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Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Columbus State hosts NSA-sponsored cybersecurity camp Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Columbus State University kicked off a free weeklong cybersecurity summer camp Monday, with the help of a $28,000 grant from the National Security Administration. Professors Jianhua Yang and Sumanth Yenduri, both of the university's TSYS School of ...

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Columbus State hosts NSA-sponsored cybersecurity camp - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

The National Security Agency is amongst the most secretive of the US intelligence agencies. It employs genius-level coders and mathematicians in order to break codes, gather information on adversaries, and defend the country against digital threats.

Unsurprisingly, the NSA has always to preferred to work in the dark. But ever since the Snowden leaks in 2013, the organization has gradually increased its public presence. A few years ago, it opened a Twitter account (in fact, it was the first profile Edward Snowden followed when he joined in 2015).

And now, its opened a Github account, and has shared several interesting code repositories under the NSA Technology Transfer Program (TTP). So far, it lists 32 different projects, although some of these are coming soon. Many arent new, either, and have been available for some time. SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) for example, has been part of the Linux kernel for years.

Im not surprised the NSAs taken this move. For starters, theres a long and proud tradition of technologies making their way from defense and intelligence environments to the general public. The internet is a brilliant example of that. And engaging with techies via Github is a great way to sanitize its image, and potentially recruit talent.

You can check out the NSAs page here.

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The NSA (yes, that NSA) has a Github account now - TNW

After a leaked National Security Agency document alleged Russian operatives attempted to hack into a Florida voter polling software company used by Humboldt County in the 2016 presidential election, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla sent a letter to the federal agency Thursday questioning why the state was not notified earlier.

As the chief elections officer in the most populous state in the nation, I am seriously concerned about the NSAs failure to provide timely and critical information to Americas elections officials, Padilla wrote to NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers. ... We must be prepared and remain vigilant. Proper preparation requires clear and consistent collaboration among federal, state, and local officials. The NSA cannot afford to sit on critical information that could be used to defend against cyber-attacks.

The five-page classified National Security Agency memo from May that was leaked to the news website The Intercept stated Russias military intelligence unit, the GRU, hacked into the Florida-based voting software company, VR Systems, in August 2016. VR Systems provided voter polling software to Hart InterCivic, which the Humboldt County Elections Office contracted with to provide voter e-polling software.

County officials said that there is no evidence that the hacking attempts were successful or that Humboldt County was a target, and that the e-polling software is not involved in vote counting.

Humboldt County is the only county in the state that contracted through VR Systems, according to the Governors Office of Emergency Services.

The Office of Emergency Services and Secretary of States Office offered aid to the county last week to bolster its cyber-security systems, but County Clerk, Recorder and Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders and Information Technology Division Director Jim Storm said they are confident in the protections already in place.

Yes, [the Secretary of State] did some preliminary checks looking at known email addresses, Storm said to the Times-Standard last week. There was no evidence that we were hacked or anything like that.

Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504.

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Secretary of state expresses 'serious concern' with NSA after hacking document leaked - Eureka Times Standard

New York Times

Post-Snowden Efforts to Secure NSA Data Fell Short, Report Says New York Times The N.S.A. failed to consistently lock racks of servers storing highly classified data and to secure data center machine rooms, according to the report, an investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general completed in 2016. The report was ...

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Post-Snowden Efforts to Secure NSA Data Fell Short, Report Says - New York Times

A pair of senior U.S. senators is pressing the Trump administration for information about how the Augusta woman at the center of the National Security Agency leak investigation was screened for her security clearance.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, and Ranking Member Clair McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, sent seven questions about Reality Leigh Winner and the governments vetting process to the Office of Personnel Management this week.

Among other things, the senators want to know which federal agency initially screened Winner and when, when her clearance was last reinvestigated and whether those screenings were done by federal employees or contractors? They also want to know the size of the governments current backlog of security clearance reinvestigations.

Winner worked as a federal contractor at a U.S. government agency in Georgia between February and June and had a top-secret security clearance. A federal grand jury has indicted her on a single count of "willful retention and transmission of national defense information for allegedly leaking to the news media a classified NSA report on Russias meddling in the U.S. election system. Before she was indicted, Winner spent months unleashing a tirade of social media posts calling President Donald Trump, among other things, an "orange fascist."

Winner faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, plus up to three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Her next court hearing is set for June 27 in Augusta. TMZ recently publishedvideo of her exercising in an outdoor area of the Lincoln County Jail,wheresheisbeingdetained.

Ms. Winner allegedly chose to put Americans and our national security at risk when she leaked classified materials, Johnson said in a joint statement with McCaskill. It is my hope that OPM will do a thorough review of her security clearance, and determine if it was granted appropriately.

McCaskill said: The leaking of classified information jeopardizes our national security. We need to determine if Ms. Winners security clearance process was handled correctly or if we missed any red flags.

The Office of Personnel Management had no immediate comment Friday.

Gary Davis and Billie Winner-Davis, stepfather and mother of Reality Leigh Winner, spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about their daughter. Video by Hyosub Shin/AJC. Hyosub Shin/AJC

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Senators seek answers about accused NSA leaker's security ... - Atlanta Journal Constitution