As artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly incorporated into advanced systems, they have created new vulnerabilities for adversaries to exploit. When new algorithms are developed, attackers create fresh tools to bypass the latest defenses.
"The field now appears increasingly pessimistic, sensing that developing effective ML defenses may prove significantly more difficult than designing new attacks, leaving advanced systems vulnerable and exposed," according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's description of a new AI defense program. With no comprehensive theoretical understanding of machine learning vulnerabilities, DARPA said, efforts to develop effective defenses have been limited.
Read full story at GCN…
first published week of: 01/28/2019
The agency is moving to the cloud at fast clip but it wants feedback to ensure its strategy is sound.
The Homeland Security Department and its component agencies are actively migrating or have successfully migrated 5 percent of its systems and almost 20 percent of its applications to the cloud, but the department's cloud journey is just beginning.According to a Feb. 19 request for information, DHS—led by its newly formed Cloud Steering Group—is focused on achieving enterprisewide benefits through a “hybrid IT, multi-cloud, federated and vendor-neutral” cloud strategy that effectively optimizes data centers and shutters legacy technologies.In other words, DHS is out with the old and in with the new but it wants help shaping requirements and solutions for acquiring the new.
Read full story at NextgGov…
first published week of: 02/25/2019
The Department of Homeland Security has issued an emergency directive ordering administrators of most federal agencies to protect their Internet domains against a rash of attacks that have hit executive branch websites and email servers in recent weeks.
The DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued the directive on Tuesday, 12 days after security firm FireEye warned of an unprecedented wave of ongoing attacks that altered the domain name system records belonging to telecoms, ISPs, and government agencies. DNS servers act as directories that allow one computer to find other computers on the Internet. By tampering with these records, attackers can potentially intercept passwords, emails, and other sensitive communications.
“CISA is aware of multiple executive branch agency domains that were impacted by the tampering campaign and has notified the agencies that maintain them,” CISA Director Christopher C. Krebs wrote in Wednesday’s emergency directive. He continued:
Read full story at arsTechnica…
first published week of: 01/28/2019
In letter to FCC's Pai, secretary of defense notes risks to military operations.
The Department of Defense has weighed in against a proposal before the Federal Communications Commission to open the 1 to 2 Gigahertz frequency range—the L band—for use in 5G cellular networks. The reason: segments of that range of radio spectrum are already used by Global Positioning System signals and other military systems.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper pressed for the rejection of the proposal by Ligado Networks (formerly known as LightSquared), saying, "There are too many unknowns and the risks are far too great to federal operations to allow Ligado’s proposed system to proceed... This could have a significant negative impact on military operations, both in peacetime and war."
The FCC has already largely brushed aside similar opposition from NASA, the US Navy, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, among others, over another spectrum block in the 24GHz range—which is used by weather satellites for remote monitoring of water vapor. But comments are still being collected on the Ligado plan for sharing the 1675 to 1680MHz block of the L Band. Pai has been supportive of the plan because that range is adjacent to the existing 1670 to 1675MHz block already in use for wireless services.
Read full story at ArsTechnica…
first published week of: 11/25/2019
Spectrum reserved for autonomous vehicle safety transmissions is a key part of the Department of Transportation's effort to set the foundation for the U.S. connected-vehicle infrastructure, said one of its top managers.
"We do believe the spectrum should be preserved" for safety applications such as Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) in vehicle-to-vehicle technology, said Finch Fulton, the deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Transportation, told FCW after his remarks on autonomous vehicles at a "State of Autonomy" event on July 11.
The Transportation Department, Fulton said in his remarks, doesn't want to choose the technologies that will support the emerging self-driving vehicle revolution, but it can help set firm rules of the road for them. Dedicated spectrum to support vehicle safety transmissions is a key ingredient in the mix, he said, as are more efficient, less burdensome regulations.
Read full story at FCW…
first published week of: 07/15/2019
( Shutterstock )
A new multidisciplinary group is hoping to start a conversation that can answer questions about new concerns specific to using drones in the nation's most densely populated metropolitan areas.
