off, air travel would almost certainly be disrupted, and communications would be spotty at best -- in a word, chaos. Few think that such a war is imminent. But damage has already been done by a slew of cyberattacks that, while well short of cyberwar, have still resulted in the theft of terabytes of intellectual property data, trade secrets and classified military and government information. That information is now in the hands of overseas groups, many of which are thought to be state-sponsored. It's not just data and secrets. Cyberthieves have also made off with billions of dollars from U.S companies and banks, and there are growing concerns that cyberattackers are making subtle changes to software source code. That way, they can create permanent windows into a company's operations for future mischief. Many see the attacks as evidence that the U.S. is already in the midst of an undeclared cyberwar, with attacks against government targets estimated to have more than doubled in the past two years. A top FBI official called cyberattacks an "existential threat" to the U.S. On Friday, two U.S. senators now pushing cybersecurity legislation in Congress reiterated those sentiments. And Mike McConnell the former director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and director of national intelligence during the Bush administration, recently said in a Washington Post column that the U.S is not only fighting such a war, it's also losing the battle. That sentiment was echoed by U.S. Navy Admiral Robert Willard. who warned Congress about U.S military and government networks bing hit by attacks that appeared to originate from China. The attacks are challenging the military's ability to "operate freely in the cyber commons," he said.

IT3 komment: Az információs hadviselés minden bizonnyal az elkövetkező néhány év slágertémája lesz. Úgy tűnik, hogy az Egysült Államok komoly kihívásokkal néz szembe az információs hadviselés terén, és ellenfelei nem csak védekezésben, de egy-két területen már támadásban is felkészültebbek lehetnek.


Forrás: www.computerworld.com