Imminent threats
Texting spammers correlate phone users to local banks
June 17, 2013
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the inaugural CyberTruth column, which explores trends and breaking news in the cybersecurity field.)
SEATTLE – If you use an Internet-connected smartphone, touch tablet, e-reader, notebook, laptop or desktop computer you ought to care …More
Why privileged accounts are master keys coveted by hackers
May 31, 2013
SEATTLE – One big reason cyberintruders can easily roam far and wide, once they crack inside a company network, is that many organizations pay scant …More
How small nations use cyberwarfare as the great equalizer
May 30, 2013
(Editor’s note: WWII General George S. Patton once declared that “fixed fortifications are monuments to man’s stupidity.” In this guest essay, Brian Contos, chief security officer at forensics firm Solera Networks notes how that observation is particularly apropos to cyberwarfare.)
By Brian Contos
History has taught us how technology can shift advantage. Steel gave the Romans advantage over the iron weapons possessed by Greeks. Infantries armed with muskets gave …More
Norman probe finds India as likely source of extensive APT hacks
May 23, 2013
SEATTLE – A multi-national cyberspying onslaught, carried out over three years against companies and agencies in a dozen nations, has been uncovered by Norwegian security vendor Norman Shark and San Diego-based antivirus maker ESET.
Here’s the big twist: the perpetrators appear to operate from India. Norman’s principal security researcher, Snorre Fagerland, lays out the case that an elaborate spying botnet, controlled out of India, is the wellspring …More
Why the burden remains on consumers to dodge phishing scams
May 17, 2013
SEATTLE – Phishing continues to plague Internet users. Walmart on Thursday issued an alert about an e-mail phishing ruse, recognizable by the misspelling in the from field — “Wallmart,” spelled with with two Ls.
Phishers rely on social engineering to trick Internet users into quickly clicking on a tainted attachment or infected web link.
The …More
Q&A: RedKit, Blackhole exploit kits expand badness
May 15, 2013
SEATTLE — AppRiver has uncovered yet more evidence that so-called drive-by downloads — infections lurking on legit websites — have become the pre-dominant way cyber criminals are infecting PCs.
The Gulf Breeze, Fla.-based messaging security firm found “RedKit” to be one of the most prevalent malicious programs circulating on websites in April.
RedKit and a similar tool, the so-called “Blackhole” exploit kit, have emerged as a cybercriminal’s indispensible Swiss Army knife. CyberTruth earlier reported on analysis from firewall vendor, Palo Alto …More
Kids access porn sites at age 6, begin flirting online at 8
May 14, 2013
SEATTLE — Kids start watching porn from as early as the age of 6, and begin flirting on the Internet from the age of 8, according to a Bitdefender study on over 19,000 parents worldwide.
What’s more, kids are accessing instant messaging and computer …More
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