What should you do if someone is operating a drone near you? Where should you move? Should you be a certain number of feet away from the machine?
These are the sort of questions that police, firefighters and other stakeholders hope to clarify as part of the Major Cities Working Group, a new initiative from the DRONERESPONDERS program. The Major Cities Working Group launched during the Drone Journalism Leadership Summit in New York last month. The group was created to drive dialog between different drone users who may face similar issues when operating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in densely populated cities, said Christopher Todd, executive director of the Airborne International Response Team, the nonprofit responsible for DRONERESPONDERS.
Richard Fields, administrative section chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said the Major Cities Working Group should develop a common understanding of what should happen when a drone is used for an emergency. He likened this need to the simple procedure that drivers are expected to follow when they see or hear an ambulance or firetruck — that is, pull over to the right. Taking this example further, Fields pointed out that public safety must be prepared for when people don’t follow the rules.
Read full story at GovTech…
first published week of: 12/09/2019
The system Elkhart County is offering the public to access Geographic Information System information is slick.
The Elevate is fast and intuitive as you look at property and tax information — after you pay the steep price to get access.
In September, the Elkhart County Commissioners voted to charge for access to the new online GIS system. Users pay $7.50 per day, $15 per month or $150 per year. Those who don’t pay can register and simply see who owns a piece of property in Elkhart County and a basic map, though without the layers.
Commissioner Mike Yoder points out that people can still use a free system offered by the Michiana Area Council of Governments as well.
In an email defending the vote, Yoder told me they could provide a cheaper, lower-quality service and that taxes and fees should pay for such services.
“The private sector, which utilizes Elevate on a regular basis, seems to unanimously agree this is a premiere level of service and the small fee we are charging is covering the cost of this web service at the current subscription level. So — premium level of government services and no additional taxpayer expense, unless they actually need to use it.”
Read full story at South Bend Tribune…
first published week of: 07/15/2019
Social media platforms aren’t living up to voluntary code of conduct, commissioner says.
Last October, in an attempt to fend off additional regulation, advertising trade organizations and major Internet platform providers——including Google, Facebook, and Twitter—signed off on a voluntary code of conduct aimed at reducing the threat posed by fraudulently purchased political advertisements and the posting of 'fake news' articles. But a report released by the European Commission today called the social media platforms to task for not living up to those voluntary measures to help protect upcoming elections across Europe in the next few months—and particularly the European Parliament elections in May.
In a joint statement issued by the European Commission, Vice President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip; Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality Vera Jourova; Commissioner for the Security Union Julian King; and Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel wrote:
Read full story at ArsTechnica…
first published week of: 03/04/2019
It may be a bit of an understatement to say that government services are scattered online.
Of course, it certainly varies by jurisdiction, but more often than not, residents of a given city must visit disparate websites to find digital services. For example, this could entail visiting one site to pay a parking ticket; another to check on the status of a business license; another to handle taxes; and so on. But a new website is working to consolidate digital services and information for every city across the country on one easy-to-search platform.
That company and its site are called Evergov and it’s currently being beta-tested with live users, said Krishna A. Vaibhav, co-founder of the Bay Area company. The company has so far attracted more than 6,000 users in a number of ways, including ads on Google and Bing.
Read full story at GovTech…
first published week of: 03/04/2019
The Federal Aviation Administration will give commercial drones more freedom to operate over people and grant longer flight times under proposed new rules.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the proposals at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting on Jan. 14.
The initiatives include a draft rule proposal to allow drones to fly at night and over people without requiring operators to get a waiver, if certain conditions are met.
It is unclear when the new rules will appear in the Federal Register and how the commenting process will be managed because the Department of Transportation is currently operating in shutdown mode due to the partial lapse in appropriations. Chao only said the proposals are available in draft form on the FAA website and will be published "as soon as possible."
Read full story at FCW…
first published week of: 01/21/2019