This post is a departure from the usual flavor of posts in this series on Rights and Responsibility in America: Civics Literacy. It is being published because of events scheduled and this blogger’s opinion that illegal immigration is one of the most severe risks to United States national security that exists.

From:

Supreme Court of the United States

October Term, 2011

HEARING LIST

For the Session Beginning April 16, 2012
(The Court convenes at 10 a.m.; afternoon arguments begin at 1 p.m.)

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 No. 11–182. Arizona, et al. v. United States. Certiorari to the C. A. 9th Circuit.
For petitioners: Paul D. Clement, Washington, D. C.
For respondent: Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., Solicitor General, Department
of Justice, Washington, D. C. (1 hour for argument.)

*************************************************************

Hundreds of thousands may lose Internet in July

For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections this summer.

The FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by its security partner, http://www.dcwg.org, that will inform them whether they’re infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won’t be able to connect to the Internet.

Just another warning about network security for your weekend reading enjoyment.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

BTW, this blog is not recommending you follow the ‘encouraging’ invitation from the FBI but do your own due diligence in this matter as with others.

Technology industry experts agree that the world is becoming more mobile, while at the same time, mobile technology’s vulnerabilities continue to plague consumers. To help you better lose sleep at night, The Daily Caller compiled a list of ten different ways your phone is vulnerable to hackers.

I’ve had this story bookmarked for more than a month. It fits well with the previous post. The day I read this article something strange occurred. Several hours later I received a text message from an unknown sender. That never happened before. I highlighted the message listing and deleted the text message. Besides, except for a few times after I acquired my current wireless voice communications device, I don’t text.

Watching young and not so young people with their thumbs moving as if they’re having a seizure (texting) has always puzzled me. What’s the attraction? I don’t really want to know.

It is really no surprise that hackers have targeted vulnerabilities in devices mistakenly labled as ‘smartphones’. Okay, it is simply a marketing term to encourage your purchase and participation in the gotta-have-it gadget crowd. You can own a smartphone and still be stupid.

Read the linked article from the Daily Caller and benefit from the warning.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

How many big corporations have been hacked? How many times has the DoD been hacked? How about the big deal security organization that was hacked? I won’t even attempt to present a list of all the security breaches that have occurred in recent and not so recent memory.

Not only the public but those in leadership positions in commerce and government do not seem to be taking this problem seriously. The press release from less than one month ago is a typical example. Talk, talk, talk, when do we fix this?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

NSA Director Says Security Standards Are Necessary for Critical Cyber Networks, Information Sharing is Not Enough
Democratic Press Office – (202) 224-8374
Mar 27 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The head of the military’s Cyber Command said Tuesday that information-sharing among critical infrastructure owners and operators is not enough to protect their cyber networks against attacks from rival nations, criminals, terrorists, and pranksters. Information sharing combined with security standards are needed to confront the growing cyber threat, said General Keith Alexander.

Alexander, who also leads the National Security Agency (NSA), told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the proper agency to collaborate with industry to secure the most critical cyber networks.  NSA collects and analyzes information to protect the nation from foreign attacks and is responsible for protecting the cyber networks of the federal government, including the military.

“I do think we have to have some set of standards,” Alexander said. When asked if information sharing was the “crux” of securing critical infrastructure, Alexander responded, “not actually…” adding that security standards for critical infrastructure and better information sharing were both necessary.

He also stated that, “I think the lead for working with critical infrastructure and helping them defend and prepare their networks should lie with DHS.”

The General’s comments translate into powerful support for the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S. 2105, introduced last month by Senators John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.  That legislation gives DHS the authority to collaborate with the private sector to establish security standards for the nation’s most important cyber networks, for instance, those that keep the electricity on, the water running, or our transportation systems functioning properly. The bill also calls on private companies to share threat information with DHS.

Alexander warned that “every day the probability of an attack increases as more tools and capabilities are out on the network.”