Nevada turnout just shy of 33K, way below the 44K four years ago and not even close to the 70K predicted…
http://t.co/Qn2zkb1M

Bret McKenzie + Kermit the Frog = instant Sunday happiness. http://t.co/94KtgJTv

OCEAN VIEW — While Jerry Kappes has thought about getting a home security system for many years now, it wasn’t until recently that he had one installed.

Before, he would have friends or neighbors check on his house when he was away, but it was always a nagging thought in the back of his mind that he needed something more.

“With all that we heard recently about home invasions in and around the county, we thought it might be a good idea to make that move (to a security system),” the Ocean View resident said. “It’s for peace of mind as much as anything.”

The Office of Management and Budget Statistical Analysis Center, in conjunction with the State Bureau of Identification, reported 1,384 burglaries took place in Sussex County in 2005; 1,593 in 2006; 1,661 in 2007; and 1,762 in 2008. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, 1,334 burglaries were reported in 2009. The Delaware State Police reported a 4 percent increase from 2010 to 2011, when 1,592 and 1,662 burglaries took place, respectively.

“I can’t speculate as to the cause of the (increase), but can view them as crimes of opportunity in a slow economic period, which can be reduced through public education and awareness,” said DSP spokesman Sgt. Paul Shavack. “We can’t predict crime, but we can take measures to prevent it.”

The increase in home invasions and burglaries this year has prompted many homeowners, year-round and seasonal, to install security systems, and local businesses are reaping the benefits.

Sean McCracken, owner of National Security, which serves all of Delaware with an office in Rehoboth Beach, said he’s seen a 20 percent increase in customers this year. Most have been residents concerned about break-ins, he said.

“It’s the best way. If someone breaches a door or enters the home, the police are notified right away,” he said. “You know nobody is waiting inside your home for you.”

Jim Barnes, owner of Signature Alert security systems in Ocean View, said winter tends to be his busiest time of year because many people vacate their resort properties when temperatures drop.

“The systems allow homeowners to keep an eye on their property while they aren’t here,” he said. “It also provides peace of mind for permanent residents.”

But some residents say they can’t afford a security system.

Millsboro resident Jeanette Bradley, who lives near a home that was recently burglarized, said she would have a security system if she could afford it. Instead, she keeps her windows and doors locked and doesn’t answer the door at night.

“This is a big concern,” Bradley said. “I do the best with what I have.”

acunningh@dmg.gannett.com

302-537-1881, ext. 204

A House Homeland Security subcommittee approved legislation on Wednesday aimed at clarifying the government’s role in combating cyberattacks.

Congressional leaders and President Obama have called for significant cybersecurity legislation to be passed this year. The smooth passage of this House bill may bode well for the larger effort, which has been under way for two years.

The Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies Subcommittee approved H.R. 3674, the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act of 2011 (The PrECISE Act), with a voice vote.

The bill would task the Homeland Security Department with determing what “critical infrastructure” like the power grid or financial systems, need federal oversight from existing agencies. Such proposals have sparked concern over government ability to control private networks.

But the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., chairman of the subcommittee, said his proposal is the “least intrusive” of current proposals.

Some proposals in the Senate, for example, would give the DHS authority to regulate, rather than simply designate critical infrastructure.

The PrECISE Act would also establish a National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center to coordinate federal cybersecurity efforts.

Lungren says the bill will increase public-private information sharing and give DHS the authority it needs “to play its part.”

“Government should enable and facilitate the private sector in this effort by providing threat information, standards and best practices,” he said. “In this way, we ensure that owners and operators are in the strongest position to protect their critical infrastructure.”

Subcommittee ranking member Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., criticized a measure that would establish a quasi-governmental National Information Sharing Organization (NISO) as a clearinghouse for information between government and the private sector.

Before investing $30 million of taxpayer money in the organization, Clarke proposed conducting a study to determine the most effective way to share information. But her amendment to remove the NISO provision failed on a voice vote.

Besides a manager’s amendment, which included proposals for local partnerships, the panel approved two amendments by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. One measure would require DHS to report to Congress on which foreign groups pose the greatest threat to American infrastructure; the other amendment would limit additional regulations if a company is already following rules.

“The private sector owns most of our nation’s critical infrastructure and commits considerable resources to ensuring thattheir computer networks are safe from outside attacks,” McCaul said.  “As we go forward we must ensure that the heavy hand of government does not harm industry.”

Federal cybersecurity efforts have been hampered by sometimes confusing jurisdictions and a lack of information sharing, analysts say. The Senate is expected to introduce its own cybersecurity bill as soon as this week.

GREENVILLE, S.C., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — GSA Greenville is pleased to announce that Forum Systems Inc. has been awarded a GSA Schedule 70 contract and are now certified to provide goods & services to the Federal Government. Acknowledging the growth in spending through the General Services Administration (GSA), Forum Systems Inc. will be placing their patented XML technology for SOA and Cloud Computing on the government’s electronic ordering system, GSA Advantage!®.

