BBC News
26 November 2009
Computer hacker Gary McKinnon faces being tried in the US after requests to block his extradition were refused, the Home Office has confirmed.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson told Mr McKinnon's family he could not block the move on medical grounds.
Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon, 43, who has Asperger's syndrome, is accused of breaking into US military computers. He says he was seeking UFO evidence.
Now of Wood Green, north London, he faces 60 years in prison if convicted.
Mr Johnson said he had carefully considered the representations but had concluded that sending Mr McKinnon to the US would not breach his human rights.
As such, he had no discretion to block the extradition.
Monday 30 November 2009
State dinner crashers greeted President Obama
[First thought that came to mind after hearing this was the season finale of Day 2 on '24' - President Palmer is shaking hands with many of the onlookers, one of them being a woman hired in Day 1 to assassinate Palmer. She slips a deadly virus into his hand, and President Palmer collapses to the ground, panting. - WK]
By Jason Horowitz, Roxanne Roberts and Michael Shear Washington Post Staff Writers November 27, 2009
Getting to the president is supposed to be tougher than this.
According to a White House official, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple previously best known for auditioning for a Bravo reality television show, not only got through various Secret Service checkpoints at Tuesday night's state dinner but also went through the receiving line and personally greeted President Obama. Their high-profile home invasion penetrated the most vaunted security apparatus on Earth, and the Secret Service issued its apologia on the subject late Friday.
A statement issued by Director Mark Sullivan said the agency was "deeply concerned and embarrassed by the circumstances surrounding the State Dinner" and added that "the preliminary findings of our internal investigation have determined established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint, verifying that two individuals were on the guest list."
Sullivan added, "Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours."
By Jason Horowitz, Roxanne Roberts and Michael Shear Washington Post Staff Writers November 27, 2009
Getting to the president is supposed to be tougher than this.
According to a White House official, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple previously best known for auditioning for a Bravo reality television show, not only got through various Secret Service checkpoints at Tuesday night's state dinner but also went through the receiving line and personally greeted President Obama. Their high-profile home invasion penetrated the most vaunted security apparatus on Earth, and the Secret Service issued its apologia on the subject late Friday.
A statement issued by Director Mark Sullivan said the agency was "deeply concerned and embarrassed by the circumstances surrounding the State Dinner" and added that "the preliminary findings of our internal investigation have determined established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint, verifying that two individuals were on the guest list."
Sullivan added, "Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours."
Navy to investigate security breach
By Henry McDonald
Ireland editor
The Observer
29 November 2009
Royal Navy investigators flew to Belfast last week after a memory stick containing "restricted" information on naval manoeuvres and personnel around the UK was reported missing.
The Observer has learnt that two senior detectives from the Royal Navy Police's Special Investigation Branch met members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to investigate the issue.
The detectives flew from Portsmouth to discuss the loss of a USB memory stick close to Belfast docks last month. The device was found at the Odyssey car park, near the river Lagan. It was offered for sale to a newspaper, which declined the offer. It was later handed to the police in Bangor. The device is understood to have contained 37 pages of information on Royal Navy personnel including name, ages and ranks.
It also contained "restricted" information on naval operations around the UK, and the whereabouts of Royal Navy officers. Security sources said this weekend that naval investigators would examine the device to see if any of the material was copied. They will also look for "electronic footprints" on the device to find out who last used it.
Ireland editor
The Observer
29 November 2009
Royal Navy investigators flew to Belfast last week after a memory stick containing "restricted" information on naval manoeuvres and personnel around the UK was reported missing.
The Observer has learnt that two senior detectives from the Royal Navy Police's Special Investigation Branch met members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to investigate the issue.
The detectives flew from Portsmouth to discuss the loss of a USB memory stick close to Belfast docks last month. The device was found at the Odyssey car park, near the river Lagan. It was offered for sale to a newspaper, which declined the offer. It was later handed to the police in Bangor. The device is understood to have contained 37 pages of information on Royal Navy personnel including name, ages and ranks.
