Network Security

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  Network World on Security

• iHound aims to help you find your missing iPhone

  Philip Michaels

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  If you're outside Moscone Center for this week's Macworld Expo, and someone hands you a "Lost iPhone" sticker, don't toss it away. It could help you track down your phone, should it ever go missing.

• Ksplice debuts zero downtime service for Linux

  Eric Lai

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  Ksplice officially launched its no-reboot patching service for Linux servers.

• Keep Clear of Craigslist Scams

  Rachel Sadon

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  Given everything from the "Craigslist killer" to Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal's campaign against the site to the escalating battle over prostitution ads, you'd have to live under a rock to miss Craigslist's sensational presence in the media. Lost in the discussions of illicit or criminal activity, though, are the everyday scams--and every category on the site has them.

• Intel Atom netbooks get whole-disk encryption

  John E. Dunn

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  Netbook users worried about storing sensitive data on their portables are being offered the world's first whole-disk encryption that will run useably on Intel's Atom processor.

• Microsoft unveils child-friendly version of IE8

  Carrie-ann Skinner

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  Nearly two thirds (64 percent) of under 18s have been contacted online by a stranger, says Microsoft.

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  COMPUTERWORLD: Networking Security

• Why CSOs Should Care About ShmooCon

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:56 am

  CSO Senior Editor Bill Brenner on why high-level security execs should pay more attention to a hacker fest like ShmooCon.

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Free

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:47 am

  You can't depend on just one program to protect you from rootkits, Trojans, viruses, worms, and other malicious code. The job is too important and the villains too numerous for that. So supplement your regular antivirus program (the one you keep running in the background at all times) with an extra malware scanner, such as Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Free.

• ShmooCon: Your iPhone's dirty little security secret

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:22 am

  Just how easy is it for the bad guys to use your iPhone against you? Well, pretty easy. Trevor Hawthorn explains what to do about it.

• ShmooCon: Inside FarmVille's sinister underbelly

  7 Feb 2010 | 5:50 am

  You love Facebook apps like FarmVille and Mafia Wars and think they're perfectly safe, right? Think again.

• Oracle patches flaw, Asustek to take on iPad

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:58 pm

  This week brought a mix of IT news. Oracle was forced to issue an emergency patch for buggy software after details of the flaw became public. Yahoo continued to shed excess business units and sold its HotJobs division. Nexus One users finally have some multitouch functions after Google issued an update for the smartphone. Also, check out an interview with Eugene Kaspersky of security company Kaspersky Lab, and a package on business intelligence if your company is looking to delve deeper into data analysis.

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  Computerworld Security News

• Judge dismisses Windows anti-piracy software lawsuit

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:04 am

  A federal judge has dismissed a three-year-old lawsuit that accused Microsoft of duping customers when it fed them company anti-piracy software as a critical security update, court documents show.

• Ksplice debuts zero downtime service for Linux

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

  Ksplice officially launched its no-reboot patching service for Linux servers.

• Image gallery: 3 encryption apps keep your data safe

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  If you carry your laptop anywhere, it could be lost or stolen — along with your private data. These 3 encryption apps keep your info safe and secret.

• Review: 3 encryption apps keep your data safe

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  If you carry your laptop anywhere, it could be lost or stolen — along with your private data. These 3 encryption apps keep your info safe and secret.

• Poughkeepsie, N.Y., slams bank for $378,000 online theft

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:52 pm

  The theft of $378,000 from the town of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is raising questions about the responsibility of banks to protect customer accounts from online criminals.

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  Security Watch

• Microsoft Issues Numerous Serious Updates to Windows and Office

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:16 am

  In one of the larger Patch Tuesdays ever, Microsoft issued 13 advisories covering 26 vulnerabilities in Windows and Office. Updates are available through the usual channels. 5 bulletins are rated critical:

• McAfee Gets the "Suite Thing" Right

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:06 am

  I've bashed McAfee's mega-suite for years, ever since it was code-named "Falcon." It's been one bad experience after another, starting with an attempt to review a beta version of the original "Falcon" that tanked because part of the beta just wouldn't work. At one point I called it a supertanker--huge, bulky and unsteerable. Successive iterations of the continuously-upgraded product chipped away at its performance problems, without any big changes. I was very pleasantly surprised to find McAfee Total Protection 2010 a near-complete departure from the past. It looks completely different, works…

• 16-Month Old Flash Bug Still Unpatched

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:20 pm

  A crash bug in Flash, first reported in September 2008, remains unpatched. Matthew Dempsky, who reported it to Adobe, says that it has affected every version of Flash released since. He provides an explanation and sample code here. There's no evidence that the crash can be used to run attack code or that it is being exploited in the wild. Click here to see the proof of concept. WARNING: This will likely crash Flash in your browser; some browsers may be disabled until restarting. Hat tip to Intego's Mac Security Blog. Intego implies that their security products will block the attack.

• Amex Password Policies Declared Brain-Dead

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:59 am

  I was reminded today of a problem I noticed long ago: American Express's policies for passwords for their customer logins require weak passwords: I quote: Your Password should:Contain 6 to 8 characters - at least one letter and one number (not case sensitive)Contain no spaces or special characters (e.g., &, >, *, $, @)Be different from your User ID and your last Password Click the nearby image to see it also.

• Windows 7 Upgrade Unsigns Some Vista Files

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:46 am

  A funny thing happened on the way to Windows 7. I had a 64-bit Vista workstation that I was using for software development and I decided to put Windows 7 on it. I usually frown on doing the OS upgrade process, but I tried it this time and it seemed to go well. Soon afterwards, as part of some research I was doing, I used the Sysinternals Sigcheck tool to test code signatures on the files in the System32 directory. Much to my surprise, numerous files, clearly Microsoft files, were marked as unsigned.

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  SearchSecurty: Tactics

• VMware security: The administrator's ultimate resource guide

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:09 am

  In 2009, Gartner predicted that 60% of VMs would be less secure than their physical counterparts. Keep these resources on hand and avoid being part of a similar statistic.

• What to do with network penetration test results

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:31 am

  It takes a lot of time and effort to plan and conduct an enterprise network penetration test, but the work doesn't stop there. Contributor David Meier explains how to conduct an analysis of pen testing results.

• How to use TrueCrypt for disk encryption

  26 Jan 2010 | 5:44 am

  Learn how to use TrueCrypt to create an ecrypted drive on a Windows PC, as well as how to create a hidden drive within a drive as an additional data protection measure.

• Protecting enterprise networks from new mobile application downloads

  20 Jan 2010 | 5:59 am

  Thanks to the proliferation of mobile application download sites, enterprise users now have a nearly unlimited number of third-party apps installed on their handhelds. Sandra Kay Miller explains how administrators can keep their networks safe while still allowing employees to use their devices.

• Maintaining security after a cloud computing implementation

  12 Jan 2010 | 5:49 am

  You've just migrated your organization's applications and data in the cloud. The task of ensuring ongoing security has only just begun. Michael Cobb reviews how to work with your cloud provider.

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  SearchSecurity: Security Wire Daily

• CISOs take measured steps to reduce social media risks

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:09 am

  With sales and marketing teams using social networks to connect with clients and potential customers, CISOs need to meet business needs while addressing risks.

• Microsoft to fix 26 flaws in Windows, Office

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:45 am

  The Microsoft Advance Notification warns of five critical bulletins across its product line. A total of 13 bulletins address 26 vulnerabilities.

• Microsoft warns that IE zero-day vulnerability causes data leakage

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:13 am

  A new Microsoft advisory warns of a zero-day vulnerability that could result in information disclosure for users of Windows XP.

• Tripwire enters tumultuous SIEM market

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:17 pm

  With companies driven to SIEM by PCI and other compliance projects, Tripwire is the latest vendor to emerge. Analysts like SIEM technology, but predict vendor consolidation ahead.

• Microsoft extends SDL program, adds Agile development template

  2 Feb 2010 | 1:16 pm

  Microsoft is adding support for Agile Development Methodologies to its Security Development Lifecycle program. A simplified SDL white paper is also being introduced.

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  Martin McKeay: Network Security

• “PCI Compliance” and “Public Cloud” don’t mix

  netsecpodcast@mckeay.net (Martin McKeay)

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:23 am

  PCI (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) compliance and cloud computing are two great tastes that truly suck when you put them together.  So much so that even putting the two concepts together in a sentence leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  PCI compliance is a fact of life that most merchants have finally realized they can’t put off any longer or at least an annoyance they have to meet with if they want to continue to process credit cards at a reasonable cost.  Cloud computing is the the tech buzzword of 2009/2010 that can do everything from save your company…

• Network Security Podcast, Episode 183

  netsecpodcast@mckeay.net (Martin McKeay)

  2 Feb 2010 | 4:47 pm

  After missing last week due to overlapping travel, we’re back this week with all three of us (although Rich is a bit under the weather). It’s the usual weekly roundup with only a minor diversion to talk about some thingy that some computer company announced with an “i” in the name. Network Security Podcast, Episode 183Time: 40:24 Show Notes: Latest Poneman study says breach costs rise slightly again. But you really need to take this number with a boulder of salt. Did someone say iPad? Sophos says Facebook is the biggest social media risk. Duh. Twitter mass password…

• Break time’s over

  netsecpodcast@mckeay.net (Martin McKeay)

  1 Feb 2010 | 7:06 am

  I read somewhere that starting a new job is one of the top three stressors you can have in your life.  Death obviously tops the list with divorce and moving in the top five as well.  My own experience tends to back up this theory and I’ve had my fair share of stress from changing jobs the last few years.  As many readers know, I left a position at Trustwave last year and started with Verizon Business.  I’ve had enough experience with changing jobs that when I started noticing some of the signs of stress, I decided to do something I had never done before: …

• Network Security Podcast, Episode 182

  netsecpodcast@mckeay.net (Martin McKeay)

  21 Jan 2010 | 11:41 am

  Somehow we’ve managed to get Martin, Rich, and me together on a fairly regular basis. Pretty impressive (superhero-like, even). It seems as though I was full of more beans than usual, taking a few playful jabs at Rich (something about goat smuggling) and Martin (butterfly tattoos, if I recall correctly). While we had a bit of fun, and actually talked about security, I get the overwhelming sense that schedules are about to go haywire again. Oh, well. C’est la vie! Network Security Podcast, Episode 182Time: 38:30 Show Notes: Redacting with Confidence: How to Safely Publish Sanitized…

• The Great PCI Security Debate of 2010: Part 2

  netsecpodcast@mckeay.net (Martin McKeay)

  18 Jan 2010 | 7:48 am

  This is part 2 of a conversation that CSO Online Senior Editor Bill Brenner agreed to record with Martin, sparked by a few comments Joshua Corman made likening PCI to ‘No Child Left Behind”.  In Part 1, our cast of characters outlined some of their basic ideas on how PCI and compliance in general is affecting security.  Here in Part 2 we have a chance to rebut some of the points made in the first half.  This was a lot of fun for us and you may be seeing (hearing?) a smaller group of us get together on a monthly basis to keep this conversation going. Network Security…

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  DarkReading

• Researchers Develop Code That Stops Local Scanning Worms

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:00 pm

  In tests, algorithm was an efficient estimator of worm virulence and could determine the size of the susceptible host population after only a few infections

• Hacker Unleashes BlackBerry Spyware Source Code

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:08 am

  Proof-of-concept demonstrates ease at which mobile spyware can be created to pilfer text messages and email, eavesdrop, and track victim's physical location via smartphone's GPS

• Product Watch: New Tool Automatically Examines Suspicious Code In Memory

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am

  HBGary Responder Professional 2.0 analyzed malware behavior in the Operation Aurora in five minutes

• 'Rugged' Initiative Brings Secure Software Development To The Masses

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:40 pm

  Rugged Software Development initiative an 'on-ramp' for all types of programmers to write resilient code

• Database Account-Provisioning Errors A Major Cause Of Breaches

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:19 am

  Database accounts are often managed manually -- if at all

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  Techworld.com Security

• PayPal suspends service in India

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:50 am

  eBay payments company blocks personal paymentsPayPal, an eBay company, has suspended personal payments to and from India and transfers to local banks in the country.

• China shuts down hacker training site

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:37 am

  Police arrests three members in crackdownChinese police have shut down what they called the country's biggest hacker training Web site and arrested three people linked to the site, local media said Saturday.

• BlackBerry spyware released

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:26 am

  Smartphone vulnerable to spyware, says researcherVeracode has released Blackberry-specific spyware, which the code-review specialist intends as a “call for defensive research” to show that the BlackBerry is vulnerable to spyware problems.

• Intel Atom netbooks get whole-disk encryption

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:15 am

  Software optimised for low-power I/O.Netbook users worried about storing sensitive data on their portables are being offered the world's first whole-disk encryption that will run useably on Intel's Atom processor.

• Antivirus maker Symantec hit with class-action lawsuit

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:11 am

  Man claims Symantec didn't tell him before charging his cardA New York man has sued security software maker Symantec for automatically renewing his subscription to Norton Antivirus, alleging that the company did not notify him before charging $76 to his credit card.

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  Computer Security News

• Google cyber attacks a 'wake-up' call for U.S., intel chief says

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:06 am

  The computerized critical infrastructure of the US is "severely threatened" by malicious cyberattacks now occurring on an "unprecedented scale with extraordinary sophistication." That's the headline Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, offered the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week.

• Cyber attack in M'sia still under control

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:32 am

  KUALA LUMPUR: Cyber attack in Malaysia is still under control, due to government efforts in ensuring a safe electronic environment in the country, said CyberSecurity Malaysia's Chief Executive Officer Husin Jazri.

• Veracode pulls in $12.3M in VC financing

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:03 am

  Security software developer Veracode Inc. has raised $12.3 million in venture capital.

• Chinese police shut down hacker training business

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:26 pm

  Police in central China have shut down a hacker training operation that openly recruited thousands of members online and provided them with cyberattack lessons and malicious software, state media said Monday.

• Security chip that does encryption in PCs hacked

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:49 pm

  Deep inside millions of computers is a digital Fort Knox, a special chip with the locks to highly guarded secrets, including classified government reports and confidential business plans.

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  Speaking of Security

• Getting Specific About Compliance

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  “Compliance” is one of those words that is used to mean different things in different contexts. I see it crop up just about everywhere online, at tradeshows...

• Life is Relative, So is Fraud

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  Identity theft has been with us since the dawn of civilization. It is so ancient that there are even accounts of it recorded in the book of Genesis. Some may recall the story of when Isaac, who was old and blind, was called upon...

• Online Banking Fraud Hits the Courtroom: Someone Call Judge Judy!

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  A while back I wrote a blog about security responsibility and how it relates to online fraud, specifically online banking fraud. This was inspired by a story about...

• What Makes a Cyber War?

  31 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm

  I am often amazed by the sensationalism that surrounds the words "Cyber War". This thought struck me as I read through the results of McAfee's survey of corporate executives in their paper...

• The Rule of Law in "Dodge City"

  31 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm

  I am thrilled that McAfee is opening the stage to debate and to discussion with their recent white paper...

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  Hot Security News

• PC Login Now (Full version) Available Now For Free.

  3 Feb 2010 | 5:32 am

  PCLoginNow  is an easy-to-use tool to reset local administrator and other accounts passwords on Windows system. No need to reinstall the system. It resets Windows passwords and Windows security settings instantly. All version of Windows are completely supported. It's an incredible CD for Home users and Businesses. And most of all, it's the most popular and safe solution for removing your Windows password until now.

• Mitto Named One of 20 Top Web Applications

  3 Feb 2010 | 5:11 am

  Web designers who struggle with managing multiple online log-ins for tools and client Web sites can benefit from Mitto’s free online password manager.The idea for Mitto started because founders Arsen Ovanessoff and Ted Schundler needed a way to keep track of the hundreds of passwords they were accumulating personally and for work. As they discussed the situation, it was clear that there was an opportunity to offer other Internet users a service that helped them manage this password confusion.

