Security

According to a recent report from the British House of Lords, Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras and the UK's DNA database -- purported to be the "largest in the world" -- are two examples of "pervasive" threats to privacy in British society, and may ... even threaten to undermine democracy. The report warns that pervasive and routine electronic surveillance and the collection and processing of personal information is almost taken for granted. (Source: guardian.co.uk ) Although the government calls CCTV and DNA essential to fight crime, privacy advocates say abuses of power mean that even the ... (view more)

Kaspersky Lab, one of the most prominent antivirus companies on the web, has admitted that its web site was breached by hackers for almost eleven days. Despite the Moscow-based company's claim that its software is the most secure on the web, it ... reportedly didn't know its own site had been breached until the Romanian hackers behind the attack told them so. Knowledge of the hack was made public on the weekend when the hackers, who are at this time only rumored to be Romanian, bragged about it in a blog posting. They claimed to have used an SQL injection attack to access Kapersky's United States ... (view more)

According to recent reports, $250 worth of electronic equipment allowed Chris Paget, an "ethical hacker," to scan and copy the information stored on radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in new passport cards (but not the traditional ... passport books), as well as some enhanced drivers' licenses while he drove around San Francisco. The 20-minute experiment was captured on video by The Register. According to Paget, it would be trivial to program blank tags with the skimmed identification numbers -- a key part of the process of creating counterfeit cards. Because the embedded RFID ... (view more)

Many of us update our software or install the latest antivirus programs to reduce the chances of becoming the victims of a hacker. But is it possible for our hardware components to entice hackers as well? Hewlett-Packard recently issued a warning to ... select laser printer owners urging them to update the firmware of their devices or risk the prospect of leaving themselves open to a malicious attack. In a public advisory, HP warned that certain laser printers are confirmed to have been affected, including 10 different LaserJet models (ranging from the 2410 to the 9050 models), two Color LaserJet ... (view more)

Microsoft has agreed to tweak the User Account Control (UAC) system in Windows 7 to avoid an inherent security risk . During the production of Windows 7 , Microsoft decided to change the default UAC so that it no longer asks for confirmation when a ... user adjusts his or her Windows settings. Security experts suggest that these settings include UAC itself, meaning rogue software could turn this protection off completely without the user knowing. Microsoft argued that this was not a true vulnerability because one can only take advantage by getting the victim to run the rogue software; for example ... (view more)

As noted by the New York Times, new technologies have become so powerful that protecting individual privacy may no longer be the only issue. With the Internet, wireless sensors, and the capability to analyze an avalanche of data, a person's profile ... can be drawn without monitoring him or her directly. (Source: nytimes.com ) Every time you use your credit card to make a purchase, you give up your privacy. When you use your credit or debit card, a record of that transaction is logged into a database of information collected by your credit card issuer. (Source: creditcards.com ) Tracking systems ... (view more)

Microsoft recently commissioned research in two cities to try to understand how different types of consumer, from teens to professionals to baby boomers, think about privacy. During the recently held Data Privacy Day in San Francisco, Microsoft ... participated in a panel discussion with privacy experts from the California Office of Privacy Protection, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Intel and MySpace. According to Microsoft's Chief privacy strategist Peter Cullen, breaches impact consumer trust and is causing increased concern. (Source: google.com) Microsoft and other organizations ... (view more)

Hoping your honey sends you flowers this Valentine's Day? Here's hoping people invest their time and money in more traditional gifts, rather than virtual ones, given the fact that an old Valentine's virus may very well be making a resurgence this ... year. Let's face it, there will be guys (and girls) sending electronic Valentine's cards this February 14. With that in mind, it's important everyone is aware of spam masquerading as a sweet love note. Hoping to dupe web users into downloading the dreaded Waledec bot , spammers have in the past sent emails entitled "short and sweet," "Me and You," ... (view more)

A 29-year-old New Zealand man reportedly got more than he bargained for when he bought an MP3 player from an Oklahoma thrift shop. When Chris Ogle hooked up his MP3 player to sync with his computer, he found 60 files containing military information ... including the names and personal details of American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq including: cellphone numbers, information that appeared to be from a mission briefing, details of military equipment deployed to the bases, and social security numbers. (Source: tvnz.co.nz ) Files found were marked with a warning saying the release of ... (view more)

Anyone who has ever owned a computer has likely been the victim of spam . But while most of us would be quick to hit the delete button at the first sign of an unfamiliar (and potentially harmful) email, others are analyzing its components in the ... hopes of finding common traits amongst viruses in order to predict the frequency and sophistication of future attacks. Spam-haters around the world recently celebrated when San Jose-based McColo was shut down in November 2008, after it was discovered that the web hosting service provider was trafficking high levels of malware from their servers. The ... (view more)