Russian Cyber Security Moguls Son Kidnapped 04/30/2011

The son of the founder of one of the worlds largest cyber security firms, Russias Kaspersky Lab, has been kidnapped, according to a Russian news report. The original report, published by the Russian language website Life News, said the 20-year-old Moscow University student and son of multi-millionaire software developer Evgeny Kaspersky was abducted Tuesday and kidnappers were demanding 3 million Euros for his release. In a statement on the company website, Kaspersky Lab did not deny reports of Ivan Kaspersky's kidnapping, but asked the media not to speculate on the case.

Russian Big Brother Rocked By Explosion 04/29/2011

A mysterious explosion rocked the location for filming of the hugely-popular Russian equivalent of reality television show Big Brother. The explosion wounded one security guard, local reports said. Security guards uncovered a suspicious backpack placed just inside the perimeter fence during their morning round, and the blast went off when they tried to move it, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

iPhone Tracking Only Tip Of Security Iceberg 04/28/2011

Revelations that the iPhone stores data about where users have been on the device and on the computer used to sync the iPhone turn out to be less revelatory than claimed. Alex Levinson, a senior engineer at Katana Forensics and the developer of a leading iOS forensics application, says that the purported discovery put forward at the Where 2.0 conference on Wednesday has been known for months. Levinson himself contributed to a book--iOS Forensic Analysis for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, published in December, 2010--that details the database used to store location data on the iPhone and in iTunes.

Gmail Security Tips: 5 Ways To Backup, Secure And Recover Your Account 04/27/2011

Quick searches of Twitter and Google reveal a flurry of recent Gmail hackings, and the Guardian reports that they might be rooted in the Gawker database breach last December. Once hacked, victims' accounts send out spam e-mails that make it appear that the sender has been mugged. If you try to respond to one of these, your message will go to a dummy address. The spam message are tweaked so that the victim will not get your response if you hit reply all.

Security IPO 04/25/2011

Data-security and compliance-management company Trustwave Holdings Inc. said it plans to sell up to an estimated $100 million of stock in an initial public offering.

Online Gambling Shutdown 04/25/2011

Gambling online just got significantly less convenient Friday when the U.S. Government shut down the three largest Internet gambling sites operating in the United States. Now it is time for a precedent-setting showdown, where courts will determine if this kind of gambling is legal or not. Federal prosecutors accused the three founders of the gambling sites and eight others with illegal gambling, bank fraud and money laundering, according to the Financial Times

Question and Answer Websites 04/24/2011

Question and answer websites have popped up all over the Internet. These interactive sites are designed to connect individuals, and help them get answers to questions. We have compiled a list of some of the more popular Question & Answers websites... Question and Answer Websites

Skype for Android Security Flaw 04/23/2011

A recently-discovered vulnerability in Skypes Android app could allow malicious apps access to your personal data. Here is what you need to know about this flaw and how to protect yourself. What is the Problem? The problem with Skype for Android, as was discovered by AndroidPolice.com, is the way that the app stores your personal data. That data includes everything from your Skype username, contacts, profile, and instant message logs to far more sensitive information, such as your account balance, full name, date of birth, address, phone numbers, e-mail address, your biography, and more. Also at risk is similar data about your contacts.

TSA Changes 04/22/2011

A plan to get airline crew members through airport security quicker is in the works and could lead to somewhat faster lines for passengers. The Transportation Security Administration recently announced plans to begin testing an identity-verification program to let airline crews bypass the controversial full-body scanners and extra-thorough pat-down searches at airports.

LNG Tanker Security 04/21/2011

The important role of natural gas as the bridge fuel to a low-carbon economy and more-sustainable energy system raises concern about security of LNG delivery infrastructure. Although forecasts of LNG gas imports have shrunk with the surge in production from unconventional reservoirs, LNG will remain an important link in the transportation chain as consumption of gas grows. Natural gas emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal and is the preferred backup generation source required for wind and solar energy. In fact, some policymakers are calling for natural gas to supplant coal-fired power generation, which represents half of all US electricity. In a 2010 study, The Future of Natural Gas, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that federal policies aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2050  would extend US reliance on gas-fired electricity from 20% to 40%.1 When coupled with the push for more natural gas vehicles to reduce risky dependence on foreign oil, US gas consumption is likely to soar.