• OpenVAS, the New Open Source Vulnerability Scanner

  19 Jan 2010 | 1:53 pm

  On December 18th, 2009, the OpenVAS developer team released OpenVAS 3.0.0. The release introduces new features and a new architecture which forms the basis for turning the vulnerability scanner into a vulnerability management solution.

• Beware of Rogue Antispyware Named Eco AntiVirus. It's a FAKE

  7 Jan 2010 | 3:40 am

  Blue Penguin Software is excited to announce that its antispyware software SpyZooka is able to remove the fraudulent antispyware program Eco AntiVirus from infected systems. SpyZooka has been removing spyware, keyloggers, adware, Trojan horses and other security threats for more than five years. SpyZooka and its sophisticated algorithms are so effective that it has become the recognized industry leader, winning a number of prestigious awards including Tucows 5 Cows and Wugnet’s Shareware Hall of Fame.

• Blue Coat's K9 FREE Web Filtering Product Expands to Windows 7

  7 Jan 2010 | 3:30 am

  Blue Coat Systems, Inc., the technology leader in Application Delivery Networking, today expanded its free K9® Web Protection software to include support for the new Windows 7 operating system, providing families with an easy-to-use tool for blocking objectionable Web content, such as pornography, and Web-based threats like phishing and malware.

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  CNET: Crave Security Blog

• The 404 Podcast 515: Where we look to our hands for inspiration

  Justin Yu

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:15 am

  Today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast features a pink Ouija Board, the newest Facebook meme, search engine profiling, and Google's latest mapping feature that waves good-bye to your shopping privacy. (Credit: Derrick Chen/The 404) The infamous Ouija Board is still just as popular as it was when Hasbro first unleashed it in 1967. In fact, it even got extra publicity with a flaming cameo in last year's horror flick Paranormal Activity, but angry Christians aren't happy about Hasbro's latest idea for a Pink Ouija Board. Who knew that a pink square of cardboard and a magnifying glass could…

• Caught on tape: Pastry thief and a bad dog walker

  Ina Fried

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  Video-monitoring software from a trio of former Palm executives has led to some interesting discoveries. CNET has an exclusive look at what Vitamin D turned up during its beta testing. Originally posted at Beyond Binary

• EyeSpy247PTZ: Spy on your dog, catch intruders

  Ian Morris

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pm

  What makes the snappily named PTZ so excellent is its nifty features. It isn't the cheapest security camera we've seen, but it is one of the most flexible.

• Expert sees security issues with the iPad

  Elinor Mills

  28 Jan 2010 | 1:25 pm

  Security expert says things like strong encryption and an access control feature are missing from Apple's new iPad tablet device. Originally posted at InSecurity Complex

• CES: Samsung shows OLED display in a photo card

  Philip Wong

  7 Jan 2010 | 3:57 pm

  A Samsung innovation weds the ultraslim property of OLED panels with contactless RFID technology for security applications. Originally posted at 2010 CES

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  eWeek: Security

• China Closes Hacker Training School, Arrests 3

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:47 am

  China officials have shut down Black Hawk Safety Net, the country's biggest hacker training Website, and arrested three people for making hacker tools available online. - China announced it has arrested three people in connection with operating a hacker training school that distributed malware and hacking tools to its members in online forums. According to Xinhua, China s state-run newspaper, three people were arrested in connection with making the tools availabl...

• Researchers Present Web Application Attack Targeting Database Connection

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:23 pm

  At Black Hat DC, security researchers present a way to hack the connection between Web applications and the database, a method they call connection string parameter pollution. - Two security researchers unveiled a new attack at Black Hat DC that targets the connection between Web applications and databases. Independent researcher Jose Palazon and Chema Alonso of security vendor Informatica64 presented their finding, which they called a CSPP (connection string paramete...

• Microsoft Plans Massive Patch Tuesday Security Update

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:25 pm

  Microsoft is planning to fix 26 vulnerabilities for February's Patch Tuesday. Most of the vulnerabilities are related to Windows. - Microsoft is planning to release 13 security bulletins Feb. 9 as part of this month's Patch Tuesday. Five of the 13 bulletins are rated critical, seven are rated important and one is rated moderate. All but two of the bulletins address security issues in Windows, with the other two dealing with ...

• Report: Google to Partner with NSA for Cyber-Security

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am

  Google is reported to be finalizing a deal to partner with the National Security Agency to analyze the cyber-attack that hit the company in December so Google can prevent future attacks. - According to media reports, Google and the National Security Agency are planning to partner to improve cyber-security at the company in the wake of an attack that struck Google in December. The Washington Post reported that the NSA is working on an agreement with Google to help analyze the ...

• Microsoft Warns of IE Security Vulnerability

  3 Feb 2010 | 2:43 pm

  Microsoft releases an advisory about a new vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer that could allow an attacker to access files on a PC if the user is running Windows XP or using IE with Protected Mode disabled. - Microsoft is investigating claims of an Internet Explorer vulnerability that could allow an attacker to access victims' files. While Microsoft said it is not aware of any attacks targeting the vulnerability, the company warned Feb. 3 that if a user is not running IE in Protected Mode or is runn...

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  Security Watch

• Imperva launches discovery and assessment services in EMEA

  Imperva, the Data Security leader, today announced the availability of Imperva’s Discovery and Assessment Services (DAS) in EMEA. Finding and cataloguing all potentially sensitive data inside an organisation’s IT environment so that data can be protected is a major problem that can lead to data breaches. According to a 2009 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report, [...]

• Websense releases Internet security report

  Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) today revealed the findings from its bi-annual research report Websense Security Labs, State of Internet Security, Q3-Q4 2009. The full report can be downloaded at http://www.websense.com/threatreport. Major findings from the report include: Websense® Security Labs™ identified 13.7 percent of searches for trending news/buzz words (as defined by Yahoo! Buzz & Google Trends) [...]

• Stolen Council Laptops Highlight Need For Multiple Layer Security

  A consultant’s report on the theft of four laptops at St Albans council – in which the details of more than 14,500 postal voters went walkabout – has highlighted continuing lapses on the security front, says Origin Storage, the storage systems integration specialist. “The theft of the laptops caused an uproar, but the report from Socitm [...]

• EC revises security after attacks on emissions trading scheme

  The European Commission today announced that it will revise its internet security guidelines following cyber attacks on EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) registries last week. Scam emails asked users of the registries to log on to a website and disclose their user identification code and password. Some fraudulent transactions were carried out but the [...]

• Twitter credentials worth $1,000 to cybercriminals

  The rapid evolution of Web 2.0 services and the parallel world of cybercrime is driving a revolution in the price that criminals charge each other for user credentials, says Imperva, the data security specialist. The price of a file of user credentials – known as a `dump’ in hacking circles – depends greatly on the Internet [...]

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  Network Security Podcast

• Network Security Podcast, Episode 184

  quine

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:38 am

  Having escaped* the snowpocalypse/shmoopocalypse/shmowpocalypse that brought D.C. to a halt during ShmooCon 2010, I was able to join Martin and Rich for this week’s recording. I had another fantastic time at this year’s ShmooCon, and so wanted to share some of that with our listeners. Be on the lookout for the recording from the Podcaster’s Meetup, where I represented Network Security Podcast alongside a cast of zany characters from some of our fellow podcasts (and even a videocast). * – huge sadface for some of our comrades that got stuck in D.C. for an extra day or…

• Network Security Podcast, Episode 183

  rmogull

  2 Feb 2010 | 4:46 pm

  After missing last week due to overlapping travel, we’re back this week with all three of us (although Rich is a bit under the weather). It’s the usual weekly roundup with only a minor diversion to talk about some thingy that some computer company announced with an “i” in the name. Network Security Podcast, Episode 183 Time: 40:24 Show Notes: Latest Poneman study says breach costs rise slightly again. But you really need to take this number with a boulder of salt. Did someone say iPad? Sophos says Facebook is the biggest social media risk. Duh. Twitter mass password…

• No Podcast This Week

  rmogull

  28 Jan 2010 | 12:09 pm

  I hate to say it, and we really tried to avoid it, but with Martin and Zach both traveling this week we weren’t able to pull things together to record a show. Don’t worry, we’ll double up next week to make up for it. (Just kidding).

• Network Security Podcast, Episode 182

  quine

  19 Jan 2010 | 7:19 pm

  Somehow we’ve managed to get Martin, Rich, and me together on a fairly regular basis. Pretty impressive (superhero-like, even). It seems as though I was full of more beans than usual, taking a few playful jabs at Rich (something about goat smuggling) and Martin (butterfly tattoos, if I recall correctly). While we had a bit of fun, and actually talked about security, I get the overwhelming sense that schedules are about to go haywire again. Oh, well. C’est la vie! Network Security Podcast, Episode 182 Time: 38:30 Show Notes: Redacting with Confidence: How to Safely Publish…

• The Great PCI Security Debate of 2010: Part 2

  martin

  18 Jan 2010 | 7:48 am

  This is part 2 of a conversation that CSO Online Senior Editor Bill Brenner agreed to record with Martin, sparked by a few comments Joshua Corman made likening PCI to ‘No Child Left Behind”.  In Part 1, our cast of characters outlined some of their basic ideas on how PCI and compliance in general is affecting security.  Here in Part 2 we have a chance to rebut some of the points made in the first half.  This was a lot of fun for us and you may be seeing (hearing?) a smaller group of us get together on a monthly basis to keep this conversation going. Network Security…

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  WindowSecurity.com

• Is Internet Explorer Inherently Insecure?

  2 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  Taking a look beyond the sensationalized headlines about IE browser security whilst asking whether switching will really keep you safe from attack.

• Authenex ASAS - Voted WindowSecurity.com Readers' Choice Award Winner - Authentication & Smart Cards

  28 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am

  Authenex ASAS was selected the winner in the Authentication & Smart Cards category of the WindowSecurity.com Readers' Choice Awards. Aladdin eToken and Smart Enterprise Guardian were runner-up and second runner-up respectively.

• Configuring Advanced IE Settings Using Group Policy

  26 Jan 2010 | 11:00 pm

  What is involved in the Advanced Security settings in IE and how best to configure each one.

• How I Cracked your Windows Password (Part 1)

  19 Jan 2010 | 11:00 pm

  How Windows creates and stores password hashes and how those hashes are cracked.

• Securing the Intranet in a World of Digital Natives

  13 Jan 2010 | 1:00 am

  How securing a network in this new user environment differs from the old model and why it may be beneficial to change some longstanding policies and training methods to adapt to the natives.

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  Tenable Network Security

• Afterbytes with Marcus Ranum - Data Leakage

  Marcus J. Ranum

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  BERLIN/ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss lawmaker likened German attempts to buy data on cross-border tax evaders to bank robbery on Tuesday and the Swiss banking lobby said Berlin was acting as a receiver of stolen goods. Reference: Swiss lawmaker accuses Berlin of "bank robbery" This could be the start of an interesting trend: targeting information for theft and disclosure. We've already seen that the underground is willing to monetize data leakage, but if governments get involved we'll see organizations getting penalized on both sides: you're fined for leaking the data,…

• Afterbytes with Marcus Ranum - Russian Stealth Fighters

  Marcus J. Ranum

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russia tested its fifth-generation Sukhoi fighter jet in the Russian Far East on Friday. The plane, provisionally called T-50, is the country's first fighter jet based on the stealth technology and is viewed by military experts as the Russian answer to the American F-35 and F-22 jets. References: Russia tests its first stealth fighter jet Congratulations, Sergey, for flying the new T-50 Russian Stealth fighter - the one that is not based on the Joint Strike Fighter plans that allegedy are being stolen from the US by Chinese cyber-spies. Do I need to belabor the…

• Afterbytes with Marcus Ranum - Under Constant Attack

  Marcus J. Ranum

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am

  Title: Critical Infrastructure Computer Systems Under Constant Attack Date: January 28 & 29, 2010 According to a report from The Center for Strategic and International Studies, utility companies’ and other critical infrastructure components’ computer systems are constantly under attack worldwide. The report, which was commissioned by McAfee, compiles information gathered from 600 IT and security executives at companies around the world. More than half of respondents believe that their countries’ laws are not effective in deterring cyber attacks, and nearly half believe that their…

• Risky Business and OWASP Podcast Interviews with Ron Gula

  Ron Gula

  3 Feb 2010 | 6:12 am

  Recently, I had the chance to be interviewed for two different podcasts. In Risky Business #138, I had the opportunity to chat with show host Patrick Gray about the recent Google hack, why they may have been using IE6 and what this means for information security in general. This episode also features an interview with Dan Geer on the future of computing which I highly recommend. In OWASP #58, I was interviewed by the show's producer, Jim Manico. Jim received several questions from the Internet and Twitter about the similarities between web application firewalls and intrusion…

• HNAP Protocol Vulnerabilities - Pushing The "Easy" Button

  Paul Asadoorian

  2 Feb 2010 | 4:52 am

  Ease and Security Don't Mix In the eternal quest to create easy ways for systems to communicate with people and other systems, embedded device manufacturers have created new protocols. One of the first was UPnP, or Universal Plug and Play, which has had its share of security problems. The latest protocol to emerge is called HNAP, or Home Network Administration Protocol. Its goal is to "allow advanced programmatic configuration and management by remote entities." The protocols primary purpose is to aid device manufacturers in supporting remote devices such as printers and wireless routers.

• 
  @RISK: The Consensus Security Alert

• SANS 2009

  More than 35 courses, SANS top instructors, all in one great place! SANS 2009 is being held in Orlando, FL on March 2-9. Register today!

• (1) HIGH: Apple iPhone and Apple iPod Touch Multiple Vulnerabilities

  Category: Widely Deployed Software Affected: iPhone OS 3.1.3 iPhone OS 3.1.3 for iPod touch

• (2) HIGH: IBM DB2 Buffer Overflow and Denial of Service Vulnerabilities

  Category: Widely Deployed Software Affected: IBM DB2 version 9.7 and prior

• (3) MODERATE: Apache mod_proxy Integer Overflow Vulnerability

  Category: Widely Deployed Software Affected: Apache 1.3.x

• (4) MODERATE: Multiple Hitachi Products Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

  Category: Widely Deployed Software Affected: Cosminexus Version 8 Cosminexus Version 7 Cosminexus Version 6.x Cosminexus Version 5 Cosminexus Version 4 uCosminexus Navigation Platform(*2) uCosminexus Navigation Platform - User License(*2) uCosminexus Navigation Platform - Authoring License(*2) uCosminexus Navigation Developer(*2) Electronic Form Workflow Set(*2) Electronic Form Workflow - Professional Set(*2) Electronic Form Workflow - Developer Set(*2) Electronic Form Workflow - Standard Set(*2) Electronic Form Workflow - Professional Library Set(*2) Electronic Form Workflow - Developer…

• 
  Team Cymru Internet Security News

• Best Way to Fuzz Part 2

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:54 am

  "A few thoughts after the intelligent comments, additional info, sound and fury:Microsoft is in the very rare top tier of companies spending time and money on security. In gross $ and time probably number 1 and very high on a percentage of security to software development time. They are also among the most attacked...."

• Social Security Numbers of Californians Accidentally Disclosed

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am

  "The personal security of nearly 50,000 people may have been breached by the California Department of Health Care Services. Social Security numbers were printed on the address labels of letters that were mailed by the department last week. State employees mistakenly included the numbers in a list of patient addresses...."