“As a leader in web services security gateways, this schedule award will provide us with increased opportunities to service sensitive government accounts and open up significantly more markets throughout the country,” stated Rizwan Mallal, VP of Operations at Forum Systems Inc. He continues, “The application process was handled very professionally and efficiently by the staff at GSA Greenville. They prepared and submitted a comprehensive application to the government.”

“As the leader in GSA application processing, we have a responsibility to help small and medium business interests maximize their reach within the federal procurement galaxy,” explains John Warren, SBDM at GSA Greenville. He continues: “We’ve combined comprehensive service-offerings to small businesses with advanced marketing tools that deliver unique opportunities in the complex world of government procurement.”

GSA Greenville managed the tender process on behalf of Forum Systems Inc. facilitating the application preparation, submission and negotiations with government buyers at the GSA. Mr. Warren adds, “At GSA Greenville, we’re dedicated to working with small and medium-sized businesses and offering them turn-key solutions that boosts their competitive edge in gaining access to government spending.”

About Forum Systems Inc.:
Forum Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crosscheck Networks, Inc., is a leader in Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and XML security.  Through comprehensive Threat mitigation and Trust enablement, Forum’s family of hardware, software and cloud-based instances provides enterprises and government organizations with the foundation for achieving secure SOA federation. Processing more than one billion transactions per day worldwide, the FIPS- and DoD-certified Forum products offer the industry’s most comprehensive protection against XML- and SOAP-based vulnerabilities. Forum Sentry has been issued an industry-first patent (7,516,333) for XML security functions such as XML Encryption, XML Decryption and XML Signatures using a network appliance. For more information, please visit www.forumsys.com.

About GSA Greenville:
GSA Greenville, a division of Federal Verification Co., Inc., is a premier GSA advisory & solutions firm. With over 700 schedules awarded to date, GSA Greenville leverages its industry-leading experience and in-house staff of specialists to deliver professional government marketing services to businesses nationally. Visit www.gsagreenville.com for more information.

CONTACTS:
For Forum Systems Inc.: Rizwan Mallal, VP of Operations, at 781.791.7510

For GSA Greenville: John Warren, Small Business Development Manager at 864.631.1837

CAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwire -01/30/12)- Co3 Systems, a pioneer in Data Loss Management software, today announced its first institutional funding and that it has added security and legal expert, Gant Redmon, to its executive team as Co3‘s first General Counsel and Vice President of Business Development. Redmon adds invaluable and unique expertise to Co3 and its customers by combining nearly 20 years of experience tracking law and regulations across multiple sectors with extensive startup experience in the security sector. Earlier in his career Redmon received distinction as an appointee on President Clinton’s Export Counsel Subcommittee on Encryption (PECSENC), which navigated the needs of US corporations and the Federal Government to increase both National Security and global competitiveness.

In the wake of high profile breaches such as Zappos, and with massive, pending breach lawsuits against organizations like TRICARE, the addition of Redmon comes at a time of rapid expansion for Co3 — fueled by a first round of venture funding — to accommodate surging interest across multiple industry sectors. In a little over three months since public launch, the company has:

• Attracted a significant financing round, led by one of the region’s premier investors, Fairhaven Capital, to expand sales, marketing, and engineering.
• Built out a proven executive team, many of whom have driven success together before, with expertise that spans EMC, Symantec, Counterpane, Arbor Networks, Application Security, Inc., Raptor Systems, and Authentica.
• Realized metrics well in excess of its 2011 business plan.
• Secured dozens of contracted customer evaluations at organizations including:
  • 3 major banking institutions
  • 4 retail organizations
  • 3 major healthcare providers
  • 6 major universities
  • Additional evaluations include defense contractors, communications infrastructure providers, and technology companies
• Received substantial, unsolicited interest from channel and strategic partners.
• Relocated the company’s Headquarters to larger space at One Alewife Center in Cambridge, MA, to accommodate current and future growth.

Interest in Co3 stems largely from the fact that the company is targeting an unaddressed security/privacy issue at a time when breaches have become inevitable rather than avoidable. Recent data from Forrester states that 25 percent of organizations had suffered a breach in the last 12 months. However, with 21 percent unwilling to disclose, the number is likely much higher. In the face of this level of exposure, and with the vast majority of security investment and innovation spent on preventative technologies — many of which are deployed after a breach has already occurred — Co3 is unlocking a massive post-breach / incident response market opportunity by helping companies prepare, assess, and respond to data loss / breach situations. Co3 offers the industry’s only automated, repeatable tool to prepare organizations for data loss events, assess their potential impact, and generate and manage incident response plans more efficiently.

“Co3′s value proposition to customers is about blending our experience and expertise in security, privacy, and building great software,” said John Bruce, CEO, Co3 Systems. “The nature of our business involves tracking, parsing and interpreting the constantly evolving morass of state, federal, industry and trade association regulations and making them actionable as risk assessments and incident response plans. Gant’s extensive and intimate legal knowledge brings another incredibly valuable perspective to customer conversations. And we gain the added benefit of highly experienced in-house counsel to help guide our fast growing business.”

