Security
Port
A Security Port Blog
Securing Information |
10/29/2009
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More
Australians would be happy to offer their fingerprints to prove their
identity as concerns over internet security rise, a poll shows.
Increasing use of the internet for banking and shopping online has led
to a 15-point rise in fears over protection of information, the Unisys
Security Index survey of about 1200 people found, The Courier-Mail
reports.
Of those, 92 per cent supported fingerprint scans, while 86 per cent backed the use of iris scans.
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Cable Modem Security Hole |
10/28/2009
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A
blogger helping to tune a friends wi-fi network uncovered a gaping
security hole in Wi-Fi cable modem routers installed in 64,000 Time
Warner subscribers homes, leaving them open to attack.
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China Preparing for CyberWar |
10/27/2009
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Looking
to gain the upper hand in any future cyber conflicts, China is probably
spying on U.S. companies and government, according to a report
commissioned by a Congressional advisory panel monitoring the security
implications of trade with China.
The report outlines the state of Chinas hacking and cyber warfare capabilities, concluding that China
is likely using its maturing computer network exploitation capability
to support intelligence collection against the U.S. government and
industry by conducting a long term, sophisticated computer network
exploitation campaign.
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Scam Security Software Spreading |
10/25/2009
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According
to a new cybercrime Symantec report, tens of millions of US PCs are
infected with scam security software. Moreover, software, users may
have pay for, can only make computers more vulnerable.
Symantec found 250 varieties of security malware with legitimate
sounding names like Antivirus 2010 and SpywareGuard 2008. The company
also found about 43 million attempted downloads in one year, however it
was not made sure how many of the attempted downloads succeeded.
Cyberthieves are increasingly planting fake security alerts that pop up
when computer users access a legitimate website, warning them of a
virus and thus offering security software, for free or for a fee.
It was also impossible to tell how much cyberthieves made off with but
"affiliates" acting as middlemen to convince people to download the
software were believed to earn between 1 cent per download and 55
cents. Top affiliates of TrafficConverter.biz, which has been shut
down, earned as much as $332,000 a month for selling scam security
software.
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Security Cameras on Green Line |
10/24/2009
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First
they were on the buses. Now cameras will help keep an eye out for crime
on the Green Line as part of an MBTA safety initiative that one civil
liberties group says raises concerns.
The MBTA will begin testing cameras on the trolleys underground as part
of a pilot program that is funded with $500,000 in grant money from the
Department of Homeland Security, Chief Paul MacMillan of the MBTA
Transit Police said yesterday.
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Simple Server Monitor Improves Security |
10/23/2009
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Simple
Server Monitor is an affordable, powerful, and user-friendly server
monitoring utility that will continually monitor the status of your
servers and web applications. When network uptime losses are detected,
our monitoring utility notifies you via any combination of these alert
methods:
* Pop-up Messages
* E-mail / Cell Phone Alerts
* Desktop Audible Alerts
* External Application Launch
Customize Simple Server Monitor to suit your monitoring needs. When
utilizing our easy-to-set-up alert methods, you remain in touch with
networks and servers from anywhere in the world - maintain server
uptime awareness without sacrificing mobility.
complete article
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Immigration Changes |
10/22/2009
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The
Obama administration has signed up 55 state and local law enforcement
agencies to help enforce immigration laws, including an Arizona county
sheriff under investigation for racial profiling, the Homeland Security
Department announced Friday.
Another 12 agreements have been approved and are awaiting local or state approval.
The administration had previously suspended the program, which critics
say was mismanaged and allowed racial profiling and discrimination.
Before it was suspended, there had been 66 local and state agencies
participating.
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Mace Maybe Delisted |
10/21/2009
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Nasdaq
has told Mace Security International Inc. of Horsham, the pepper-spray
manufacturer, that the companys shares could be delisted because they
are trading below $1 a share.
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Why Security Matters Now |
10/20/2009
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Todays
most compelling technologies are giving you the biggest security
headaches. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and
LinkedIn enhance collaboration and help your company connect with
customers, but they also make it easier than ever for your employees to
share customer data and company secrets with outsiders.
Virtualization and cloud computing let you simplify your physical IT
infrastructure and cut overhead costs, but you have only just begun to
see the security risks involved. Putting more of your infrastructure in
the cloud has left you vulnerable to hackers who have redoubled efforts
to launch denial-of-service attacks against the likes of Google, Yahoo
and other Internet-based service providers. A massive Google outage
earlier this year illustrates the kind of disruptions cloud-dependent
businesses can suffer.
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People Are the Weak Link |
10/17/2009
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Two
decades ago, studies showed that computer users were violating best
practices for setting up hack-proof passwords, and not much has changed
since then. What is clear, say researchers at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and IT University in Copenhagen, is that until human
factors and ergonomics methods are applied to the problem, it is not
likely to go away.
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Internet Stability |
10/16/2009
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How
secure and dependable is the Internet? The Great Twitter Outage of
2009, which shocked the microblogging community and amused many other
observers, called into question the reliability of Web-based
communications and transaction capabilities that are easy to take for
granted.
