In December 2011, President Barack Obama signed the fiscal year 2012 US National Defense Authorization Act. The budget bill also encourages the implementation of procedures to mitigate the possibility of obtaining counterfeit components by making members of all tiers of the defense supply chain accountable. The meaning of the term counterfeit in this context includes [...]
Hey Congress, Smart Phones are Just the Start…

From “The Hill“… “It is critical to understand that these two Chinese handset manufacturers are not the only companies that should remain under suspicion. There are many memory chips, currently being manufactured by Chinese companies, which are inaccessible. This means that these chips may contain code that we will never be able to access, function [...]
Maxim SoC targets smart grid security
PARIS – Maxim Integrated Products said it has launched Zeus, a smart meter SoC for embedded smart grid equipment that needs to measure and to communicate securely. Maxim said Zeus supports various security and communication requirements. A built-in cryptographic module secures communication; a secure bootloader prevents unauthorized firmware modification; and tamper detection assures providers that [...]
embedded, grid, Maxim, power, Security, smart, system-on-chipHuawei, ZTE, and Chinese Investment in the U.S. – Businessweek
A congressional report released Oct. 8, alleging that China’s two largest telecom equipment manufacturers, Huawei Technologies and ZTE, are a security threat and should be blocked from acquiring U.S. companies. “Based on available classified and unclassified information, Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus pose a security [...]
congress, cyber, national security, report, USUS Congress report red-flags major Chinese telecom companies as security threat – The Times of India
WASHINGTON/HONG KONG: China’s top telecoms gear makers should be shut out of the US market as potential Chinese state influence on them poses a security threat, the US House of Representatives’ intelligence committee said in a draft of a report to be released on Monday.US intelligence must stay focused on efforts byHuawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE [...]
congress, Espionage, house, Huawei, report, representatives, US, ZTEHackers shifting to ‘destruction’: US cyber chief | DAWN.COM
WASHINGTON, Oct 1, 2012 - Hackers are stepping up the intensity of their attacks, moving from “disruption” to “destruction” of key computer systems, the top US cyber-defense official said Monday. General Keith Alexander, who is director of the National Security Agency and commander of the US Cyber Command, told a Washington forum that the new tactics [...]
command, cyber, destruction, hackersCounterfeit Chips Continue Record Highs
U.S. defense representatives are set to update rules governing the acquisition of electronic components by the military Wednesday (Oct. 3) in an effort to thwart an epidemic of counterfeit parts which has continued at an unprecedented pace thus far in 2012, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli. Reported incidents of counterfeit electronic parts have [...]
White House Hack Attack
Hackers linked to China’s government broke into one of the U.S. government’s most sensitive computer networks, breaching a system used by the White House Military Office for nuclear commands, according to defense and intelligence officials familiar with the incident. One official said the cyber breach was one of Beijing’s most brazen cyber attacks against the [...]
China, hack, nuclear, secure, senkaku, white houseNew Android Malware Is A Burglar’s Best Friend
Newly released malware PlaceRaider sounds like science fiction: It’s Android malware designed to build 3-D models of users’ apartments for burglars and assassins. But PlaceRaider–developed by a team at Indiana University–is very real. The new malware was built as an academic exercise, and it exposes security flaws that government agencies would love to use. More [...]
android, malware, trojanCIO-Asia – Intel hopes McAfee security features will differentiate mobile chips
“We can hardcode the service directly to our silicon,” James said. “When it’s an Intel processor we can actually do specific middleware extensions that connect to their service that just activate the hardware.” via CIO-Asia – Intel hopes McAfee security features will differentiate mobile chips. Editor’s note: A big step forward…if, long-term, Intel keeps 3-D [...]