Redmon has practiced law for 19 years with 15 years as in-house counsel at high-profile security software startups. Prior to joining Co3 Systems, he served as General Counsel for Arbor Networks, now part of the Danaher Corporation. At Arbor, Redmon was central to sales, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, financing, business development, and merger and acquisition activities. Redmon was also Counsel at Authentica (acquired by RSA/EMC) and AXENT Technologies (acquired by Symantec). He holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia, and is admitted to practice law in Virginia and Massachusetts.

Redmon commented, “Companies are more exposed and business is more vulnerable than it has ever been. Whether by hacker or human error, confusion and oversight are usually at the root of corporate loss and the subsequent damage. But while the method by which a breach happens will remain largely unpredictable, the exposure that comes after a breach doesn’t have to be. Co3′s mission and approach is exciting for me personally, and a unique opportunity for a General Counsel steeped in security and privacy to have a more far reaching impact on the business and its customers.”

About Co3 Systems
Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, Co3 Systems is an innovator in Data Loss Management solutions. The company’s SaaS-based offering enables organizations of all sizes to efficiently prepare for, and rapidly manage data loss events. Companies using Co3 demonstrably minimize the costs resulting from data loss incidents. With funding from Fairhaven Capital, the company’s executive team and advisors comprise security expertise from world-leading security, software and service organizations. On the web at www.co3sys.com.

RT @allahpundit: I thought Cain already endorsed “the people”

@jheil “Two rabbis walk into a bar, and one of them’s named Who, and take my wife, please!”

The @wsj is reporting that Santorum’s main SuperPAC backer is going to keep giving POST-FL. http://t.co/IbrRBjHC

OULU, Finland & SARATOGA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Codenomicon, the leading vendor of proactive security testing solutions, today announces the release of Fuzz-o-Matic cloud-based software security Testing-as-a-Service (TaaS) platform for enterprise software and applications running on Windows, Linux, Mac, and mobile operating systems. The new cloud-based service provides benefits of Codenomicon’s 15 years of experience in zero-day vulnerability discovery to users who do not have security testing staff or have limited budget for security auditing.

Fuzz-o-Matic provides users actual, repeatable test cases for software bugs that cause product crashes and security breaches. Codenomicon’s security testing platform finds previously-unknown vulnerabilities before hackers do, without false positives or false alarms. For users who already tested software with Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), vulnerability scanning, or hybrid analysis, Fuzz-o-Matic is the next progression in testing to find the bugs the other testing solutions missed. For users who have not tested software at all yet, but the user’s code is executable, Fuzz-o-Matic provides users longer lead-times to remedy bugs before software release.

“With Fuzz-o-Matic, Codenomicon is making available advanced methods of software security testing to a wide range of users who never before had access. Based on Codenomicon’s experience in identifying software security risk and Fuzz-o-Matic’s user-friendly interface, Codenomicon is first-to-market in a new area with broad implications for third-party testing, security testing staff augmentation, and serving organizations with limited software testing budgets,” says Olga Yashkova, Program Manager for Frost & Sullivan’s North America Communications Test & Measurement Practice.

According to Ira Winkler, security expert and Codenomicon’s Chief Security Strategist, “It is irresponsible to seriously consider investing in or acquiring a software product without testing for software reliability and security. While people think of software fuzzing as a security measure, fuzzing is really testing for all types of software bugs, of which security vulnerabilities are just one type of bug. Fuzzing is perhaps the most effective measure of identifying any software reliability issues. To that end, investors and M&A professionals need to ensure they use a reliable fuzzing tool that is proven, robust and versatile. Only a testing-as-a-service platform with this level of support can produce repeatable and robust results that can produce a reasonable level of diligence, beyond the straight financials.”

Fuzz-o-Matic is a convenient and cost-effective approach to application fuzzing for those who do not have in-house security testers or have a limited budget for penetration testing. Application fuzzing uses unexpected inputs to stress-test software far beyond normal operating conditions. Most software testing simulates normal operating conditions to determine if software does what it is designed to do. Black-hat hackers use application fuzzing to find exploitable security bugs in unused or rarely-used software functionality. Microsoft Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Cisco SDLC, and Building Security in Maturity Model (BSIMM) recognize the key role of fuzzing in the creation of secure and rugged software. Fuzz-o-Matic uses a range of fuzzers to provide the most comprehensive cloud-based stress-testing and vulnerability detection platform on the Market today.

Fuzz-o-Matic Overview and Use Cases are available at:
http://www.codenomicon.com/fuzzomatic.

About Codenomicon Ltd

Spun-out of Finland’s Oulu University in 2001 to provide software security testing solutions to developers and security analysts, Codenomicon’s customers include Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Motorola, Google, Verizon, NSN, Huawei, and T-Systems among many others. Companies rely on Codenomicon’s solutions to mitigate threats like Denial of Service (DoS) situations and Zero-Day Attacks, which could increase liability, damage business reputation, and cripple sales. Codenomicon is a member of the SDL Pro Network. For more information, www.codenomicon.com.