Infosecurity News
iPhones and Galaxy Tabs banned from Saudi security establishments
The Saudi Ministry of the Interior has banned the use of certain high-definition camera-equipped smartphones and tablets from its security establishments, arguing that the devices are easy to hack and be remotely subverted.
Hackers infiltrate German police and customs service computers
Hackers were able to infiltrate computers at the German federal police and customs service and remain there for months without being detected, according to a German newspaper.
UK counter-terror report confirms extremists are early adopters of technology
The latest report on the UK's Counter Terror strategy says that extremist groups such as al-Qaeda are early adopters of technology in their bid to wage war on governments and their citizens.
PCI DSS broadens appeal beyond credit card data security
The PCI Data Security Standard (DSS), originally developed to protect credit card data, can be used to vet cloud providers for data security practices, as well as provide a template for compliance with information security laws, noted Sean Bruton, senior director of client services and security with managed hosting services provider NeoSpire.
EU seeks public comment on personal data breach notification rules
The European Commission has opened a public consultation on expanding, standardizing, and clarifying personal data breach notification requirements for European businesses.
Signify moves 2FA onto Android smartphones and tablets
Signify has enabled its software token two-factor authentication (2FA) service as an Android app, making the company one of the first to extend 2FA to the Google smartphone platform. The Android app joins similar apps available for the BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad platforms.
Symantec researcher warns on Apple MobileMe/iDisk phish
A Symantec researcher is reporting a large phish taking place surrounding Apple's new iDisk cloud service, with recipients being routed to a rogue MobileMe/iDisk login page - located on a free web hosting service - in a bid to extract their login credentials.
Avast claims 60% of Adobe Reader users are running vulnerable versions of their software
Research carried out by Avast has revealed that 60% of users of Adobe Reader are using an outdated and vulnerable version of the popular Adobe application.
Cloud-based secure browsing service for Firefox goes free
The development team behind the Cocoon service - a cloud-based extension to Mozilla Firefox that stores all cookies and internet session attributes securely in the cloud - have announced the service is now free of charge.
NASA hacker refuses to pay compensation to US government
A former Romanian hacker, after graduating in law in his home country, is reported to have refused to pay $240,000 compensation to the US government for hacking the servers of NASA, the US Navy and the Department of Energy back in 2005/2006.
Texas Comptroller hires chief privacy officer after massive data breach
Fulfilling a pledge she made in May, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has hired a chief privacy officer to oversee data security in her office following a data breach in April in which personal information on 3.5 million citizens was exposed.
Defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton comes clean on hack
After hiding behind a “no comment” regarding Anonymous’s claim that it stole 90,000 military email addresses and password hashes from the defense contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton has admitted that it did in fact suffer a data breach.
GCHQ has lost up to £1m worth of equipment, ISC report reveals
The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which is responsible for key aspects of the UK's cybersecurity, has lost equipment worth up to £1m, the latest Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report reveals.
Azerbaijan at centre of pharma and fake AV card processing says researcher
In his continuing research into which banks are processing card transactions for spamming rogue pharma websites - which supply drugs without the need for prescriptions - Brian Krebs says that a number of banks in Azerbaijan are now central to this type of business.
Most enterprises disappointed in virtualisation cost savings
Research just released by Computer Associates (CA) claims to show that 60% of IT decision makers from medium and large-sized enterprises were disappointed by the cost savings resulting from their migration to virtualisation.
Cyber terrorism set to increase after al-Qaeda calls for more cyber attacks, says government
Cyber terrorism will become an increasing problem as the tools and techniques needed for cyber attacks become more widely available, according to a report on the government's new counter-terrorism strategy.
News of the World phone hacking spills into the world of malware
A number of authors are reporting that the Sunday Times - amongst other papers - may have attempted to infect their computers with malware in an attempt to learn printable secrets.
Vishing attacks now five years old says Symantec
Last Sunday was the fifth anniversary of the first vishing attack - an attack methodology involving the use of voice telephony - and says a Symantec senior analyst, the security problem shows no sign of going away.
Anonymous says it stole 90,000 military emails from defense firm
The hacker group Anonymous claims that it breached a server at defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and stole 90,000 military emails and password hashes.
Rhode Island sets up cybersecurity team that could be state model
Rhode Island has set up a cybersecurity team that it hopes will be a model for other states trying to address cybersecurity problems in an era of tight state government budgets.
