Around The Horn vol.1,26

Alerts

5:34 AM (3 hours ago)
WMware updates, (Sat, Jan 31st)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
WMware issued a number of fixes for VMware ESXi 3.5, VMware ESX 3 ...(more)...

2:34 AM (6 hours ago)
Windows 7 - not so secure ?, (Sat, Jan 31st)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
While it is still a beta program, and as such not very interesting to report on yet, there is a litt ...(more)...

Jan 30, 2009 (14 hours ago)
Request for info - Scan and webmail, (Fri, Jan 30th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Two readers brought something interesting to our attention and we're asking if you have some info th ...(more)...

Jan 30, 2009 (23 hours ago)
We all "Love" USB drives, (Fri, Jan 30th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Loss of confidential information because of a USB stick is nothing new, but this one is quite amusin ...(more)...

9:08 AM (seconds ago)
VMware ESX 3.5, Patch ESX350-200901409-SG: Security Update for SNMP in the Service Console (1006659)

from VMware RSS Feed by vmtn@vmware.com (VMTN)
VMware ESX 3.5, Patch ESX350-200901409-SG: Security Update for SNMP in the Service Console (1006659)
Release Date: Jan. 30, 2009 Download Size: 2.18MB Download Filename: ESX350-200901409-SG.zip md5sum: 2c75cd848d9f3c51619b9a7bd60d20a3 Product...

Security News

Jan 30, 2009 (15 hours ago)
Capture the flag for education and mentoring

from SANS Information Security Reading Room
Category: Case Studies
Paper Added: January 30, 2009

Jan 30, 2009 (15 hours ago)
Social Engineering: Manipulating the Source

from SANS Information Security Reading Room
Category: Social Engineering
Paper Added: October 14, 2008

3:16 AM (6 hours ago)
Microsoft Open Sources Web Sandbox

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
Sacha Writes"Microsoft has announced plans to release the code of its Web Sandbox project under the open source Apache Software License.The Web Sandbox project aims to mitigate some of the security risks that are associated with building Web mashups that mix in untrusted content from third-party sources. The task of isolating...

Jan 30, 2009 (13 hours ago)
DEC 'hacker' questions McKinnon political bandwagon

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
"Boris Johnson's outspoken defence of Gary McKinnon in his extradition fight has been criticised by a former security consultant, who complains he was denied such support when he himself was charged with hacking offences. Daniel Cuthbert was convicted in October 2005 of breaking the Computer Misuse Act by "hacking" into a...

Jan 30, 2009 (21 hours ago)
IT admin plotted to erase Fannie Mae Data

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
"A fired computer engineer for Fannie Mae has been arrested and charged with planting a malicious software script designed to permanently destroy millions of dollars worth of data from all 4,000 servers operated by the mortgage giant. Rajendrasinh Babubahai Makwana, 35, of Virginia, concealed the Unix script on Fannie Mae's main...

Jan 30, 2009 (21 hours ago)
US school in toothless Obama worm infection

from The Register - Security
Round up the dweebiest suspects
Security experts reckon a new low-threat worm that displays the image of President Obama on infected desktops is the work of technically-knowledgeable pranksters.…

Jan 30, 2009 (23 hours ago)
DEC 'hacker' questions McKinnon political bandwagon

from The Register - Security
Boris didn't big me up - what gives?
Boris Johnson's outspoken defence of Gary McKinnon in his extradition fight has been criticised by a former security consultant, who complains he was denied such support when he himself was charged with hacking offences.…

Jan 30, 2009 (yesterday)
The Register Guide to securing your network

from The Register - Security
Showing our vulnerability side
From time to time we ask our analyst friends at Freeform Dynamics to compose a primer on a tech topic du jour. Today, we focus on vulnerability management, a crucial component in every IT security strategy.…

Jan 30, 2009 (yesterday)
Texas lawyer sues Citibank over fake cheque scam

from The Register - Security
'I'm a capital 'D' Dumbass', admits fleeced victim of Lads from Lagos
A Houston lawyer is suing Citibank after being taken for $182,500 by email scammers claiming to be a debt-chasing Japanese company, Texas Lawyer reports.…

Jan 30, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Windows 7 UAC shutoff 'bug' leaves Microsoft unmoved

from The Register - Security
Insecure by design? s
Security researchers have unearthed a potentially serious flaw in User Account Control (UAC) features in Windows 7. Microsoft is aware of the issue but is currently unconvinced it needs to make changes to the pre-release code.…

4:58 AM (4 hours ago)
UAC fix in Windows 7 creates security hole, blogger says

from Network World on Security
A change that Microsoft made in Windows 7 to improve its controversial User Account Control security feature has left the new OS less secure, according to a blogger who follows Microsoft closely.

