NSA Releases SE Android |
01/26/2012
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The National Security Agency has
released SE Android, a security-enhanced version of Android, which
provides and enforces stricter access-control policies than those found
in the popular mobile operating system by default.
SE Android is based on NSAs previous research into mandatory access
controls that gave birth to the Security-Enhanced Linux project back in
2000. SE Linux is a collection of Linux kernel security modules and
other tools that provide a flexible mechanism for restricting what
resources users or applications can access.
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Mobile Growth Causing Security Concerns |
01/25/2012
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An explosion of personal mobile
devices on corporate networks is creating new security headaches for the
enterprise, according to a survey of IT professionals by a network
security vendor.
Many of these devices are carrying a wide range of business and customer
information, according to the report, released this week by Check Point
Software Technologies. The results found that 71% of companies say
mobile devices have contributed to increased security incidents and many of the security problems are traced to employee carelessness or ignorance.
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Mexico Security Business is Robust |
01/24/2012
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While Mexicos merciless drug war
has scared off tourists and investment dollars, it has fed one niche
industry: private-security services.
During the five years since President Felipe Calderon took power and
declared war on drug cartels, Mexico has been shaken by 47,000
drug-related murders as well as rocketing levels of kidnapping and
extortion.
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Closing Embassy in Syria |
01/23/2012
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The Obama administration is
moving to close the US embassy in Syria and evacuate the remaining
American personnel, citing growing concerns about the security situation
in Damascus, US officials said Friday.
American diplomats said no formal decision had been made in what could
mark an end to the Obama administrations efforts to engage President
Bashar al Assad and break his military alliance with Iran.
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AVG Files for IPO |
01/22/2012
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Antivirus and security software
developer AVG has filed with U.S. regulators to raise up to $125 million
in an initial public offering.
Following on the heels of competitor Avast, security and antivirus
developer AVG has announced it has filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission to make an initial public offering to raise up to
$125 million, which it plans to use to continue and expand its
operations—potentially through acquisitions.
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Cyber Attacks on Pentagon |
01/20/2012
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Chinese hackers have deployed a
new cyber weapon that is aimed at the Defense Department, the Department
of Homeland Security, the State Department and potentially a number of
other United States government agencies and businesses, security
researchers say.
Researchers at AlienVault, a Campbell, Calif., security company, said on
Thursday that they had uncovered a new variant of some malicious
software called Sykipot that targets smart cards used by government
employees to access restricted servers and networks. Traces of Sykipot
malware have been found in cyberattacks dating back to 2006, but
AlienVaults researchers say this is the first time Sykipot has
compromised smart cards.
The government uses smart cards to supplement employee passwords, which
have proven easy to crack. By cracking smart cards, hackers eliminate
the final hurdle between themselves and some of the government’s most
sensitive information. Mandiant, a security firm, first outlined smart
card weaknesses in a January 2011 report and said it had investigated
several attacks in which hackers used smart cards to crack into
companies.
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Google Chrome Browser |
01/19/2012
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Googles Chrome security team unveiled yesterday its guiding principles on how they build a safer browser.
Do not get in the way.
Design for defense in depth
Security is a team responsibility.
Speed matters.
Be transparent.
Engage the community.
Make the web safer for everyone.
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Security Director of Brazil Olympic Games Charged with Fraud |
01/18/2012
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The security director for the
2016 Olympic Games allegedly committed fraud when he occupied the same
position during the Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro four years
ago, Brazils public prosecutor’s office said Friday.
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Homeland Security Monitors Social Buzz |
01/17/2012
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The U.S. Department of Homeland
Securitys command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites,
including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites
including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a
government document.
A privacy compliance review issued by DHS last November says that since at least June 2010, its national operations center has been operating a Social Networking-Media Capability which involves regular monitoring of publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites and message boards.
The purpose of the monitoring, says the government document, is to collect information used in providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture.
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Assess Android Apps Wisely |
01/16/2012
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Fears of smartphone viruses are a
little overblown. Although you wouldn't know it from panicked stories
or press releases from security-software vendors, mobile malware remains
a rarity. But since Google does not screen new programs in its Android
Market, you should still take a few basic steps to judge the merits of
an application before installing it.
Take a few basic steps to judge the merits of a smartphone application
before installing it. You can begin with the obvious indications of an
apps quality, its reviews and its permission requests. You should not
have to read through too many of the former to see either repeated
reports of problems or a suspicious pattern of lookalike approvals. You
should also be wary of an app that asks for access to components of your
phone, such as its contacts list, call log or GPS receiver, without an
obvious connection to its stated job.