According to Nielsen NetRatings, the Twitter user base grew at almost
1,400 percent from February 2008 to February 2009. Microblogging,
online auctions and email may be a convenience for some users, but
others view these features as critical to their connected lifestyles.
Is the Internet falling apart, or can we depend on the Web to be there
when we need it?
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Versign and RSA Alliance |
10/15/2009
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Internet
infrastructure services provider VeriSign and RSA, the security
division of EMC, have announced a partnership to provide organizations
with more choice in one-time password OTP authentication.
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T-Mobile Data Losses |
10/14/2009
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T-Mobile
Sidekick customers should today learn more about the server crash that
caused their phones to lose their personal data, the company said.
Meanwhile, the carrier warns customers not to remove the handset's
battery or newly entered data will be lost.
Bad enough for T-Mobile, the incident is particularly embarrassing for
Microsoft, which operates the Sidekick data service, and other
companies who are promoting Internet-based cloud computing as the next generation of data storage.
The actual extent of the loss, from a Microsoft server, has not been
released, though it appears thousands of customers lost contact lists,
calendar items, photographs, and other personal items from their
phones.
complete article
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Cellular Clothes Shopping |
10/13/2009
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Choosing
and buying clothes via a cell phone is getting easier in Japan with the
launch of a new service that allows shoppers to simulate an outfit
before they buy.
complete article
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Comcast
Corp. wants to enlist its customers in a fight against a huge problem
for Internet providers — the armies of infected personal computers,
known as botnets, that suck up bandwidth by sending spam and facilitating cybercrime.
The countrys largest provider of high-speed Internet to homes started
testing a service this week in Denver in which Comcast sends customers
a pop-up message in their Web browsers if their computers seem to have
been co-opted by a botnet. One botnet can have tens of thousands or
even millions of PCs.
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Security Experts are Hard to Find |
10/15/2009
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The
U.S. Department of Homeland Security's effort to hire some 1,000 new
cybersecurity experts could hit a wall because people with such skills
are increasingly hard to find, according to security experts.
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Solid
Oak Software filed its first lawsuit in a case of Chinese software code
theft against TV giant CBS's Internet division, CBS Interactive.
The Santa Barbara, California, company filed the suit against CBS
Interactive for distributing software that contained programming code
stolen from its CyberSitter software, which filters pornography,
violence and other Internet content deemed bad for kids.
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Software Tracking Swine Flu |
10/13/2009
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The federal government is teaming up with a medical software maker to help keep tabs on the spread of swine flu.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the
government is getting together with Cerner Corporation to keep track on
how the strain of flu is spreading.
Sebelius says the information provided by the company is more current
than the data federal officials have. And she says that will let
authorities better target efforts to respond to the H1N1 virus.
Meanwhile, the HHS chief is strongly encouraged people to get the
seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines as they become available.
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Monitoring Childrens Activities |
10/12/2009
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Parents
who install a leading brand of software to monitor their kids online
activities may be unwittingly allowing the company to read their
childrens chat messages — and sell the marketing data gathered.
Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private
chats conducted through Yahoo, MSN, AOL and other services, and send
back data on what kids are saying about such things as movies, music or
video games. The information is then offered to businesses seeking ways
to tailor their marketing messages to kids.
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Size of Security Market |
10/14/2009
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The
worldwide security software market will total $14.5 billion in 2009, an
8 per cent increase from 2008, according to Gartner. In 2008, it grew
at 19 percent and Gartner anticipates the market to grow 13 percent in
2010 as revenue will total $16.3 billion.
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Health Monitoring for Security |
10/13/2009
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Microsoft
also published a dedicated swine flu information center at
health.msn.com. The site will notify users when vaccines are available
in their neighborhood, among other services.
Microsoft launched HealthVault in 2007, and the site is designed to be
an online repository of health-related records that can be accessed by
the user and designated physicians, as well as a portal for
health-related news and information.
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Suffolk
Community College has agreed to pay a company for the next year to
monitor the credit of 300 students whose last names and Social Security
numbers were mistakenly listed in an attachment to an e-mail sent to
those students last month.
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Cyber Security Month |
10/12/2009
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The
Internet has made it easier than ever to conduct business, keep in
touch with friends and manage our finances with greater speed,
efficiency and convenience. Unfortunately, criminals also use the
Internet to try to gain access to personal and financial information.
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and, to raise awareness among
Canadians, banks have teamed up to provide information, consumer tips
and an interactive quiz to educate consumers about online threats so
they can protect themselves and their computers.
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Internet for Sale |
10/11/2009
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The
US has agreed to relinquish some oversight of the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN, the global group that oversees
elements of the Internets architecture. The move should give other
countries a more prominent internet role and ease concerns that the US
has undue influence over its evolution.
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Microsoft Security Essentials |
10/10/2009
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Microsoft
has finally unveiled a new security product, Microsoft Security
Essentials, designed to replace its former offering OneCare. Security
Essentials, previously known as Morro, is available as a free download
from Microsoft and features security tools including antivirus and
anti-spyware.