4:58 AM (4 hours ago)
Prevent Onlookers from Seeing Mobile Secrets

from Network World on Security
Your mobile devices have secrets, which is why you should require an unlock code before each use. But if you're especially nervous about onlookers seeing your screen over your shoulder, the same kinds of laptop privacy screens are also made in mobile phone sizes.

4:58 AM (4 hours ago)
Victims of massive Internet Ponzi scheme sue Bank of America

from Network World on Security
The victims of a massive Internet Ponzi scheme have sued Bank of America (BofA) for helping the fraud occur by continuing to do business with the alleged perpetrators despite numerous signs of illegal activity.

4:58 AM (4 hours ago)
Microsoft charges employee with spying

from Network World on Security
Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against a former employee, charging him with taking a job at the software giant in order to steal information that would be helpful in his patent infringement case against the company.

Jan 30, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Researcher : P2P networks rife with health-care data

from Network World on Security
Eric Johnson didn't have to break into a computer to gain access to a 1,718-page document containing Social Security numbers, dates of birth, insurance information, treatment codes and other health-care data belonging to about 9,000 patients at a medical testing laboratory.

Jan 30, 2009 (20 hours ago)
SonicWall introduces management appliance

from Network World on Security by Tim Greene
SonicWall is putting its Global Management System software onto an appliance to make the platform easier to deploy.

Jan 30, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Brief: Contractor indicted for Fannie Mae malware

from SecurityFocus News
Contractor indicted for Fannie Mae malware

Jan 30, 2009 (22 hours ago)
Brief: Cyber attacks disrupt Kyrgyzstan's networks

from SecurityFocus News
Cyber attacks disrupt Kyrgyzstan's networks>> Advertisement

-- Aurora Report says woah vmware feed was broken, thank goodness for crosschecking information sources.

Around The Horn vol.1,25

Alerts

-- Aurora Report says no alerts today.

Security News

Jan 29, 2009 (22 hours ago)
ICANN Requests Public Comment on Initial Report on Fast-Flux Hosting, (Thu, Jan 29th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
...(more)...

Jan 29, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Hacking 4 Zombies

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
"Transportation officials in Texas are scrambling to prevent hackers from changing messages on digital road signs after one sign in Austin was altered to read, "Zombies Ahead." Chris Lippincott, director of media relations for the Texas Department of Transportation, confirmed that a portable traffic sign at Lamar Boulevard and West 15th...

Jan 29, 2009 (yesterday)
Hoax or Not, Treat It the Same

from McAfee Avert Labs by Rodney Andres
Late last year, my sister forwarded to me an email that foretold of great evil and destruction should anyone open an email with a “Happy New Year” greeting for a subject. The email begged us to save the world by forwarding it to everyone we know. She wanted to know if she should believe it.

6:51 AM (22 minutes ago)
Techwatch weathers DDoS extortion attack

from The Register - Security
Botnet blackmail
Techwatch is back online following a sustained denial of service attack that left the digital TV news site unavailable for two days earlier this week.…


9:09 PM (10 hours ago)
Novell GroupWise bug threatens mass email theft

from The Register - Security
A mole's dream
Security researchers have identified two critical holes in Novell's GroupWise WebAccess, the web front end for the company's email and employee collaboration package, that allow malicious hackers to steal user messages with ease. All supported versions of the program are vulnerable.…

Jan 29, 2009 (13 hours ago)
CIA's Algeria chief recalled amid rape allegations

from The Register - Security
Spy boss laptop seized as evidence
The CIA's top officer in Algeria has been recalled to Washington amid accusations he drugged and raped two women at his Algiers residence.…

Jan 29, 2009 (15 hours ago)
Feds: IT admin plotted to erase Fannie Mae

from The Register - Security
'Server Graveyard' narrowly averted
A fired computer engineer for Fannie Mae has been arrested and charged with planting a malicious software script designed to permanently destroy millions of dollars worth of data from all 4,000 servers operated by the mortgage giant.…

Jan 29, 2009 (19 hours ago)
Indian embassy website hack part of wider assault

from The Register - Security
Ad ranking scam or massive malware attack?
The compromise of legitimate websites with hostile code ultimately designed to serve up malware onto the PCs continues apace, with the latest victims including the Indian embassy in Spain.…

Jan 29, 2009 (21 hours ago)
IE8 Suggested Sites suggested to be snoopy

from The Register - Security
Privacy activists cry Phorm on Redmond
Privacy activists are crying foul over the "Suggested Sites" feature in IE8, but Microsoft insists concerns about the feature, such that it might be used to serve up targeted advertising or that it poses a security risk, are misplaced.…

6:51 AM (22 minutes ago)
Why conventional protection fails against web threats

from The Register - Security
White paper trail
And so to the Reg whitepaper library to inspect some security pitches. Here's a couple we thought deserved a wider airing.…

Jan 29, 2009 (21 hours ago)
RSA SecureID - Voted WindowSecurity.com Readers' Choice Award Winner - Authentication/Smart Cards

from WindowSecurity.com by info@WindowSecurity.com (The Editor)
RSA SecureID was selected the winner in the Authentication/Smart Cards category of the WindowSecurity.com Readers' Choice Awards. SafeWord 2008 and eToken were first runner-up and second runner-up.

