cyberthreats

Commonly used tools of the Chinese hacker

ChinaByte just released an article on commonly used “Security Software” that is domestically produced: 1) 溯雪 (Snow Trace) - Password decoder 2) 乱刀 (Chaotic Knife) - Password analyzer for UNIX [Full list at the Dark Visitor Blog] ›
CyberSECURITY

Disclosure of information vulnerability in Safari

I have discovered that Apple's Safari browser is vulnerable to an attack that allows a malicious web site to read files on a user's hard drive without user intervention. This can be used to gain access to sensitive information stored on the user's computer, such as emails, passwords, or cookies that could be used to gain access to the user's accounts on some ›
CyberSECURITY

'Huge increase' in worm attacks plague unpatched Windows PCs

A computer worm that exploits a Windows bug Microsoft Corp. patched more than two months ago continues to wreak havoc, a security company said today, as it boosted its overall threat ranking and warned users to patch their PCs. "We've seen a huge increase in the number of [malware] samples, as well as infections, ›
CyberATTACK

Paris Hilton's Web Site Being Used in Web Attack

Paris Hilton's Web site has been hacked and is serving visitors a malicious Trojan program designed to steal sensitive information from their computers. The hack was discovered by security vendor ScanSafe, which said that Parishilton.com (note: this site is not safe to visit as of press time) had apparently been compromised since Friday. Visitors to the sit ›
CyberTHREATS

Open Wi-Fi is for Terrorists, Mumbai Cops Say

Open wi-fi networks have become terrorists' tools, and have to be shut down, right this second. That's the conclusion, at least, of the Mumbai police department. Starting today, the Times of India reports, "several police teams, armed with laptops and internet-enabled mobile phones, will randomly visit homes to detect unprotected networks." [Wired] ›
CyberSECURITY

NSA helps name most dangerous programming mistakes

A group of more than 30 computer organizations has taken what some are calling a big step toward making software more secure. Led by experts from the U.S. National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft and Symantec, the group plans to publish on Monday a blueprint outlining the most dangerous software programming errors. [Network W ›
CyberSECURITY

Popular Chinese Filtering Circumvention Tools DynaWeb FreeGate, GPass, and FirePhoenix Sell User Data

Three of the circumvention tools — DynaWeb FreeGate, GPass, and FirePhoenix — used most widely to get around China’s Great Firewall are tracking and selling the individual web browsing histories of their users. Data about aggregate usage of users of the tools is published freely. You can see, for example, th ›
CyberTHREATS

Former judge hunts terrorists on the Internet

A nervous woman in a gray suit clicks on a photo lineup on an overhead screen labeled "Jihadi Martyrs." It flashes to mug shots of men with names like Abu Issa, an al Qaeda recruiter, and Abu Jabber, a trainer. A man in one photograph points a machine gun. "They are all me," the woman from Montana told an audience of computer experts, law enforcement agent ›
CyberSECURITY

Obama's big idea: Digital health records

President-elect Barack Obama, as part of the effort to revive the economy, has proposed a massive effort to modernize health care by making all health records standardized and electronic. Here's the audacious plan: Computerize all health records within five years. The quality of health care for all Americans gets a big boost, and costs decline. Sounds good ›
Video

CyberWarriors (1997)

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CyberSECURITY

Reply-all e-mail storm hits State Department

Many "reply all" fiascos result in mere embarrassment, but American diplomats have been told they may be punished for sending mass responses after an e-mail storm nearly knocked out one of the State Department's main electronic communications systems. A cable sent last week to all employees at the department's Washington headquarters and overseas missions w ›
CyberSECURITY

Judge: Man can't be forced to divulge encryption passphrase

A federal judge in Vermont has ruled that prosecutors can't force a criminal defendant accused of having illegal images on his hard drive to divulge his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) passphrase. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerome Niedermeier ruled that a man charged with transporting child pornography on his laptop across the Canadian border has a Fifth Amendment rig ›
CyberSECURITY

Information security still a problem at IRS

The Internal Revenue Service failed to address more than half of the security weaknesses identified in previous audits, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office on Friday. Inadequate monitoring of network activity and a lack of computer access controls continues to put financial and taxpayer information at risk. The IRS made so ›