Cybersecurity Update – Tune in weekdays at 30 minutes past the hour for the latest cybersecurity news on The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Amy Morris (6-10 a.m.) and The DorobekInsider with Chris Dorobek (3-7 p.m.). Listen live at FederalNewsRadio.com or on the radio at 1500 and 820 AM in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

• The deputy Secretary of Defense paid a visit to Ottawa to drum up support for a new international organization to combat cyber warfare. The Ottawa Citizen reports that William Lynn told a Canadian audience that the U.S. can’t defend its networks alone. Lynn says the threats posed by hackers and computer viruses is growing steadily, and poses a risk like nothing the global community has seen before. Lynn was in Ottawa to kick off a U.S.-led initiative to create an international organization that would monitor and respond to cyber attacks. He said he has already broached the idea of the multinational organization to government officials in Australia and Britain and will soon discuss the issue with officials in New Zealand.
• A Google engineer and noted bug-hunter has released details about a serious vulnerability in Windows XP. The flaw could leave a hole open for remote attack. Tavis Ormandy outlined the bug and how it works, on his Full Disclosure mailing list. He found the flaw in the Windows Help and Support Center, a Web-based feature for end user technical support. The news comes just a month before the official retirement of Windows XP by Microsoft, meaning the company will issue no further security patches. Microsoft has also announced the end of patches for Internet Explorer running under XP Service Pack 2.
• Cybersecurity will be a hot topic on Capitol Hill today. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset: Comprehensive Legislation for the 21st Century, focusing on the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010.” Witnesses will feature officials from the National Cybersecurity Center, the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, the SANS Institute, and Verizon.

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