Jan 29, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Google dismisses click fraud report

from Network World on Security
Google is taking issue with a report that says click fraud hit a record high in the fourth quarter.

5:22 AM (1 hour ago)
How to Guard Your Trade Secrets (and Why You Must)

from Network World on Security
In the connected world that is 2009, almost every company has a trade secret that it wants to keep. Between BlackBerrys, home e-mail accounts, and USB ports that can write gigs of data to a flash drive, it's only getting harder to protect your trade secrets. If you aren't careful, your trade secrets can walk right out the door--and without a well-written contract, you may have little legal recourse.

Jan 29, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Data export leaves firms vulnerable, says research

from Network World on Security
The tendency of firms to distribute sensitive data to offices around the globe could be creating a new form of information vulnerability, a report has suggested.

Jan 29, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Ex-Fannie Mae employee accused of planting computer time bomb

from Network World on Security by Ellen Messmer
Ex-Fannie Mae computer engineer is charged in setting computer time bomb, according to published reports.

5:22 AM (1 hour ago)
Fannie Mae engineer indicted for planting server bomb

from Network World on Security
A former Unix engineer for the Federal National Mortgage Association, better known as Fannie Mae , has been accused of planting malicious code on the corporation's network that was to "destroy and alter" all of the data on the company's servers this Saturday, court documents show.

5:22 AM (1 hour ago)
Worm floats Obama's head on your desktop

from Network World on Security by Robert McMillan
The odds are pretty good that this will never happen to you, but should a floating head of U.S. President Barack Obama pop up on your desktop Monday morning, know this: You've been hit with the Obama worm.

7:05 AM (18 minutes ago)
Complemento v0.6 - LetDown TCP Flooder, ReverseRaider Subdomain Scanner & Httsquash HTTP Server Scanner Tool

from Darknet - The Darkside by Darknet
We first wrote about Complemento 0.4b a little while ago when it first hit the public domain just last month (December 2008). Now there have been 2 major updated versions, the latest being 0.6. What is Complemento? Complemento is a collection of tools that the author originally created for his own personal toolchain for solving some problems or...

Jan 29, 2009 (15 hours ago)
Lucky Discovery Saved Fannie Mae From Logic Bomb

from Wired Top Stories by Kevin Poulsen
A 35-year-old Unix engineer fired from his job at Fannie Mae's Maryland data center is indicted for computer sabotage for allegedly planting time-delayed code to wipe out all 4,000 servers at the company. The FBI says losses would have been in the millions.

Jan 29, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Fired Fannie Mae Contractor Tried to Crash Network

from PC World Latest Technology News
A former Fannie Mae contract employee has been charged with trying to sabotage the company's computer system.

Jan 29, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Fannie Mae Engineer Indicted

from PC World Latest Technology News
Contract employee inserted script that would have wiped out all data this Saturday.

-- Aurora Report says it is the insiders.

Around The Horn vol.1,24

Alerts

-- Aurora Report has no alerts to report today.

Security News

9:05 PM (9 hours ago)
Embedded device security assessment, (Wed, Jan 28th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Following on the theme from Pat's last diary on Conficker and embedded systems, we had a reader su ...(more)...

9:47 PM (8 hours ago)
Heartland Sniffer Hid In Unallocated Portion Of Disk

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
"The sniffer malware that surreptitiously siphoned tons of payment card data from card processor Heartland Payment Systems hid in an unallocated portion of a server’s disk. The malware, which was ultimately detected courtesy of a trail of temp files, was hidden so well that it eluded two different teams of forensic...

Jan 28, 2009 (15 hours ago)
A Little Filtering Can Halt Some XSS Attacks

from McAfee Avert Labs by Zhu Cheng
Recently, xiaonei.com (a Chinese social-networking site, similar to Facebook) fixed a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability known as “HTTP Response Splitting.” This flaw occurs when a web application does not properly filter carriage returns and linefeeds (%0d%0a).

-- Aurora Report says go read this article, content removed due to popups generated in blogger.com which is apparently susceptible to this XSS technique.

So web programmers: Don’t forget to filter %0d%0a in your code.

Jan 28, 2009 (13 hours ago)
Mac Trojans Follow Successful Windows Path

from McAfee Avert Labs by Pedro Bueno
It’s been a week since we’ve seen the new Mac malware, the iWork09 Trojan, which is disguised as pirated software. Since then there have been several reports about new Mac Trojans.