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Project Shield |
01/15/2012
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Project Shield was supposed to
make citizens safer. But in the end, the $45-million Homeland Security
program more resembled a disaster, wasting taxpayers dollars and failing
to make a single citizen more secure.
The failed Cook County initiative was replete with equipment that failed
to work, missing records and untrained first responders according to a
report by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.
The report, to be released Monday but obtained by The Sun-Times and NBC5 News, found millions of tax dollars may have been wasted.
Under Project Shield, two police squad cars in all 128 Cook County
suburbs were to be fitted with cameras capable of feeding live video to a
central command. In addition, fixed mounted cameras were to be
installed to feed pictures in case of a terrorist attack or emergency in
Cook County.
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Syria Battles Food Security |
01/14/2012
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Syria is struggling to afford
and secure ample food supplies for its domestic population as the
European Unions ban on oil imports puts severe strain on the country's
finances.
As officials warn the country is heading towards civil war under the
embattled regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, Syrias ability to import
wheat at affordable prices from abroad is more crucial than ever, after
heavy rains caused the country's production of winter cereal crops to
slump.
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F-Secure Warnings |
01/13/2012
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F-Secure has warned that users granting permissions for advertising modules in Android apps can allow malicious activity.
The permissions that users give to Android application packages do not
get split between the main modules and possible add-on modules. This
means that users can be saying yes to dodgy activities on their devices
without knowing it when installing an otherwise legitimate app.
In some cases the advertising module is the only part of the app to use
the permissions that the user grants, probably without reading the ins
and outs before hand.
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US authorities are investigating
allegations that an Indian government spy unit hacked into emails of an
official US commission that monitors economic and security relations
between the United States and China, including cyber-security issues.
The request for an investigation came after hackers posted on the
Internet what purports to be an Indian military intelligence document on
cyber-spying, which discusses plans to target the commission -
apparently using technical know-how provided by Western mobile phone
manufacturers.
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Bank Security Issues in Middle East |
01/11/2012
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Banks across Saudi Arabia
started implementing a series of tight security measures in anticipation
of an Israeli retaliatory action following the exposure of credit card
details of thousands of Israeli citizens at the hands of a Saudi hacker.
With Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon likening the hacking
to a terrorist operation and vowing that no Saudi agency will be immune
from the Jewish states revenge, the security systems departments in
several Saudi banks embarked on an extensive campaign on Saturday to
increase security on their transactions and guarantee wider monitoring
of their websites, sources told Al Arabiya.
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Blackberry Security |
01/10/2012
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BlackBerry Messaging service is
more secure than text messaging, but it is still relatively easy for
anyone with some skill to decrypt those messages, security experts say.
The BlackBerry is said to be the device of choice for members of
organized crime because it is thought to be more secure than most other
smartphones. BlackBerry messaging, which is free and communicates only
with other BlackBerrys, is preferred because the messages are encrypted
as soon as they are sent out from the phones. There are, however, limits
to BlackBerrys encryption.
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2011 Reflections and 2012 Predictions |
01/08/2012
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No country suffered more than
Japan in 2011. Japan was rocked by an 8.9 earthquake, then a
tsunami that was created from the quake, hit the small
island. The powerful waves caused damage to a nuclear power plant. The
tsunami caused significant damage to one of Japan’s plants making it
impossible to properly cool or shutdown the nuclear reactor. The
inability to cool the plant resulted in a nuclear melt down, and the
escape of radiation. When the trifecta hit, the Japanese
people earned the world’s respect, they managed the tragedy with
stoicism and grace. The consequences of this horrible tragedy, and
implications of the radiation leaks, into the sea and atmosphere, are
still unknown. Japan will bear the scars from 2011 for generations to
come.
2011 Reflections and 2012 Predictions
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A German security expert has
issued a warning that billions of mobile phone users who depend on GSM
networks are vulnerable to having their personal mail hacked. He blames
the problem on network operators that use outdated network security.
Karsten Nohl, head of Germany's Security Research Labs, a Berlin-based
consulting company, was readying his presentation of study findings for a
security convention and highlighted his troubling study results.
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Facebook Security |
01/06/2012
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This latest security problem
comes one week after Facebook agreed to settle the charges with the FTC
that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their
information on Facebook private, then allowed it to be shared and made
public.
