Iraqi Mexican Gang A Danger 08/25/2011

The security authorities in El Cajon, in the U.S. San Diego area has arrested a joint Iraqi-Mexican gang, trading in trafficking of narcotics in the city of El Cajon, according to a radiio report by those authorities on Saturday.

Caller ID Leads to Fraud 08/24/2011

A Boston consumer advocate warned yesterday that JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. make it too easy for data thieves to steal personal information from their credit card customers. Former Massachusetts assistant attorney general Edgar Dworsky, who now runs the consumer education website Consumerworld.org, discovered the flaw after reading a Globe story about caller ID spoofing services - Internet sites used to trick caller ID systems into believing a call comes from a different phone number. Identity thieves who know a customers ZIP code and the last four digits of his credit card number can use such services to pose as a customer when calling an automated bank customer service line, Dworsky said.

Guide to Facebook Security 08/23/2011

Facebook on Friday published a 20 page security guide for teens, parents, and teachers on its website titled A Guide to Facebook Security to help teach them about the best ways to protect their privacy and safety on the internet.

TSA Monitoring Behavior 08/22/2011

For the next two months at Logan International Airport in Boston, passengers will be casually greeted by Transportation Security Administration officials. But the officers are not there for a simple friendly hello – they are trying to deter and detect passengers who pose a risk to aviation security.

School Security 08/21/2011

Schools throughout the Washington region are experimenting with new security systems and safety procedures to keep students safe as they return to classrooms over the next three weeks, but tight budgets are hurting some of their plans as school systems try to make do with less. Montgomery County Public Schools officials are outfitting each of their 200 schools with new scanning technology to check visitors.

Sony Security Breach 08/21/2011

The Sony PlayStation data breach exposed users to the potential for identity theft and grabbed headlines worldwide. And Sony is just one of several large and seemingly invulnerable organizations to be hacked. Even the CIA has had its website hacked, and hackers associated with the notorious group Anonymous announced last week that they plan to destroy Facebook on November 5. As a small company, without the resources or security power that these large players command, you might worry that you have no hope of keeping safe. In fact, there is no need to fear data breaches -- as long as you remain on top of data going in and out of your network.

Facebook Scams 08/09/2011

The Better Business Bureau is warning people that Facebook scammers are using tragedies like the recent terrorist attacks in Norway and the death of Amy Winehouse to scam users. Based on information obtained from Help Net Security and Sophos, BBB is releasing information aimed at preventing consumers from becoming victims of scams from those who would want to profit from recent tragedies. According to a press release from BBB, a bogus post has appeared on that claims to link to a video from an Oslo security camera showing the detonation of a car bomb near a Norwegian government building in which at least 10 people were killed.

Lion Security Upgrade 08/08/2011

New bells and whistles are not the only reason to upgrade to Lion. The new version of Apples operating system for the Mac also includes updated security features. Macs have long been safer than Windows PCs, because they are very rarely chosen for attacks, probably because of the Macs much smaller market share and to crooks’ extensive expertise in writing malware for Windows.

Security Deterioating in Iraq 08/07/2011

Over the past year, security in Iraq has deteriorated and electricity shortages and corruption have continued unabated, according to a report released Saturday by a special inspector appointed by Congress to oversee Iraqs reconstruction.

Cloud Security Fears 08/07/2011

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is not afraid of the public cloud. Indeed, this agency is vetting cloud providers to host the public websites of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to its CIO, Richard Spires. And the department's use of the public cloud providers is likely to grow, he said. Spires believes public cloud vendors are on a path to handle more sensitive government information, particularly after the U.S. completes development of a planned security certification system for this industry.

