Another 'shoe' drops -- DHS cyber security breach top of news this week

On the cyber security front, the nation's capital is abuzz this week about breaches of information systems at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In a Washington Post article on Monday, September 24, writers Ellen Nakashima and Brian Krebs reported that the "...FBI is investigating a major information technology firm with a $1.7 billion Department of Homeland Security contract after it allegedly failed to detect cyber break-ins traced to a Chinese-language Web site and then tried to cover up its deficiencies, according to congressional investigators."

The article has set off a flurry of activity and comments from the Department, the contractor, and the House Homeland Security Committee -- which has oversight over the Department. While much of the press coverage this week is focusing on who is ultimately to blame for the break-down in information security at DHS, it's important to remember that DHS is one of several U.S. federal agencies that has reported cyber breaches of unclassified systems over the last year - a list that includes major federal agencies such the U.S. Department of Defense (see Financial Times article for more information) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (see this Information Week article for more background).

In a September 21st letter to Inspector General Richard Skinner, House Homeland Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology, Jim Langevin (D-RI), wrote that "...The infiltration of Federal Government by unauthorized users is one of the most critical issues confronting our nation, but it is hardly a new threat. For years, these attacks have resulted in the loss of massive amounts of critical information."

Thompson and Langevin go on to state that "...On April 19, 2007, the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology held a hearing to discuss hacking activity against Federal agencies. The testimony was disturbing. An official from the Department of Commerce discussed a cyber attack against their systems, which was widely reported to have been launched by hackers operating through Chinese servers."

The September 21st letter highlighted several findings, including:

• "Dozens of Department of Homeland Security computers were compromised by hackers. These incidents were not noticed until months after the initial attacks. These computers may still be compromised due to insufficient mitigation efforts by the contractor responsible for information technology services at the Department."
• "Hackers exfiltrated information out of Department of Homeland Security systems to a web hosting service that connects to Chinese websites."

View the entire Homeland Security Committee letter, here (pdf).

What will be the next shoe to drop? U.S. federal agencies are under attack and the problem seems to be getting bigger and bigger; it will be interesting to see more details of the President's "Cyber Initiative" which I referenced in my blog last week on related issues.

-S.L. Kellogg

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