• 'Sexting' case should prompt review of employee privacy policy

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:12 am

  "This term the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a racy "sexting" case that experts say could broadly affect employee privacy rights and employer policies on computer use. The case, City of Ontario v. Quon, and the trial court case it stems from, raise issues about how employers monitor, store and retrieve electronic messages; how they contract with their Internet service providers (ISPs) and even about whether they should issue message-sending devices. At its most influential, Ontario v. Quon could give the Court a platform for sorting out privacy rights in the Internet age -- an age…

• Sanctions Help Iran Limit Internet Use

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:02 am

  "Financial and trade sanctions imposed on Iran have failed to bring the regime to its knees but they have hamstrung efforts by dissidents to spread their message on the internet because the latest technology and payment methods are barred. The Green Movement, which grew out of opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad s re-election last June, has had some success in using the internet as a battleground at a time when foreign and domestic media have been banned from reporting from inside Iran...."

• ACM CCS 2010: Call for Workshop Proposals

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:20 am

  "Proposals are solicited for workshops to be held in conjunction with ACM CCS 2010. Each workshop provides a forum to address a specific topic at the forefront of security research. A workshop must be one full day in length...."

• 
  IT Security

• 3 Game-Changing Strategies for Using ERP: How Businesses Can Innovate, Become More Efficient & Drive Real Growth in 2010

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm

  WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 24 @ 10AM PT / 1PM ET  Join Now!SPONSORED BY: SageJoin this FREE live webinar to hear from industry leaders walk you through 3 strategies for using ERP to drive productivity...

• The 2010 Data Center: Driving Cost-Efficiency, Security and Compliance

  2 Feb 2010 | 5:30 pm

  WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 25 @ 10AM PT / 1PM ET  Join Now!SPONSORED BY: TripwireJoin this FREE live webinar and hear from leading IT experts about ways organizations are leveragin...

• IT Security Ask the Experts: Top Queries for January, 2010

  2 Feb 2010 | 2:18 pm

  This Web site was designed to be a clearing house for technical IT security queries. However, readers continue to submit a broad range of fascinating questions exploring the interface between technolo...

• IT Security Ask the Experts: Top Queries for December, 2009

  4 Jan 2010 | 5:45 pm

  This Web site was designed to be a clearing house for technical IT security queries. However, readers continue to submit a broad range of fascinating questions exploring the interface between technolo...

• 15 Major Reasons Businesses' Security Gets Compromised

  2 Dec 2009 | 4:01 pm

  In a world of ever-advancing technology and development, many company heads often get lost in the bustle and get swept up in the sea of buzzwords that happen to be popular at any given moment. They ...

• 
  CyberInsecure.com

• Blackberry Spyware Source Code, TXSBBspy, Released By Veracode

  CyberInsecure

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:12 am

  Veracode today released Blackberry-specific spyware, which the code-review specialist intends as a “call for defensive research” to show that the BlackBerry is vulnerable to spyware problems. “The Blackberry ‘sandbox’ keeps you from getting into the operating system level. It’s effective for that,” says Tyler Shields, senior researcher at Veracode Research Lab and author of the Blackberry [...]

• Encryption Used To Prevent Eavesdropping Cracked, More Than 800 Million Cordless Phones Affected Worldwide

  CyberInsecure

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:11 am

  Cryptographers have broken the proprietary encryption used to prevent eavesdropping on more than 800 million cordless phones worldwide, demonstrating once again the risks of relying on obscure technologies to remain secure. The attack is the first to crack the cipher at the heart of the DECT, or Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications, standard, which encrypts radio signals [...]

• Significant Number Of WordPress Websites Compromised, IFrame Used For Affiliate Scheme

  CyberInsecure

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:12 pm

  Security researchers warn that a significant number of WordPress websites have been compromised recently as part of what looks to be a money-generating affiliate scheme. The header.php template files are being injected with obfuscated JavaScript code. “Late last week, I noticed something of a surge in reports of a particular threat: hoards of legitimate pages were [...]

• Malware-laced Firefox Add-ons Available On Official Website Overlooked By Mozilla

  CyberInsecure

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:59 pm

  Two Firefox add-ons available for months on Mozilla’s website infected users with malware that stole passwords and opened a backdoor on Windows machines, the open-source browser maker has confirmed. The add-ons, available on an experimental section of Mozilla’s official add-on download site carried trojans that have been detected since 2008 by commercial anti-virus products. And yet [...]

• iPhone Vulnerable To Remote Attack On SSL

  CyberInsecure

  3 Feb 2010 | 1:27 pm

  Apple’s iPhone is vulnerable to exploits that allow an attacker to spoof web pages even when they’re protected by the SSL, or secure sockets layer, protocol, a security researcher said. The fault lies in a feature that makes it easy to configure large numbers of iPhones so they meet an organization’s IT policies, said Charlie Miller, [...]

• 
  SecurityProNews: Internet Security

• Google Goes After Impersonator Scammers

  As huge corporations go, Google's a pretty cuddly one, but according to the search giant itself, everyone should be careful about offers of employment or wealth that involve its name. "Google Money" scammers represent a growing problem that the company is trying to combat.Google Goes After Impersonator Scammers A post on the Official Google Blog announced today, "[D]espite hundreds of consumer complaints and our own efforts to keep these sites from tricking people, some scams continue. To fight back, we're working to stop various fraudulent 'Google Money' schemes, and this week filed suit…

• Senate Uncovers Online Credit Card Tricks

  A report issued by a U.S. Senate committee only uses the word "scam" when quoting different consumers; the report's title employs the phrase "aggressive sales tactics," instead. Still, it looks like a number of big online companies have been caught profiting off people's confusion.Senate Uncovers Online Credit Card Tricks An investigation ordered by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV discovered that Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty "gain access to online consumers by entering into financial agreements with reputable online websites and retailers," according to the…

• McAfee: Cyberwarfare A Big Threat

  It might not be long before we return to the days of schoolchildren diving under their desks in warfare preparedness drills. Only now, instead of hiding from nukes, the kiddos may be unplugging their computers, since McAfee has indicated that a cyberarms race is taking place.McAfee: Cyberwarfare A Big Threat Dave DeWalt, the president and CEO of McAfee, said in a statement, "[S]everal nations around the world are actively engaged in cyberwar-like preparations and attacks." These include China, France, Israel, Russia, and the U.S., and it's no secret that the members of this group aren't all…

• ICSA Labs Finds Flaws In New Security Products

  It's sometimes fun to be an early adopter, as the long lines and waitlists for things like iPhones and the new Camaro have proven. But where security products are concerned, do yourself a favor and let other folks go first, since a fresh report indicates that it can take more than a single try to get things right.ICSA Labs Finds Flaws In New Security Products ICSA Labs, which is based in Pennsylvania and has been around for 20 years, tests and sometimes certifies products. Emphasis on "sometimes." An ICSA Labs Product Assurance Report indicated that just 4 percent of security products attain…

• Nigeria Announces Early Results Of Anti-Scammer Initiative

  No one's sure how many there are to go, but according to a Nigerian official, there are about 800 scam email addresses and 18 criminals that can be considered "down." Mrs. Farida Waziri, the chairperson of a government agency, announced that some shutdowns and arrests occurred thanks to an initiative called Project Eagle Claw.Nigeria Announces Early Results Of Anti-Scammer Initiative Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is the force behind Project Eagle Claw, and with Microsoft's help, has just started ramping it up. Waziri explained in a statement, "We expect that Eagle Claw as…

• 
  Computer Internet network security News

• Logikal GREEN IT

  system

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:48 am

  A Green Solution Logikal VMWARE offers virtualisation solutions for a cost-effective and efficient IT environment. Logikal is a black-empowered IT consulting, integration and outsourcing company based in Gauteng, South Africa. Led by a management team with over 60 years combined experience in several multinational companies, our full complement of expert staff provide streamlined IT solutions from the [...]

• How Can Blog Comments Help You?

  system

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am

  There are different effective website SEO strategies that can help your website to rank in a better position in the search engine. Creating inbound links can prove to be beneficial. One of the most effective ways to create these links is by giving blog comments and so you need to ensure that your SEO packages [...]

• Your First 3 Steps After Setting Up WordPress

  system

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:19 am

  You’ve registered your domain, you have your web space and WordPress is installed. At this point there are 3 very simple steps you can take towards improving your blog – Permalinks, Feedburner and Google Analytics. If you are not sure what Permalinks are simple login to your blog’s wp-admin page and click the “Settings” option [...]

• 4 Essential Tips For Building A Successful Blog

  system

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:05 am

  Building a successful blog all boils down to 4 main things. If followed, your blog will surely become successful. Building and maintaining a successful blog is not the hardest thing you will ever do, but it’s also not the easiest. If you want to use your blog to just ramble on about everyday events in [...]

• Tips On Blog Commenting To Increase Blog Readers

  system

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:25 am

  More and more people are creating their own blogs but not many are aware of how to maximize them. One effective method on how to increase exposure to your blog is to visit other blogs and leave your imprint on them. How do you do this? By blog commenting, leaving a well thought of comment [...]

• 
  Google: Network Security Blog Posts

• Ebooks: Managing Cisco Network Security

  space

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am

  Managing Cisco Network Security /by Sean Thurston (Author). An in-depth knowledge of how to configure Cisco IP network security is a MUST for anyone working in today's internetworked world "There's no question that attacks on enterprise ...

• Network Security Consulting Blog » Smartphone Forensics: Part 2

  Dr. Eugene Schultz, PhD, CISM, CISSP

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:07 am

  Jailbreaking means overwriting the phone's firmware to install application bundles and/or unlock baseband firmware that keeps the iPhone from doing things such as connecting to another service provider's 3G network. ...

• Buy Cheap Network Security Books | LOWER Prices in The Same Item ...

  Unregister user

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:23 am

  Welcome to Cheap Network Security Books Store. Looking for best price Network Security Books, Discount Network Security Books, Buy Network Security Books. When you are ready to purchase you will be transferred directly to Amazon's ...

• Imperva launches discovery and assessment services in EMEA ...

  Janet Harris

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:38 am

  “The service has four main features to achieve data security which are mapping databases on the network, identifying where sensitive data lives, providing a comprehensive vulnerability assessment and producing a report based on a data ...

• Julia Ross Recruitment - Senior Network Security Technique Expert ...

  Julia Ross Recruitment

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:56 am

  Jobs.ie - Jobs in Ireland, Dublin Cork & Galway. Irish Jobs.

• 
  WindowSecurity.com blogs

• Microsoft COFEE and other forensics tools targeted

  Debra Shinder

  24 Jan 2010 | 5:34 am

  Last November, the code for Microsoft’s Microsoft’s COFEE (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor) forensics tool was leaked to the Internet. COFEE is distributed free to law enforcement agencies all over the world and used to gather digital evidence from computers that are seized in connection with criminal activity. more...

• Facebook security bug on AT&T mobile network

  Debra Shinder

  22 Jan 2010 | 10:16 am

  Do you use social networking sites? Is one of them Facebook? Do you log onto your Facebook page from your mobile phone? Is your cell phone provider AT&T?  Recently a “glitch” was discovered whereby a woman in Georgia signed on to what she thought was her account, only to see a group of “friends” she’d never heard of. more...

• Jesper Johansson: How Delegation Privileges are Represented in AD

  Debra Shinder

  22 Jan 2010 | 9:38 am

  Have you ever wondered about the delegation flags in Active Directory, and how you can use them to determine which accounts are trusted for full delegation? That’s not real clear from some of the Microsoft documentation, but Microsoft security MVP Jesper Johannson, who is also author of the Windows Server 2008 Security Resource Kit, explained it in a blog post back in October, in a way that’s clear and easy to understand. Now you can find out how those flags are set and what they really mean. more...

• Why you should implement password policy enforcement

  Debra Shinder

  22 Jan 2010 | 9:29 am

  It’s common sense: strong passwords (those that contain a larger number of characters made up of a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols) are harder to crack than short, simple or common ones. Surely you can count on the users on your network to understand that and set their passwords accordingly, right? Maybe not. Imperva Inc. more...

• Survey says: Security experts are concerned about IPv6 issues

  Debra Shinder

  22 Jan 2010 | 3:20 am

  We all know that one of the benefits of IPv6 is better security for network communications, but a shortage of IT professionals with expertise in deploying the new protocols and testing equipment for IPv6 support could raise new security issues. Introducing additional complexities into a system always creates the opportunity for error, and misconfiguration or lack of IPv6 security features in the infrastructure devices could leave the door open to attackers. more...

• 
  TaoSecurity

• Making Progress Matters Most

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:39 am

  I found this article by John M. Kamensky to be interesting:Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, in a recent Harvard Business Review article called “What Really Motivates Workers,” tell managers: “The key to motivation turns out to be largely within your control.”Their advice? “Scrupulously avoid impeding progress.”Amabile and Kramer surveyed more than 600 managers and then conducted a multiyear study of hundreds of knowledge workers, asking them to keep daily diaries to discover the top motivator of performance. Not surprisingly, managers and workers came to different…

• So Much for China's "Peaceful Rise"

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:35 am

  I was not surprised to read China’s hawks demand cold war on the US in the Times Online.[A]lmost 55% of those [in China] questioned for Global Times, a state-run newspaper, agree that “a cold war will break out between the US and China”...An independent survey of Chinese-language media for The Sunday Times has found army and navy officers predicting a military showdown and political leaders calling for China to sell more arms to America’s foes...“This time China must punish the US,” said Major-General Yang Yi, a naval officer. “We must make them hurt.” A major-general in the…

• APT Presentation from July 2008

  6 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

  Some of you may remember me mentioning the 2008 SANS WhatWorks in Incident Response and Forensic Solutions Summit organized by Rob Lee. I provided the keynote and really enjoyed listening to the presentations, which Rob has graciously made available at http://files.sans.org/summit/forensics08/. One of the presentations, by Mandiant consultant Wendi Rafferty and then-Mandiant consultant (now GE-CIRT incident handler) Ken Bradley, was titled Slaying the Red Dragon. As you can see from the first two slides shown at left, this was presentation explicitly addressed advanced persistent threat. I…

• Review of The Book of Xen Posted

  6 Feb 2010 | 10:52 am

  Amazon.com just posted my five star review of The Book of Xen by Chris Takemura and Luke S. Crawford. From the review:The Book of Xen (TBOX) is a great book for Linux system administrators who want to deploy Xen. The authors ground their recommendations in over four years of experience running Xen to support Internet-facing virtual private servers. I found their writing style to be very engaging; it reminded me of reading any one of Michael Lucas' No Starch books. If you know your way around Linux and want to deploy Xen in production, TBOX is the book for you. Thank you to No Starch for…

• Answering APT Misconceptions

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:22 pm

  There's finally some good reporting on advanced persistent threat appearing in various news sources. A new Christian Science Monitor story, one by Federal Computer Week, and one by Wired are making progress in raising awareness. Unfortunately, there's plenty of Tweeting and blogging by people who refuse to understand what is happening or are not capable of understanding what is happening. From now on, rather than repeat myself trying to answer these misconceptions, I decided to consolidate them here. Myth 1. APT is a "new term," invented by Mandiant. Reality: Mandiant did not invent the term.

• 
  Jon's Network

• Fortinet

  Jon

  1 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  (Link: Fortinet) started out about 10 years ago as a small company making this new-fangled thing dubbed later by IDC a UTM device. They have been the market leader in the UTM market for a while now and offer appliances for every size network. They offer a variety of solutions beyond firewalls including endpoint security, antispam, database security, vulnerability management and web application security. (Link: Fortinet)

• What to Do While Under a DDOS Attack

  Jon

  26 Jan 2010 | 1:48 pm

  The Top 10 Things To Do While Under DDoS Attack by Barret Lyon

• Virus Bulletin Spam Test Jan 2010

  Jon

  22 Jan 2010 | 3:07 pm

  Virus Bulleting evaluated 15 anti-spam vendors this month. I would love to post the pretty picture where they plot the vendors on a scale of spam catch rate vs false positive rate but I don’t think they would approve. You can sign up to get a copy here. The formula for the final scores was the catch rate minus three times the false catch rate. Only five scored higher than 98% and one scored above 99%, which was M86 Mailmarshal. Of course this is on the VB test set. Your mileage may vary.

