Infosecurity News
GCHQ to help police catch rioters who used social networks to coordinate violence
The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which is responsible for key aspects of the UK's cybersecurity, and MI5 are working with police to hunt rioters by trawling social networks.
SSL VPNs pose network security risks
The use of secure sockets layer (SSL) virtual private networks (VPNs) opens up networks to security risks, according to a white paper by NCP Engineering.
Android malware levels steadily increasing
A researcher with ESET says that his firm has identified that the volume and incidence of malware seen on the Android smartphone and tablet platform are increasing. Cameron Camp, from the East European IT security vendor, says malware authors are ramping up their output to account for the take-up of Android devices amongst end users.
New DDoS defence technology launched
Simwood has launched a defence technology that it claims can be used defend against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
Android malware eavesdrops on users, tapping Google+ as disguise says researcher
A threats analyst with Trend Micro is reporting that another piece of Android malware – from the Nickispy family – has been spotted in the wild. As with other versions of Nickispy, the malware eavesdrops on users and data sessions on the infected mobile device.
Major stolen card credentials site hacked
Whilst carder forums and other types of illegal card credential exchanges are numerous on the darker side of the internet, security researcher Brian Krebs has revealed that a major vendor of stolen card details has been hacked, presumably by his/her fellow cybercriminals.
LinkedIn bows to pressure over “social ads” privacy concerns
LinkedIn has responded to criticism of its "social ads" feature over its use of members' names and photos in advertisements on its website.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee admits to possible data breach affecting 75,000
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has notified 75,000 students and staff members that their personal information, including social security numbers, may have been compromised as the result of a data breach.
Sophos warns LinkedIn users to review their online data following privacy rule change
Sophos has warned LinkedIn users of the need to be aware of a change to the business social networking site's privacy policy, apparently allowing the site to use member's names and photos in promotional advertisements. The change, says the IT security vendor, allows LinkedIn to use the information and pictures by default, meaning that users have to opt out of seeing their names and photos in the site's advertisements.
Canadian Apple store refuses to return woman's stolen iPhone
Here's an interesting – if cautionary – tale of how an Apple store in Canada apparently refused to hand back a stolen iPhone to a woman, despite police and Apple's database as confirming the hardware was registered to her.
GFI senior threat researcher warns on cybercriminal sting offering low-cost versions of CCleaner
GFI Software's senior threat researcher has warned about a Russian website that is apparently offering various low-cost versions of the CCleaner PC utility, which is widely used to remove unwanted files, fix problematic registry entries and the like. The only problem with the pirate site is that the software is infected with malware.
ISO and IEC publish new standards on biometric data security
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has teamed up with the International Electrochemical Commission (IEC) to publish joint security and privacy standards regarding the use of biometric data for authentication.
New exploitation technique uses improper protocol specifications
A new type of exploitation technique is making use of improper implementation of proprietary protocol specifications, warns an analysis by researchers from Alert Logic.
Hong Kong Stock Exchange suspends trading after hackers close news website
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was forced to suspend afternoon trading in seven listed companies after the news portion of its website was hit by hackers.
Malware-laden autowhaler spears cybercriminals preying on phishers
A malware-laden autowhaler application unleashed to infect cybercriminals stealing from phishers, and a rogue anti-virus product offering up a fake codec suite for sale after it disables users’ video players, top GFI Software’s list of the most prevalent threats for July 2011.
Government will crack down on rioters using social media, says PM David Cameron
Prime minister David Cameron has said government will crack down on rioters using social networks to communicate, as Parliament was recalled from its summer recess to discuss the outbreak of violence this week.
Security in the Post-PC era: smartphones and tablets require more security
The smartphone, and increasingly the tablet, are fast becoming the primary device of choice for both personal and enterprise use. Infosecurity spoke with Omri Sigelman, VP of marketing and products for AVG Mobile Solutions, at last week’s Black Hat conference in Las Vegas to discuss the state of security in the rapidly changing ‘post-PC era’.
Myanmar surprises as top source of malicious internet traffic
Myanmar has come out of nowhere to top the list of sources of malicious internet traffic in Akamai’s State of the Internet report, the first time the country has ever appeared on the list.
Anti-virus, firewalls and intrusion detection are no longer enough warns SANS security expert
A leading IT security expert is warning companies that AV, firewalls and IDS technology may no longer be enough to defend company IT resources against attacks.
Smart devices are shipping with security holes, say engineers
Nearly 25% of engineers said they personally knew about security problems in their company’s smart devices that have not been disclosed to their customers and the general public, according to a recent survey by device security firm Mocana.