Reporting Facebook Bugs 08/07/2011

Facebook Offers $500 Bounty for Reporting Bugs: Why So Cheap? Facebook is offering a $500 reward for reporting bugs on its site, far less than bug bounties offered by companies like Google or Microsoft. To show our appreciation for our security researchers, we offer a monetary bounty for certain qualifying security bugs, Facebook wrote on a page entitled "Security Bug Bounty." To qualify for the bounty, you must be the first to report the security glitch, and the bug must be native to Facebook. Furthermore, disclosures must be responsible and you need to give Facebook a reasonable amount of time before reporting the bug publicly, as security researchers often do through blog posts to warn its users. Although $500 is just the base, it pales in comparison to what other companies offer, like Googles $3000+, Mozilla's $3,000, and Microsoft's $250,000 . If you are looking for a real early retirement plan, the Business Software Alliance says tipsters who report their companys illegal use of unlicensed software could reap payouts of up to $1 million.

Ramadan Attacks Anticipated 08/06/2011

A leading US Muslim advocacy group has urged mosques in the United States to ramp up their security ahead of Ramadan after terror attacks in Norway fuelled by anti-Islamic sentiment claimed the lives of 77 people. Rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who has confessed to a bombing and shooting massacre in Oslo, said he had taken inspiration from anti-Islamic bloggers based in the US.

Security Cameras Lead to Arrests 08/05/2011

The citys top cop said Thursday the ever-expanding network of security cameras monitoring Manhattan streets and subways has played a key role in scores of recent arrests. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the so-called Ring of Steel technology has helped cops nab about 100 criminals in the subways in the past eight months alone. Most of those bandits were collared for assault, purse-snatching and robbery. In one case, cops used aboveground cameras to retrace the steps of a suspect in a sexual assault as he walked from the crime scene back to his job, Kelly said.

Aviation Licenses are Security Threats 08/04/2011

he Transportation Security Administration cannot determine the real identities of thousands of the people to whom the Federal Aviation Administration has issued licenses as pilots and aircraft mechanics, but has located an additional 27 who should not have held them because of terrorist connections, according to an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security. The report was requested two years ago by four senators after a private data analysis company in New York determined that the man convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 still held an F.A.A. license, as did a man caught trying to smuggle military equipment to Hezbollah in Lebanon, a man convicted of trying to make an airborne poison in his basement and a self-described eco-terrorist who fled the country after he was indicted on a charge of arson.

Cyber Camp 08/03/2011

Three winners walked away from the United States Cyber Challenge Regional Cyber Security Boot Camp at MU with $1,000 scholarships. Camp teaching assistant Alex Krepelka leans in to get a closer look along with Vijay Thurimella as they watch Jorge Orchilles obtain root access on a remote system, a significant accomplishment in Fridays contest. The Cyber Challenge Camps Capture The Flag competition, which will award the winning teams members $1,000 scholarships, is a gauntlet for cyber security professionals. The camp ran from Monday morning until Friday afternoon and taught people from across the country skills on how to break into computer networks, in order to defend them from those attacks.

Symantec Forecasts 08/02/2011

Symantec Corp., the largest maker of computer-security software, forecast higher profit and sales than analysts predicted as businesses boost spending to defend their systems amid a recent spate of threats. Profit excluding some costs will be 38 cents to 39 cents a share in the fiscal second quarter ending in September, Mountain View, California-based Symantec said today in a statement. That compares with the 38-cent average estimate of analysts, according to Bloomberg data. Sales will be $1.66 billion to $1.68 billion, above the consensus of $1.61 billion.

Concerns of Norway Copycats 08/01/2011

The recent mass killing in Norway could easily serve as a blueprint for other anti-Muslim militants, one of Germanys top security officials warned in a magazine interview Sunday. Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in bombing and gun attacks in Norway on July 22, and left detailed instructions on the internet of how he planned the bloodshed without attracting much police attention. This could serve as a blueprint for copycats, Alexander Eisvogel, vice-president of Germany's domestic anti-terrorist agency, the Federal Agency for the Protection of the Constitution, told the news magazine Der Spiegel.

ManTech Targeted 07/31/2011

Anonymous hackers associated with the growing AntiSec movement have targeted a cyber security company known as ManTech. The Virginia-based corporation boasts quite a number of lucrative contracts with prominent government entities, including the FBI, DIA, NSA, DHS, DoJ, NATO and various branches of the U.S. military.

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