security

Doctor Web, a Russian antivirus company, recently announced its discovery of covert, zero-day-exploiting Trojan Horse malware which it believes has infiltrated more than 600,000 Macintosh systems worldwide. A number of other security companies later ... confirmed that staggering figure is probably accurate. "Flashback" Trojan Largest Mac Botnet Ever Doctor Web originally estimated that more than half a million machines were infected with "Flashback." This particular instance of malware gets installed on an unsuspecting user's computer during a visit to a previously-compromised website. Once ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced it will issue six security updates next Tuesday. Together, the updates will patch 11 different bugs affecting Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, and other Microsoft programs. It's worth noting that Microsoft has ranked four ... of the 11 fixes "critical," the software giant's highest security warning. "Critical" Bulletin 4 Fixes Office, and More The security update currently receiving the most attention is Bulletin 4. It is designed to repair a serious security vulnerability in a number of different Microsoft programs. The list of software due for ... (view more)

It appears that Microsoft and its users may be experiencing a security problem potentially as dangerous and devastating as the 2010 debacle that hit Playstation owners. Back then, innocent purchasers of PlayStations were hit by one of the most ... stunning security invasions in recent memory. Millions saw their supposedly-secure account information leaked, including credit card data. The problem ran so deep that Sony felt compelled to offer substantial compensation packages. The current problem may prove just as significant, unless Microsoft changes how it stores sensitive customer information. ... (view more)

The push to create smarter surveillance systems recently produced a major leap forward: A Japanese company has unveiled a new security system that can identify one particular face in a crowd in just one second flat. At the 2012 Security Show Expo in ... Tokyo, Hitachi revealed an exciting new security system that can scan a myriad of faces and compare them against 36 million records in a security database, and find all the matches in time to make use of the information. Using facial recognition to process surveillance footage is an established concept. In the United Kingdom, Scotland Yard has ... (view more)

Security experts at Kaspersky Lab, one of the leading anti-virus and computer security firms, recently announced they were able to take control of a hacker-built botnet containing more than 100,000 compromised computers. Unfortunately, less than 24 ... hours after the successful takedown, Kelihos, the cybercriminal gang behind the botnet, has already started building a new, large-scale collection of compromised computers to replace the one taken down. To stop the initial botnet, Kaspersky specialists used a method called "sinkholing." This technique involves direct infiltration of the botnet's ... (view more)

A new hacking group has emerged under a familiar name: LulzSec. Infiltrating dating and communications sites, its activity has led experts to fear that more copycat hacking organizations will emerge this year. The new group calls itself LulzSec ... Reborn, a clear rip-off of the LulzSec name made infamous last year. That rather unique moniker came from a combination of hacker lingo for "laughing out loud" with a short-hand name for "security." First Target of 'LulzSec Reborn' Attack: Single Soldiers The new group's first target was MilitarySingles, an online dating site for soldiers and other ... (view more)

According to a new report from Verizon, the majority of data stolen last year was the work of "hacktivists," many of whom were hoping to send a political message. According to security experts, this means that attacks by hackers seeking financial ... gain were, for the first time ever, overshadowed by other motivations for breaching security systems. The report, called "Data Breach Investigations," details examinations by Verizon of 855 security breaches. Ninety of the attacks were found within the ranks of Verizon's own customers, and 765 came from law enforcement agency ... (view more)

Microsoft says it has fixed only one 'critical' security flaw this Patch Tuesday. However, it appears to be a highly significant vulnerability. For those not familiar with the terminology, 'critical' vulnerabilities are those rated to be most in ... need of addressing. Flaw Could Allow Remote Code Execution The 'critical' security flaw is a remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Every version of Windows is reportedly left vulnerable by the problem. So long as the vulnerability remains unpatched, Microsoft says, a hacker who is able to convince a computer ... (view more)

A new study conducted by Trustwave, an IT research firm, is providing a startling look at the security vulnerabilities and hacking trends within computer systems used in the business world. For example, the Global Security Report for 2012 shows that ... the most popular computer password selected by business users is "Password1". Of the 2.5 million passwords Trustwave studied in total, about 5 per cent contained the word "password." (Source: slashgear.com ) According to Trustwave, "Password1" is so popular because "it satisfies the default Microsoft Active Directory complexity setting," ... (view more)

According to NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), in recent years, it has become an increasingly popular target for high-tech hackers. In 2007 and 2008, China was suspected to have hacked into NASA satellites , though no formal ... evidence linking China to the attacks has been brought forward. The agency says its systems were hacked approximately thirteen times in 2011 alone. "The threat to NASA's information security is persistent and ever-changing," noted Congressman Paul Braun at a recent meeting of the House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee. "Unless NASA is ... (view more)