Hackers and cybercrime prevention

Theresa May: Hacker Gary McKinnon to stay in UK

Hacker Gary McKinnon will stay in UK, home secretary Theresa May has told MPs Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Organisations need alternative data protection as security models fail

Organisations' security models are failing - so could it be time to adopt an intelligence-led approach to data protection and fighting cyber crime? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Home secretary Theresa May rules on hacker Gary McKinnon’s US extradition

Home secretary Theresa May is to rule on self-confessed computer hacker Gary McKinnon's extradition to the US Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RSA Europe: Thousands of unprotected virtual servers exposed to the web

Organisations are failing to protect data in virtual environments, says Jason Hart, vice-president cloud solutions, SafeNet Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RSA Europe: Security concerns whole supply chain, says Misha Glenny

Targeted attacks affect the whole supply chain, not just big corporations, author Misha Glenny tells RSA Conference Europe 2012 attendees Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RSA Europe: Cloud key to future information security, says Qualys

Cloud computing is an opportunity information security professionals should not miss, says Philippe Courtot, CEO of security firm Qualys Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security firm warns against Samsung Galaxy Tab for enterprise use

Security specialist Context Information Security says vulnerabilities in the Samsung Galaxy Tab make it unsuitable for use in the enterprise Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Five DDoS attack tools that you should know about

In this photo-story we explore common distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack tools and their features. Also learn how to guard against DDoS attacks. Continue Reading

By

• Karthik Poojary, Amazon

nullcon Delhi 2012: Day 2's action

SearchSecurity.IN brings you the live coverage of the fourth edition of Indian infosec community Null’s conference. Continue Reading

By

• Varun Haran, Reporter

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam hackers launch cyber attack on US bank Wells Fargo

A hacker group connected to Hamas says it attacked US bank Wells Fargo in reaction to the video 'Innocence of Muslims' posted on YouTube Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security concerns hold back mobile banking adoption

More than two-thirds of smartphone owners have not yet adopted mobile banking apps because of security concerns, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dell SecureWorks uncovers cyber espionage targeting energy firms

Dell SecureWorks researchers have discovered a cyber espionage campaign targeting several companies, including two in the energy sector Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft investigates IE zero-day flaw

Microsoft says it is investigating reports of a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, and 9 Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Android devices vulnerable to security breaches

More than 50% of devices running Google's Android OS have unpatched vulnerabilities, opening them up to malicious apps and other attacks Continue Reading

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• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

IT security awareness needs to be company-wide, says (ISC)²

Information security awareness needs to be more robust, started as early as possible, continually reinforced and organisation-wide, says Julie Peeler, director, (ISC)² Foundation Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft disrupts Nitol botnet, outs hidden PC malware

The Nitol botnet controlled more than 500 strains of embedded malware that Microsoft says has been plaguing the PC supply chain. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Westervelt, TechTarget

Government launches £3.8m cyber security institute

The government has ramped up moves to tackle growing cyber security threats by launching a £3.8m research institute. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Skills shortage means no unemployment in IT security, says (ISC)2

Zero unemployment in IT security shows a huge shortage of skills in the profession, says Hord Tipton, executive director of (ISC)2 Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Gartner: Prepare for context-aware security

Cloud computing, IT consumerisation and the evolving threat landscape are forcing IT departments to rethink security Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

DEF-CON Bangalore (DC9180) Meet Live

Get a front row view of the action-packed goings on at DEFCON Bangalore 2012 in this Live photo feature. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.in Staff

Setting up a botnet is easier than you think

Acquiring, installing, configuring and using a powerful data-stealing banking Trojan toolkit is not as difficult as it sounds Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI denies link to leaked Apple device codes

The FBI says there is no evidence that Anonymous gained access to 12 million identity codes for Apple devices by hacking an FBI agent's laptop Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Anonymous claims a million Apple IDs in FBI breach

Hacking group Anonymous claims to have released over a million Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) obtained from breaching FBI networks Continue Reading

Powerful cyber attack tools widely available, say researchers

More low-level cyber criminals are getting access to sophisticated attack tools, say cyber intelligence specialists Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Advanced cyber-security intelligence

