Archive for June, 2014

Many Still Vulnerable to Heartbleed Bug

Friday, June 27th, 2014

 

You may remember that several months ago the IT security world was rocked by the exposure of the Heartbleed bug. The bug, which affects OpenSSL, exposed vulnerabilities in 600,000 servers, leaving account information and passwords vulnerable on thousands of websites. Users on websites including Facebook and eBay were encouraged to change their passwords and use different passwords on every site.

 

Soon after the discovery of the bug, a massive effort to patch vulnerable servers began. Within one month, nearly half of the 600,000 vulnerable servers had been patched, with 318,239 still vulnerable. Unfortunately, this rate has not held in the second month of knowledge of Heartbleed’s existence. Since the initial rush to patch in the first month, only about 9,000 servers have been patched, leaving 309,197 still unprotected.

 

The slowdown can be attributed to the initial rush by the big online players with the resources to patch their servers doing so as soon as possible. Smaller online companies, however, have not made the same efforts, and the number of servers being patched is expected to continue to decrease. Even though new, non-vulnerable servers are coming online, it is expected that many of these vulnerable servers will continue to function for a long time to come. It is for this reason to internet users should use different passwords for all their accounts. In addition, you can determine whether or not a website is vulnerable using this free checker from McAfee.

 

 

Heartbleed bug

 

About DHA Group, Inc.

DHA Group, Inc., headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an award-winning management consulting and contracting firm primarily serving federal civilian and defense agencies. DHA Group supports clients’ mission-critical work by delivering expert professional services. Since DHA Group’s 1994 founding, our ability to improve productivity, cost effectiveness and efficiency has contributed to significant corporate growth and earned us a reputation for quality, value and excellence. For more information about Government Makes Research Data Available, please visit us atwww.dha-inc.com or call 202-347-9865, or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+.

Source

http://www.zdnet.com/heartbleed-over-300000-servers-still-exposed-7000030813/

 

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Government Makes More Research Data Available

Friday, June 20th, 2014

 

If you’re unfamiliar with Data.gov, it is the portal through which the federal government makes available a vast quantity of federally-funded research. This data is machine-readable and accessible to anyone who wants it. The collection of data is part of an effort to stimulate economic growth by making this research available so entrepreneurs and innovators can use it to create new technologies and drive growth.

 

This week, the research portal announced that it was making more data available on the site. A lot more, in fact. Data.gov has now made available the research of more than 700 federal R&D facilities in the energy, healthcare, and space industries. “These facilities, operated by agencies like NASA, the Department of Energy (DOE) , and the national Institutes of Health (NIH), include cutting-edge research tools and together represent billions of dollars of taxpayer investment,” according to a post on its website.

 

In order to access this data, interested parties must go to Data.gov, where the policies of individual facilities regarding the data can be found. Different facitilies and agencies have different methods of data access. A contact person is listed for every facility who will be able to assist interested entrepreneurs and innovators. The site plans to continue its expansion of its database with additional research and other assets such as federally-funded intellectual property.

 

government data

About DHA Group, Inc.

DHA Group, Inc., headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an award-winning management consulting and contracting firm primarily serving federal civilian and defense agencies. DHA Group supports clients’ mission-critical work by delivering expert professional services. Since DHA Group’s 1994 founding, our ability to improve productivity, cost effectiveness and efficiency has contributed to significant corporate growth and earned us a reputation for quality, value and excellence. For more information about Government Makes Research Data Available, please visit us atwww.dha-inc.com or call 202-347-9865, or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+.

Sources

http://www.data.gov/manufacturing/federal-rd-facilities-open-collaboration/

http://www.informationweek.com/government/open-government/feds-to-post-open-data-from-700-randd-facilities/d/d-id/1278730?

