Intel to Buy McAfee 08/24/2010

Intel announced today that it will acquire McAfee, maker of anti-virus and other security software, for $7.68 billion in cash, or $48 per share. The per share price is 60 percent more than McAfee’s $29.93 closing price on Wednesday. McAfee shares jumped 58 percent after the deal was made public to $47.42 in pre-market trading, while Intel shares dipped 2.5 percent to $19.11, the AP reports.

Karzai To Expel Private Companies 08/23/2010

In an interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABCs This Week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai reiterated demands for private security contractors to leave Afghanistan, calling for the Central Asian nation to be free of private security firms within the next four months.

How to Subscribe to an RSS Feed? 08/22/2010

There are generally two different kinds of tools that allow visitors to subscribe to RSS feeds. These tools are known as aggregators, or RSS news readers. As the content of an RSS feed changes, the RSS reader or aggregator will update itself automatically and display the new RSS feed items. There are two types of aggregators -- desktop aggregators, and web-based aggregators... How to Subscribe to an RSS Feed

10 Steps to Getting the Click 08/21/2010

There are a number of steps a webmaster can take to encourage visitors to click on a link or graphic located on their website. The following steps will help get the click... 1. Colors Use contrasting colors for links. This makes the links easier to discern from other text on a web page. Also, avoid placing links against a patterned background, as it will make it much more difficult to read the link text. Bottom line, the link color should stand out from the rest of the web page, and be easy to locate. 10 Steps to Getting the Click

HP Fortifies Security 08/20/2010

HP announced its intent to acquire strategic partner Fortify, as consolidation of security companies increases across the industry. Fortify specializes in application vulnerability assessment and security for enterprises.

Russian Security Concerns 08/19/2010

Russian security services are verifying possible contacts of Romanian career security officer Gabriel Grecu, who was seized in Moscow while trying to obtain classified military information from a Russian citizen. Another Romanian diplomat caught attention of Russian security services in 2008, a source at the Federal Security Service told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. The first secretary of the political department of the Romanian embassy in Moscow, Dinu Pistola, tried to recruit a Russian citizen who possessed information about the situation in Moldova and Transdniestria, the source said.

Security At Ports 08/18/2010

The federal government is expanding a multi-agency policing program at the U.S.-Mexico border to improve security at the nations sea ports. Morton says the program has been successful in bringing about 6,400 cases involving drugs, arms and immigrant smuggling along the border. He says it started five years ago in Laredo, Texas, and has expanded to 17 border locations.

John Doe 08/17/2010

For six years, Nicholas Merrill has lived in a surreal world of half-truths in which he could not tell his fiancee, his closest friends, or even his mother that he is John Doe, the man who filed the first-ever court challenge to the FBIs ability to obtain personal data on Americans without judicial approval. Friends mentioned the case when it was in the news, and the normally outspoken Merrill would change the subject. He heard the arguments at the federal courthouse, and in an out-of-body moment he realized that no one knew he was the plaintiff challenging the FBIs authority to issue national security letters, as they are known, and its ability to impose a gag on the recipient.

RIM Security Deadlines 08/16/2010

In the past few weeks, rumors have become widespread that India has suspended RIM for its encrypted messaging because it posed a threat to Indias national security. It was said that the Indian government has given the Canadian phone maker a deadline only until the end of August to resolve such issue or its services may likely be banned in the country. No confirmation was ever received from the Indian government only until recently when reports were released that the Indian ministry and intelligence services held a meeting that was attended by the states telecommunications operator BSNL, technology specialists and telecommunications department. The attendees did not arrive to a decision on whether to keep or cease the services of BlackBerry in the country; and despite the fact that RIM was not present in the meeting, it was also confirmed that RIM Executive Robert Crow attended in a courtesy call meeting with Prime Minister Chidambaram and received instructions of solving the security issue until the previously mentioned deadline.

Body Images Stored 08/13/2010

In August 2010 a Federal Government agency admitted they have stored airport check point body scan images. The agency, the U.S. Marshals Service, divulged they had secretly saved tens of thousands of scanned body images at a Florida courthouse. This admission seems to come as a direct contradiction to a statement made approximately a year ago by the Transportation Security Administration when the agency reassured the public any scanned images were discarded once the security check was completed.