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China Working To Prevent Cyber Attacks |
01/05/2012
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The Chinese government is
working with domestic Internet search engines like Baidu Inc and
Sohu.com, and financial institutions to prevent phishing attacks on
unsuspecting Chinese web users.
The Ministry of Public Security said on Friday it would work with 10
Chinese search engines to protect the website rankings of financial
institutions to lessen the chances that Internet users will be duped by
phishing websites.
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What is Hot and What is Not in Technology in 2012 |
01/04/2012
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What is Hot and What is Not in Technology for 2012
What is Hot
1. Mushroom Cloud
The virtual cloud is now a mushroom cloud. More and more applications
and data is available virtually. Customers are no longer tied to their
desktops, data is accessible in the cloud. As long as you have an
Internet connection, you have access, regardless of your hardware.
2. Smart Mobility
Mobile phones have become smart devices, they are more than just phones
and alarm clocks. By the end of 2012, it will be hard to find a phone
that does not run games, support Internet connections and have built in
web browser.
What is Hot and What is Not in Technology for 2012
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Little Brother Security |
01/03/2012
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When George Orwell's classic novel 1984 was first published in 1949, it foreshadowed a society with an omnipresent Big Brother watching our every move.
But it did not foresee how technology would allow us to become Little Brothers.
Or that so many would be using GPS tracking features in smart phones,
webcams in bedrooms and surveillance cameras just about everywhere else
to monitor what others are doing at all hours of the day.
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Top Cyber-security Issues in 2012 |
01/02/2012
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Privacy and data theft will be
the top security issues that organisations need to focus on in the new
year, according to PandaLabs, the anti-malware laboratory of cloud
security firm Panda Security.
Cyber-espionage and social networking attacks aimed at companies and
government agencies will be the predominant threat to safeguard against
in 2012, it said in a statement.
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2012 Year of Security |
01/01/2012
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2012 will be the Year of
Security if you will do your part by being vigilant, reporting cyber
crimes and sending letters to your political representatives. You are
either part of the solution or part of the problem.
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Anonymous Targets Think Tank |
12/31/2011
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The loose-knit hacking movement Anonymous
claimed Sunday to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers and
other personal information belonging to clients of U.S.-based security
think tank Stratfor. One hacker said the goal was to pilfer funds from
individuals accounts to give away as Christmas donations, and some
victims confirmed unauthorized transactions linked to their credit
cards.
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Arab Monitors to Watch Syria |
12/30/2011
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The Arab League forged ahead
with plans to send teams of monitors into Syria Monday even though
President Bashar Assads regime has only intensified its crackdown in the
week since agreeing to halt bloodshed, killing several hundred
civilians according to activists.
At least 20 more deaths were reported on Monday from intense shelling by
government forces in the center of the country, just hours before the
monitoring teams were to arrive. Activists said at least 275 civilians
have been killed by government forces in the past week and another 150
people died in clashes between army defectors and regime troops — most
of them defectors.
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United Nations Lacking Unity |
12/29/2011
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Growing acrimony among the
permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council is jeopardizing
action on serious issues including the council's ability to send a
strong signal on the situation in Syria. From the United Nations,
Margaret Besheer reports 2011 has been a difficult year for the
15-member council and tensions among the permanent five could make
consensus-building in 2012 a challenge.
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Cyber Espionage |
12/28/2011
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The security industry expects
the number of cyber-espionage attacks to increase in 2012 and the
malware used for this purpose to become increasingly sophisticated.
In the past two years there has been a surge in the number of
malware-based attacks that resulted in sensitive data being stolen from
government agencies, defense contractors, Fortune 500 companies, human
rights organizations and other institutions.
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TSA Security Travel Tips |
12/27/2011
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Traveling during the holidays
can be stressful. Airports are crowded, people are bringing presents
which amounts to more luggage than usual, and everyone always seems to
be in a hurry.
Do not wrap gifts.
If a security officer needs to inspect a package they may have to
unwrap your gift. Please wrap gifts after arriving at your destination.
Apply 3-1-1 to gifts.
3-1-1 is not just about shampoo and toothpaste. Food items such as
jams, salsas, sauces, syrups and dips will not be allowed through the
checkpoint unless they are in containers three ounces or less and in the
passengers one quart zip-top bag.
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As the last American soldiers
leave Iraq, the U.S. State Department assumes the reins of a complex and
risky operation, the success or failure of which could determine
whether the costly nine-year U.S. engagement with the country finally
bears fruit.
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Merry Christmas |
12/25/2011
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Merry Christmas!
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