Analysts Bob Tarzey and Clive Longbottom look at the business case for rolling out next security information and event management tools. Continue Reading

Cyber Vulnerability Index

What does your online corporate profile reveal? With so many cyber attacks in the news recently, executives are becoming increasingly concerned about their organisation’s exposure to hackers. Continue Reading

How to survive a data breach

Six practical tips on how to prepare for and survive a data breach Continue Reading

By

• Conrad Constantine

Businesses worldwide fail to prepare for cyber threats, says Kaspersky Lab

Companies around the world have failed to address cyber threats, according to a survey from security organisation Kaspersky Lab Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Amazon Appstore opens Android to attack

Amazon is urging users to switch off a safety feature in Android which prevents rogue apps from being downloaded, to install its Appstore software Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

VMware users can protect against virtual machine malware, says Trend Micro

New malware that attacks VMware virtual machines is no cause for undue concern, but users can take basic steps to protect data, says Trend Micro Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SCC becomes first supplier to win G-Cloud security accreditation

IT infrastructure company SCC has become the first supplier on the government’s CloudStore to win pan-government security accreditation. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

At least 9 out of 10 top mobile apps hacked, study shows

An average of 96% of the top 100 paid mobile apps have been hacked, a study has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

More than 1,000 school application details leaked on the internet

Personal information about more than 1,000 children has been published on the UK Independent Schools Guide website after an alleged cyber attack Continue Reading

Cyber security boot camp to educate potential cyber spooks

A group of about 30 young people will attend a cyber security boot camp announced by the organisations responsible for the Cyber Security Challenge next month. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

LinkedIn data breach costs more than $1m

LinkedIn says the forensic investigation and other recovery costs of the data breach in June could have topped $1m. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber threats affect banks worldwide

Nearly a quarter of the world's banks were hit by security breaches in the past year, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Twitter users targeted by Blackhole malware

Twitter users are being targeted by tweets containing malicious links that claim recipients are pictured in an online photo Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SQL injection attacks rise sharply in second quarter of 2012

SQL injection (SQLi) attacks were up 69% in the second quarter of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, warns cloud hosting firm FireHost Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Australian telco AAPT confirms Anonymous data breach

Australian telecoms firm AAPT confirms business customer data was breached by hacktivist group Anonymous at an external service provider Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Siemens issues software fix to protect against Stuxnet

German engineering firm Siemens has issued a fix for the software vulnerabilities in its programmable logic controllers that were exploited by the computer virus Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nine must-have OSINT tools

Open source intelligence tools aid in target discovery during the reconnaissance phase. Here are nine must-have OSINT tools for finding maximum target info. Continue Reading

By

• Karthik Poojary, Amazon

Many global firms unaware of online risk, finds KPMG

Many global organisations could do a lot more to protect their private data and reduce exposure to attacks by hackers, according to KPMG Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security researchers join forces to bring down Grum botnet

Security researchers have collaborated to take down Grum, the world’s third-largest botnet of hijacked computers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government-sponsored hackers target commercial secrets

Government-sponsored organisations are increasingly turning to hacking techniques to steal commercial secrets from businesses, KPMG has warned Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Sophos combines endpoint security and UTM

Security firm Sophos combines endpoint protection and unified threat management (UTM) products into a single physical or virtual appliance Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Outsourcing the problem of software security

This report from analyst group Quocirca assess the benefits of using on-demand services to ensure security throughout the application life cycle. Continue Reading

Metropolitan Police gears up to analyse smartphone evidence

The Metropolitan Police plans to build a computer system to analyse photo and video evidence gathered from the public using mobile phones Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The history of the next-generation firewall

Security expert Rik Ferguson explains how next-generation firewalls were developed and what protection they provide businesses. Continue Reading

By

• Rik Ferguson

Google Android OS Trojan virus hits 100K devices in China

Trojan malware has hit 100,000 devices using the Google Android operating system (OS) in China, say security researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Virus could cut 20,000 UK computers from web on Monday, FBI warns

