The U.S. wants Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others to join them in the fight against...

[nanoguy]

The big picture: Cyber threats have been growing at a rapid pace, so much so that there's now a governmental task force dedicated to coordinating measures and preventing or retaliating against cyberattacks, especially those conducted by foreign state-sponsored groups. The US government has asked tech companies to do their part in this new effort, so it's calling on organizations to buy into a new Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative.

The US government wants Big Tech to support its efforts to improve the security of the country's critical infrastructure against cyber threats. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the initiative is led by the Department of Homeland Security and is meant to bring the government and the private sector together in defending the country against cyberattacks.

At first, the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative will tackle the growing threat of ransomware as well as attacks on cloud computing providers.

Must read: The Evolution of Ransomware: How Did We Get Here?

Jen Easterly, who is the newly-sworn in director of DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said in an interview with the Journal that "this will uniquely bring people together in peacetime, so that we can plan for how we're going to respond in wartime."

The initiative will also involve information sharing and discussing ways to improve response times whenever the US is facing any major digital threats like last year's SolarWinds hack or this year's Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.

So far, companies that have shown interest in this collaboration include Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Verizon, AT&T, Lumen, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike.

Easterly also delivered a keynote speech at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, where she called on companies to forge new relationships with colleges and universities and find ways to grow the nation's cybersecurity workforce. She also called for industry experts to evangelize cybersecurity within their organizations.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90688-us-wants-amazon-google-microsoft-others-join-them.html

 

[Geralt]

Not good for us. More privacy issues.

 

[RudyBob]

Why would those companies do that? They are a HUGE part of the problem

 

[quadibloc]

Microsoft certainly could contribute, by improving its Windows operating system so that it has no flaws that could be exploited by malicious software.

 

[Austinturner]

Microsoft certainly could contribute, by improving its Windows operating system so that it has no flaws that could be exploited by malicious software.

You can’t possibly make large complex software like an OS bug free, you have to constantly monitor and investigate the bugs that other people discover and exploit and then patch them.

 

[Austinturner]

Why would those companies do that? They are a HUGE part of the problem

How exactly are those companies causing or worsening cyber attacks like ransomware and hacking of critical systems?

 

[ShadowDeath]

Not good for us. More privacy issues.

The next branch of government right there with the Media.

 

[Bulllee]

From the lofty perch of GHCQ to the love letter correspondence between you know who it was never going to be smooth on a well trodden rocky road.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

READ: The Us wants access to ALL of our data

 

[Bl00dyMinded]

Yes... lets have all the big companies that already control and have access to all our personal information continue helping the government for our "privacy"

 

[RudyBob]

How exactly are those companies causing or worsening cyber attacks like ransomware and hacking of critical systems?

Questions such as yours are often asked. Perhaps because you really do not know. It is my well read, educated opinion. Now, if you want me to point you to an article written by some internet Maven forget it. Why would their (well read, educated?) opinion carry more weight then mine? These companies are strictly bottom line. Never believe "In your best interest, for your safety, etc.) If I failed to provide an answer you like...sorry

 

[RudyBob]

READ: The Us wants access to ALL of our data

So does everyone else....got a gas station loyalty card?

 

[Austinturner]

Questions such as yours are often asked. Perhaps because you really do not know. It is my well read, educated opinion. Now, if you want me to point you to an article written by some internet Maven forget it. Why would their (well read, educated?) opinion carry more weight then mine? These companies are strictly bottom line. Never believe "In your best interest, for your safety, etc.) If I failed to provide an answer you like...sorry

Well you said they were a HUGE part of the cybercrime problem. I am asking what actions they took that made cybercrime worse?

Sure they want to make a profit, and they have customers who want to be less vulnerable to attacks, so they are incentivised to fight cyber crime and protect their customers rather than make it worse.

So what are you actually saying they do to be a part of the problem?

 

[Bullwinkle M]

Microsoft certainly could contribute, by improving its Windows operating system so that it has no flaws that could be exploited by malicious software.

