cybersecurity featured

U.S. spy agency may get more cybersecurity duties

The spy agency that ran the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program may get more responsibility for securing U.S. computer networks, President Barack Obama's intelligence chief told Congress on Wednesday. Director of National Intelligence Admiral Dennis Blair said the National Security Agency, which is responsible for codebreaking and electronic spying, should assume a greater role in cybersecurity because of its technological prowess and current role in detecting attacks. [Reuters] ›
CyberSECURITY

New Conficker B++ Worm Discovered, More Stealth

A new variant of the Conficker/Downadup worm has been detected. The worm opens a backdoor on an infected machine and allows hackers remote control of infected PCs. Dubbed Conficker B++ (and not to be confused with Conficker B), the new variant of the worm opens a backdoor with auto-update functionality, allowing a hacker to distribute malware to infected m ›
CyberWAR

Info War: Pentagon Could Learn From Obama, Israel

Over the New Year's holiday, however, it looked like a second – and very different – model for information warfare was emerging. It came from Israel, and its battle against Hamas. And rather than ease back on the control, Israel tried to exert it more tightly than any military in a long time. [Wired] ›
CyberSECURITY

Attack exploits unpatched Excel security hole

Attackers are attempting to exploit an unpatched security hole in Excel that could allow someone to take control of a compromised computer, Microsoft said in a security advisory on Tuesday. The attack exploiting the Excel Unspecified Remote Code Execution Vulnerability requires a computer user to open an attachment sent via e-mail that has a maliciously cra ›
CyberATTACK

SQL Attacks - Half a Million Sites Already Owned

A new research report delving further into the current epidemic of online SQL injection attacks maintains that over a half million sites were victimized by the threats during 2008 alone. According to the Web Hacking Incidents Database (WHID) 2008 Annual Report issued by security appliance maker Breach Security on Tuesday, SQL threats that dropped malware on ›
CyberTHREATS

Chinese IT Firm Accused of Links to Cyberwarfare

In the past 10 years, Beijing-based Venus Info Tech has become the dominant provider of information technology (IT) network security to the Chinese intelligence and military community.
 It also has been accused of providing hacker services that help the Chinese government penetrate foreign government computer networks. Sources also accuse Venus of helpin ›
CyberATTACK

Massive Security Breach Could Impact Millions

It is being called one of the largest data breaches ever reported -- one that may have compromised millions of credit and debit card transactions. New Jersey based Heartland Payment Systems is the nation's sixth largest payment processor used by more than 175,000 businesses, including many in Hawaii. Thousands of Hawaii residents recently received advisory ›
CyberSECURITY

Top 20 Cybersecurity Defenses Proposed

A group of federal agencies and private organizations, including the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, has released a set of guidelines defining the top 20 things organizations should do to prevent cyberattacks. The Consensus Audit Guidelines (CAG) describe the 20 key actions, referred to as security controls, that organizations should take ›
CyberSECURITY

I3P releases cybersecurity R&D recommendations

The Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection (I3P) has released recommendations that included improved coordination for cybersecurity research and development efforts. The I3P, a consortium of cybersecurity institutions that include academic research centers, government laboratories and nonprofit organizations, made those recommendations in a rep ›
CyberATTACK

Chinese hackers deface the Russian Consulate in Shanghai

That was fast. Chinese hackers collaborating with the Chinese Hacking Union, a two-years old training community for wannabe hackers, hacked and defaced the official web site of the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in Shanghai, PRC in response to the recent accusations that a Russian navy vessel has sank a Chinese cargo ship. [ZDNet] ›
CyberATTACK

FAA breach heightens cybersecurity concerns

The Federal Aviation Administration was doing such a good job at protecting data in its computer systems that the Office of Management and Budget chose it in January to be one of four agencies to guide other federal agencies in their cybersecurity efforts. [FCW] ›
CyberATTACK

IFPI Site Hacked to Protest Pirate Bay Trial

The Swedish website for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry was defaced Thursday by hackers protesting the group's involvement in the ongoing Pirate Bay trial in Stockholm. The message on the homepage of the recording industry association's website urged Pirate Bay prosecutor Haakan Roswall of Stockholm to "stop lying." The hackers, ca ›
CyberSECURITY

B.C. auditor says government wireless network security lax

B.C.'s auditor general says lax security can allow intruders to tap into the wireless computer network at provincial government buildings in Victoria. John Doyle says a survey found two-thirds of wireless access points near government buildings in the capital used only modest encryption, or none at all. [Canadian Press] ›