Security

Chinese Army Ends 3-Month Hacking Hiatus
May 20, 2013

After a three-month lull, China's People's Liberation Army has resumed hack attacks against United States companies and government agencies. Despite a ballyhooed February report from private security firm Mandiant, and despite public complaints from the Pentagon, Unit 61398, the PLA group made famous by the report, is again back to its hacking ways.

Island Nation's Web Domain Now Paradise for Spammers
May 20, 2013

Chances are you've never heard of the tiny Pacific island nation of Palau, but you may be familiar with its former Internet domain: PW. That's because the domain, now owned by Directi, has become a favorite of spammers. According to Fort Systems, Directi -- which christened PW "Professional Web" -- began offering the top-level domain to all comers at rock-bottom prices.

A New Approach for Blocking Zero-Day Threats
May 18, 2013

Cybercriminals use zero-day and unpatched application vulnerabilities to install data-stealing malware on corporate endpoints because these are -- and will continue to be -- an issue with virtually all software applications. Zero-day exploits that take advantage of unknown vulnerabilities are the hardest to defend.

Lawmakers Ask for Clarity on Google Glass and Privacy
May 17, 2013

Eight members of Congress have sent a letter to Google asking about the privacy implications of Google Glass. The letter was sent from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and seven other lawmakers from the bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus. It asks Google whether users will be able to opt in to various proposed scenarios.

Criticism: A Security Chief's Most Valuable Resource
May 17, 2013

This past week, a lesson about enterprise information security found its way to me via a somewhat unorthodox channel: specifically, an episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. In this particular episode, the upshot was that Ramsay wasn't able to help. Why not? The owners weren't able to take criticism. There's a lesson in this for those of us in the network and security space.

New Yorker Launches Strongbox Source-Protection Service
May 16, 2013

The New Yorker has launched Strongbox, an anonymous system for providing the publication with information, based on the open source DeadDrop program developed by the late Aaron Swartz and Kevin Poulsen. Strongbox can be thought of as an extension of the mailing address printed in small type on the magazine's inside cover, said The New Yorker.

Now It's the EU Harping on Huawei, ZTE
May 16, 2013

What next, Antarctica? Citing illegal subsidies, the European Commission is considering trade duties against Chinese telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE. This is but the latest headache for Huawei and ZTE. Between them, the U.S., Canada, Australia and India have all publicly voiced concerns about the duo.

Bloomberg Caught With Hands in the Customer Data Jar
May 16, 2013

Bloomberg has been embroiled in scandal since news broke last week that its reporters were using the company's corporate terminals to monitor its customers' activities. The story began to unravel when news surfaced that Goldman Sachs had confronted Bloomberg over the possibility that reporters were accessing its account data.

DHS Raises Alarm Over Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure
May 13, 2013

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned American companies involved with energy and infrastructure operations to be on their guard against cyberattacks. The warning was issued by the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, which works to help protect critical infrastructure.

China Bashes Apple for Tax Evasion
May 13, 2013

China has been having a good go at Apple lately, having slammed the company in March for substandard post-sale service and quickly following that up with charges of copyright infringement. The latest accusation: tax evasion. Oh, and pornography. Apple's online stores in China reportedly are not paying proper import taxes for software sold to Chinese customers.

Bank Internet Links Can Give Hackers Keys to Vaults
May 13, 2013

Willie Sutton once said that he robbed banks because that's where the money was. If Sutton were living today, he might have made the career move to hacker. That would allow him to do what he liked to do best -- steal money -- on a global scale, which is what a ring of bank robbing hackers have been doing. Eight of the alleged cybercrooks were arrested in the U.S. last week.

Huawei Founder Speaks
May 09, 2013

Ren Zhengfei, the founder and CEO of Huawei Technologies, spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday. Ren, formerly a member of the Chinese military, has been the focal point of Western skepticism toward Huawei -- which resulted in the company being barred from a broadband project in Australia, as well as being labeled as untrustworthy in a U.S. House Intelligence report.

Obama May Pick Twitter Lawyer for Privacy Post
May 08, 2013

The Obama administration appears to be sending a message to privacy advocates that it's taking their issue seriously by creating a new position devoted to it -- and choosing a high-profile tech lawyer to occupy it. The White House reportedly is tagging Nicole Wong, Twitter's legal director for products, for a top privacy post.

Chinese Authorities Net 11 in Piracy Bust
May 08, 2013

Police in Beijing arrested 11 suspects believed to be involved with a major high-definition downloading ring. The website, silu.com, was running what has been called an "unprecedented" operation. It reportedly boasted more than 400,000 registered members and offered under-the-table downloads for nearly 19,000 films and TV series.

Los Alamos Surfs Its Own Quantum Internet for 2 Years
May 07, 2013

Amid fears that state-sponsored cyberterrorists have set their sights on the U.S.'s critical infrastructure -- and complaints that the infrastructure's security is below par -- the Los Alamos National Laboratory said it has been testing a network using quantum cryptography for the past two years.

IE8 Exploit Had US Nuke Workers in Its Sights
May 06, 2013

A zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer 8 let hackers compromise a U.S. Department of Labor website linked to a database used by former Energy Department employees who had worked with nuclear weapons or uranium. That database was also used by Labor Department claims examiners. Security firm Invincea first reported the attack.

Hacking Software Guru Faces the Music in US Court
May 06, 2013

Hamza Bendelladj, an Algerian national known by his alias "Bx1," appeared in an Atlanta court last week, where he faced a 23-count indictment stemming from his alleged participation in the cybercrime consortium responsible for hacking software known as "SpyEye." Bendelladj, 24, was the target of a three-year manhunt that ended in a Bangkok airport in January.

Scan of Entire Internet Reveals Too Many Leaky Devices
May 06, 2013

There are 3.7 billion IP addresses on the Internet, and HD Moore has pinged every one of them. Moore is chief security officer at Rapid7, a cyberthreat and risk management company. In February, he decided as a hobby project to conduct a census of all the devices connected to the Internet, using a nest of computers in a spare room in his home.

Risk and Compliance: The Yin and Yang of Security
May 04, 2013

Mushrooming industry and government mandates that govern IT security have led to a highly regulated environment and annual compliance fire drills. Compliance, however, does not necessarily equal better security. We are reminded of this fact nearly every day when breaches make headlines. So what role should compliance and risk management play?

Mobile Industry Castigated for Limp Response to Cellphone Theft
May 03, 2013

The mobile industry isn't doing enough to prevent cellphone theft or to help its victims, critics allege. Theft of mobile devices is on the rise. In some cities, notably Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, it represents a significant portion of all robberies. Device manufacturers could offer tech solutions to help quickly trace devices or disable them once they are reported stolen.