Online Security Strategy 04/20/2011

The White House has issued a strategy for authenticating and protecting individual identities online, warning that mounting fraud and privacy concerns will otherwise blunt one of the major drivers of economic growth. President Barack Obama endorsed the plan, which calls for the Commerce Department. to set standards for voluntary trusted procedures that would be implemented by private companies. By making online transactions more trustworthy and better protecting privacy, we will prevent costly crime, we will give businesses and consumers new confidence, and we will foster growth and untold innovation, Mr Obama said.

Federal Homeland Security Audit 04/19/2011

A police chiefs group in Ohio mishandled nearly $5 million in federal anti-terrorism grants, according to an audit by the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys internal watchdog. The state hopes to recoup some but not all the money. The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police received more than half the money allocated to the state through a local police terrorism prevention program. Homeland Securitys Inspector General said $4.8 million spent by the association was not allowed under the grant, misclassified, handled outside the grants timelines or not properly documented, according to the audit released earlier this week.

Credit Card Security Boost 04/18/2011

Two of Americas largest banks have announced that they are to finally trial chip-embedded bank cards in the U.S. - technology that has long been used and proven in Europe and many other countries around the world. JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo will experiment with the 'chip-and-pin' cards - initially offering them to larger business customers and frequent travellers who have had problems using U.S. cards abroad. Magnetic strip technology, used by the estimated 1.7 billion credit cards in the U.S., has been targeted by foreign criminals because of its relative ease to clone and defraud.

Border Odds 04/15/2011

Two local Arizona sheriffs – Cochise Co. Sheriff Larry Dever and Pinal Co. Sheriff Paul Babeu – said they heard that Border Patrol agents in Arizona have been instructed not to arrest all illegal border crossers to keep apprehension numbers down, but the Chief of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said there is no truth to their accounts.

Tweet If You See Osama 04/14/2011

Two years ago it was an April Fools joke. Now it is apparently come true. According to a report from the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will soon start issuing terror alerts using Twitter and Facebook. The AP reporter apparently got a peek at a 19-page internal DHS document discussing the change.

Stolen Emails through Epsilon 04/13/2011

On March 30th, Epsilon an email marketing management firm suffered a data breach.  It serves as the email management firm for some of the nations best known brands including: Target, Capital One, Disney Destinations, Home Shopping Network, Marriot Rewards, Hilton Honors, and some 44 other major names and someone was able to obtain their customers' email addresses and names.  CBS news reported that the Secret Service is investigating.

Dangers of Blogging 04/12/2011

I have heard many a blogger say that blogging fills a need. While blogging provides a humanizing effect on news and journaling, it also opens a window into personal lives. The details shared in blogs were once only available to a select group of friends, and while blogging has become common place, it has risks that should not be ignored. Cyberstalking is a new phenomenon that allows anonymous online stalkers to prowl for victims. Online bloggers traditionally provide personal details about their lives. As a result, many women that blog are becoming victims. Most people are concerned about children on the Internet and set up rigorous posting guidelines for children, adolescents, and teenagers, but few adults heed the warnings and often do not consider that they too can be targeted. Dangers of Blogging

Why Should I Send SMS Mesages? 04/11/2011

Free Webinar - Session 1: Why would I need to send SMS? - April 27, 2011 In this session, we will go over the different reasons that SMS can add extra efficiency to almost any business model and provide examples of different implementations of SMS messaging with a healthy amount of time for Q&A at the end of the session. Why Should I Send SMS Webinar

Great PowerPoint Presentation Tips 04/10/2011

When speaking at a conference or a seminar, it is important that your presentation convey professionalism. A PowerPoint presentation can be used to visually represent your material. The presentation should be polished and consistent throughout. The visual presentation should supplement your speech, not distract or detract from your oral presentation. Rarely should PowerPoint be used without an accompanying explanation of the slides. Here are a few tips for making your PowerPoint presentation better and more professional... Great PowerPoint Presentation Tips

Child Identity Theft 04/09/2011

Identity theft has saddled thousands of children with debt, sometimes for years before they ever discover their personal information has been stolen, a study says. Within a database of 42,232 children that was compiled by an identity-protection business, 4,311 -- 10.2% -- had someone else using their Social Security numbers, according to Child Identity Theft, a report by Richard Power, a distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon Cylab.

Security is No Excuse 04/09/2011

Sorry to break this to you, but if you are looking to use security as the reason to keep consumer technologies out of your company, you will have quite an uphill battle. Not because the security risks are not real they are, and not because you can guarantee the data security on the devices you can not.

