Crossroads Blog | Institute National Security and Counterterrorism

Current Affairs, cyber attack, Cyber Exploitation, deterrence, NSA, Privacy, surveillance, technology

Cyber Round-Up: NSA and cryptography, ICE launches app, England initiates “cyber stress tests,” and the security-liberty dichotomy

First, “Cracked Credibility” is a great article by The Economist explaining the NSA’s (and British counterpart GCHQ’s) cryptographic efforts.  The thrust of the article is a discussion on the vulnerabilities of cryptographic standards, software, and hardware.

Next, England is testing its banks’ resilience to cyber crime by rating IT system responses to orchestrated attempts to steal customer information or money, according to an article by The Telegraph.  The “cyber stress tests” will be executed by a joint team at the Treasury and the Bank of England.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just launched a smartphone app to assist in the fight against human trafficking. DHS released a report stating that this is the first app of its kind in federal law enforcement.  The app, called “Operation Predator” aims to locate predators and rescue children from sexual exploitation.

Lastly, this is an interesting article discussing the security versus privacy dichotomy in cyberspace. FBI Director Jim Comey’s used the example of a playground monitored by a cop—it makes everyone in the playground feel more safe and free.  This is an example of how security and liberty work together.  Article author A. Barton Hinkle, however, spins that on its head to emphasize when the same illustration makes people feel less “at liberty.”

 

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