The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is sounding a cyber crime alert, with a report that 41% of small firms have been hit by cyber criminals in the past year but less than 20% have taken steps to protect themselves. The FSB is highlighting the figures from its new report, Cyber Security and Fraud: the […]more…
BYOD security: a standards dilemma
If there’s one thing the mobile industry is known for is standards. There’s a lot of them. In networking technology you have multiple Wi-Fi standards in use, 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac. In wide area wireless there are GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE. And for mobile OSes you have iOS, Android, QNX, Windows Phone, et […]more…
Ransomware attack now steals passwords
The cybercriminal gang behind a dangerous ransomware attack, which locks victims out of their computer systems and scams them by demanding cash to fix the problem, has added password-stealing functionality to the malware, according to Microsoft researchers that have documented some of the latest attacks. Tags: Securitymore…
British Cloud Firm Wins Background Check Security Contract
Skyscape Cloud Services, a British cloud SMB, has won a £1.5 million ($2.3 million) annual contract to provide security for the background check system British citizens use to reveal any criminal records to prospective employers. Tags: UK cloud Securitymore…
Pressure mounts for building in security during application development
Security has seldom been a priority in application development, but pressure from businesses stuck patching faulty software is having an impact on the industry. Among the large software makers that have seen the light is Microsoft, which is pushing Windows developers to adopt a standard methodology and framework for building secure applications. Tags: Security Software-Programmingmore…
Making quantum encryption practical
One of the many promising applications of quantum mechanics in the information sciences is quantum key distribution (QKD), in which the counterintuitive behavior of quantum particles guarantees that no one can eavesdrop on a private exchange of data without detection. Tags: Encryptionmore…
AusSHIRT 2013 – the #sophospuzzle instructions in full
The AusCERT 2013 conference has started, so the AusSHIRT 2013 #sophospuzzle is officially live. See if you can transform the code on the T-shirt and win a prize! (You don’t have to be at the conference to enter.)more…
Blackhole Spam Run Evades Detection Using Punycode
The Blackhole Exploit Kit (BHEK) spam run has already assumed various disguises during its course. Some variants have taken various forms, such as official bank notice, cable provider email update, social networking email, and fake courier notification. Lately, we have seen a slew of spam crafted as a notice from the popular retail chain Walmart. […]more…
Unix: Book Review — Absolute OpenBSD: Unix for the Practical Paranoid by Michael W. Lucas, Open Starch Press, 2013
BSD — the Berkeley Software Distribution flavor of Unix — is alive and well and thriving on a remarkably secure system near you. And the second edition of Absolute OpenBSD (Michael W. Lucas, 2013, no starch press) is ready to teach you all about it. read moremore…
A recent expose shines a light onto the strange world of "booter" or "stressor" web sites which offer DDoS-attacks-for-hire. read moremore…
John McAfee accuses Belize Government after house burns down
The chances were always slim that antivirus founder John McAfee would return to his former mansion in Belize and now he can’t. Last Thursday it burned down, more evidence according to McAfee, that he’s no longer welcome in the country. In a blog, McAfee claimed that the destruction of his beautiful waterside Shangri-La amidst the […]more…
Hacked Brainwave Headset Lets You Control Architecture by Thinking
In the age of ubiquitous computing, we’ve grown fairly used to infrastructure, objects, and even furniture that adapt to the presence of humans. But what if you could control the behavior of a wall or room simply by thinking harder? Tags: Hardware Sciencemore…
Telenor cyberespionage attack has Indian origins
A recent intrusion on the computer network of Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor was the result of a large cyberespionage operation of Indian origin that for the past few years has targeted business, government and political organizations from different countries, according to researchers from security firm Norman Shark. Tags: Telenor Indiamore…
Mobile security clearance awarded to iOS 6 by the Pentagon
The U.S. Department of Defense has tested the iOS 6 Apple operating system for its mobile security in an extensive and protracted process and has now awarded clearance to the technology of the iPhone and the iPad. Tags: Apple iOS Securitymore…
Websense Goes Private in $906 Million Deal
Websense has been the subject of acquisition rumors for years and it’s finally found a way to cash out: a private equity deal lead by Vista Equity Partners. The company said Monday Vista Equity Partners was acquiring the company for $24.75 per share in cash, a 29% premium over Websense’s May 17 closing price of […]more…
Dell Project Ophelia USB Android stick to ship in July, priced at $100
Dell’s thumb-sized PC called Project Ophelia, which is the size of a USB stick, will start shipping in July for around $100. The Android-based device will plug into a display’s HDMI port so that it can run applications or access files stored remotely. It will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities and is aimed at users […]more…