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FBI bypasses First Amendment to nail a hacker

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Citing a provision of the Patriot Act, the FBI is sending letters to journalists telling them to secretly prepare to turn over their notes, e-mails and sources to the bureau. Should we throw out the First Amendment to nail a hacker, writes SecurityFocus columnist Mark Rasch.. . .

Legislators Take Shots at Spam

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Legislation to ban or limit spam is proliferating almost as rapidly as the e-mails that promise to provide a slim, wealthy, well-endowed, sexually satisfied life. But antispam advocates disagree over whether legislation such as the recently passed United Kingdom and California . . .

NSA, DOD Push Common Criteria For Civilians

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If civilian agencies join the national security community in limiting technology purchases to items that have gone through independent evaluation, it could spur vendors to submit more products for certification, officials testified today before a House subcommittee. . .

Cybersecurity Forum Planned

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The Homeland Security Department now has the foundation for addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities and response, but the details will be filled in at a summit later this year, Robert Liscouski, assistant secretary of infrastructure protection, testified before a House subcommittee today. . .

Government Laptops Not Secure

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Hundreds of government laptops with potentially sensitive information are being lost or stolen, a study shows. One in 17 key public sector workers, like government or defence officials, say they have either lost theirs or had them stolen, said security firm Thales. . .

Secure Transactions With No Strings Attached

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Public-key infrastructure technology was once so cool. Its combination of encryption, digital certificates and other technologies appeared to be a foolproof way to ensure the security of electronic transactions. It gave agencies the tools they needed to replace paper documents with . . .

Feds Tap Cyber-Security Chief

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The Department of Homeland Security has tapped Amit Yoran, formerly vice president for Managed Security Services at Symantec Corp., to lead the agency's cyber-security division. Yoran, whose appointment will be formally announced tomorrow, will be charged with implementing the Administration's . . .

Regulation, bad software, new threats fodder for Congress

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A House of Representatives subcommittee on technology, reacting to the overwhelming worm activity of last month, picked the brains of leading security experts and executives Wednesday during a hearing. Testimony was heard on the need for legislation, cleaning up the software development process, full disclosure, public-private information sharing, education programs within the enterprise and the dissemination of information to home users.. . .

Experts Say Culture Hinders Single Smart Card

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The technology exists to create a governmentwide smart card program, but cultural issues and a lack of top-level management support stand in the way of implementation, experts testified today. A single government smart card is possible, but managerial and policy . . .

Lawmakers may seek full disclosure

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A new law to require accurate customer data might be necessary because the U.S. Department of Commerce and other oversight bodies have not been doing their job, lawmakers on the House of Representatives intellectual-property subcommittee said.. . .

Homeland Security to unveil cybersecurity nominee

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The Homeland Security Department is planning a public presentation on cybersecurity for mid-September, at which time a new cybersecurity director will be announced, government sources told Technology Daily. The department formally has submitted a nominee to the White House and is . . .

IT security posse seeks quick fixes

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By sharing information about software vulnerabilities through the group, agencies have been prepared for most attacks, McDonald said. This was especially true for MSBlaster. Although it infected more than 700,000 computers worldwide, according to industry security analysts, the federal government suffered . . .

U.S. Sponsors Anti-Censorship Web Service

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A pact between the U.S. government and the electronic privacy company Anonymizer, Inc. is making the Internet a safer place for controversial websites and subversive opinions -- if you're Iranian. This month Anonymizer began providing Iranians with free access to . . .