National labs will probe election tech for vulnerabilities under planned DHS program

The government is currently planning a cybersecurity program that would allow federally funded national scientific laboratories to privately probe and then document security flaws existing in U.S. election technology, most of which is developed and sold by private companies, according to a senior U.S. official. Rob Karas, director of the National Cybersecurity Assessments and Technical Service team at the Homeland Security Department, said that multiple election technology vendors had already shown an interest in engaging on the effort. Karas declined to name the firms, but said the initiative will begin later this summer. The outreach process is still ongoing. It would provide voting-technology companies — hardware and software makers alike — with a free, comprehensive vulnerability assessment report so that they can better understand how their systems might be hacked. This type of information is typically considered valuable as companies look to harden their products. The individual reports will not be made […]

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Malware sniffer is latest cyber technology to get DHS push toward marketplace

A new form of malware detection software that analyzes computer code to predict malicious behavior — but without actually running it — has been exclusively licensed to a Virginia startup from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory under a Department of Homeland Security program that helps get federally developed technology to the marketplace. Hyperion, as the software is called, was one of the first technologies selected for DHS’s Transition to Practice, or TTP, program — back in 2012 when it was launched. It was licensed to Manassas, Virginia-based Lenvio this month after the company was spun off from R&K Cyber last year. Hyperion had previously been non-exclusively licensed to R&K. “Obtaining an exclusive technology license … helps us secure a more competitive position to commercialize Hyperion as we grow our company,” said B.K. Gogia, Lenvio’s chief executive officer, in a statement. Conventional malware consists of a file that a user is tricked into downloading and running on their […]

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