Lessons learned from LulzSec’s 50-day hacking spree
June 28, 2011
By Byron Acohido, 28June2011
The direct and indirect ramifications of LulzSec’s unprecedented hacktivist rampage will take some time to fully play out.
However, it seems clear that consumers, corporations and governments will likely experience troublesome collateral damage for some time to come.
The Australian government, for instance, is advising citizens to change and vary their Facebook, PayPal, Xbox Live and other online account logins because scammers have begun using …More
Google’s Schmidt, Page refuse to testify before U.S. Senate
June 23, 2011
U.S. Senators Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Michael Lee, R-Utah won’t take ‘no’ as an acceptable answer from Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and CEO Larry Page.
Google’s top executives have flatly refused to appear at a hearing by the Senate’s antitrust subcommittee on competition issues pertaining to Internet search. Instead, they’ve assigned Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond to show up.
That doesn’t satisfy Kohl and Lee. They’ve sent …More
Companies begin to mitigate mobile device risks
June 23, 2011
Now comes a survey positing that many companies have begun to establish specific policies to deal with security and liability risks stemming from the rising use of mobile devices and social networks in workplace settings, as LastWatchdog wrote about in this story.
The study, conducted by messaging security firm Proofpoint and Osterman Research, polled 632 IT professionals and found that 84 percent of organizations allow their employees …More
Weak passwords leaves Facebook, Twitter users ripe for being hacked
June 22, 2011
Now comes a survey of 2,027 U.S. adults showing 69% of respondents concerned about security when using Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and other popular social networks.
And, yet only 33% bothered to take a very simple, basic step to reduce their risk: regularly change their account log-on password.
The study, commissioned by antivirus firm ESET, was conducted online by Harris Interactive from May 31-June 2, 2011.
The survey also …More
Who’s who in LulzSec hacktivist gang
June 20, 2011
Purported details about the online personas of key members of the LulzSec hacktivist group have begun circulating online.
Imperva researcher Tal Be’ery says LulzSec’s key operatives appear to have been previously involved as key contributors to Anonymous’ hacktivist attack, earlier this year, of intel consultancy HB Gary.
Related story: LulzSec declares war
The HB Gary caper, you may recall, led to the exposure of a U.S. Chamber …More
LulzSec declares hacktivist war on corporations & governments
June 20, 2011
By Byron Acohido
USA TODAY, 20June2011, P1B
LulzSec, the upstart hackitivist group, was busy over the weekend. First, it disavowed responsibility for the hacking of video game company Sega. In fact it added a new twist by offering to help Sega (once long ago a big name in video games) track down the perpetrators.
And this morning, the group announced that it was partnering with the …More
Why perimeter defense is still important
June 19, 2011
Tech security vendors for at least a half a decade now have been issuing the warning that focusing on repelling cyber attacks at the perimeter of corporate networks is wholly ineffective.
In this LastWatchdog guest blog post, Dr. Avishai Wool, CTO of firewall management firm AlgoSec, argues why protecting the perimeter remains a vital part of any layered defense approach to cyber defense.
By Avishai Wool
Lots of security vendors will …More
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