Security

Seoul: Use of China Server in Cyberattack Fits Pyongyang M.O.
March 21, 2013

North Korea is the suspected perpetrator of a hacking attack that knocked out a trio of South Korean broadcasters and two major banks on Wednesday. South Korean officials in the capital of Seoul traced the attack to a server in China, something that meshes with previous attacks by North Korea.

Cyberattack Hammers Korean Banks, Broadcast Nets
March 21, 2013

Three banks and three broadcast networks in South Korea were hit Wednesday by a virus that froze their computers and shut down a related website. Seoul is looking into the attacks, but has declined to blame North Korea until investigations prove otherwise. It has boosted vigilance in the public and private sector, as well as in the military, against possible future cyberattacks.

Congress Puts Privacy Front and Center
March 20, 2013

Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, have introduced legislation to provide stronger privacy guarantees to email. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013 calls for the government to get a search warrant before gaining access to email or other digital communication channels.

FCC Buckles on Cybersecurity
March 20, 2013

Internet service providers are resisting the Federal Communications Commission's recommendations for implementing security best practices, the agency has reported. The ISP members of the Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) say they believe additional evaluation is required to determine whether those best practices should apply to their industry.

Florida Hack 1st Election Cyberattack to Hit US, Say Pros
March 19, 2013

Florida has again made election-related headlines -- this time for an attempted hacking of online election systems during voting last August in Miami-Dade County. It is the first certified case of an online election attack in the U.S. Fraudulent requests for about 2,500 absentee ballots were sent to the election system from various IP addresses, but they were detected by system software and rejected by election workers.

Judge Throws the Book at AT&T Hacker 'Weev'
March 18, 2013

Andrew Auernheimer, a hacker known as "Weev," was sentenced Monday to 41 months in prison for obtaining the personal data of more than 100,000 iPad owners from AT&T's publicly accessible website and sending the information to the media. The ruling immediately sparked an outcry from a digital rights group that claims the punishment does not fit the crime.

Spam Boom Prompts Call for Businesses to Ditch Email
March 18, 2013

Just when we thought the spam scourge was over, it appears it's making a comeback. After four straight quarters of decline, spam volumes on the Internet rose 92 percent in February, according to security firm Eleven Research Team.Phishing emails jumped 69.8 percent.

Locking Up Big Data to Unlock Its Value
March 18, 2013

The bad news about Big Data: This business trend means enterprises now have more valuable information within their systems that must be protected. The good news about Big Data: The analytics and business intelligence that come along with the trend can also be used to improve risk management within organizations.

Feds' Case Against Journo Spurs Crime-and-Punishment Uproar
March 16, 2013

The case of a journalist charged Thursday with aiding the hacker group Anonymous is sending up red flags in two camps: employers who must worry about security threats from disgruntled ex-workers; and a digital rights group that is finding troublesome parallels with the prosecution of the late Aaron Swartz.

Digital Advertisers and Mozilla Fight Over Cookies
March 14, 2013

Proposed changes to the popular Mozilla Firefox browser that would block third-party cookies from websurfers' computers have sparked the ire of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which claims the move will damage how small businesses use ads to attract customers. Mozilla's proposal will require its browser users to give their permission for the installation of cookies,

Cyberthreats No. 1 on US Threat Matrix
March 13, 2013

A busy week on the U.S. cybersecurity front is pointing toward a renewed emphasis on the nation's digital defenses, a shift underscored by Tuesday's Senate testimony from a top security official that ranked hackers and cyberattacks as greater threats to the country than Al Qaeda and terrorism.

Netflix, Facebook Integration Brings Back the Water Cooler
March 13, 2013

Movie and TV buffs will soon be able to share what they've watched on Netflix more easily, the service announced Wednesday. Users in the United States will be able to take advantage of "frictionless sharing" with their friends on Facebook in the coming days. The sharing will be available only on Netflix by default. Users will be able to allow their friends to see which titles they viewed and to see their friends' ratings.

Feds Probe Hack of First Lady, Biden, Celebs
March 13, 2013

Police in Los Angeles have teamed with the FBI to investigate Russian hackers suspected of stealing and posting sensitive information about Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, law enforcement officials and Hollywood celebrities. The material in question was posted on a website using .su as a suffix -- reportedly a tip-off that the perpetrators have a Russian connection.

Google Hit With $7M Fine at the Privacy Tollbooth
March 13, 2013

Google has settled its Street View privacy case with 38 states and the District of Columbia. As part of the settlement, the company will destroy the personal information it collected under the project, train its employees on privacy issues for a 10-year period, launch a campaign to educate consumers on WiFi security, and pay a $7 million fine.

GPS and the Law: You Can Run but You Can't Hide
March 13, 2013

There are more than 6 billion mobile devices in the world. As of last July, there were more than 321 million wireless subscriber connections in the U.S. alone. Given the wide penetration of wireless gadgets, it is no surprise that GPS location devices are now getting a great deal of attention in both civil and criminal courts.

Likes Can Tell the Story of Your Life
March 12, 2013

It is possible to predict intimate personal characteristics such as sexual orientation by studying a person's Facebook Likes, according to findings released Monday by University of Cambridge researchers. Just by studying Likes, the team was able to determine a person's race, age, IQ, personality type, level of substance use and political views with a surprising degree of accuracy.

China Suggests Setting Rules for Cyberwar Games
March 11, 2013

As it continues to deny accusations that its army is involved in serial computer hacking, China is now also asking for worldwide rules and cooperation on Web-based espionage. China cited the lack of international definitions and regulations on cyberespionage as part of its first round of denials against the landmark report by security firm Mandiant.

Judge Orders Apple to Quit Pussyfooting Around
March 11, 2013

A judge gave Apple until the end of last week to produce details about how it would provide documents and other evidence requested in a privacy lawsuit. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal issued the order in San Jose, Calif., on March 6, following claims from the plaintiffs' lawyers that Apple was withholding documents it had been ordered to produce.

Phishers Cast Longlines to Hook More Victims
March 11, 2013

Phishing and spear phishing have long been thought to be mutually exclusive hacking tricks, but cybercrooks have found a way to combine the two in a technique called longline phishing. "The technique allows you to hit a lot of people very quickly and largely go undetected," said Dave Jevans, founder and CTO of Marble Security.

How to Drink from the Big Data Firehose Without Drowning
March 11, 2013

The arrival of big data means the end of the status quo for the enterprise. It means more than just sorting the sheer volume and velocity of information now available to companies. To be able to derive the most value from big data, large enterprises now have to consider its impact on issues such as security, risk and governance.