U.S. Treasury’s intelligence network vulnerable to hack: audit

Lax security left the U.S. Treasury’s computer system for tracking overseas threats to America’s financial system vulnerable to hackers, according to a government audit prepared in late 2014 and obtained by Reuters.

The Treasury Foreign Intelligence Network is used by U.S. spy agencies to share top-secret information and to keep tabs on the impact of sanctions against countries such as Iran and Russia, as well as militant groups like Hezbollah.

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“As a result … devices may not be protected with the most secure recommended configurations, increasing the risk of being compromised,” the Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, or OIG, said.

U.S. Federal Reserve to review how it supervises major banks

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it has launched a review of how it oversees major banks, calling on its inspector general to help with the probe after a series of critical reports.

Separate studies to be undertaken by the Fed’s Washington-based Board of Governors and its Office of Inspector General are meant to ensure that “divergent views” about the state of large banks are adequately aired.

The reviews will determine whether frontline supervisors and other officials at the regional Federal Reserve banks, as well as at the board level, “receive the information needed to ensure consistent and sound supervisory decisions,” the Fed said in a press release.

Chinese hackers took over NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Inspector General reveals

As mentioned in a previous post where it was detailed that the US water system was under attack, this should not come as a surprise. It should also not come as a surprise that the power grid has been compromised, satellites have been compromised, the US Chamber of Commerce has been compromised, to name a few. There is a more lengthy history than what was mentioned dating back to the 1990’s and possibly during the 1980’s. You’d think this normally would raise alarm bells with the average citizen, but it doesn’t. All in all, the real issue at hand is the lack of preparation(s) by the US government in preventing another assault. Should some event such as the national power grid going offline happen, we are simply not prepared.

Chinese hackers gained control over NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in November, which could have allowed them delete sensitive files, add user accounts to mission-critical systems, upload hacking tools, and more — all at a central repository of U.S. space technology, according to a report released Wednesday afternoon by the Office of the Inspector General.

That report revealed scant details of an ongoing investigation into the incident against the Pasadena, Calif., lab, noting only that cyberattacks against the JPL involved Chinese-based Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

Paul K. Martin, NASA’s inspector general, put his conclusions bluntly.

“The attackers had full functional control over these networks,” he wrote.

JPL is a jewel in NASA’s space technology crown.

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“In 2010 and 2011, NASA reported 5,408 computer security incidents that resulted in the installation of malicious software on or unauthorized access to its systems,” his report states. “These incidents spanned a wide continuum from individuals testing their skill to break into NASA systems, to well-organized criminal enterprises hacking for profit.”

Other incidents “may have been sponsored by foreign intelligence services seeking to further their countries’ objectives,” he noted.

Full article: Chinese hackers took over NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Inspector General reveals (Fox News)