• packeteer.com

  Jon

  22 Jan 2010 | 1:58 pm

  In a big acquisition, some things are bound to be neglected. Take the Packetshaper forum at techexchange.packeteer.com for example. It’s spammed regularly. On a perhaps not unrelated note, packeteer.com is offline (500 error). I would have thought Blue Coat would just 301 redirect it to Bluecoat.com but what do I know?

• Fortinet IPO

  Jon

  21 Jan 2010 | 10:09 pm

  Fortinet went public in November 2009 and it went well. The ticker is FTNT. There is a press release here. Cramer spent a whole segment teaching everyone about the UTM market.

• 
  Roger's Security Blog

• Use Music to Fight Cybercrime: ‘Maga No Need Pay’

  rhalbh

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:33 am

  When I travel through Africa, the high piracy rate is often something we address. Not necessarily from a commercial perspective but much more from a security angle. We know that pirated software is often infected with malware and therefore used for criminal activities. However, the discussion is a difficult one as a lot of people do not really see the value of software as you cannot touch it. I sometime face discussions like a customer telling me that they hired a consulting company to assess their security and now they want Microsoft’s help to fix the problems. We we talk about Microsoft…

• Targeted Attacks – the “Real” Problem

  rhalbh

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:58 am

  When I talk to customers, the different attacks are often something we discuss (obviously). I often mention that Virus and Worm attacks on a broad scale (like Conficker etc.) are a serious problem but at least one we see, one we understand and one we can fight (because we see and understand it). However, my real concern are targeted attacks on governments and companies as they are incredibly hard to detect. In the last few months, every once in a while we read in the press about an attack on a government and sometimes they went undetected for months until either something happened like a…

• Cloud Security Paper: Looking for Feedback

  rhalbh

  30 Jan 2010 | 3:57 am

  As most of you as well, I was looking for information and opinions on Cloud Security over the last year. I found a lot of papers but when I talk to our customers I realize that they think about the Cloud but Cloud Security is mainly something for the specialists – which it is not for me. Therefore I was looking into preparing something on a management level which is easy to read and understand and finally makes more appetite to look deeper into the subject. Probably the biggest challenge we had was to make sure that we do not oversimplify. Finally, we did not want re-invent the wheel. There…

• Data Protection Day: An Interesting Study

  rhalbh

  29 Jan 2010 | 2:20 am

  As you might know, it was time for the Data Protection Day in Europe again. Unfortunately I did not find the videos from this year’s competition yet but I guess we will find them later on the page and on YouTube. However, we released a study on Privacy which is pretty interesting. Find the summary here Microsoft Releases a Study on Data Privacy Day And there you can see a video as well which summarizes the results of the study: Roger

• IE Vulnerability: Going Out of Band

  rhalbh

  19 Jan 2010 | 12:07 pm

  Just to make sure you have seen that: We just released a blog Security Advisory 979352 – Going out of Band Quoting the blog: Based on our comprehensive monitoring of the threat landscape we continue to see very limited, and in some cases, targeted attacks.  To date, the only successful attacks that we are aware of have been against Internet Explorer 6. Given the significant level of attention this issue has generated, confusion about what customers can do to protect themselves and the escalating threat environment Microsoft will release a security update out-of-band for this…

• 
  The Network Security. Org

• Google Chrome 4 Bolsters Browser Security with New Features

  netoxic

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:16 pm

  Google is touting three new security features added to the latest version of its Chrome browser, including new protections against reflective cross-site scripting. Google has beefed up the latest version of its Chrome browser with new security protections designed to help developers build secure Websites. Google Chrome 4 Bolsters Browser Security with New Features – Security from eWeek

• 10 Reasons Why Microsoft Should Have Discussed Security At CES

  netoxic

  15 Jan 2010 | 4:27 am

  The big news that came out of CES was a tsunami of new smartphones and tablet PC designs. But Microsoft, arguably the most important company at the show, could have made security the theme at CES this year. Unfortunately, it didn’t. And users are left wondering how to keep their data secure going forward. The Consumer Electronics Show is a spectacle. It’s a place where massive tech companies and small startups come together to show off neat, new ideas. Some companies focus on PCs, others attempt to innovate with products that consumers have never seen. 10 Reasons Why Microsoft…

• How three vendors screwed up USB stick security

  netoxic

  15 Jan 2010 | 4:25 am

  The security industry strikes again. Sell business users supposedly encrypted (and therefore super-secure) USB sticks and then assume that nobody will ever work out that the security is about as watertight as a paper teapot. Three companies admit they suffered the same egregiously stupid encryption flaw in some of their expensive ‘secure’ USB sticks at the same time. And these turned out to have been certified using an important-sounding US government security standard, FIPS-140 Level 2. How three vendors screwed up USB stick security – War on Error – Blogs – Technology…

• More flash drive firms warn of security flaw; NIST investigates

  netoxic

  11 Jan 2010 | 9:05 pm

  SanDisk Corp. and Verbatim Corp. have joined Kingston Technology Inc. in warning customers about a potential security threat posed by a flaw in the hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption on their USB flash drives. The hole could allow unauthorized access to encrypted data on a USB flash drive by circumventing the password authorization software on a host computer. More flash drive firms warn of security flaw; NIST investigates

• Microsoft, Adobe prep critical security patches

  netoxic

  8 Jan 2010 | 4:56 am

  Microsoft will issue one bulletin on Patch Tuesday next week that is rated "critical" for Windows 2000. The patch is designed to address a vulnerability that could allow an attacker to take control of a computer by remotely executing code on it, according to an advisory released Thursday. It is rated "low" severity for Windows 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003, and Server 2008 operating systems. Meanwhile, Adobe Systems is scheduled to release a patch for a vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat on Tuesday that was discovered in mid-December and which is being exploited by…

• 
  Spyware news

• How to Keep Your Credentials Save

  gabriele

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:35 am

  Five years ago such financial crimes like trading of credit card details was an increasing problem for the finance industry and its loyal customers. Those who were pleased to have platinum or corporate cards were unpleasantly surprised when their money was stolen unexpectedly. However, today cyber criminals rapidly change their tactics and have even started to charge each other for the user credentials at the moment. Personal information, such as account details, passwords and other is known to be called the credentials, “dumb” files in hacking circles. Amichai Shulman, CTO of Imperva…

• StopBadware is Fighting Against Cyber Criminals as a Non-Profit Organization

  gabriele

  26 Jan 2010 | 8:29 pm

  StopBadware has started to work as a non-profit organization. Google, Mozilla and PayPal are the first companies to supply money for this project. 4 years ago StopBadware existed as Berkman Center project which was established to fight against malicious software like viruses or spyware. The aim of it was to share information about computer parasites to ordinary people. Well this aim didn‘t really change much during these 4 years. StopBadware still analyzes data about security issues and grows its network together with individual people and organizations Maxim Weinstein, the Executive…

• The Most Successful Period for Cyber Criminals

  gabriele

  19 Jan 2010 | 2:49 am

  It’s not a surprise that all the cyber criminals use holidays or other special occasions to increase the distribution of their threats. When the biggest holiday of the year is over, spammers are looking forward to the future events and plan their attacks worldwide. Such happenings like Valentine’s Day or FIFA World Cup are those that PC users should note as the next waves of online robberies. Keep in mind that tons of malware, like fake on-line scanners and insecure websites, phishing and spam will be definitely produced trying to rip you off. Unfortunately, some of the tactics mentioned…

• Don’t Make Online Donations to Scammers

  gabriele

  16 Jan 2010 | 2:07 am

  Be careful when giving your donation to the victims of the Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti causing an unknown number of deaths and other damage to the country. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has already announced about scam e-mails, circulating on the Internet that ask people to send the money for this “good reason”. To be more precise, these letters are known to be a 419-style e-mails that are named after the number of a statute in Nigeria’s criminal code banning this practice. In this situation, scam e-mails use a real London organization’s address which has nothing to…

• Attention! Don’t Sign Any Petition Against Payments on Facebook!

  gabriele

  13 Jan 2010 | 2:46 am

  Facebook has become very popular these days and more that 350 millions of users’ all over the world can hardly imagine their lives without checking what’s new on it. However, not only PC users are attracted by this website. Scammers producing messages about new monthly charges for Facebook content and later redirecting their victims into malicious websites have also started joining this community, so be aware! On Facebook scammers work by inviting people to join several groups created by them. They spread totally made up rumors about upcoming basic fee for the main services and $4.99,…

• 
  Topix: Spyware News

• ID Watchdog Secures Partnership with STOPzilla

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:08 am

  Acclaimed identity theft protection company ID Watchdog, Inc. announced today a formal partnership with iS3, the makers of Anti-Spyware software, STOPzilla.

• Symantec targets a spywarea P2P app Kazaa

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:49 pm

  P2P:- Disgraced P2P file sharing application Kazaa, owned by Australia's Sharman Networks, has absolutely nothing to be proud of.

• The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #524: February 8, 2010

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:13 pm

  You've found the blog of Shel Holtz, ABC, principal of Holtz Communication + Technology.

• Blackberry spyware source code released

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:39 am

  Veracode today released Blackberry-specific spyware, which the code-review specialist intends as a a oecall for defensive researcha to show that the BlackBerry is vulnerable to spyware problems.

• Antimalware Tools Should Handle All Threats

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am

  Yesterday's roundup article Lab Testing Antivirus Software triggered two interesting reactions.

• 
  Uncommon Sense Security

• Finally, 201 CMR 17.00 is coming, ready or not

  1 Feb 2010 | 3:34 am

  It looks like the last time OCABR said they "really mean it this time" about the last round of emasculations to Mass. 201 CMR 17.00, they really meant it.  Ready or not, it becomes effective on March 1, 2010.  OK, poor phrasing there- let's say "goes into effect" instead, because I'm not that hopeful that it will actually be very effective. If 201CMR17.00 applies to you, I hope you are well on your way to complying, because you only have a month (and a stubby little month at that) to be compliant. I do have one piece of advice, regardless of your current level of…

• Coast to Coast B-Sides

  31 Jan 2010 | 11:41 am

  Security B-Sides in Las Vegas and Mountain View were great successes, and there are more on the horizon.  If you are near (or will be near) any of them, please join us. B-Sides San Francisco will be held at pariSoma, 1436 Howard St. (at 10th) in San Francisco on Tuesday and Wednesday March 2-3.  Not coincidentally, there's some other security conference in San Francisco that week.  This will rock, the lineup looks fantastic already.  Thanks to all the sponsors, especially the folks at BigFix, who will be running their shuttle busses again this year- with B-Sides on the…

• The obligatory disclaimer post

  10 Jan 2010 | 1:39 pm

  Most people know, but I suppose I should make these things clear.  You probably don't actually want to read this, it will be pretty boring- but I feel compelled to CMA and make the following perfectly clear. I am an employee of Astaro Corporation.  This blog is not their corporate blog, the opinions expressed here are mine, not those of my employer.  I occasionally contribute to their blog, and there may be some overlap in topics, I may even plagiarize myself occasionally.  I am not compensated by my employer for anything I say on this blog. Nor am I compensated by anyone…

• Maybe this will help

  6 Jan 2010 | 3:14 am

  I have had a few conversations recently on the topic of getting security messages to a wider audience, and the pitfalls that may bring. If we are too technical we lose the audience, if we generalize we may get called out by security pros for inaccurate or incomplete statements. This will always be a balancing act, but there are a few things I believe will help. These aren't original thoughts of mine, but I think they are good ideas which bear repeating. First, there is a tendency to dumb-down content for non-technical people, and that is a mistake. Presenting information in a concise, or even…

• Shmoobus II

  3 Jan 2010 | 2:38 pm

  There will be another ShmooBus, leaving the Boston area on Thursday morning, February 4, arriving in Washington, DC in the evening.  Return will leave DC on Sunday afternoon, getting to the Boston area...whenever we get there. It looks like we'll have some repeat riders, and new faces. Space is limited, but if you are interested in joining us let me know- email jdaniel in care of my corporate overlords at Astaro.com.  Astaro has kindly agreed to sponsor the ShmooBus again this year.   Jack

• 
  Security Bytes

• Spyware code targets BlackBerry users

  Robert Westervelt

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:20 am

  Proof-of-concept code released by a security researcher could be tweaked for use on almost any device. Demonstrates need for caution with mobile applications. A security researcher demonstrating some of the weaknesses in mobile devices has chosen to target Blackberrys with new proof-of-concept code that could be used to listen to conversations, view messages and track users of the device. Tyler Shields, a senior researcher at application security testing vendor, Veracode, demonstrated his code at the Shmoocon hacker conference last weekend in Washington, D.C. The malicious application is not…

• Torrent phishing scheme trips up Twitter users

  Robert Westervelt

  4 Feb 2010 | 5:02 am

  Attacker steals torrent site account passwords and attempts to access Twitter, other social networks. If you signed up for an account on a torrent forum or website and use similar passwords for other accounts, change your passwords now. A savvy attacker is skimming passwords from the users of a number of torrent sharing sites he created, using the credentials to try to break into Twitter and other third-party sites. Torrent sites were made popular by people who wanted to share music files in the early 2000s. The file sharing protocol enables users to “seed” files and share small pieces of…

• Chinese hacker says most are not skilled coders

  Robert Westervelt

  2 Feb 2010 | 5:36 am

  Automated tools fuel rise in less savvy hackers. How much do they really profit? The New York Times managed to track down and interview a China-based hacker, offering a glimpse into what it says is a thriving hacking community there. The headline says “Hacking for Fun and Profit in China’s Underworld.” But there’s no real evidence of profit. David Barboza’s description of the hacker, who goes by the name Majia, lives up to the old-school hacker stereotype: He’s young. He seems to be in it for the fame and he lives in a dingy apartment. He has a government job by day…

• Browser exploit kit probe highlights need for patching, vigilance

  Robert Westervelt

  1 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am

  Eleonore exploit kit targets browser vulnerabilities and plug-in holes that have been patched by vendors. A standard, but widely used exploit kit known as “Eleonore,” attempts to exploit dozens of commonly known vulnerabilities, looking to prey on users who fail to install the latest patches and who likely don’t have the most up to date antivirus software. Former Washington Post security blogger Brian Krebs took a dive into the browser exploit kit last week to reveal the holes being targeted by the kit. In addition to Adobe Reader holes, the kit targets Internet Explorer vulnerabilities…

• Malware in Google attacks uses spaghetti code

  Robert Westervelt

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:16 am

  Coding technique designed to tie up reverse engineers has been used in the past, Symantec says. Researchers reverse engineering the malware used in a string of attacks against Google and at least 30 other firms and government agencies, has found the cybercriminals behind the attack using spaghetti code. The obfuscation technique is not new. It is designed to make reverse engineering more difficult, but today it usually doesn’t give researchers much trouble. There are a variety of convoluted “pasta coding” techniques. Lasagna code is favored in structured programming, ravioli…

• 
  CCCure

• Stupid rebates for Stupid Clients

  Posted by cdupuis

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:17 am

  Rebates, Rebates, and Rebates. Are they all great and fantastic for you as a customer?  Not always for sure.  I have received another one in my mailbox today and as I was reading it  I asked myself:  Do they really think that people are that stupid? When I see advertising where they offer a FREE laptop, a free Kindle, rebate of $500 to the person you refer, or a gift card for referral I am always asking myself how can they offer such freebies?  Then my brain come to it's senses and the response is:  THERE IS NO FREEBIES -- YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT YOURSELF You the…

• Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Second Edition

  Posted by cdupuis

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:23 pm

  NOTE FROM CLEMENT: The long awaited update to the Official ISC2 Study Guidewas finally released at the beginning of 2010.  The first edition was severely criticized due to the many errors, contradiction, and mistakes that were in the book.  It seems this version went through a lot more thorough Technical Editing process where CISSP's and the different authors have scrutinized each of the chapters to ensure accuracy.   The book has gained more pages as well.  The previous edition was filled with a lot of fluff such as appendixes, glossaries, etc...     This…

• IEEE Computing Now magazine -- Special issue on Biometric

  Posted by cdupuis

  3 Feb 2010 | 2:28 pm

  IEEE COMPUTING NOW SPECIAL ISSUE ON BIOMETRICS Learn about biometric technology, what's next for traditional techniques such as fingerprint and iris recognition, and new modalities that could soon be available commercially.—Ron Vetter and Karl Ricanek Jr., Guest Editors Iris Recognition: The Path Forward By Arun Ross Fingerprint Matching By Anil K. Jain, Jianjiang Feng, and Karthik Nandakumar Face Recognition by Computers and Humans By Rama Chellappa, Pawan Sinha, and P. Jonathon Phillips Unconstrained Biometric Identification: Emerging Technologies By Karl Ricanek Jr., Marios Savvides,…

• CISSP for Dummies 3rd Edition by Peter Gregory

  Posted by cdupuis

  2 Feb 2010 | 11:31 am

  NOTE FROM CLEMENT: This book has no fluff and is to the point.  This is a great book if you have dozen of years of experience and you do not want to read through the thousand of pages offered within some of the other books.   It is also a great resource for a last minute review of the ten domains.  It can help you identify key points rapidly and it has a bit of humour which makes this easier to read.  Peter Gregory has done a fantastic job in this book and I HIGHLY recommend it for your studies.   Do not be deceived by the title, it is all the…

• Where can I get the best price for the CISSP All In One 5th Edition?