It also contained "restricted" information on naval operations around the UK, and the whereabouts of Royal Navy officers. Security sources said this weekend that naval investigators would examine the device to see if any of the material was copied. They will also look for "electronic footprints" on the device to find out who last used it.
Feds To Sharpen Cybersecurity Job Policies
By J. Nicholas Hoover
InformationWeek
November 24, 2009
On the heels of a report that raised concerns about the competency of cybersecurity pros at the Department of the Interior, the Office of Personnel Management plans to develop better ways to ensure that the federal cybersecurity workforce is up to snuff.
In a recent memo to federal HR directors, OPM director John Berry said the effort will include developing policies and guidance on job classification, hiring, performance management, and workforce education and development. He implied that the work was brought on by a consensus among OPM, the federal CIO Council, and federal Chief Human Capital Officers Council that cybersecurity workforce development required a government-wide framework.
That bears out with other findings. Earlier this year, Booz Allen Hamilton surveyed 69 officials from 18 federal agencies and concluded that among other challenges to federal cybersecurity, "fragmented governance and uncoordinated leadership" hinder the ability to meet the government's cybersecurity needs.
A report issued this month by the Department of the Interior highlights the problems Barry and OPM plan to address. Among cybersecurity staff, Interior requires only self-certified training, and the inspector general found that only 13.5% of self certifications were relevant and complete.
InformationWeek
November 24, 2009
On the heels of a report that raised concerns about the competency of cybersecurity pros at the Department of the Interior, the Office of Personnel Management plans to develop better ways to ensure that the federal cybersecurity workforce is up to snuff.
In a recent memo to federal HR directors, OPM director John Berry said the effort will include developing policies and guidance on job classification, hiring, performance management, and workforce education and development. He implied that the work was brought on by a consensus among OPM, the federal CIO Council, and federal Chief Human Capital Officers Council that cybersecurity workforce development required a government-wide framework.
That bears out with other findings. Earlier this year, Booz Allen Hamilton surveyed 69 officials from 18 federal agencies and concluded that among other challenges to federal cybersecurity, "fragmented governance and uncoordinated leadership" hinder the ability to meet the government's cybersecurity needs.
A report issued this month by the Department of the Interior highlights the problems Barry and OPM plan to address. Among cybersecurity staff, Interior requires only self-certified training, and the inspector general found that only 13.5% of self certifications were relevant and complete.
US Air Force orders 2200 Sony PS3s
By James Sherwood
RegHardware
25th November 2009
The US Air Force plans to buy a whopping 2200 PlayStation 3 games consoles which it will use to expand an existing PS3-based supercomputer.
The current cluster of consoles contains 336 PS3s, each connected by their RJ45 ports to a common 24-port Gigabit Ethernet hub, Air Force online documentation states.
The entire set-up runs on an in-house developed Linux-based OS.
However, the expanded PS3 supercomputer will be used to further the Air Force's "architectural studies" which "determine what software and hardware technologies are implemented [in] military systems".
The Air Force hasn't said much more than this, preferring to keep its intentions close to its medal-bedecked chest. However, it did describe one possible scenario where the PS3 supercomputer could be used to determine additional software and hardware requirements for advanced computing architectures and high-performance embedded computing applications.
RegHardware
25th November 2009
The US Air Force plans to buy a whopping 2200 PlayStation 3 games consoles which it will use to expand an existing PS3-based supercomputer.
The current cluster of consoles contains 336 PS3s, each connected by their RJ45 ports to a common 24-port Gigabit Ethernet hub, Air Force online documentation states.
The entire set-up runs on an in-house developed Linux-based OS.
However, the expanded PS3 supercomputer will be used to further the Air Force's "architectural studies" which "determine what software and hardware technologies are implemented [in] military systems".
The Air Force hasn't said much more than this, preferring to keep its intentions close to its medal-bedecked chest. However, it did describe one possible scenario where the PS3 supercomputer could be used to determine additional software and hardware requirements for advanced computing architectures and high-performance embedded computing applications.
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