Morning Security Brief: Napolitano Wraps Up in Mumbai, DHS to Double Cybersecurity Workforce, Spammers, New Sony Breach

♦ U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano concluded a two-day visit to Mumbai, India. It was in this city in November 2008 that terrorists killed more than 160 people. While in Mumbai, Napolitano visited the Taj Hotel, which was attacked by the terrorists and set ablaze. CNN reports that Napolitano met with police officials to discuss policing and training strategies for big cities and ways to deter or respond to terrorism. She also met with Acting U.S. Consulate General James Herman to discuss "critical port, border, and maritime security operations" with India.

♦ The Federal Times reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will more than double its cybersecurity workforce. By October 2012, the staff will expand from more than 250 to approximately 400 employees. "A new legislative proposal released by the White House this month not only places DHS as the lead defender of the dot-gov domain but also gives the department expanded authority," notes Federal Times. "The DHS secretary would require companies to disclose annually 'high-level summaries' of their cybersecurity plans and whether risks have been properly addressed. The secretary would also create a process for designating critical infrastructure such as power plants and electric grids."

♦ Spammers are now setting up their own URL-shortening services to lure unsuspecting end users to malware and spam sites, says a new report from Symantec. ChannelInsider writes that the dangers of clicking on unknown shortened URLs are higher now according to Symantec's May 2011 MessageLabs Intelligence Report. The report found that unsuspecting Internet users who click on the links are being directed to the spammers' sites that contain spam advertising or malware. The Symantec report noted an increase in spam by 2.9 percentage points because of this new method of spamming.

♦ Bloomberg Businessweek says that "Sony has suffered another online security breach, this time for 2,000 customers of its Sony Ericsson joint venture in Canada, the latest in a series of hacker attacks against the electronics and entertainment company. Sony Corp. spokesman Atsuo Omagari said Wednesday that names, e-mail and encrypted passwords may have been stolen from the Sony Ericsson Canada website, but no credit card information was taken."