  Posted by cdupuis

  2 Feb 2010 | 10:55 am

  Lately I have received many emails from site visitors and members asking me WHY I am no longer selling the CISSP All In One 5th Edition book within my webstore at http://www.cccure.com.   The reason is very simple:  I cannot compete with large retailers and I will not sell you a book for $20 more just for the sake of taking away your money.   I prefer to refer you directly to Amazon or other source where the price is a lot lower, below you will find some of the prices advertised on leading book retailers sites and CISSP related sites as of the publication of this…

• 
  IHS

• Airdrop-ng Release

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:31 pm

  Viewing the remainder of this article requires a Subscription

• On the road

  Johnny

  2 Feb 2010 | 7:51 am

  This week has been a whirlwind. I’ve been working really hard on the Web Server for our Training Center on Lubas. Thanks to the massive pile of content sent by various volunteers, I have conference videos, free training videos, ebooks and more all ready to roll. The web server was no small feat. It’s running on the most up-to-date XP build possible (thanks to the offline updater we were sent). Yes, XP because our cafe software is on XP. It’s a start. Don’t make fun of me. The web data is copied to a 120GB TrueCrypt partition which serves as the web root. I’m…

• Random thanks and photos

  Johnny

  26 Jan 2010 | 11:08 am

  A while back, I put out a plea for video training courses. Our volunteers really came through. This week, our friend Ashley came to Uganda to begin a three-month stay working with AOET. She brought a care package with her stuffed with goodies from my parents and this array of CD’s, DVD’s and even a SWEET USB hard drive stuffed with training stuff and utility software. There’s no way we could have downloaded this stuff on our own. Thanks to the volunteers that did the leg work and the vendors that donated their material, our learning center is off to an amazing start. Thanks…

• Cleaning day

  Johnny

  19 Jan 2010 | 12:01 pm

  Man, I tell you what. I’m tired. Completely exhausted, and so.. happy. We moved into the Lubas Rd training center today, and thanks to anonymous donors, we were able to start outfitting the center. A few weeks ago, I placed an order for some completely customized computer tables based on the design we used at St. John’s. (Note: was that faith or what?) Each table sported a 1.5″ x 1″ solid steel frame, Mvule wood tops, CPU rack and cable guides. Each table weighed over 250 pounds, and each cost us only $140. If we’re ever homeless, we’ll live under these and…

• Random pictures

  Johnny

  12 Jan 2010 | 1:54 pm

  The fam at Bujagali Falls. They’re in awe of the falls, not turning their back on me because they’re mad at me. I don’t think…   I found a monkey forest on my bike ride. I watched on of them steal corn from an old lady. I laughed and took a picture. The lady scowled at me and then I felt suddenly guilty for not helping. I’m devising a plan to capture them all. It involves shiny objects and glass jars, but it’s not really working out.   Our truck under a tree. The truck is rugged and manly. And it makes me smile. I am weird for taking pictures of…

• 
  Cloud Security

• The Cloud Security Challenge: Money and Mentorship for Radical Ideas

  Craig Balding

  Cloudsecurity.org is proud to be supporting the “Cloud Security Challenge”. If you’ve a bright idea for cloud security or you know someone who has, this is an opportunity to grow it quickly. The competition is run by the Global Security Challenge (GSC) who aim “to empower entrepreneurs in the security technology space.” They do this through running challenges that anyone with a clever idea and a decent business plan can enter. A panel of experts select the most promising security technology start-ups. The winner of this challenge will receive a 10,000USD grant…

• Are You Trying to Pin the Tail on the Cloud Donkey?

  Craig Balding

  Today, when it comes to security due diligence and on-going operational security visibility of cloud services, enterprise security pros are acting out the childrens game, Pin the Tail on the Donkey. With security policy in hand, we’re groping around, blindfolded by a lack of security visibility whilst disoriented by the scale and combination of new (and old) technologies and service models. The Cloud Donkey – known for a strong sense of preservation – looks on. The problem is that there are many donkeys, and even more tails. Worse, we’re all trying to stick different…

• Can the Cloud Help Haiti?

  Craig Balding

  If you’ve been looking for a way to extend a hand to the people of Haiti, or you want your cloud venture to spread some goodwill, this post is written for you. On Wednesday this week, many of us will be attending CloudCamp Haiti – and you can join us. Here’s what you need to know CloudCamp Haiti is a virtual unconference held as a public webinar. CloudCamp Haiti builds upon the popular CloudCamp format by providing a free and open place for the introduction and advancement of cloud computing. For this event, we are raising funds to donate to the aid effort in Haiti. Funds…

• Amazon Spot Pricing Black Hat Style: Manipulating the Market Through DoS

  Craig Balding

  Amazon just announced "Spot Pricing" for their EC2 instances: "Spot Instances are a new way to purchase and consume Amazon EC2 Instances. They allow customers to bid on unused Amazon EC2 capacity and run those instances for as long as their bid exceeds the current Spot Price. The Spot Price changes periodically based on supply and demand, and customers whose bids meet or exceed it gain access to the available Spot Instances. Spot Instances are complementary to On-Demand Instances and Reserved Instances, providing another option for obtaining compute capacity. For customers with flexibility in…

• The Future of Cloud Computing Security: It’s Next Wednesday [Not Tuesday!] (Free Registration)

  Craig Balding

  Next Tuesday Wednesday (!) I'll be part of a virtual panel as part of a on-line event organised by InformationWeek’s Dark Reading and Black Hat. I encourage you to virtually attend as it promises to be an excellent Cloud/Virtualization Security discussion. You can register for free here. The session will be hosted by my good friend and co-host of the Cloud Security Podcast, Chris Hoff. In addition to the expertise that Chris brings to the table, the other guests are all hardcore in their own right. I promise you'll learn something - I'm pretty sure I will! Here's the blurb: Virtualization,…

• 
  Schneier on Security

• All Subversive Organizations Now Must Register in South Carolina

  schneier

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:09 am

  This appears not to be a joke: The state's "Subversive Activities Registration Act," passed last year and now officially on the books, states that "every member of a subversive organization, or an organization subject to foreign control, every foreign agent and every person who advocates, teaches, advises or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States ... shall register with the Secretary of State." There's even a $5 filing fee. By "subversive organization," the law means "every corporation, society,…

• Outguessing the Terrorists

  schneier

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:07 am

  Isn't it a bit embarrassing for an "expert on counter-terrorism" to be quoted as saying this? Bill Tupman, an expert on counter-terrorism from Exeter University, told BBC News: "The problem is trying to predict the mind of the al-Qaeda planner; there are so many things they might do. "And it is also necessary to reassure the public that we are trying to outguess the al-Qaeda planner and we are in the process of protecting them from any threat." I think it's necessary to convince the public to refuse to be terrorized. What frustrates me most about Abdulmutallab is that he caused terror even…

• The Limits of Visual Inspection

  schneier

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:54 am

  Interesting research: Target prevalence powerfully influences visual search behavior. In most visual search experiments, targets appear on at least 50% of trials. However, when targets are rare (as in medical or airport screening), observers shift response criteria, leading to elevated miss error rates. Observers also speed target-absent responses and may make more motor errors. This could be a speed/accuracy tradeoff with fast, frequent absent responses producing more miss errors. Disproving this hypothesis, our experiment one shows that very high target prevalence (98%) shifts response…

• More Details on the Chinese Attack Against Google

  schneier

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:03 am

  Three weeks ago, Google announced a sophisticated attack against them from China. There have been some interesting technical details since then. And the NSA is helping Google analyze the attack. The rumor that China used a system Google put in place to enable lawful intercepts, which I used as a news hook for this essay, has not been confirmed. At this point, I doubt that it's true.

• New Attack on Threefish

  schneier

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:06 am

  At FSE 2010 this week, Dmitry Khovratovich and Ivica Nikolic presented a paper where they cryptanalyze ARX algorithms (algorithms that use only addition, rotation, and exclusive-OR operations): "Rotational Cryptanalysis of ARX." In the paper, they demonstrate their attack against Threefish. Their attack breaks 39 (out of 72) rounds of Threefish-256 with a complexity of 2252.4, 42 (out of 72) rounds of Threefish-512 with a complexity of 2507, and 43.5 (out of 80) rounds of Threefish-1024 with a complexity of 21014.5. (Yes, that's over 21000. Don't laugh; it really is a valid attack, even…

• 
  Security Uncorked

• Cloud Security Alliance at OWASP NC Meeting

  jj

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:46 am

  To my North Carolina readers, I wanted to share an upcoming event with you. OWASP NC is hosting Jim Tiller to come share details about the Cloud Security Alliance. This is great opportunity to get some great information locally. The CSA is led by an amazing group of people, several of which I’m happy to say are friends and colleagues in the security industry. Tuesday, February 16th 2010, 6:00pm OWASP NC Monthly Meeting CFCU Offices, Raleigh, NC Event page OWASP Meetup Page Meeting details from the OWASP Meetup Page Aside from picking up where we should have left off last time with some…

• Event Postponed: CSO Executive Seminar in DC

  jj

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:27 pm

  Just a quick note to those of you planning to attend the CSO Executive Seminar in DC this Thursday. Due to the rather ominous forecast for an additional 10-20 inches of snow in the DC area, the CSO event is being postponed. As soon as I know the rescheduled date, I’ll pass it along!

• The Rugged Software Manifesto: Walking the Walk

  jj

  5 Feb 2010 | 1:31 pm

  I was excited recently when I learned a group of trustworthy, security-minded people had committed to a meme to promote the ideas and culture of secure coding. We hear talk daily among practitioners and victims alike, musing about secure applications, secure programming and building security into code from the foundation. Here, my friends is an opportunity to BUY IN to the program and WALK the WALK instead of just talking the talk. Ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you The Rugged Software Manifesto.   What’s in a meme? A rose called by any other meme.. No, seriously. A meme is a…

• Terrorizing Martin During My Interview by SFS Podcast

  jj

  5 Feb 2010 | 11:48 am

  If you’re up for a bit of audible Friday humour, check out the SFSP (Southern Fried Security Podcast) Episode 5, where I try to terrorize Martin with off-the-wall responses while he’s interviewing me. I definitely caught him off guard on a few early replies. While I was mildly successful in that piece, I was even more successful in dodging Andy’s harassment by confirming the scheduling on super short notice. Martin caught me on a day when absolutely nothing was going as it should. I was at the office late, fighting with what seemed to be a firmware issue and what turned out…

• Contribute: Join the Securosis User Panel

  jj

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

  Hi everyone. Some of my friends over at Securoris are putting together what I’m sure will prove to be an insightful user panel to participate in information security discussions and surveys. As part of the user panel, you will have access to the data results; all the goodness, no marketing crap. If you read my blog, you’re probably just the kind of person they need. Please read the info below, visit the Securoris site and join the panel by emailing survey <at> securosis.com if you’re interested. From the Securosis Post: Need Brains. User Brains As part of our…

• 
  Infosec Events

• ShmooCon 2010 – Shmoo Photos

  ron

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:53 am

  The ShmooCon 2010 East coast hacker convention ran from Friday, February 5 to February 7, 2010. Here are some of the fantastic photos and images posted on the Internet from the ShmooCon 2010 information security event.   The New ShmooCon 2010 Shmooball (Source: securid)   ShmooCon 2010 – Badge and Bag (Source: nick8ch)   ShmooCon 2010 – Badge (Source: spiggy)   ShmooCon 2010 – Got 1337 ? (Source: joncallas)   ShmooCon 2010 Barcode (Source: bigbluetick)   Hacker’s View of DHCP (Source: csgale)   “ph33r cracking 253 BILLION pins…

• Week 5 in Review

  glenn

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:01 am

  Events Related: A Conference By Any Other Name… – windowsir.blogspot.com A few comments on DoD CyberCrime 2010 and Black Hat DC Resources: Get FREE copies of Hakin9 Magazines — PDF Download – professionalsecuritytesters.org All that is required to access the downloads is to join their mailing list. (IN)Security Issue 24 is Now Available – infosecramblings.com This issue includes AES and 3DES comparison analysis, virtualized browsing shields against web-based attacks and more. Tools: Nikto 2.1.1 available! – cirt.net Nikto is an open source web server…

• ShmooCon 2010 – Day Three

  ron

  7 Feb 2010 | 5:20 pm

  Today, February 7, was the final day of ShmooCon 2010, “Snowpocalypse 2010″ as some fans have called it. Twenty inches of snow in Washington, DC, didn’t stop dedicated fans from attending this year’s annual ShmooCon East coast hacker convention. This three day event located at the Wardman Park Marriott, Washington DC, USA, was packed full of intense, fast tracked presentations demonstrating technology vulnerabilities and exploitation, software and hardware solutions, and open discussions of critical information security issues.   ShmooCon 2010 Contests and More…

• ShmooCon 2010 – Day Two

  ron

  7 Feb 2010 | 1:47 pm

  Day two of ShmooCon 2010 included a wide array of information security presentations. This year’s ShmooCon East coast hacker convention takes place at the Wardman Park Marriott, Washington DC, USA. Today’s presentations started according to schedule with three exciting tracks: Break It!, Build It!, and Bring It On! First up, from the Build It! track we heard from Blake Hartstein as he described JavaScript decoding and intrusion detection using Jsunpack-n. Lets scroll down and take a closer look at some of today’s event highlights. Jsunpack-network Edition Release: JavaScript…

• ShmooCon 2010 – Day One

  ron

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:12 pm

  The ShmooCon 2010 East coast hacker convention is a three day event at the Wardman Park Marriott, Washington DC, USA. This years’ annual ShmooCon convention started at 12:30 p.m. EST, Friday, February 5, 2010, and according to the ShmooCon 2010 Schedule, will end around 2:00 p.m. EST, Sunday, February 7, 2010. The central theme for day one was “One Track Mind,” a single track consisting of seven 30-minute speed talks. Day two and day three will each present three tracks: Break It!, Build It!, and Bring It On! You don’t have to be there to see ShmooCon 2010. ShmooCon…