But they won't!

That's why I run Windows XP-SP2 online without any Microsoft Security Updates on a Full Admin Account

The backdoors can be closed, the malware can be blocked, and I never need to worry about ransomware or bluescreens/greenscreens and blackscreens of death

Try THAT with Spyware Platform 10 (or 11)

 

[Bullwinkle M]

How exactly are those companies causing or worsening cyber attacks like ransomware and hacking of critical systems?

You mean like all the backdoors Microsoft puts into everything they make, or the hardcoded backdoors in Cisco Routers or the WD NAS drives or the ...........EVERYTHING?

 

[Austinturner]

You mean like all the backdoors Microsoft puts into everything they make, or the hardcoded backdoors in Cisco Routers or the WD NAS drives or the ...........EVERYTHING?

Ok so are you saying ransomware and foreign state actors are attacking US systems through the backdoors that Microsoft deliberately added to Windows 10? Because that seems…far fetched.

 

[Jack Deth]

READ: The Us wants access to ALL of our data

Correct.

More like big tech pulling the strings of their governement puppets.

 

[m3diapers]

Didn't NSA make all the tools for the hackers?

 

[cliffordcooley]

You can’t possibly make large complex software like an OS bug free, you have to constantly monitor and investigate the bugs that other people discover and exploit and then patch them.

The OS can be. But as you said not when it is complex (aka: bloated).

 

[Bullwinkle M]

Ok so are you saying ransomware and foreign state actors are attacking US systems through the backdoors that Microsoft deliberately added to Windows 10? Because that seems…far fetched.

Are you saying Microsoft are "NOT" Cybercriminals?
Because that seems...far fetched.

 

[Nobina]

But they won't!

That's why I run Windows XP-SP2 online without any Microsoft Security Updates on a Full Admin Account

The backdoors can be closed, the malware can be blocked, and I never need to worry about ransomware or bluescreens/greenscreens and blackscreens of death

Try THAT with Spyware Platform 10 (or 11)

Couldn't you run modern privacy focused Linux distro with Windows in a virtual machine for programs that don't work on Linux?

 

[3volv3d]

You can’t possibly make large complex software like an OS bug free, you have to constantly monitor and investigate the bugs that other people discover and exploit and then patch them.

They do try. And fail. and some exploits are 20 years old and never fixed or only just spotted. What was the printer spool one of late?
And they did try to be the first line of defence with the security essentials and on it's release it was according to reviews the only thing you needed. And free.
But someone at Norton's lost money and must of paid M$ to bale on it. Or their team just got so sloppy.

But I agree that many of the big corps are either the problem or the probably the reason for the attacks.
Countries want to share information and copy each others ideas but then they exploit it.
Anyone with a smart implant or pacemaker should be worried eh.
Think of kids on the streets these days bored, fighting and stabbing one another, well the nerd variant starts by swatting or being a script kiddy.
All your base!

 

[Bullwinkle M]

Couldn't you run modern privacy focused Linux distro with Windows in a virtual machine for programs that don't work on Linux?

No, of course not

There are too many programs that do not work correctly in a virtual machine

Besides, Windows XP is completely secure when configured by a REAL security expert like myself (not you however)

 

[cliffordcooley]

Software bug - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A software bug is an error, flaw or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways. The process of finding and fixing bugs is termed "debugging" and often uses formal techniques or tools to pinpoint bugs, and since the 1950s, some computer systems have been designed to also deter, detect or auto-correct various computer bugs during operations.

Bugs are not the same thing as insecure programming. Where security holes are found and exploited.

 

[duckofdeath]

Microsoft certainly could contribute, by improving its Windows operating system so that it has no flaws that could be exploited by malicious software.

The flaw these criminals use is the one sitting behind the keyboard. Remember the stories about NSA employees running their Huawei routers at home with default passwords? People will always be an easy access point to any network.