The DNS Changer virus could cause 20,000 computers in the UK – of 350,000 worldwide - to lose web access on 9 July, the FBI has warned Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BT extends cyber security agreement with MoD

BT is to extend its cyber security agreement with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a deal to expand its cyber defence service Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber Risk Perceptions: An Industry Snapshot

Concerns about cyber-risks in business have increased over the past 12 months, this snapshot survey from Marsh and Chubb reveals. Continue Reading

The technology behind the Wimbledon tennis championships

We venture into the IBM bunker to see the IT operation behind the world's most famous tennis tournament. Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

White House cyber security coordinator Howard Schmidt joins Qualys

Former White House cyber security coordinator Howard Schmidt is to join the board of security and compliance company Qualys Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Network security: Is new technology bypassing traditional controls?

Network security practices are among the most mature, but can businesses be sure network traffic is not sneaking past traditional controls? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FTC sues Wyndham Worldwide hotel group over data breaches

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing hotel group Wyndham Worldwide over claims it failed to secure customer data Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Six arrested in the UK in worldwide FBI-led credit card data sting

Six people in the UK and 12 in the US arrested in an FBI-led sting operation that netted a total of 24 credit card cyber fraudsters in 13 countries Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Techniques for preventing a brute force login attack

A brute force login attack can enable an attacker to log in to an application and steal data. Rob Shapland explains how to prevent brute force attacks. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Shapland

Maltego user guide part 2: Infrastructural reconnaissance

This part of our Maltego tutorial details how you can use the multi-faceted tool for infrastructural aspects of information gathering. Continue Reading

By

• Karthik Poojary, Amazon

2012: Will this be the year TPM finally comes of age?

Will 2012 be the year that TPM finally delivers on its potential to provide a hardware-based "root of trust" for enterprise information security? Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Flame malware gets kill command

The controllers of Flame, the most powerful cyber weapon discovered to date, have recently sent a kill command that removes the malware from some infected computers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

eHarmony, Last.fm join LinkedIn with password leaks

Online dating site eHarmony and Last.fm have joined LinkedIn with password leaks, as hackers focus on social networks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top 10 tips for IPv6 security

Many organisations are being misled about the complexities surrounding IPv6 security, according to security firm Stonesoft Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security researchers discover powerful cyber espionage weapon 'Flame'

Security researchers have discovered a cyber espionage weapon, dubbed 'Flame', with a functionality greater than any other known threat Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK regulator PhonepayPlus shuts down Angry Birds smartphone scam

UK users of Android smartphones have been targeted by premium-rate phone scams masquerading as popular apps such as Angry Birds Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

File upload security best practices: Block a malicious file upload

Do your Web app users upload files to your servers? Find out the dangers of malicious file uploads and learn six steps to stop file-upload attacks. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Shapland

Mobile threats demand focus on data protection, says Websense

Business needs to focus on data protection as cyber criminals turn to mobile malware, says Websense. Continue Reading

The Pirate Bay is latest site to be hit by DDoS attack

The Pirate Bay has become the latest high-profile website to be hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Court stops Dutch party sharing Pirate Bay links

A court in The Hague has ordered a political party in the Netherlands to stop publicising ways to get around blocks to Swedish file-sharing site, The Pirate Bay Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attackers increasingly targeting applications, research shows

Web and mobile applications are the new frontiers in the war against cyber attack, according to an HP cyber security risks report Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government snooping plans unveiled

The Queen's Speech has revealed that the government still plans to make it easier for security and police services to spy on e-mails, phone calls and internet activity Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK to expand cyber info-sharing hub after initial success

A public/private cyber security initiative exposed a campaign of malicious emails targeting UK defence companies, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has revealed. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SOCA takes its website offline in DDoS response

Just days after SOCA shut down carder sites, the agency was the victim of a DDoS attack, leading SOCA to takes its website offline. Continue Reading

By

• Jane Wright, TechTarget

InfoSecurity Europe: Odd Bugs

A selection of photos showing how far exhibitors will go to get people to their stands at InfoSecurity Europe 2012... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Half of UK networks vulnerable to APTs

Many UK corporate networks are vulnerable to advanced persistent threats (APTs), a survey has revealed. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec 2012: Unscrubbed hard drives a threat to business, says ICO