• 
  Information Security Resources

• Perplexities of Enterprise Privacy Policies

  anthonymfreed@gmail.com (Information Security Resources)

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:47 pm

  By Rebecca Herold (The Privacy Professor) CIPP, CISSP, CISM, CISA, FLMI An important consideration with information security incidents is identifying if personally identifiable information - PII -... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Sorting Out Social CRM Options for Business

  anthonymfreed@gmail.com (Information Security Resources)

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:46 pm

  By Dylan Persaud, CTO Forum Team According to Peter Greenberg, the author of CRM at the Speed of Light, social CRM is a philosophy and a business strategy, supported by a technology platform and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Police Make Arrests In ATM Skimming Ring

  anthonymfreed@gmail.com (Information Security Resources)

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:05 pm

  By Robert Siciliano, ID Theft Expert and Security Consultant to Intelius.com Police believe they may have uncovered an international ATM “skimming” ring responsible for stealing money from... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Insurance Industry Fights Liability Claims

  anthonymfreed@gmail.com (Information Security Resources)

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:04 pm

  By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil In your policy it states quite clearly that no claim that you make will be paid. You unfortunately plucked for our Never-Pay Policy, which... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• More Talks with Anti-Jihadi Hacker The Jester

  anthonymfreed@gmail.com (Information Security Resources)

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:16 pm

  By Anthony M. Freed, Director of Business Development, InfosecIsland.com Anti-jihadi hactivist The Jester (th3j35t3r), the self-proclaimed Nicest Hacker in the World, has returned for part two of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 
  Decurity

• The 2010 SIEM Winter Olympics Preview (

  rocky@decurity.com

  12 Jan 2010 | 2:48 pm

  From my NEW BLOG: securityoperations.blogspot.com   A “point in time” snapshot of how I think 2010-2012 looks in the SIEM Market. A much more detailed analysis will be available soon (on request). Some highlights of the preview: 1. Many companies are focused on rationalizing recent acquisitions or focusing on making their current product scalable and/or bullet-proof. I think that this is absolutely crucial for these organizations but it does create an opportunity for ArcSight to further separate from the pack in 2010. 2. Formally “niche” players are taking the…

• A week in and 2010 already has been a year of significant changes

  rocky@decurity.com

  7 Jan 2010 | 10:54 am

  Personally,  I’ll count 2009 as the year of lessons learned.  I’m happy to start 2010 and begin anew.  Many of you have reached out to me in twitter (@rockyd) or email, FB, etc and asked about my status, personally and professionally - for which I’m very thankful.  It is awesome to see some many people and organizations genuinely care about me - I’m humbled.  We did make some changes late in 2009 that for all intents and purposes brought an end to Decurity as it was known.  The full plan never quite panned out the way we all hoped it…

• FUDSEC Guest Post.

  rocky@decurity.com

  4 Dec 2009 | 2:29 am

  I was asked to provide a guest post for the FUDSEC Blog.  After reading so many of the other guest posts I felt a little overwhelmed to put my ramblings alongside those gems.  I’m thrilled Craig allowed me the opportunity and look forward to hearing your input.  Please enjoy ripping my thoughts into pieces, chewing on them and then letting me know how you really feel!  FUDSEC: Liberate Yourself: Change The Game To Suit Your Needs  Comments are encouraged directly on FUDSEC or you can reach me on Twitter (@rockyd) or reach me on the Decurity Blog any way you…

• 2009 SANS Incident Detection Summit

  rocky@decurity.com

  17 Nov 2009 | 11:23 am

  When Richard asked me to participate as a moderator for the MSSP/SOC Panel I was of course flattered and thrilled to participate!  I’ll be moderating a panel discussion on MSSP and Corporate SOC capabilities.  I’m looking to expose “what works” from each perspective and hopefully we’ll gleam some valuable insight from both perspectives.  Let’s face it most larger organization flip-flop between internal/external capabilities every few years… let’s find out why and what value they gain from each perspective.  If you’d…

• Low Level Information Collection

  rocky@decurity.com

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:13 am

  This morning as my wife was leaving for work she noticed a extended cab pickup truck parked out in front of our neighbor’s house.  As she began to pull out of the driveway she noted that the driver got out and was beginning to go through the neighbors trash.  My wife parked at the end of the street and then called me.  I dismissed it at first but as I observed for a few moments I was amazed at how thoroughly this gentleman was going through each bag.  His urgency and purpose was like he was looking for a lost wedding ring. Needing something to do today I walked up to…

• 
  Get Safe Online

• The Government speaks out…

  Tony Neate

  20 Jan 2010 | 8:41 am

  As the discussions regarding the Internet Explorer vulnerability continues in the media, academia, and business and even in my daughter school where she is a teacher. The Government via the Cabinet Office has just released this statement. “We take internet security very seriously. Complex software will always have vulnerabilities and motivated adversaries will always work to discover and take advantage of them. There is no evidence that moving from the latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure. Regular software patching and updating…

• Internet Explorer Security Bug Reported

  Tony Neate

  19 Jan 2010 | 6:46 am

   So what is the problem? Well there is a bug in versions 6, 7 and 8 of the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser, which could result in your computer being attacked by criminals. Microsoft is still investigating the bug, so as yet a fix is not available. However there is no evidence that moving from the latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure. The following options are available to help protect users until Microsoft releases an update. Follow the instructions in the Microsoft bulletin to increase the security level of Internet…

• Have you been Rocked.

  Tony Neate

  17 Dec 2009 | 4:23 pm

  Another guest blog from  Richard Hollis Did you see the news recently that social networking site RockYou suffered a data breach exposing over 32 million user accounts?   If that wasn’t bad enough, it was also revealed that they were apparently storing all that data (user account information) in plain text in their database. This fact came to light only because when RockYou attempted to downplay and dismiss the severity of the incident, the hacker responsible published a sample of the data to prove it and demonstrate that all the user passwords accessible were stored unencrypted.   To…

• Coming to a Theatre near you

  Tony Neate

  17 Dec 2009 | 12:52 am

  Guest bloger Richard Hollis Last week, the United States Congress, House of Representatives, passed the Data Accountability and Trust Act – H.R. 2221.  The bill is now on its way to becoming Federal law.  This is long awaited and very good news for consumers.  It’s similar to the breach notification laws enacted by over 30 over the 50 states sparked by California mandating public disclosure of breaches back in 2003.  Federal public disclosure laws were previously blocked under the Bush Administration.   In essence it mandates that businesses publically disclose breaches of…

• Especially Children….

  Tony Neate

  8 Dec 2009 | 12:14 pm

  Yesterday at the QEII Conference Centre in London saw opening of The UK Council for Child Internet Safety Summit. The Council was a recommendation in Professor Tanya Byron’s report ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’ The primary purpose of the summit was to launch the Child Internet Safety Strategy. The summit provided an opportunity to discuss the strategy, showcase recent research findings and highlight the good progress made so far in delivering on the child online safety agenda. The event also had a public facing element with the launch of the internet safety code and three…

• 
  The Security Catalyst

• Is Cloud Computing Right for Your Business?

  securitycatalyst@gmail.com (Michael J. Santarcangelo, II)

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:16 am

  By Craig Nelson – special guest to The Security Catalyst Is Cloud Computing right for your business? Cloud Computing. Is it right for you? Sure. Is it right for your business? <crickets> By now, many have adopted a “cloud”-based service for personal use (sometimes without even realizing it). The definition of “cloud” can be a bit fuzzy at times, but to keep it simple: it’s a service provided over the Internet (“the big cloud”). This cloud includes services (from “smaller clouds”) from providers that offer hosted email, backups, document editing,…

• On tap at The Security Catalyst for February

  securitycatalyst@gmail.com (Michael J. Santarcangelo, II)

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:43 pm

  Greetings from Myrtle Beach! February at the Security Catalyst Online We did it. The house is rented. We packed, sold or donated most of our “stuff.” We loaded up the RV and headed south. More important, we are liberated. I feel grounded, connected and free. The purpose of this change is to live simply and engage with more people – to seek experiences over “stuff.” Part of our focus on learning and living deliberately allows me more time to focus on the programming and content we provide through the Security Catalyst Online Experience. In addition to our contributors powerful…

• Into the Breach – Audio Series – Chapter 7 (Putting the Strategy to Work: A Pilot)

  securitycatalyst@gmail.com (Michael J. Santarcangelo, II)

  2 Feb 2010 | 2:45 am

  Welcome to the continuation of the Into the Breach: Protect Your Business by Managing People, Information and Risk audio series. (Click this link) to learn more about this how this book solves today’s challenges and pick up a complete copy. This series, underwritten by Configuresoft, now part of EMC, is the full and unabridged audio version of Into the Breach, written by Michael Santarcangelo and read by the author. Join us for a new chapter released on the first Tuesday of each month (there are 13 chapters total). What you’ll find in this episode (Chapter 7) The strategy has been…

• Are You Using The Three “P’s” Of Successful Fraud Prevention?

  securitycatalyst@gmail.com (Michael J. Santarcangelo, II)

  27 Jan 2010 | 3:11 am

  By Sharon Shaw Their SUV deeply submerged in a snowdrift John and Starry, through marital “discussion,” determine their GPS might have been wrong to suggest that last turn. Effective fraud prevention requires an encompassing approach that looks at the chain of events before and after the current point — often called a 360-degree review. Skip this step and end up charting a course of action that has similar results to John and Starry’s adventure. Blindly relying on technology alone like John and Starry did does not ensure an unscathed surfacing from a potential fraud whiteout. Use…

• Driving Compliance: What We Have versus What We Need

  securitycatalyst@gmail.com (Michael J. Santarcangelo, II)

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:06 am

  By Jim McFee A common statement an auditor hears is, “our IT department is mature; we have everything we need for an IT Audit.” A common thought an auditor thinks is, “yeah, right.” So which of these statements is more accurate? More importantly, which one increases or decreases risk? Without creating a laundry list, let’s take a look from the auditors’ perspective by breaking down the components of compliance into five main domains: Logical Access Physical Access Operations Change Management System Development In my last article, I introduced the concept of developing a…

• 
  Security Warrior

• ShmooCon 2010 – Show Notes

  Dr Anton Chuvakin

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:11 am

  First things first: ShmooCon was one of the most awesome conferences I attended in quite some time. If you’d like to see what REALLY was going on as Washington, DC was plunging into a “snow-pocalypse”, go check out #ShmooCon Twitter coverage. Then read other show accounts, such as this one from PaulDotCom. My note follow below: First, Bruce’s “intro” was kinda interesting.  For example, he made a couple of TSA jokes (the video was hilarious) and noted that “if you think this is funny, then you’d see that network security is actually worse.” What was interesting to me…

• Links for 2010-02-07 [del.icio.us]

  Dr Anton Chuvakin

  What books on information security have NOT been written yet?

• Links for 2010-02-06 [del.icio.us]

  Dr Anton Chuvakin

  Inexpensive Cisco Network Log Analysis

• Logging, Log Management and Log Review Maturity

  Dr Anton Chuvakin

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:46 pm

  This picture depicts log management and SIEM maturity curve and is taken from a soon-to-be-released [eh..make that when-my-consulting-client-decides-to-release-it] Guide to SIEM and Log Management. It says it all – and if your organizations tries to enter in the middle…well... FAIL happens:                             Enjoy! About me: http://www.chuvakin.org

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – January 2010

  Dr Anton Chuvakin

  3 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am

  As we all know, blogs are a bit "stateless" and a lot of useful security reading material gets lost since many people, sadly, only pay attention to what they see today. These monthly round-ups is my attempt to remind people of useful content from the past month! If you are “too busy to read the blogs,” at least read these. So, here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics. As predicted, my security predictions ( “Security Predictions 2010” and “Security Predictions 2020 (!)” - yes, 2020!) took the #1 spot this month. They are fun – but I…

• 
  SC Magazine

• Zeus targeting government and military workers

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:51 am

  A new campaign of the password-stealing Zeus trojan is targeting workers from government and military departments in the United States and United Kingdom, according to security researchers at Websense. The trojan is being distributed through spoofed emails claiming to come from the U.S. National Intelligence Council. The bogus messages contain subject lines such as "Report of the National Intelligence Council." The emails aim to lure users into downloading a document about the "2020 project," which actually is Zeus. — AM

• Payroll processing firm Ceridian Corp. hacked

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:02 am

  A hacker recently attacked the payroll processing firm Ceridian Corp. of Bloomington, Minn. and gained access to sensitive information of employees working at 1,900 companies nationwide.

• China's largest hacker training site shuttered

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

  The shutdown of a major Chinese website that offered hacking tools comes during a rocky time for U.S.-China cyber-relations.

• Mozilla says two Firefox browser plug-ins contain trojan

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:04 am

  Mozilla is advising users who may have downloaded two "experimental" Firefox add-ons that they contain malware.

• Oracle fixes WebLogic bug; 11g flaw exposed

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:34 am

  Oracle on Thursday released a fix for a zero-day vulnerability in its WebLogic Node Manager. The publicly released bug can allow an attacker to fully compromise a targeted server on Windows, according to an Oracle blog post. The patch does not appear to be related to researcher David Litchfield's talk this week at the Black Hat conference in Washington, D.C., where he revealed how zero-day vulnerabilities in the Oracle 11g database could be used to bypass security and take complete control of the popular software. — DK

• 
  Verizon Business Security Blog

• Recently published data breach Studies

  Dave Hylender

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:39 am

  In a recent blog post we mentioned that 7Safe had published a security breach report in the UK. Over the last week or so there have been two more major data breach reports to be published here in the US. Thus proving the old adage that “when it rains, it pours.” I feel that there is a witticism about data leakage here somewhere but it eludes me. These reports, which were published by Trustwave and Mandiant, both appear to be well done and are certainly worth a read. We have heard about similar reports being published in the past by Trustwave, and have actually requested copies. We are…

• Weekly Intelligence Summary: 2010-02-05

  Dave Kennedy

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:51 am

  Criminals attacked Twitter and European carbon exchange markets using a similar modus operandi: Multiple Bit Torrent sites used a common template that has been found to include a backdoor to harvest login ID and passwords. Similarly, bogus carbon exchange registries harvested other ID/PW. Criminals exploited users’ habits to re-use ID/PW combinations. A quarter million carbon credits worth €3m, and an unknown number of Twitter accounts were stolen. Vulnerability pimps were out in force in Washington DC as evidenced by interim security advice from Microsoft and Oracle to mitigate…

• Weekly Intelligence Summary: 2010-01-29

  Dave Kennedy

  29 Jan 2010 | 1:04 pm

  Researchers at the University of Cambridge found design errors in 3-D Secure, the technology behind Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode. The short-term risk is negligible, but the impact on trust in these systems may be the most significant InfoSec risk issue of the week. Spring (in the Northern Hemisphere) arrived early with InfoSec-related studies sprouting like dandelions, but with no discernible impact on risk. Cyberattacks on companies in the energy sector almost displaced “Aurora” after a Christian Science Monitor report, but a report in Forbes about security…

• 7Safe Security Breach Investigations Report

  Wade Baker

  26 Jan 2010 | 9:04 am

  The UK Security Breach Investigations Report 2010 has been released. It is the joint work of 7Safe, the University of Bedfordshire, SOCA (Serious & Organised Crime Agency) and the Metropolitan Police Service. Quite a lineup. In similar fashion to our DBIR, it covers 62 confirmed breaches investigated by 7Safe’s security breach investigations team. A first glance shows some very interesting statistics that are comparable to what we’ve been publishing for the last few years. We’ll publish a more detailed comparison in the next few days. For now, we just wanted to make sure…

