ICD Brief 128.
01.04.2019.-07.04.2019.
Cybersecurity was on the agenda of NATO’s 70th anniversary foreign ministerial celebration in Washington DC and the G7 foreign ministers meet in France . While NATO Secretary General addresses historic Joint Meeting of the United States Congress, both meetings shared a diminished US presence from previous years.
The convergence of national elections, increased attacks, more aggressive response provides our week’s sampling below.
- Global Consequences of Escalating US – Russia Cyber Conflict
- What Are China’s Cyber Capabilities and Intentions?
- EU Member States test their cybersecurity preparedness for fair and free 2019 EU elections
- Cybersecurity Across Europe: The European Commission’s Approach
- NATO’s Cyber Policy Under Construction
USA
Global Consequences of Escalating US – Russia Cyber Conflict
Council on Foreign Relations Guest Blogger: Lukasz Olejnik
“U.S. offensive cyber operations might deter Russia and other U.S. adversaries online, but we should consider the global consequences of escalating cyber conflict.”
“With the help of the NCCoE [National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence], the United States Coast Guard (USCG) collaborated with industry to develop voluntary Cybersecurity Framework Profiles (CFP) to mitigate risks in their joint mission areas. Resulting in the USCG Maritime Profile, based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), it addresses the areas of Maritime Bulk Liquids Transfer (MBLT), Offshore Operations, and Passenger Vessel Operations.”
US Spied on Huawei; Claims to have Incriminating Evidence
“US authorities say they have gathered key information about Huawei Technologies Co Ltd through secret surveillance. They plan to use this in the case against the Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturer, accused of bank fraud and breaking sanctions.”
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon Warns Cyberattacks “Biggest Threat” to US
“The risk of a devastating cyberattack may be the single greatest danger to the U.S. financial system, according to J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. ”
DHS Cyber Chief Is Ready to Update Federal Tech Hiring
“The department is preparing to roll out a new personnel system that will let officials “hire people based on their skill sets, not what’s on a piece of paper,” said Chris Krebs.”
Australia
Government’s Cybersecurity Budget Commitment: Unknown
“The cybersecurity industry has responded positively to the cybersecurity measures within the 2019 federal Budget, which have been spearheaded by an unquantified “cyber uplift” to bolster government security and protect the upcoming election from compromise.”
New NSW Program to Connect SMEs to Cybersecurity Researchers
“A program backed by the NSW government will connect small and medium enterprises with university-based researchers and help fund cyber security R&D.”
China
What Are China’s Cyber Capabilities and Intentions?
By Lyu Jinghua Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
“Given that suspicion about China’s cyberwarfare capabilities and intentions could lead to conflict, it is necessary to examine China’s views of cyber warfare from a different perspective than most are familiar with.”
American Can Define Down China’s Harsh Cyber Rules
“The United States may have hit on an opportunity to push back against China’s harsh cybersecurity law. Beijing could be willing to bargain over rules for how and where companies doing business in the country store data. It would be a surprise softening of its position in trade talks. With more allies on this issue than usual, including in China, Washington has a stronger chance of winning concessions.”
EU
EU Member States test their cybersecurity preparedness for fair and free 2019 EU elections
“Today the European Parliament, the EU Member States, the European Commission and the EU Agency for cybersecurity (ENISA) organised an exercise to test the EU’s response and crisis plans for potential cybersecurity incidents affecting the EU elections.”
Cybersecurity Across Europe: The European Commission’s Approach
“Despina Spanou, Director for Digital, Society, Trust, and Cybersecurity at the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, discusses how the Commission is working to enhance cybersecurity across Europe.”
Germany
Bayer Contains Cyber Attack It Says Bore Chinese Hallmarks
“German drugmaker Bayer has contained a cyber attack it believes was hatched in China, the company said, highlighting the risk of data theft and disruption faced by big business.”
Iran
Iran Conducted “Major Cyber Assault” on Key UK Infrastructure
“Iran is being blamed for a wave of cyber attacks that targeted key parts of the UK’s national infrastructure in a major assault just before Christmas.”
Japan
Toyota Data Breach Affects Millions of Driver
“Toyota is in the headlines for the wrong reasons lately, as it recently announced the second of two data breaches in five weeks. The most recent infiltration involved Toyota and Lexus dealers in Japan.”
NATO
NATO’s Cyber Policy Under Construction
“NATO is taking a comprehensive approach to building a cyber policy that would deter adversaries, defend its member nations and provide key capabilities in multidomain operations. This approach to the alliance’s cyberspace strategy takes into account resilience, counter-cyber activities and operational capabilities in both civilian and military elements.”
UK
The UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy Beyond 2021: The International Dimension
By: Danny Steed Royal United Service Institute (RUSI)
“The New Great Game – The Threat from Cyber Sovereignty
While it may seem an indulgence to focus on norms and not purely on technology, the reasoning lies not in pure abstraction, but in the recognition that the liberal view is under direct challenge from a competing political belief set, Cyber Sovereignty. Championed by Russia and China, this view directly disputes the multi-stakeholder model that has so far been effective in governing cyberspace, calling instead for direct and exclusive management of cyberspace by nation states.”
UK Tops ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index
“The ITU – the UN agency dedicated to information and communications technologies – has been publishing a cybersecurity index since 2007. The index ranks the legal, technical, organisational, cooperative and capacity building efforts the 194 ITU member states make to cyber defences.”
Cyber Attacks “Damage” National Infrastructure
“A growing number of cyber-attacks on key installations have successfully put systems out of action over the past two years, a study has revealed.”
Hackers Beat University Cyber-Defences in Two Hours
“A test of UK university defences against cyber-attacks found that in every case hackers were able to obtain “high-value” data within two hours.”