5 Security Things to Know for the Week of Dec. 21

1. Companies using one vendor's firewall operating systems could be at risk to eavesdropping due to a backdoor vulnerability that was inserted on the software.

2. A new report details the United States' susceptibility to attacks on its power grid. Meanwhile, hackers believed to be based out of Iran were able to access the control system for a dam in New York State.

3. Congress, as part of a larger budget bill, approved cybersecurity information sharing legislation, which critics worry will place consumer privacy at risk and expand the NSA's spying powers.

4. Integrity - one's ability to evaluate whether their systems and data have been compromised - "is the least understood" component to security.

5. For security researchers, life can feel like everybody is coming to get you.