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Granny Auction |
10/09/2009
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Internet auction site eBay stopped a 10-year-old girl's attempt to auction off her moaning granny online.
Zoe Pemberton from southern England put her 61-year-old grandmother up
for sale on the auction website with no reserve price, describing her
as rare and annoying and moaning a lot.
But she also said pensioner Marian Goodall was very cuddly, loved word searches and enjoyed drinking tea.
More than 20 bids were received for Goodall, but she has since been withdrawn from the site, eBay said.
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Internet Bullying |
10/08/2009
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House members struggled Wednesday for a way to stop Internet bullying of children without violating free speech.
Bullying has always been mean-spirited, but a House Judiciary
subcommittee was told that federal law does not make it a crime to
engage in cyberbullying that becomes destructive to its young victims. The worst examples resulted in child suicides.
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Government Control on the Internet |
10/07/2009
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There is no kill switch for the Internet, no secret on-off button in an Oval Office drawer.
Yet when a Senate committee was exploring ways to secure computer
networks, a provision to give the president the power to shut down
Internet traffic to compromised Web sites in an emergency set off
alarms.
Corporate leaders and privacy advocates quickly objected, saying the government must not seize control of the Internet.
Lawmakers dropped it, but the debate rages on. How much control should
federal authorities have over the Web in a crisis? How much should be
left to the private sector? It does own and operate at least 80 percent
of the Internet and argues it can do a better job.
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Cybersecurity Professionals |
10/06/2009
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The
Department of Homeland Security is looking to hire 1,000 cybersecurity
professionals in the next three years according to the agencys
secretary Janet Napolitano.
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Security Consulting |
10/05/2009
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AT&T Inc. said Thursday it has completed a deal to buy VeriSign Inc.s security consulting business.
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Airport Security |
10/04/2009
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Verified
Identity Pass, a company founded by the entrepreneur Steven Brill,
offered travelers a tempting proposition: pay up to $199 a year, submit
to a fingerprint and iris scan, and skip to the front of interminable
airport security lines.
An investment banker is trying to revive a company that provided a
service called Clear, which allowed its members to bypass airport
security lines.
But last June, the company left its roughly 200,000 paying customers
stranded, saying that it was ceasing operations and did not have cash
to offer refunds.
Now it appears those customers will get a break.
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Russian Cybergangs |
10/05/2009
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Russian
cybergangs have established a robust system for promoting Web sites
that sell fake antivirus software, pharmaceuticals and counterfeit
luxury products, according to a new report from security vendor Sophos.
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Standard for Displaying Security Alerts |
10/04/2009
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A
veteran security researcher today challenged the anti-malware industry
to work on a standard way of assigning computer/Internet threat levels
to present transparent helpful information to consumers and businesses.
During a presentation at the Virus Bulletin 2009 conference here,
Fortinet project manager Bryan Lu discussed the current scenario where
anti-malware vendor use different systems to display threat levels —
either color-coded or using numbers and arrows — and suggested that
vendors use existing data to make threat level indicators more useful
and meaningful.
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Internet Criminals |
10/03/2009
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Internet
criminals are increasingly targeting small and medium-sized businesses
that do not have the resources to keep updating their computer
security, according to federal authorities.
Many of the attacks are being waged by organized cyber groups that are
based abroad, and they are able to steal not only credit card numbers,
but personal information -- including Social Security numbers -- of the
card holders, said Michael Merritt, assistant director of the U.S.
Secret Services office of investigations.
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Nuclear Disarmament |
10/02/2009
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The
U.N. Security Council held a rare summit today to work toward
eliminating nuclear weapons. There were also new calls to confront Iran
and North Korea over their nuclear programs.
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A
suspected bomb plot under investigation in New York and Denver has the
ingredients of a worst case scenario for U.S. security, experts say: an
al Qaeda link, overseas training and free movement within U.S. borders.
Colorado airport shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi, who U.S. authorities
say admitted to taking a bomb-making course at an al Qaeda training
camp in Pakistan, is at the center of what they say could be a plot to
blow up subways or other targets.
Zazi has maintained his innocence, as has his father and a New York
City imam who have also been arrested. So far authorities have only
charged the three Afghan-born men with lying to investigators, which
carries an eight-year maximum sentence, and not a more serious
terrorism-related charge.
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Stadium Alerts |
09/30/2009
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Sports
officials are confident that adequate security measures are in place to
thwart any potential terrorist attacks on stadiums around the country.
Responding in a low-key manner to security warnings that terrorists
would like to attack stadiums, several sports officials said Tuesday
that they have already boosted precautions so much the latest alerts
will not make much difference.
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Hotel Security |
09/29/2009
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U.S.
security authorities have told local law enforcement agencies to be on
alert for possible attacks on luxury hotels, but said they had no
information on the timing, location or target of any planned attacks.
The note, sent by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to
local law enforcement agencies, was unrelated to a probe into a bomb
plot in New York and Denver made public in the last week, officials
said on Tuesday.
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