US Cyber Command completes major cyber attack simulation, seems pleased with the results

The US Cyber Command is barely out of its infancy, but it's already crossed one milestone off its to-do list, with the successful completion of its first major test run. The exercise, known as Cyber Flag, was carried out over the course of a single week at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where some 300 experts put their defense skills to the test. According to Col. Rivers J. Johnson, the participants were divided into two teams: "good guys," and "bad guys." The latter were delegated with the task of infiltrating the Cyber Command's networks, while the former were charged with defending the mock cyberattack and keeping the government's VPN free of malware. The idea, according to the agency, was to simulate a real-world attack on the Department of Defense, in order to better evaluate the Command's acumen. "There were a variety of scenarios based on what we think an adversary would do in real world events and real world time," Johnson explained. "It was a great exercise." The Colonel acknowledged that the good guys weren't able to defend against all of the attacks, but pointed out that the vast majority were recognized and mitigated "in a timely manner." All told, Cyber Flag was deemed a success, with NSA Director and Cyber Command chief Gen. Keith Alexander adding that it "exceeded" his own expectations.

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/02/us-cyber-command-completes-major-cyber-attack-simulation-seems/

Chevy Volt under 'formal safety investigation' by NHTSA due to post-crash fire concerns

The Chevy Volt's lithium-ion battery may be great for a lot of things -- like low gasoline-dependency, for instance -- but when it comes to government regulated crash tests, it's proving to be a fiery problem. As the story goes, back in May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration put a Volt through standard side-impact crash testing, and in doing so, "the vehicle's battery was damaged and the coolant line was ruptured." The big issue? The car went up in flames multiple weeks later, seemingly as direct result. That event prompted the NHTSA to further study the safety of the batts in the period after a crash, which culminated in more tests performed just over a week ago to find out if they would prove volatile again -- simply put, they did. The group recently explained that it's "concerned that damage to the Volt's batteries as part of three tests that are explicitly designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios have resulted in fire."
Because of this development, the NHTSA (with assistance from the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and General Motors itself) has officially launched a formal investigation into the Volt to ensure that its current battery implementation isn't a safety defect. Despite the announcement, the agency notes that of all the Volts currently zipping along the streets, there has yet to be a to be a similar incident out on the open road. The NHTSA further clarified that there's not yet any reason for current owners to worry, so long as they haven't been in an accident with their vehicle. Overall, GM describes the whole investigation as "procedural" at this point, stating that both GM has been working with the NHTSA for over six months on a "broader program designed to induce battery failure after extreme situations." Seems a bit late at this point, but in any event, you'll find full details in the press releases from both parties just past the break.

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/27/dnp-chevy-volt-under-formal-safety-investigation-by-nhtsa-due/