• Operation Aurora Attacks

  Dave Kennedy

  21 Jan 2010 | 1:01 pm

  There seems to be a lot of chatter regarding what McAfee is calling “Operation Aurora”. This refers to attacks against a number of companies including Google, apparently in China or doing business in China, involving a previously undisclosed vulnerability in versions of Internet Explorer after 5.01 and before 8. The original attacks are reported to be “targeted”, allegedly appearing in employee inboxes looking to have come from a fellow employee. These emails include a link which contains a web page that exploits the browser. McAfee states in their blog that initial exploitation…

• 
  Infosec Ramblings

• Interesting Information Security Bits for 02/08/2010

  kriggins

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:24 pm

  Good afternoon everybody! I hope your day is going well. Here are today’s Interesting Information Security Bits from around the web. Some good information on performing forensics on Google’s browser, Chrome. Google Chrome Forensics Tags: ( forensics chrome google ) Recon is looking for talk submissions. The Professional Security Testers Warehouse for the GPEN GSEC GCIH GREM CEH QISP Q/ISP OPST CPTS – REC0N 2010 MONTREAL CANADA JULY 9-11 Tags: ( recon conferences cfp ) Craig asks a really good question, “Is Cloud Computing Right for Your Business?” Is Cloud…

• SchmooCon 2010 Streaming Live for Free

  kriggins

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:06 am

  I meant to mention this again earlier this week, but forgot to. ShmooCon will be live streaming the entire event this year. The conference starts today at 3:00 EDT. If you are not familiar with ShmooCon, here is a tidbit from the conference website: Different • ShmooCon is an annual East coast hacker convention hell-bent on offering three days of an interesting atmosphere for demonstrating technology exploitation, inventive software & hardware solutions, and open discussions of critical infosec issues. The first day is a single track of speed talks, One Track Mind. The next two days,…

• Interesting Information Security Bits for 02/04/2010

  kriggins

  4 Feb 2010 | 5:59 pm

  Good afternoon everybody! I hope your day is going well. Here are today’s Interesting Information Security Bits from around the web. Robert has a nice exploration of Intel’s new processor named Nehalem. Errata Security: Nehalem vs. IDS Tags: ( hardware intel cpu ) Andy speaks some truth about the user’s responsibility in the security equation. Are we being irresponsible? >> Andy ITGuy Tags: ( awareness ) The start of what looks to be a neat series. lsof is an awesome tool. Black Fist Security: *nix command of the day Tags: ( tools unix ) Here is an interesting story…

• Interesting Information Security Bits for 02/03/2010

  kriggins

  3 Feb 2010 | 5:05 pm

  Good afternoon everybody! I hope your day is going well. Here are today’s Interesting Information Security Bits from around the web. Andrew has a talk up for consideration for BSidesSF. Andrew Hay >> Blog Archive >> Vote For My #BSidesSF Talk “My Life on the Infosec D-List” Tags: ( bsidessf ) Apache hit end-of-life today. The last update has been released. Apache HTTP Server 1.3’s final update released – The H Security: News and Features Tags: ( apache ) Ouch. That’s a lot of infected machines. 48% of 22,000,000 Scanned Systems Malware Laden…

• (IN)Security Issue 24 is Now Available

  kriggins

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:08 pm

  DOWNLOAD ISSUE 24 HERE (February 2010) Writing a secure SOAP client with PHP: Field report from a real-world project How virtualized browsing shields against web-based attacks Review: 1Password 3 Preparing a strategy for application vulnerability detection Threats 2.0: A glimpse into the near future Preventing malicious documents from compromising Windows machines Balancing productivity and security in a mixed environment AES and 3DES comparison analysis OSSEC: An introduction to open source log and event management Secure and differentiated access in enterprise wireless networks AND MORE!

• 
  Verizon Business Security Blog

• Recently published data breach Studies

  Dave Hylender

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:39 am

  In a recent blog post we mentioned that 7Safe had published a security breach report in the UK. Over the last week or so there have been two more major data breach reports to be published here in the US. Thus proving the old adage that “when it rains, it pours.” I feel that there is a witticism about data leakage here somewhere but it eludes me. These reports, which were published by Trustwave and Mandiant, both appear to be well done and are certainly worth a read. We have heard about similar reports being published in the past by Trustwave, and have actually requested copies. We are…

• Weekly Intelligence Summary: 2010-02-05

  Dave Kennedy

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:51 am

  Criminals attacked Twitter and European carbon exchange markets using a similar modus operandi: Multiple Bit Torrent sites used a common template that has been found to include a backdoor to harvest login ID and passwords. Similarly, bogus carbon exchange registries harvested other ID/PW. Criminals exploited users’ habits to re-use ID/PW combinations. A quarter million carbon credits worth €3m, and an unknown number of Twitter accounts were stolen. Vulnerability pimps were out in force in Washington DC as evidenced by interim security advice from Microsoft and Oracle to mitigate…

• Weekly Intelligence Summary: 2010-01-29

  Dave Kennedy

  29 Jan 2010 | 1:04 pm

  Researchers at the University of Cambridge found design errors in 3-D Secure, the technology behind Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode. The short-term risk is negligible, but the impact on trust in these systems may be the most significant InfoSec risk issue of the week. Spring (in the Northern Hemisphere) arrived early with InfoSec-related studies sprouting like dandelions, but with no discernible impact on risk. Cyberattacks on companies in the energy sector almost displaced “Aurora” after a Christian Science Monitor report, but a report in Forbes about security…

• 7Safe Security Breach Investigations Report

  Wade Baker

  26 Jan 2010 | 9:04 am

  The UK Security Breach Investigations Report 2010 has been released. It is the joint work of 7Safe, the University of Bedfordshire, SOCA (Serious & Organised Crime Agency) and the Metropolitan Police Service. Quite a lineup. In similar fashion to our DBIR, it covers 62 confirmed breaches investigated by 7Safe’s security breach investigations team. A first glance shows some very interesting statistics that are comparable to what we’ve been publishing for the last few years. We’ll publish a more detailed comparison in the next few days. For now, we just wanted to make sure…

• Operation Aurora Attacks

  Dave Kennedy

  21 Jan 2010 | 1:01 pm

  There seems to be a lot of chatter regarding what McAfee is calling “Operation Aurora”. This refers to attacks against a number of companies including Google, apparently in China or doing business in China, involving a previously undisclosed vulnerability in versions of Internet Explorer after 5.01 and before 8. The original attacks are reported to be “targeted”, allegedly appearing in employee inboxes looking to have come from a fellow employee. These emails include a link which contains a web page that exploits the browser. McAfee states in their blog that initial exploitation…

• 
  Amrit Williams Blog

• The Broken Windows Economics of IT Security

  amritw

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:41 am

  To economists, the term “Broken Windows” refers to the question that if a shopkeeper pays a glazier to repair a broken window at his store, does this deliver an economic benefit to society? Many people would say yes, because it generates demand for glass and work for the glazier. Have you ever been witness to the [...]

• Cyber Warfare Needs Cyber Civil Defense

  amritw

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:42 am

  Hardly a day goes by with some news article, op ed piece, or screaming commentator on a bottom of the dial cable channel proclaiming the dire prospects of cyber war. But unlike traditional kinetic wars with identifiable enemies, overt acts of war, and some notion of what constitutes victory, we’re still at the stage where [...]

• Cyber Warfare: Should We Be On The Offensive?

  amritw

  2 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am

  The world needs a treaty to prevent cyber attacks becoming an all-out war, the head of the main UN communications and technology agency warned Saturday. “A cyber war would be worse than a tsunami — a catastrophe,” the UN official said, highlighting examples such as attacks on Estonia last year Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy [...]

• Is Social Media Destroying Rational Debate?

  amritw

  21 Jan 2010 | 2:02 pm

  (this post is dedicated to all those I have debated – poorly – on twitter and in blogs) I must admit that I do enjoy the experience of a good debate, the adrenaline rush, the give and take with a qualified adversary, the thrill of victory and hopefully the expanse of ones views. So often though many [...]

• Top 10 Reasons Your Security Program Sucks and Why You Can’t Do Anything About It

  amritw

  5 Jan 2010 | 9:55 pm

  In the security industry we like to fool ourselves into thinking that we can materially impact an organizations security posture. We believe that new tools, a new framework, a new regulation, a new school of thought will lift the veil of organizational ignorance and enable us to attain the state of enlightened security practitioner. But as [...]

• 
  Hackers Center

• TemperIE

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:49 pm

  TamperIE is a useful tool for security testing your web applications, in order to ensure you don't make foolish assumptions about the data sent by client browsers. Since the tool exposes and allows tampering with otherwise inconvenient input, many user-input security flaws immediately become apparent.

• Black Hat: Researcher claims hack of chip used to secure computers, smartcards

  3 Feb 2010 | 10:21 am

  A researcher with expertise in hacking hardware Tuesday detailed at the Black Hat DC conference how it's possible to subvert the security of a processor used to protect computers, smartcards and even... Read the rest of the story here

• Nikto 2

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:40 pm

  Nikto is an Open Source web server scanner which performs comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items, including over 6100 potentially dangerous files/CGIs, checks for outdated versions of over 950 servers, and version specific problems on over 260 servers. It also checks for server configuration items such as the presence of multiple index files, HTTP server options, and will attempt to identify installed web servers and software. Scan items and plugins are frequently updated and can be automatically updated.

• hcraft 1.0.0

  30 Jan 2010 | 3:11 am

  hcraft is a HTTP systems penetration testing tool designed to make exploitation of known vulnerabilities in HTTP systems a dynamic, simple process. hcraft is intended to help take the details out of executing HTTP based attacks that require you to specially craft an HTTP request. By defining a modeline for a given vulnerability in the modes file you can instruct hcraft in how the HTTP request should be constructed, then use the tool to select the appropriate mode and include the dynamic parts of the attack such as target host, port, and the filename to retrieve or the command to execute.

• MSNPawn 1.1

  28 Jan 2010 | 1:17 am

  MSNPawn has been designed and developed on the .Net framework and must be installed on the system. The following utilities have been bundled with MSNPawn .

• 
  TradePub: IT Security

• Identifying and Thwarting Malicious Intrusions

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:50 pm

  The phenomenal growth in social media has opened the door for all new malicious intrusions from gangs of cyber criminals. Utilizing the trusted relationships in social networking and benefiting from immature security and content controls, hackers are seeing increased performance in their attacks. This just released white paper from MX Logic discusses the dark side of social networks and Web 2.0 and covers three main areas:Malware Types & Threats, including the future of malware;Malware Distribution & Control, including bot propagation & sustainability and recent malware milestones; Detecting…

• The Security Implications of Web 2.0

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:50 pm

  The collaborative benefits of Web 2.0 technologies have fueled rapid growth in online consumer markets and now are being adopted by businesses worldwide. With these technologies come new types of attack vectors. Pull replaces push, polymorphism complicates defenses and 90% of attacks take place at the application layer, exploiting software-based or social vulnerabilities. This white paper discusses the changes in vulnerabilities with the advent of Web 2.0 and the countermeasures that can be taken to protect against the threats they bring.Request Free!

• CIO Digest

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:50 pm

  Each issue of CIO Digest includes an exclusive interview, an industry feature, a solutions feature, customer case studies from thought leaders around the globe, an update from Symantec Technology Security & Response, and more.Request Free!

• Information Technology Adviser

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:20 pm

  Qualify for Your Risk-Free Trial Issues Now! Try two issues of Information Technology Adviser – Risk Free! The twice monthly, eight-page newsletter is packed with ideas to help the savvy IT professional understand what the latest technology trends mean to their business, cope with the day-to-day challenges of running an IT department and get the most out of their information systems investments. In each issue, leading technology pros offer real-world descriptions of their problems and the solutions that worked for them. Subscribe to Information Technology Adviser and you'll receive two…

• The State of Resilience and Optimization on IBM Power Systems: Research Findings Based on Surveys of IBM i and AIX Users

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:20 pm

  This report includes the input of over 2,000 companies running AIX and IBM i (i5/OS) environments regarding their data protection, recovery and optimization technologies and strategies. Learn how your peers are striking the balance between the often conflicting priorities of IT availability, system performance, service level agreements, IT staffing and budgets. Written by: Information Availability InstituteRequest Free!

• 
  symantec.com

• Sale! This Offer is Valid EVERY Week

  Mayur Kulkarni

  5 Feb 2010 | 11:09 am

  It’s almost like the age-old marketing strategy: put up a sale and offer huge discounts to draw customers. But, while doing so, retailers will make sure to use the “limited time offer” tactic. There is cause for worry, because spammers are following suit.

• SpyEye Bot versus Zeus Bot

  Peter Coogan

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am

  The Zeus crimeware toolkit has been around now for a while and has grown over time to be the most established crimeware toolkit in the underground economy.

• 利用双重漏洞发动攻击的木马Trojan.Hydraq

  Livian Ge

  3 Feb 2010 | 6:45 pm

           Trojan.Hydraq是一个利用Internet Explorer远程代码执行漏洞（CVE-2010-0249，俗称“Aurora&r

• Phishing Using Pornographic Content as Bait

  Mathew Maniyara

  3 Feb 2010 | 1:40 pm

  Symantec has observed a new trend in phishing in which the phishing Web page contains pornographic content. The phishing site states that the end user can obtain free pornography after logging in or signing up. These offers tempt users into entering their credentials in the hopes of obtaining pornography.

• Did the Job of Security Software Just get Bigger?

  Con Mallon

  3 Feb 2010 | 1:01 pm

  Well, it looks that way. We are only just into the second month of 2010 and yet we can now see, in prospect, a whole new raft of innovation coming our way. At CES a lot of the attention was with respect to eBook readers and new slate/tablet based PCs. These new devices are squarely focused on digital content.

• 
  Optimal Security

• Now Playing - Cybersecurity: The Broken Record

  Pat Clawson

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:38 am

  Recently Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, presented the Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and painted a much starker picture of the current state of cybersecurity in the country compared to his testimony last year. According to Blair, the United States confronts a dangerous combination of known and unknown vulnerabilities, strong and rapidly expanding adversary capabilities, and a lack of comprehensive threat awareness.  Malicious cyber activity is occurring on an unprecedented scale with extraordinary…

• 5 Steps to Bridge Social Media and Security

  Cindy Kim

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

  As businesses move at a rapid pace to integrate social media as part of their overall corporate strategy to engage, build brand awareness and drive thought leadership, unfortunately, security has taken a back seat leaving businesses wide open to these Web 2.0 threats. The use of Web 2.0 has opened new risk channels for the bad guys to exploit to take advantage of users’ trust to further gain control of their passwords and infiltrate the “trusted” community. This has added a new element to disaster control for businesses. It is time for businesses to wake up and understand the security…

• Six Critical Elements to Achieve Economies in FISMA Compliance

  Jeff Hughes

  3 Feb 2010 | 8:40 am

  We recently sat down with Michael Rasmussen, President and Risk & Compliance Advisor at Corporate Integrity, to discuss how public sector organizations can meet the requirements of FISMA in a cost-efficient but effective manner. Q. How are public sector organizations adapting to FISMA compliance and why is this critical? A. Federal agencies are trying to make the process for FISMA compliance more sustainable because they realize FISMA is not going away. Specifically, they are looking for ways to implement technology and processes to make FISMA compliance sustainable in the following six…

• Malicious Attacks and Botnets Fuel Data Breach Costs

  Chris Merritt

  1 Feb 2010 | 10:03 am

  The latest fifth annual US Cost of a Data Breach study by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by PGP was released this week. [Disclosure: Lumension has a relationship with the good folks at Ponemon.] The key findings of this report are well articulated in the Executive Summary … US organizations continue to experience an increased cost of data breaches. The average organizational cost of a data breach increased nearly two percent (2 percent), from $6.65 million in 2008 to $6.75 million in 2009. The average cost per compromised record per breach rose only $2, from $202 to $204. The most…

• My Password Is My Password

  C. Edward Brice

  28 Jan 2010 | 1:57 pm

  Education is still key to IT security. Just look at users’ passwords. The New York Times reported last week on a study that exposed the overwhelming simplicity of users’ password choices. According to the study, which was conducted by Imperva, 20 percent of Web users choose a very simplistic password that can be easily guessed — such as “123456.” The Imperva study looked at a list of 32 million passwords that an unknown hacker stole last year from a company involved in developing software for social media sites like Facebook and MySpace. The study found that nearly 1 percent of…

• 
  Sourcefire, Inc.

