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Daily Archives: April 16, 2013

New Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec

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2013 Internet Security Threat Report – “Key Findings:

  • 42% increase in targeted attacks in 2012.
  • 31% of all targeted attacks aimed at businesses with less than 250 employees.
  • One waterhole attack infected 500 organizations in a single day.
  • 14 zero-day vulnerabilities.
  • 32% of all mobile threats steal information.
  • A single threat infected 600,000 Macs in 2012.
  • Spam volume continued to decrease, with 69% of all email being spam.
  • The number of phishing sites spoofing social networking sites increased 125%.
  • Web-based attacks increased 30%.
  • 5,291 new vulnerabilities discovered in 2012, 415 of them on mobile operating systems.”

New GAO Reports: Acquisition Workforce, Aviation Safety, Renewable and Advanced Energy Technologies, Grants Management, IRS Website, Managing For Results

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Acquisition Workforce – Federal Agencies Obtain Training to Meet Requirements, but Have Limited Insight into Costs and Benefits of Training Investment, GAO-13-231, Mar 28, 2013 Aviation Safety – FAA Efforts Have Improved Safety, but Challenges Remain in Key Areas, GAO-13-442T, Apr 16, 2013 Energy – Federal Support for Renewable and Advanced Energy Technologies, GAO-13-514T, Apr… Continue Reading

The Constitution Project’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment

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“The Constitution Project’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment is an independent, bipartisan, blue-ribbon panel charged with examining the federal government’s policies and actions related to the capture, detention and treatment of suspected terrorists during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. The project was undertaken with the belief that it was important to provide an account… Continue Reading

Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions

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CRS – Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions, Marshall Curtis Erwin, Analyst in Intelligence and National Security, April 10, 2013 “Senior U.S. intelligence community officials have conceded that the line separating Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and DOD intelligence activities has blurred, making it more difficult to distinguish between the traditional secret intelligence missions… Continue Reading

CRS – Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress

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Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress, Marshall Curtis Erwin, Analyst in Intelligence and National Security. April 10, 2013 “Legislation enacted in 1980 gave the executive branch authority to limit advance notification of especially sensitive covert actions to eight Members of Congress—the “Gang of Eight” —when the President determines that it is essential to… Continue Reading

Federal Advisory Committee Draft Climate Assessment Report Released for Public Review

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News release: “A 60-person Federal Advisory Committee (The “National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee” or NCADAC) has overseen the development of this draft climate report. The NCADAC, whose members are available here (and in the report), was established under the Department of Commerce in December 2010 and is supported through the National Oceanic and… Continue Reading

Big Data: Growing pressure on global storage by data created on Social Networking Sites

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Big Data: Growing pressure on global storage by data created on Social Networking Sites, Dr. Riyazuddin Qureshi, Yahya Mohammad AlManna & Dr Anwar Pasha Deshmukh. “World-wide business organizations irrespective of their sizes, non-profit organizations and government agencies are witnessing Tsunami of data. Data creation is rewriting its record every day. In 2010; total data generated… Continue Reading

Report – Big Data, Big Brains

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“This report on Big Data is the first MeriTalk Beacon, a new series of reports designed to shed light and provide direction on far reaching issues in government and technology. Since Beacons are designed to tackle broad concepts, each Beacon report relies on insight from a small number of big thinkers in the topic area.… Continue Reading

Get Grandpas FBI File.com Website Now Makes Getting FBI Files Easy

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News release: “The process for obtaining FBI files about family members who may have been the subject of a federal investigation has just become much simpler with the help of a step-by-step consumer website: GetGrandpasFBIfile.com established by Virginia-based Meme Transmission Enterprises…The Federal Bureau of Investigation maintains billions of pages of records and millions of files… Continue Reading

Report – Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business

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Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business. Prepared by: Peter Kind Energy Infrastructure Advocates for Edison Electric Institute, January 2013 “Recent technological and economic changes are expected to challenge and transform the electric utility industry. These changes (or “disruptive challenges”) arise due to a convergence of factors, including: falling… Continue Reading