USA

After No Obvious Voting System Compromises in Midterms, US Cybersecurity Officials Look to 2020

“An unprecedented federal and state collaboration to defend election systems against Russian interference ended with no obvious voting system compromises, although it’s not entirely clear why.”

Microsoft Wants to Work with Trump and Congress on Cybersecurity

“Microsoft wants to work with Congress to establish cybersecurity measures for civilians, the company’s president told CNBC Wednesday. Speaking to CNBC at the 2018 Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Brad Smith said Microsoft wanted to address the “fundamental question” of safeguarding the population against cyber threats — but he said the outcome of the midterm election would not hinder that mission.”

US Banks Prepare for Iranian Cyberattacks as Retaliation for Sanctions

“As the United States reinstated economic sanctions on Iran on Monday, American banks were gearing up for retaliatory Iranian cyberattacks. Bank executives believe Iranian hackers could attempt to disrupt financial services, perhaps as they did between 2011 and 2013 — with denial-of-service attacks that interrupted bank websites and other internet financial services.”

US Accuses China of Violating Bilateral Anti-Hacking Deal

“China has been violating an agreement with the United States aimed at stopping cyber espionage through the hacking of government and corporate data, a senior U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday.”

DHS Head: “Relentless Resilience” Will Drive Collaboration on Cybersecurity

“As the Department of Homeland Security continues to change the way it handles various cyberthreats the U.S. faces, the agency’s head said it’s focusing on making essential functions provided by critical infrastructure sectors more resilient.”

Australia

Here’s What You Need to Know About the Austal Cyber Attack and Extortion Attempt

“Western Australian-based Austal announced to the stock exchange that an unknown offender had targeted its data management system. Federal authorities are now investigating who was responsible for the hack and the full extent of information gathered.”

Baltics/Estonia

Security: After Estonia’s ID-Card Train Wreck This Identity App Is Taking Baltics by Storm

“A year ago Estonia was embroiled in its ID card crisis. The hardware behind the ID cards that serve as a cornerstone of the Baltic country’s e-state was found to be vulnerable to attack.”

China

The New China Cybersecurity Inspection Regulation Broadens PSB Authority

“On November 1, 2018, China’s new “Regulation on the Internet Security Supervision and Inspection by Public Security Organs” (公安机关互联网安全监督检查规定) will take effect. Passed by China’s Public Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on September 30, 2018, it is the latest regulation that implements China’s Cybersecurity Law (CSL), which took effect in June last year.”

EU

Cybersecurity High on European Commission Agenda

“For the future, the commission has made proposals for the next budget cycle to step up the funding support in cyber security for research and innovation through the Horizon Europe programme and the new Digital Europe programme, with an overall budget of €9.2bn.”

France

Natixis Investment Summit: Shaping the New Geopolitical World Order

The Natixis Investment Managers Summit took place November 6, 7 in Paris. It brought together 70 global experts and 500 senior leaders from finance, business, policy, and academia. The invitation only event opened with a dialogue between former Colombian President and Nobel Peace laureate Juan Manuel Santos and Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Its closing panel brought together former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy & German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

Germany

Cybersecurity Threat in Germany Rises to a New Level

“On October 11, 2018, the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, “BSI”) published its annual Report on the State of IT Security in Germany 2018 (“Security Report”). The Security Report shows an alarming increase in cybersecurity attacks against state agencies, critical infrastructure, and private companies, as well as against individuals, during the reporting period of July 1, 2017 to May 31, 2018. In its press statement from the same date, the BSI noted that “the combination of new attack quality and increasing digitalization raises the threat situation to a new level.”