• Sourcefire's New Global Channel Program Delivers Increased Partner Commitment and Incentives

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:05 am

  New Global Security Alliance Partner Program Accelerates Resellers Path to Profit with Marketing and Training OptionsCOLUMBIA, Md., Feb 09, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sourcefire, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIRE), a leader in intelligent Cybersecurity solutions, today announced the launch of its Global Security Alliance Channel Program, a new multi-tiered marketing and training program for resellers and distributors. Sourcefire created the program to strengthen channel reseller relationships and support them through higher margin sales training and marketing activities. The goal is to drive an increase in the…

• Sourcefire Announces Participation in Upcoming Financial and Industry Conferences

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:06 am

  COLUMBIA, Md., Feb 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sourcefire, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIRE), a leader in intelligent Cybersecurity solutions, today announced expected participation in the following upcoming financial community and industry conferences. Presentations by Sourcefire executives at the financial conferences will be webcast and interested listeners may access the live broadcast in the Investors section of Sourcefire's Web site at: http://investor.sourcefire.com. (Please note, date, time and speakers are as currently scheduled and are subject to change.) RSA Conference San Francisco, CA -…

• Sourcefire Adds New Regional Director of Central and Eastern Europe

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:03 am

  Sourcefire Continues Investments in International GrowthCOLUMBIA, Md., Jan 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sourcefire, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIRE), a leader in intelligent Cybersecurity solutions, has named Michael Frauen Regional Director of Central and Eastern Europe. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing sales in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and across the Eastern European countries. "As Sourcefire continues to grow internationally, we are highly focused on ensuring customer security and success," said Tom McDonough, President and COO of Sourcefire. "The addition of Michael helps round out…

• Sourcefire Delivers 20 Gbps Intrusion Prevention Solution

  19 Jan 2010 | 6:07 am

  New Two-Sensor Cluster Enables Users to Inspect and Block Traffic on High-Speed NetworksCOLUMBIA, Md., Jan 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sourcefire, Inc. (Nasdaq:FIRE), a leader in intelligent Cybersecurity solutions, today announced a new 20 gigabits per second (Gbps) Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) solution. By clustering two 10 Gbps 3D9900 Sensors, the Sourcefire 3D(R) System can now support throughput up to 20 Gbps, delivering leading protection for high-speed enterprise and data center networks. Unlike competitive IPS clustering solutions, Sourcefire's 20 Gbps IPS cluster incorporates…

• Sourcefire Schedules 2009 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Conference Call

  12 Jan 2010 | 6:03 am

  COLUMBIA, Md., Jan 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sourcefire, Inc. (Nasdaq:FIRE), a leader in intelligent Cybersecurity solutions, today announced that it will release its 2009 fourth quarter and full year financial results before the market opens on Thursday, February 25, 2010. Later that morning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Sourcefire will host a conference call to review those results. A listen-only web cast of the session will be available at http://investor.sourcefire.com. Those wishing to participate in the live session should use the following numbers to dial in: Calling from the United…

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  SophosLabs

• Source code for Blackberry and iPhone spyware published

  Vanja Svajcer, SophosLabs, Croatia

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:47 am

  At the BlackHat DC conference and SchmooCon, Nicolas Seriot, an independent researcher and Tyler Shields of Veracode have independently presented two very similar papers. The papers analyse weaknesses in security and application delivery models for iPhone and Blackberry and provide interesting read, especially if you are looking to write the next spyware application or a bot for one of the platforms. For me, the most interesting part of the papers is the one that shows that regardless of the implemented security mechanisms like data caging, providing applications with its own private storage,…

• FakeAV Uses False “Microsoft Security Updates”

  Rowland, SophosLabs AU

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Today at SophosLabs we encountered another interesting rogue security software (Fake AV) variant, Troj/FakeAv-AUF. When run Troj/FakeAv-AUF poses as the Windows Automatic Update facility and purports to install an update named XP Internet Security. This is, as you will have guessed by now, not a genuine Windows security update, this is malware which redirects you from the Windows Security Center to the Fake AV interface and then presents you with false scan results that claim to have located malware on your machine. Rather a lot of malware as you can see from the picture below. FakeAV malware…

• Job opportunity without a single name

  Xinran

  6 Feb 2010 | 9:53 am

  Today we received some job hiring emails that looked like this: It has been formatted nicely and appears to have come from a large job search website. The message reads as follows: Dear Job Seeker, Upon reviewing your resume on Careerbuilder.com we have decided to offer you a job opportunity with our company. The job position is for a Payment Manager/Payments Processor in your area with no obligation to relocate. Job strong-point: commissions without sales. Job Type: - Accounting - Finance - Admin - Clerical - Customer Service Requirements: - Proficiency at using Microsoft Office -…

• New IE Information Disclosure Advisory…

  Michael Shannon, Researcher, SophosLabs UK

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:17 pm

  Microsoft has announced in Advisory (980088) that there has been a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer, versions 5 through 8. Users not running Internet Explorer in Protected Mode are at risk of having information, in files with predictable names, accessed by attackers. This vulnerability cannot be exploited to execute remote code or used for a denial-of-service attack. The largest group of users at risk are Windows XP users running IE without Protected Mode enabled. Internet Explorer on Vista and Windows 7 has Protected Mode enabled by default. Though no patch exists at…

• Spammers dangle iPad carrot

  Richard Cohen, SophosLabs Canada

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:48 pm

  New, shiny products always tend to catch people’s attention, and spammers are continually looking for ways to do exactly that. So it’s not surprising to see spam tempting people with the promise of a new iPad, and a FREE one at that: The image they’ve used is very sketchy too, patched together from other existing Apple products and bearing little resemblance to the pictures released so far. However much you might want an iPad, don’t get lured in by spam like this.

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  Sophos: Graham Cluley's blog

• Bill Cosby has NOT died, but rumours fuel hacker scareware attack

  Graham Cluley, Sophos

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:11 am

  A hoax has spread rapidly over the internet this weekend, claiming that comedian Bill Cosby has died at the age of 72. However, hunting for information about the story can lead your computer into a nasty malware infection. In what appears to be the latest example of hackers jumping on the coat-tails of a hot trending search topic, criminals have created malicious webpages which pretend to be a CNN news report about Bill Cosby's supposed death - but really display fake warnings about security problems on your computer. These poisoned webpages are appearing high in search engine results -…

• Mozilla admits Firefox add-ons contained Trojan code

  Graham Cluley, Sophos

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:24 am

  Mozilla has issued a warning that two add-ons available from AMO (addons.mozilla.org, the Mozilla Add-ons website) were infected by malicious code capable of infecting Windows computers. According to a security notice on AMO's blog, the Master Filer add-on was infected by the LdPinch password-stealing Trojan, and Sothink Web Video Downloader version 4.0 was infected by a version of the Bifrose backdoor Trojan horse. Judging by the statement on the Mozilla Add-ons blog, a fair few people could have found that their Windows computers were infected: Master Filer was downloaded approximately 600…

• Can Gordon Brown's smile infect your computer with a virus?

  Graham Cluley, Sophos

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:11 am

  Emails which claim that pictures of Gordon Brown smiling can infect your PC with a virus have been widely distributed via email. Members of the public are unwittingly forwarding the hoax warning, believing it to be true, warning that the dangerous emails refer to "Gordon Brown smiling or even 'looking happy'", and that all computer users should be on their guard. The warning, however, is bogus. It's just the latest in a series of email virus hoaxes that we have seen over the last 20 years or so - taking advantage of users' desire to help their friends, family and colleagues by passing on a…

• Microsoft warns of Internet Explorer vulnerability

  Graham Cluley, Sophos

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:01 am

  It feels like we've only just got our heads around the last security vulnerability in Internet Explorer (the one used in "Operation Aurora"), and now here comes another one. A security advisory published by Microsoft warns of a vulnerability in multiple versions of Internet Explorer, the world's most popular browser, which could lead to information disclosure. The flaw was demonstrated at the recent Black Hat conference in Washington DC by security consultant Jorge Luis Alvarez Medina, who showed that exploiting the vulnerability allowed him to examine the contents of every file on a user's…

• The Automation Labs Facebook security scare

  Graham Cluley, Sophos

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:02 pm

  A warning being sent between Facebook users is causing an almighty scare, as it raises alarm that strangers might be able to access your profile. The warning claims that entering your Privacy Settings on Facebook, and hunting for "Automation Labs" under Block Users, will display approximately 20 people you don't know. A typical version of the warning reads as follows: All FB friends. This is important. Do this asap! Go to settings. Click on privacy settings. Click on block users. in the name box enter 'automation labs'. A list of approx 20 people you dont even know will come up. Block each…

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  TRUSTe Blog

• Privacy By Design or Privacy By Disaster?

  John Gamble

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:05 am

  by Maureen Cooney Chief Privacy Officer & VP Public Policy TRUSTe Photo Credit Boston, MA – Privacy by Design or Privacy By Disaster?  That was one of many questions that leaders in the telecom and advertising industries, academia, government, civil society, and a handful of privacy practitioners decided to tackle this past week at the 1st Privacy 2.0 International Summit, a Telco 2.0 Executive Brainstorm hosted in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nokia Siemens Networks.   Fred Carter from the Ontario Information Commissioner’s Office and…

• 7 Takeaways from the FTC roundtable in Berkeley, CA

  John Gamble

  1 Feb 2010 | 11:56 am

  By Fran Maier President and Executive Chair TRUSTe Photo Credit Last week I attended the 2nd Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Privacy Roundtable, held in Berkeley, California. The roundtable featured an impressive group of privacy players from both the public and private sector, including FTC regulators, CPOs of major U.S. companies, and leaders of prominent national privacy groups. A great number of featured speakers were TRUSTe clients and TRUSTe co-hosted a reception at Hotel Durant following the Roundtable. Roundtable speakers addressed issues ranging from privacy technology and policy,…

• Data Privacy Day 2010

  John Gamble

  28 Jan 2010 | 4:16 pm

  by Maureen Cooney Chief Privacy Officer & VP Public Policy TRUSTe Is your data “under control?” Whose responsibility is it for protecting consumer privacy? How can consumers have confidence that the websites they visit collect and use their data responsibly and in a privacy attentive way? Dialogues on these questions have been taking place today – Data Privacy Day 2010 – and throughout this week as government, consumer advocates, businesses and the press seek to raise awareness among consumers about the value of their personal and behavioral information online. At TRUSTe, these…

• Notes from Mozilla’s Privacy Workshop

  John Gamble

  28 Jan 2010 | 9:21 am

  by Joanne Furtsch Policy & Product Architect TRUSTe Yesterday I attended Mozilla’s Privacy Workshop in the Bay Area, CA. The Privacy Workshop at Mozilla was an interactive, thought provoking discussion on key privacy issues for consumers.   Mozilla, as part of its Privacy Icons project, invited privacy experts in attendance to brainstorm on these issues.  Mozilla, like TRUSTe, is working on an initiative on how to represent privacy in an iconic format that will provide consumers with meaningful, relevant, and actionable information about the privacy practices of a Web site. …

• TRUSTe launches new program to give consumers greater control over online advertising

  John Gamble

  26 Jan 2010 | 11:56 am

  Today we launched a pilot program with AT&T and Comcast to test a mechanism for providing consumers with notice about advertisements on Web pages they visit and the ability to opt-out of  ads delivered according to their past web browsing activity. The Behavioral Advertising Notice and Choice Program helps online ad publishers (websites) comply with FTC behavioral advertising guidelines by  placing an ad icon on their Web pages that when clicked opens a TRUSTe pop-up widget providing consumers with notice and choice about the ads they see on the site. Below you can see a screen shot of…

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  SecurityTube.Net

• The Automation Labs Facebook Security Scare Video Tutorial

  The Automation Labs Facebook Security Scare Video Tutorial

• The State of the Internet (Jun to Dec 2009) Websense Labs Video Tutorial

  The State of the Internet (Jun to Dec 2009) Websense Labs Video Tutorial

• Using Database Caches to Detect SQL injection (SecTor 2009) Video Tutorial

  Using Database Caches to Detect SQL injection (SecTor 2009) Video Tutorial

• Nsploit (Popping boxes with Nmap) SecTor 2009 Video Tutorial

  Nsploit (Popping boxes with Nmap) SecTor 2009 Video Tutorial

• Sourcefire VRT Vulnerability Report January 2010 Video Tutorial

  Sourcefire VRT Vulnerability Report January 2010 Video Tutorial

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  The iViZ Blog

• A Lazy Pen Tester’s Guide to Testing Flash Applications

  rudrak

  5 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am

  Yesterday, I received a post in the Pen-Test mailing list requesting for tips/resources on penetration testing of flash applications.  While there are some tools and white papers available, I could not find many authoritative resources which wraps the entire spectrum of flash security testing of RIA applications.  So here is an endeavor to detail out the steps of testing.  I will keep this post only to outline the essential steps or points.  Please feel free to recommend additional inclusion of tools and techniques.  The idea is to come up with a comprehensive paper which can be used by…

• Quick Way of Fuzz Testing Unknown Protocols with Wireplay

  rudrak

  4 Jan 2010 | 12:13 am

  The research team at iViZ have been working on a simple yet powerful idea for rapid fuzz testing of Network Applications. Theoretically fuzzing involves supplying in-valid or semi-invalid input set to the target application and monitoring for possible faults. This is highly useful for finding out newer vulnerabilities in applications. However , the security researchers are often faced with problems like : Wide set of different protocols publicly available along with proprietary protocols. Non-public specifications. Writing fuzzers for each the different protocol is highly time consuming.

• 3 Reasons why Automated Vulnerability Scanning does not work

  rudrak

  21 Dec 2009 | 3:35 am

  One of the things that IT managers and network security specialists learn early on is that vulnerability scanning with free or open source tools do not work or are generally not enough when it comes to protecting your computer network and identifying its vulnerabilities. Most network managers are lulled into a false sense of security after a relatively uneventful free vulnerability scanning only to get jolted by a hacking attack. Reason #1 : Vulnerability scanning simply does not protect any network from malicious attacks. It cannot proactively detect your network’s vulnerabilities; it…

• Is Twitter the new source of Malware?

  rudrak

  9 Nov 2009 | 5:36 am

  Ok, I’m going to keep this one real short. A few days ago I created one Squidoo Lens on the vulnerabilities of facebook and twitter which received good user feedback and comments. Following up on that, here is a summary (as well some new ones) that you may consider to prevent your computers being targeted by malware through twitter.  Kaspersky labs deployed a tool named Krawler in August and it has come up with an evidence that alomost 500 URL’s points to sites with malware. (The number is growing so beware!) Don’t believe blindly that a link is completely safe because it is…

• How much secure your VPN really is?

  rudrak

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:01 am

  Late at night one Friday, I got a phone call from a long time buddy who worked for a big countrywide construction company in the role of a chief engineer. Calls from him were predictable while his workstation was giving him a hard time or else a weekend expedition was being considered . However, this call started quite differently from the way it normally starts. He acknowledged that he some how had got a feeling that he had been hacked — his hard disk shows significant activity even in the dead of night and the recently loaded Mcafee was logging a notable deal of unknown traffic. I knew he…