Network Security Roundup for August 5, 2003

BBC: Hacker Hit Parade Goes Live
04-Aug-03 17:29 ET

Story Highlights:
"Security firm Qualys has begun producing a real-time index of the vulnerabilities that are the current favourites of the Net's community of malicious hackers. The index is created by scanning some of the thousands of networks that make up the Internet and logging which vulnerabilities are getting attention."

Full Story on BBC

Story Highlights:
"Internet users around the globe are still being duped by a tricky new malicious program that claims recipients' e-mail accounts 'will be expiring.' The so-called 'MiMail' virus seemed to get a second life on Monday as workers got to the office, antivirus firms said. But there is hope that the virus, which may be an attempt to harvest e-mail addresses, will run out of gas soon."

Full Story on MSNBC

Story Highlights:
"While one of the sneakiest viruses to date began spreading rapidly across the Internet at the weekend, antivirus software vendor Panda Software detected a Trojan that exploits, you guessed it, another Windows vulnerability. Its actions leave affected computers at the mercy of hackers, the company warns."

Full Story on The Register

Story Highlights:
"Marcus Sachs is helping develop the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Program. The nascent division will eventually be the central government's point of contact for anything dealing with critical data infrastructure. The Cyber Program is intended to give the government an early warning system against large-scale Internet threats, defend against terrorist attacks involving the Internet, and investigate Internet security incidents that target U.S. government and military computers."

Full Story on PCWorld

Story Highlights:
"A multivendor team led by Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) last week released new guidelines for security vulnerability reporting and response. But critics of the effort faulted it for its lack of nonvendor buy-in."

Full Story on ComputerWorld