Network Security: Archive: October 2011

Taking a Layered Approach to IT Security

Smart patching and whitelisting combined with antivirus are a good way to ensure you are going beyond the basics.

Security Flaw Found in Pan American Games Site

Journalists' names, pictures, addresses and passport numbers may have been exposed.

Recent Cyber Attacks on Department of Energy Cost $2 Million

The attacks weren't described in detail, but were deemed 'successful.'

Spear Phishing Quickly Coming of Age

Even the security giants are not immune from this sophisticated and growing form of attack, writes Jovi Bepinosa Umawing of GFI Software.

Researchers Demo AWS Security Flaw

The new account hijacking attack was demonstrated last week at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security.

Penetration Testing Shows Unlikely Vulnerabilities

Enterprises need to dig deeper than just automated scanning to find the really interesting and dangerous cyber security flaws.

Spammers Launch URL Shortening Services to Sidestep Security Measures

Symantec researchers have already found 87 URL shortening sites set up by spammers.

Japanese Parliament Hit by Security Breach

Lawmakers' user names and passwords were stolen in a cyber attack launched from a server in China.

Bank Fraud Still Costing Plenty

Bank fraud is and will continue to be an expensive problem.

Taiwan Tops List for Attack Traffic

New Akamai report points the finger at Asia-Pacific for most attack traffic.

UK's ICO Warns of Surge in Private Sector Data Breaches

The number of data breaches in the private sector rose by 58 percent in the 2011/12 period.

Security Researchers Warn of XML Vulnerability

Juraj Somorovsky and Tibor Jager say there's no simple fix for the problem, and the standard needs to be changed.

Researchers Warn of 'Major Privacy Vulnerability' in Skype

Skype users' IP addresses can be tracked and then link to those users' online activities, including file sharing.

Kindle Fire Sparks Enterprise IT Fears

New browser, Silk, and Amazon's cloud at the heart of IT security concerns.

Cisco Intros Virtual Firewall Appliance

The Cisco ASA 1000V Cloud Firewall provides firewall capabilities, real-time threat defense, always-on remote access and comprehensive network security.

Which Browser is the Most Secure?

The 'most hostile' one, say researchers at Accuvant Labs.

Duqu, Stuxnet and the World of Cyber Espionage

Is Duqu related to Stuxnet? Who is behind cyber espionage and why Adobe Reader is to blame for the whole thing.

Gameloft Takes Site Offline Following Security Breach

The breach prompted the company to close the Web version of Gameloft Live.

Mark Weatherford Named DHS Cyber Security Chief

Weatherford's role entails working with private sector partners to strengthen the country's overall cyber security position.

Nemours Acknowledges Massive Security Lapse

Unencrypted backup tapes containing 1.6 million patients' and employees' personal data have been lost.

How Hackers Can Benefit IT Security

Bringing the hacker mindset into corporate IT isn't always a bad thing.

Security Lapse at Scottish Council Leaks Staff Data

Approximately 900 current and former staff members' personal information was made available online for more than two months.

U.S. Considered Cyber Attack on Libya

The Obama administration considered hacking into Libyan computer networks to disrupt military communications.

Report Warns of Data Leaks at Social Security Administration

More than 400,000 Social Security numbers have been published by mistake since 1980.

Norton Internet Security IDs Facebook as Phishing Site

Symantec recently withdrew an update that identified the social networking site as a 'fraudulent Web page.'

SEC Requires Cyber Attack Disclosures

Publicly listed companies must now disclose all cyber attacks, if those attacks could cause financial damage to the company.

Defense Department Sued Over Security Breach

The lawsuit seeks $4.9 billion, or $1,000 for each of the 4.9 million people affected.

LogRhythm Using Logs to Remediate Security Risk

Your logs aren't just for auditing and compliance, they can also be used in an SIEM solution that will remediate for security risk and threats.

Security Researcher Gets Police Grilling for Reporting Vulnerability

First State Super called the police after thanking Patrick Webster for advising them of the flaw.

RSA Blames Nation State for Cyber Attack

According to company executive chairman Art Coviello, two individual groups from a single nation state were involved.

8 iOS Security Apps for Jailbroken Devices

Want to get more out of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and be secure? Read on.

F-Secure Introduces Internet Security 2012

The upgrade, which will be free to existing customers, will be released on October 25.

Sony Hit by New Security Breach

Although 93,000 accounts were accessed, the company says no credit card information was at risk.

Surge in Cyber Attacks on Retail Sector

Dell SecureWorks blocked an average of 91,500 attacks per retailer during the first nine months of 2011.

Do IT Security Tools Really Make You Safer?

Yet another suite of tools for IT security folks to administer and manage can actually have the opposite effect.

Microsoft Fixes 23 Bugs, Report Examines 'Zero-Days'

Microsoft patches October's bugs, plus it releases its latest Security Intelligence Report.

Researchers Warn of Widespread Web Site Privacy Violations

The sites share visitors' personal information with advertisers or other third parties, often without disclosing in privacy policies that they do so.

Sophos Warns of UPS Phishing E-mails

A link asking users to update their accounts leads to a compromised Web site in the Seychelles.

Sourcefire Accelerates IPS to 40 GbE

Intrusion prevention scaled to 40 gigabit Ethernet as demands continue to rise.

TD Ameritrade Settles Security Breach Lawsuit

The settlement allows identity theft victims to collect between $50 and $2,500.

German Researchers Break Smartcard Encryption

The attack takes about seven hours to recover the key protecting the Mifare DESFire MF3ICD40.

Security Flaw Found on American Express Site

The vulnerability could be used to steal credit card customers' login data.

Security Researchers Warn of Apache Vulnerability

The security flaw could be used by remote attackers to access internal servers.

Review: Kaspersky Adds Cloud, Smartphones to Its Updated Offering

The first major overhaul in four years of Kaspersky's business antivirus software, Kaspersky Business Space Security, is out.

Stanford Hospital Sued Over Security Breach

The class action lawsuit seeks $20 million, or $1,000 per patient whose personal information was exposed.

UK Hospital Acknowledges Security Lapse

An unencrypted memory stick containing 800 patient records was lost.

GFI Upgrades Its Business Class Offering

The new version adds enhancements to ease of use and deployment.

Check Point Introduces Anti-Bot Software Blade

The new solution is designed specifically to detect bot-infected machines.

NSS Labs Offers Rewards for Internet Explorer, Flash Exploits

The company will pay $100 to $500 for working exploits.

Vulnerabilites Found in SonicWall Network Security Appliance

Hugo Vázquez Caramés found the flaws during an ethical hack of a customer's network.

Vodafone New Zealand Hit by Cyber Attack on California ISP

When California-based Hurricane Electric Went down, Vodafone NZ users were unable to access some US Web sites.

Siege Warfare in the Cyber Age

In one the unlikeliest turn of events brought about by technology, it looks like Middle Ages' siege warfare may be making a comeback, writes Gunter Ollmann of Damballa.

McAfee, IBM Announce Security Acquisitions

McAfee will purchase NitroSecurity, and IBM will buy Q1 Labs.

Adobe Warns of Critical Security Flaws in Photoshop Elements

The vulnerabilities could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system, according to the company.

Massive Surge in Federal Cyber Security Incidents

According to the GAO, reports of security incidents among 24 key agencies increased by more than 650 percent over the last five years.

Iran Threatens to Retaliate for Cyber Attacks

Brigadier General Ali Shadmani has said that mounting any cyber attack against Iran would be risky for the US, UK and Israel.

Network Security: Archive: October 2011

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