 

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What to Do If You’re Keeping Windows XP

Friday, June 13th, 2014

Windows XP has been without support from Microsoft for about 2 months now, but there are still some fans of the operating system who have decided to continue using it. Despite concerns over its vulnerability to threats, “Computerworld has projected that the old OS will still run between 33% and 34% of the world’s personal computers at the end of April 2014.” Running an operating system without support entails a certain amount of risk, but sometimes other factors such as budgetary constraints prohibit the immediate upgrade of an operating system. If you’re keeping Windows XP on your machine or machines for the time being, here are some steps you need to take to minimize your machines’ vulnerability or threats.

What to Do If You’re Keeping Windows XP

Install

First things first, you’ll want to install the last XP update. You’ll also want to install a new internet browser for its security features, because XP only supports IE 9, not 10 or 11. Get current firewalls and anti-virus software on the machine. If you have Microsoft Office, patch it fully to the latest version.

Uninstall

Third-party software and browser plugins may be vulnerable, so the best thing to do is uninstall them. Make sure to set the browser to ask you what to do with PDFs instead of opening them by default, which could carry viruses or malware.

Network

If possible, isolate machines running XP on separate networks. If an attack makes it through a vulnerable XP machine, it could easily spread to other computers on the network. Use an NAT router on the network as well to take advantage of its firewall capabilities.

windows XP

About DHA Group, Inc.

DHA Group, Inc., headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an award-winning management consulting and contracting firm primarily serving federal civilian and defense agencies. DHA Group supports clients’ mission-critical work by delivering expert professional services. Since DHA Group’s 1994 founding, our ability to improve productivity, cost effectiveness and efficiency has contributed to significant corporate growth and earned us a reputation for quality, value and excellence. For more information about What Are the Benefits of Consulting Services from DHA?, please visit us atwww.dha-inc.com or call 202-347-9865, or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+.

Sources

http://www.itworld.com/windows/368839/xps-retirement-will-be-hacker-heaven?source=spotlightpromo

http://www.itworld.com/software/408137/9-must-dos-if-you-must-stick-windows-xp?source=spotlightpromo

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How Operations Support from DHA Can Help You

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

 

Many agencies find that the best way to approach an operation is to utilize outside resources, so that their own resources can be dedicated to the most mission-critical tasks. From training to intelligence analysis to administrative services, operations support from DHA offers all of the components of operations support you need to free up your own resources for other tasks that you want to handle in-house. Learn more about operations support from DHA below.

 

Operations Support from DHA

 

Training

 

In order to fully utilize the systems which they are directed to work with, operators need the best training. Our training programs are able to turn even novice operators into skilled experts, with a comprehensive approach to training that ensures operators are prepared for the work they need to do. Training programs can be customized to fit the needs of your agency. We offer:

 

Curriculum Development

 

Presentation/Briefing Development

 

User Manual Development

 

Instructors

 

Facilitators

 

Training Facilities

 

Training Materials

 

Intelligence Analysis

 

Intelligence gathering is an important component of many operations. Our analysts are highly experienced and understand the need for objectivity, discretion, and time-sensitivity in the gathering, analysis, and reporting of intelligence.

 

Administrative Services

 

Though it may not be glamorous, paperwork is what moves every operation forward. We’re well-versed in administration for both government agencies and private sector enterprises. Let us handle the daily administrative needs of your operation to free your resources for tasks of critical concern. We offer:

 

Schedule and Calendar Maintenance

 

Copying, faxing, filing

 

Drafting Correspondence

 

Meeting Minutes

 

Inventory Tracking and Re-Ordering

 

Meeting Scheduling and Preparation

 

Travel Arrangements

 

operations support DHA

 

About DHA Group, Inc.

DHA Group, Inc., headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an award-winning management consulting and contracting firm primarily serving federal civilian and defense agencies. DHA Group supports clients’ mission-critical work by delivering expert professional services. Since DHA Group’s 1994 founding, our ability to improve productivity, cost effectiveness and efficiency has contributed to significant corporate growth and earned us a reputation for quality, value and excellence. For more information about What Are the Benefits of Consulting Services from DHA?, please visit us atwww.dha-inc.com or call 202-347-9865, or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+.

 

 

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