Unscrubbed hard drives on computers that are decommissioned and sold on represent a significant risk to business Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec 2012: Internet security body to tackle SSL problems

The Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM) is to tackle implementation and governance internet communication protocol (SSL) as its first project. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec 2012: Patching alone can deliver 80% protection

Keeping software up to date with security patches can deliver 80% protection from cyber threats, says security firm Secunia. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec 2012: Cloud enables security expertise for SME

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) typically face the same threats as bigger organisations, but lack the same level of expertise and other security resources. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosecurity Europe

With 300 exhibitors and hundreds of delegates, security is still hot on the IT agenda. Cliff Saran presents the highlights of infosecurity Europe Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

2012 Information Security Breaches Survey

Security breaches cost the UK billions over the last 12 months as cyber attacks reached record levels. Continue Reading

UK firms see competitors as greater cyber attack risk than criminals

More than half of UK firms expect a cyber attack in the next six months, but see competitors as a greater risk than criminals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Busy security patch month for Microsoft administrators

Microsoft has released six patches, four critical, for 11 vulnerabilities in Office, Windows and various server products in its April security update. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK business fears impact of new EU data protection framework

More than half of senior UK IT managers in large enterprises believe the proposed new EU data protection framework will cost their business more money, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Eight UK universities awarded excellence in cyber security research status

The first eight UK universities have been awarded 'Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research' status Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fighting Economic Crime in the Financial Services sector

PwC examines the impact of Cybercrime on the financial services industry. Continue Reading

SIEM deployment case study shows patience is required

Williams Lea’s SIEM is already helping reduce manual log reviews. But there’s still a lot of work to be done before the SIEM can be fully deployed. Continue Reading

By

• Ron Condon

Study: Shnakule, four other malnets caused most 2011 attacks

Huge global malnets, such as Shnakule, were responsible for most attacks in 2011, and Blue Coat predicts they will trigger 66% of all attacks in 2012. Continue Reading

By

• Ron Condon

UK hacktivist cases should spur business to action, says lawyer

The last of four alleged UK members of hacktivist group LulzSec has appeared in Westminster magistrates court in London Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SourceForge takes down Anonymous operating system

The open-source collaboration website SourceForge has taken down an Ubuntu Linux OS project purportedly affiliated with online hactivist group Anonymous, after a review by security experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BBC cyber attacks highlight difficulty of attribution

The BBC has said it is was targeted by cyber attacks following a campaign by Iran against its Persian service, but stopped short of accusing Tehran of ordering the cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Hackers expose weak security on Digital Playground porn site

A hacking group claims to have stolen the details of more than 70,000 users of the Digital Playground porn site Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI informer Hector Xavier Monsegur aids in arrest of LulzSec hackers

Authorities in the US, UK and Republic of Ireland have arrested seven suspected members of hacktivist group LulzSec, including Hector Xavier Monsegur, who helped investigators Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Session fixation protection: How to stop session fixation attacks

Session fixation attacks rely on poorly managed Web application cookies. Rob Shapland answers a reader’s question on session fixation protection. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Shapland

2012 security outlook

This report, based on extensive research from chief information security officers, identifies the top 10 security imperatives for 2012. Continue Reading

RSA 2012: IT security experts urge enterprises to ban smartphone BYOD schemes

Enterprises should ban employees from using their own smartphones for work, a panel of IT security practitioners told the RSA Conference 2012 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT departments risk losing responsibility for IT security

IT security professionals can no longer take it for granted that IT security will continue as part of the IT function Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

OSSIM update enables cyber threat intelligence sharing

The latest update to the Open Source Security Information Management (OSSIM) base system includes a mechanism for sharing cyber threat intelligence. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK regulator PhonepayPlus fines Dutch typosquatting companies

UK phone regulator PhonepayPlus fines two Dutch firms £100,000 for exploiting well-known websites Wikipedia, Twitter and YouTube Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

President of European Parliament critical of Acta

After a weekend of public protests against the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta), the president of the European Parliament has added his voice to those of critcs. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst