Infosecurity News
Unauthorised local authority staff access to personal data is inevitable
Reports in Computer Weekly that a number of local authorities are sacking or disciplining staff for viewing personal data on the Department for Work and Pension's Customer Information System (CIS) comes as no surprise, says Cyber-Ark, but merely serves to highlight the need for highly privileged access to this kind of data.
Linux, Symbian, Android, Apple or Blackberry? A tough choice for CIOs
The recent launch of nine high-specification mobile phones that use the Mobile Linux operating system (Limo) will add fuel to an already overheated market.
The iPod and iPhone could be used for hacking
Applications on the Apple iTunes website are arguably what makes the iPhone so popular in mobile phone circles, but a growing number of users are unlocking (jailbreaking) their iPhones, for the simple reason that it opens up the mobile to third-party applications. This means the iPod and iPhone could be used for hacking.
Microsoft warns over DDOS security vulnerability in Windows ASP.NET
Microsoft has issued a security note about a flaw in Windows ASP.NET that it says could allow a DDOS security situation.
Hold software providers accountable for IT failures
Regulation could protect businesses and governments from poor IT implementations that have cost billions of dollars. But at present, software is generally shipped with a disclaimer which states that the manufacturer does not guarantee it will work, unlike regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals where the supplier is held accountable for a failure in manufacturing.
Competition will drive down NHS IT costs, say Conservatives
The Conservative party is to reveal plans to cut NHS IT spending by scrapping the government's planned central database for medical records.
Fibre optic networks not secure without encryption
Fibre optic networks are not secure enough to transmit information that has not been encrypted, according to a recent report from IDC Research.
Managed wireless security set to hit $1 billion by 2014
A study just released by ABI Research predicts a period of healthy growth for managed wireless security solutions, with growth averaging 27% a year for the period 2008 to 2014.
UK national ID card cloned in 12 minutes
The prospective national ID card was broken and cloned in 12 minutes, the Daily Mail revealed this morning.
Companies invest in IT, but do not measure IT value
Despite 30% of IT security companies increasing their investments in IT this year, fewer than half have a shared understanding of IT value across the enterprise and two-thirds fail to fully measure it, according to ISACA.
WatchGuard acquires BorderWare in private transaction
Seattle-based WatchGuard Technologies - the unified threat management (USM) security vendor - has announced plans to buy privately-held BorderWare Technology, which employs around 90 staff, for an undisclosed sum.
Does weak cloud password security mean local storage is best?
Hard on the heels of researchers at last week's Black Hat security briefings showing how easy it is to recover third party passwords on Amazon's EC2 and Microsoft's Office Online services, Andy Cordial, Origin Storage's managing director, said that this highlights the fact that local storage technology is far more secure than the cloud.
Arbor Networks shows how Iran filters and blocks internet traffic
Arbor Networks has published internet bandwidth usage figures from June and July that make fascinating reading if you ever wondered how less democratic governments such as Iran filters and blocks internet traffic for their citizens.
Zeus botnet traced to Latvian operation
Researchers have been busy over the last few days tracing where the Zeus botnet is being controlled from, following investigations by the University of Alabama in the US, which tracked down the Zeus Bot virus to a raft of fake internet postcards circulating on the internet.
SquirrelMail open source email project hacked
It now seems that the hacking of the servers of the SquirrelMail open-source email project in late June may have been worse than originally reported.
US credit reporting system flawed claims information security researcher
Clever hackers are exploiting a number of loopholes in US credit reporting systems to substantially improve their credit rating and so gain access to zero percent loans and low-cost credit cards, an information security researcher said over the weekend.
Black Hat: San Francisco meters hacked for free parking
At the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, researchers have revealed how the security of San Francisco's plans to become a showcase for the US on computerised parking has been compromised.
ISF details top ten future IT security threats
Cybercrime is at the top of the Information Security Forum's (ISF) Threat Horizon list for 2011, which highlights the growth of `crimeware as a service' offered by criminal gangs, along with infiltration into organisations to carry out insider attacks.
The correct approach on access assurance revealed
Access assurance may be a complex area, but Stuart Hodkinson, UK general manager with Courion Corporation - along with Fran Howarth, a principal analyst with Quocirca - had more than a few answers in an educational and informative webinar this week.
Adobe confirms Flash contains Microsoft security flaw
Should vendors include programme code from third parties, is the question experts are asking, now that Adobe has acknowledged that it used Microsoft's allegedly flawed development code in its products.