Google Security Plans 04/08/2011

As the security industry attempts to move on from the Comodo security breach, Google is shedding light on its plans for securing secure socket layer (SSL) certificates. In a posting to the Google Online Security blog, security team engineer Ben Laurie outlined plans for a pair of projects which the company hopes will help to prevent future security incidents and restore user trust in online certificates.

Security Threats There is an App for That 04/07/2011

Gene Kiser, director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, said the iPhone application is the latest step to protect the state. Kiser told the Associated Press putting the technology in people’s hands will allow the homeland security office to receive the most current information on threats.

Nuclear Waste 04/06/2011

In the United States, 63,000 tons of nuclear waste, the sum total of all the waste generated by decades of nuclear power, sits right where it was created -- at the power plants themselves. Often, these power plants are very close to major population centers -- Washington, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago have reactors within the 50-mile fallout zone. If the waste catches fire, a situation Japanese officials are racing to prevent at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, critics say it could effectively render an area the size of half of New Jersey permanently uninhabitable.

Many Jobs Fall Short in Providing Economic Security 04/05/2011

For those who are unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, the obvious solution to their problem would be finding a job. While it certainly helps, those with a job know that it can still be tough to have basic economic security. Though an estimated 190,000 jobs were added in March, according to the Labor Department, many of those jobs were created in retail, hospitality and home health care, which often do not pay enough to cover all basic needs such as housing, utilities, health care and transportation, reports The New York Times.

Pros and Cons for Web Templates 04/04/2011

Small retail businesses who are making the move to an online presence may feel overwhelmed by the process of creating a website. Web templates can often help make the process less painful for a small business. To assist webmasters in the template vs custom design decision, we have outlined the pros and cons to each... Pros and Cons for Web Templates

Fake Security Certificates 04/03/2011

Several security certificates used to authenticate and encrypt Web sessions have been found to be fraudulent, and could be deployed to trick users out of personal information on high-profile websites including Google, Yahoo and Skype.

Cybersecurity Growth 04/02/2011

The cybersecurity industry is projected to grow 41 percent in the next eight years, and Maryland is preparing for thousands of those new jobs by using a new federal grant to train people. The state received a $5 million grant for a program called Pathways to Cyber Security Careers Consortium that gives people new skills in cybersecurity areas.

TSA Considers Religious Expression 04/01/2011

Air travelers want to feel safe, and federal security officials want to make sure they actually are safe. If only it were that simple. Misunderstandings over religious expression have led to recent incidents that prompted apologies from airlines. On March 13, agents with the Transportation Security Administration removed a Muslim woman in a headscarf from a Southwest Airlines flight after airline staff

Napolitano: Border Security Better 03/31/2011

Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday to ensure Americans that it is safe to travel and conduct business across the border, but Republicans from the Southwest suggested the Obama administration is not doing enough to keep the region secure. The perception that violent crime in Mexico is spilling across the border is false, Napolitano and other leaders said. Violent crime rates have remained flat or decreased in Southwest border communities, she said. El Paso has been ranked the safest U.S. city of its size, even though it sits across from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which is plagued by drug cartel violence, Mayor John Cook said.

Better Security is Needed 03/30/2011

In two recent hacking cases the targets held secrets for many firms and individuals There have been a couple of serious attacks in recent months on key pieces of modern computer security infrastructure. These go to highlight the challenges of having third parties in charge of key elements of other people’s business and personal security systems, and show we have a long way to go before we can really guarantee the integrity of digital communication. The first was reported by RSA, perhaps the most respected computer security company in the world, on March 17th. The company announced there had been a successful attack on its computers which it believed could potentially weaken the security of its SecurID system.

Current Blog

2011 Security Blog Archive
May Archive
April Archive
March Archive
February Archive
January Archive

2010 Securty Blog Archive
December Archive
November Archive
October Archive
September Archive
August Archive
July Archive
June Archive
May Archive
April Archive
March Archive
February Archive
January Archive

2009 Securty Blog Archive
December Archive
November Archive
October Archive
September Archive
August Archive
July Archive
June Archive
May Archive
April Archive
March Archive
February Archive
January Archive

2008 Security Blog Archive
December Archive
November Archive
October Archive
September Archive
July-August Archive
May-June Archive
April Archive
March Archive
February Archive
January Archive

2007 Security Blog Archive
December Archive
November Archive
October Archive
September Archive
August Archive
July Archive
June Archive
May Archive
April Archive
March Archive
February Archive
January Archive

2006 Security Blog Archive
December Archive
November Archive
October Archive
September Archive
August Archive
July Archive
June Archive
May Archive
April Archive
March Archive
February Archive
January Archive