The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has discovered the occurrence of an advanced persistent threat in cloud environments after the event of a system compromise. CISA said Friday that it detected an APT actor that accessed cloud resources via compromised Microsoft 365 applications and additional credentials.

The agency now advises organizations to use CISA's Sparrow tool, CrowdStrike's Azure Reporting Tool and open-source utility Hawk to identify and address APT threats that may affect supply chains.

Concerned network administrators may view CISA's alert report on the matter for more countermeasures and information regarding the APT threats.

Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, director of the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, (JCO) said the U.S. Army will conduct the first government-industry testing event for counter-sUAS technologies in April, Defense News reported Friday.

The service's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office will host the testing alongside the U.S. Air Force, Gainey said Friday at a virtual event held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The event will take place during April's first week and represents the defense industry's first opportunity to demonstrate counter-sUAS technology for the Department of Defense (DoD).

JCO has already identified temporary counter-UAS systems to be demonstrated under the program. One of these is the U.S. Marine Corps' Light Mobile Air Defense Integrated System for mounted or mobile use.

The Center for Business Civic Engagement (CBCE) at George Mason University (Mason) has partnered with UiPath to establish the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Initiative. The joint project will work to determine the impact of RPA on government effectiveness and efficiency.

“We are excited to partner with UiPath, a leader and innovator, and look forward to helping determine how RPA usage can improve the working of public sector organizations and succeed in meeting the ever-growing demand for services among stakeholders,” said Dr. David Rehr, director of the Center and a faculty member at the Schar School of Policy and Government at Mason. 

The initiative will research, educate and communicate how the adoption of RPA can improve productivity, operations and service delivery of public sector organizations. It will also study and recommend governance models and public policy initiatives for RPA deployment.

“Our Center at Mason focuses on researching ways to make government more effective and efficient. We have seen recent examples of RPA deployments throughout federal, local, and state governments helping to confront the COVID pandemic while protecting the safety of our citizens,” continued Rehr.

In addition, the RPA Initiative will promote public knowledge of the RPA industry; conduct case study research; survey the general awareness of RPA; educate policy makers to increase understanding of RPA; present webinars to discuss industry initiatives; and provide an academic stage for discussion of public policy issues relating to RPA across the government.

“Mason has a history of innovation, technology, and studying public policy. We believe the partnership is a great fit and will benefit citizens seeking greater value in public sector programs and initiatives,” said Bobby Patrick, UiPath chief marketing officer.

CyberCore has recently published a white paper that has analyzed cyber hygiene and highlighted various ways for businesses to improve their cyber posture, the company reported on Monday.

“As we have adapted to changes and remote working, the one thing that wasn’t initially at the top of my mind was Cyber Hygiene,” CyberCore’s director of Business Development and Capture, Jennifer Stacey.

Of the reported cyber practices, CyberCore noted that Identity Theft protection will enable users to monitor financial accounts and credit bureaus using MyIDCare, Experian, Lifelock and Identity Guard. CyberCore also urged businesses to update security software and create strong and unique passwords to mitigate risk.

The company added that two-factor authentication on home laptops and computers, cell phones, and any work or personal accounts will increase security. With the increase of remote work, CyberCore noted that a secure home network, with WPA2 or WPA3 encryption on personal routers, is critical to bolster cyber hygiene.

“[Cyber Hygiene is] practices and steps that individuals (users) need to incorporate into their everyday routine in their usage of electronics to maintain devices, systems, health, and improving one’s online security from bad actors,” added Stacey.

CyberCore reported that users and businesses should update security software regularly and securely store sensitive files. When disposing of sensitive data, CyberCore said that it should be shredded with a shredder that has a rating of PS3 or PS4.

The company noted that implementing and practicing Cyber Hygiene while working from home will enable users to protect personal information and companies’ intellectual property from bad actors.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have conducted initial field tests of a technology designed to locate first responders during emergency response missions even when they are inside a burning building. 

DHS said Friday its science and technology directorate worked with JPL and California-based company Balboa Geolocation to assess the data collection, visualization and tracking features of the Precision Outdoor and Indoor Navigation and Training for Emergency Responders (POINTER) system.

The POINTER technology is intended to use magnetoquasistatic fields and generate 3D-based location data to help first responders find an injured or lost team member.

The team fielded transmitters, receivers and a command station within a five-story, 8K-square-foot representative house and found that the system could detect emergency response personnel at a standoff distance of 70 meters.

POINTER also identified the locations of the first responders in 3D within a one-meter distance across all levels of the facility during the test, where participants wore portable receivers powered by small rechargeable lithium batteries.

According to DHS, the system will undergo operational field tests throughout the year and the department expects the availability of the device by early 2022.