Blackberry Security 08/12/2010

Research In Motions top-notch security is both a blessing and a curse for the company as governments in some key emerging markets, where RIM is looking for growth, threaten to block the BlackBerry service over national security concerns. Last week, governments in several countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and India threatened to shut down BlackBerry e-mail and Web browsing services in their countries. Regulators in these countries said that RIM's stringent encryption and security network pose security concerns since authorities are unable to monitor and read e-mails and Web browsing activity. With more than 90 percent of the U.S. population owning a cell phone, companies such as RIM are looking to new markets, such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, for new subscribers.

Internet Upgrade 08/11/2010

The Internet has undergone a key upgrade that promises to stop cyber criminals from using fake websites that dupe people into downloading viruses or revealing personal data. The agency in charge of managing Internet addresses teamed with online security services firm VeriSign and the US Department of Commerce to give websites encrypted identification to prove they are legitimate.

Cyber War Issues 08/10/2010

Former US spy master and retired general Michael Hayden warned on Thursday that the countrys cyber flank was exposed and it was losing clout to influence rules of war on the Internet. Our flank is totally exposed, Hayden said at the Black Hat computer security gathering in Las Vegas, comparing the nations tactical position on the Internet to a battle of land troops. If tomorrow they show up on that flank they are going to roll down.

Online Security 08/09/2010

Lots of code excitement will spring from the Black Hat hacker conference this week, but already a huge controversy is erupting: Black Hat's founder thinks SSL--the security code making much of online commerce safe--is broken. SSL, Secure Sockets Layer and its successor Transport Layer Security is a Net-based security protocol that ensures communications between computers is safe and unhackable--essentially so that no one can listen in. It works like this: A server and computer connect together and say hello, digitally. This bit is unsecured. The two machines exchange a key which unlocks a private line that only they can communicate on.

Passport Security Issues 08/08/2010

Try applying for a U.S. passport using a counterfeit birth certificate. Give one location as a home address, and another as a permanent residence. Use someone else’s picture and a Social Security number that was issued just last year. Then, for good measure, use the name of someone who’s already dead. What do you think your chances of getting a valid passport would be? If the results of an undercover sting operation by the Government Accountability Office are any indication, your chances would be at least 3 in 7. Not bad odds.

Privacy 08/07/2010

Invasion of privacy in the Internet age. Expanding the reach of law enforcement to snoop on e-mail traffic or on Web surfing. Those are among the criticisms being aimed at the FBI as it tries to update a key surveillance law. With its proposed amendment, is the Obama administration merely clarifying a statute or expanding it? Only time and a suddenly on guard Congress will tell.

Facebook Security 08/06/2010

The cost of leaving your Facebook profile unprotected at its default security settings was made much clearer this week, as security consultant Ron Bowes used a simple piece of code to trawl through every unprotected Facebook profile. He then published the personal details of over 100 million Facebook users via a peer-to-peer file-sharing system called BitTorrent.

Tighter Security in Firefox 4 08/05/2010

A new JavaScript engine, HTML5, tabs on top, and a new add-on framework are not the only improvements that users can expect in Firefox 4. At Black Hat on Wednesday, a trio of security representatives from Mozilla detailed how the company plans to push the browser to be more secure for users while nudging developers toward safer coding practices.

Computer Attacks 08/04/2010

Hackers competing in a social engineering contest at the Defcon conference here on Friday were able to trick random employees at 10 major U.S. tech, oil, and retail companies into giving them sensitive information over the phone that could be used in targeted computer attacks on the companies.

ATM Machines Cracked Over the Internet 08/03/2010

Computer security researcher Barnaby Jack jokes that he has resorted to hiding cash under his bed since figuring out how to crack automated teller machines remotely using the Internet. The New Zealand native on Saturday demonstrated his ATM jackpotting discovery for an overflow crowd of hackers during a presentation at the infamous DefCon gathering in Las Vegas.

McAfee Protection 08/01/2010

While malware threats for the Mac may still be limited, there are plenty of other nasties to watch out for online. That is why McAfee has released a pair of its popular protection products for the Mac: McAfee Internet Security and McAfee Family Protection. These products allow Mac users to surf the Web safely.

Security and Porn Do Not Mix 07/30/2010

A federal investigation has accused dozens of military officials and defense contractors, including some with top-level security clearances, of buying and downloading child pornography on private or government computers. The Pentagon on Friday released investigative reports spanning almost a decade that implicated people working with agencies handling some of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets, including the National Security Agency. Defense workers who bought child pornography put the Department of Defense, the military and national security at risk by compromising computer systems, military installations and security clearances, a 2007 investigative report said.

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