Defense Giants Stalk Cyberwar Contracts

US lags behind in cyberwarfare: experts

(NEWSER) - Military recruiters may still prize the strapping jock, but military contractors are wooing the scrawny computer geek to join the ranks of young "hacker soldiers" enlisted to defend the US in cyberwarfare, the New York Times reports. Most of the biggest companies, like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, have “cyber contracts” with the military, and the Pentagon now has thousands protecting the US against threats and developing offensives of their own. More»

(AP) - The US has for too long failed to protect the security of its computer networks, President Obama said today, announcing he will name a new cyber czar to take on the job. This is a "transformational moment" for the country, Obama said, with computer networks probed and attacked millions of times a day. "We're not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country." No word yet on when the new czar will be named. More»

Ex-presidents will help direct 'full-court press' on Haiti

(NEWSER) - In addition to pledging $100 million to Haiti relief efforts, President Obama is calling in some familiar names for help. He's asked former presidents Clinton and the younger of the Bushes to lead US relief efforts, reports Politico . Clinton is currently the UN special envoy to the nation. In other developments: More»

Catches lurk everywhere, from stockpile to strategy

(NEWSER) - A truculent military and national security apparatus has bogged down President Obama’s push to reconsider the size and mission of the US nuclear arsenal, just as it did during the Clinton administration. Insiders tell the Los Angeles Times that there are multiple areas of concern, including how much of US strategy regarding the use of nuclear weapons to disclose to the world. Also at issue is how to reduce stockpiles while still providing security to non-nuclear allies. More»

New prez is doing fine in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, but no one notices

(NEWSER) - Despite the howls of protest over President Obama's Nobel Prize and the administration’s "dithering" on Afghanistan , the fact is that the new president’s foreign endeavors deserve good marks, says Juan Cole. Cole gives Obama an A for his Iranian statesmanship, a B for pulling out of Iraq as promised—albeit coordinating poorly with the Iraqis—and a B for making Pakistan own “the problem of the Pakistani Taliban.” Not bad for eight months. More»