[IS&T Security-FYI] SFYI Newsletter, February 22, 2011

[Monique Yeaton]

In this issue:


1. The MIT Network Security Roadmap

2. White House Increases Cybersecurity Budget

3. Tip of the Week: Using a Smartphone Securely



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1. The MIT Network Security Roadmap

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The Network Security Roadmap, a critical track of the Infrastructure Roadmap, was reviewed and approved by the IT Governance Committee last week. Implementation of the plan will improve the department of Information Services & Technology's (IS&T) ability to detect and remediate intrusive activity on the MIT network. Tim McGovern, Mike Halsall, and Mark Silis, members of IS&T's Operations and Infrastructure division, prepared and led the presentation, and were on hand to answer questions posed by the IT Governance Committee members during last week's meeting. The approved IT Roadmaps can be found on the IT Governance Committee website: <http://web.mit.edu/itgc/roadmaps.html>.



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2. White House Increases Cybersecurity Budget

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In spite of budget cuts in many other places, the White House is proposing a big increase in cybersecurity research and development in next year's budget. The goal is to improve, in part, the government's ability to reduce the risk of insider threats and to ensure the safety of control systems such as those used at power plants. When all cybersecurity spending plans across the board are added together, cybersecurity research and development spending will increase 35% to $548 million next year, according to Phillip Coyle, associate director for national security.


Read the story in the news:

<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9209461/Obama_seeks_big_boost_in_cybersecurity_spending>



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3. Tip of the Week: Using a Smartphone Securely

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Smartphones are one of the fastest growing risks in technology. They now have the complexity, functionality, and processing power of a low-end computer, yet they lack many of the security controls you would expect in such a device. This newsletter by SANS covers the top ten ways you can help protect and secure your smartphone, regardless of which vendor you use: <http://www.securingthehuman.org/newsletters/ouch/issues/OUCH-201102_en.pdf> (This link requires a PDF reader.)


At MIT, the Mobile Devices team of IS&T is preparing documentation for how to remotely wipe smart phones. The team will send out a notice to subscribers of the mobilepartners at mit.edu email list when the information becomes available.


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To read all current and archived articles online, visit the Security-FYI Blog at <http://securityfyi.wordpress.com/>


Monique Yeaton
IT Security Awareness Consultant
MIT Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
(617) 253-2715
http://ist.mit.edu/security

The IT Security Team moved on 2/11/11: Come see us in our new location at W92-236.
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