Jan 28, 2009 (15 hours ago)
DDoS attack boots Kyrgyzstan from net

from The Register - Security
Russian bears blamed
The central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan was effectively knocked offline for more than a week by a Russian cybermilitia that continues to flood the country's internet providers with crippling data attacks, a security expert said.…

Jan 28, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Kaspersky Labs denies panic mongering

from The Register - Security
The papers just made it up
A mild warning from anti-virus labs Kaspersky has been inflated into a full-blown panic by the Australian press that is warning of an imminent meltdown once infection reaches Australian shores.…

Jan 28, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Websense buys Defensio to fight blog comment spam

from The Register - Security
Web security and content filtering firm Websense has bought Defensio!, a security startup specialising in defending against blog-comment spam. Terms of the deal, announced Tuesday, were undisclosed.…

Jan 28, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Anonymous pwns Digital Camera Mag website

from The Register - Security
'This forum is now 4chan's !#$%'
The website of Digital Camera Magazine was taken offline on Wednesday morning following an attack by denizens of 4chan.…

Jan 28, 2009 (22 hours ago)
Why conventional protection fails against web threats

from The Register - Security
White paper trail
And so to the Reg whitepaper library to inspect some security pitches. Here's a couple we thought deserved a wider airing.…

Jan 28, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Unveiling IE 7 and Integrity Levels

from WindowSecurity.com by (Derek Melber)
How Windows Vista's Internet Explorer 7 comes with Protected Mode, works with User Account Control, and provides Integrity Levels for internet protection.

5:03 AM (1 hour ago)
With economic slump, concerns rise over data theft

from Network World on Security by Robert McMillan
Is the worsening economic situation going to turn some employees into data thieves?

5:03 AM (1 hour ago)
Cookie use in videos on gov't site prompts privacy concerns

from Network World on Security
Back when he was campaigning for president, Barack Obama 's skillful use of Web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook and YouTube enabled him to get his message out to new audiences of voters in an unprecedented fashion. But using the same technologies in his new role as president is already proving to be more controversial.

5:03 AM (1 hour ago)
Researcher: IE8 clickjacking protection will have no impact

from Network World on Security
Microsoft provided more information Wednesday about how Internet Explorer 's new anti-clickjacking feature works, but one of the researchers who first reported the problem last year said it will have "zero impact" on protecting users.

Jan 28, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Click fraud shoots up in Q4, driven by botnets

from Network World on Security
Click fraud, a big threat to the highly profitable pay-per-click search advertising business, increased significantly in the fourth quarter, thanks to scammers' rising and sophisticated use of botnets.

5:03 AM (1 hour ago)
Russian 'cyber militia' knocks Kyrgyzstan offline

from Network World on Security
A Russian "cyber militia" has knocked the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan off the Internet, a security researcher said Wednesday, demonstrating that the hackers are able to respond even faster than last year, when they waged a digital war against another former Soviet republic, Georgia.

Jan 28, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Third US gov't worker pleads to passport snooping

from Network World on Security by Grant Gross
A third U.S. State Department employee has pleaded guilty to illegally accessing dozens of confidential passport application files, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

5:03 AM (1 hour ago)
5 Musts for Advancing Video Surveillance in Security

from Network World on Security
Video surveillance was once the exclusive province of physical security; operators looked at multiple video screens, each displaying the field of view of a single video camera, to monitor for security incidents. But increasingly, the charge of fully securing an organization's assets requires a larger number of cameras with multiple viewers of the video information.

5:03 AM (1 hour ago)
Security networks send spammers underground

from Network World on Security
Botnets will employ more obfuscated control techniques including the use of peer-to-peer networks during 2009, according to security researchers, following the McColo data center take-down last year.

5:03 AM (1 hour ago)
Undercover theft retrieval software gets location tracking

from Network World on Security
Orbicule has announced Undercover 3, a major new release of its theft-recovery software for Mac OS X. It costs $49.

Jan 28, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Data Breach Threatens Job Search Sites' Effectiveness

from Network World on Security
Last Friday, Monster.com disclosed that its database was hacked, and that members' names, usernames, passwords, e-mail addresses, phone numbers and demographic data were compromised in the data breach. The job search site, which boasts over 75 million accounts for job seekers, hasn't disclosed the number of users whose personal information was stolen.

Jan 28, 2009 (17 hours ago)
MySpace faces fresh controversy over sex offender issue

from Network World on Security
Just two weeks after a task force whose formation was spearheaded by MySpace Inc. delivered a report saying that social networking sites were safer from sexual predators than many people had assumed, MySpace finds itself dealing with a new inquiry related to registered sex offenders by Connecticut's attorney general.

Jan 28, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Banks, credit unions scramble in wake of Heartland breach

from Network World on Security
In the first real indication of the scope of the recently disclosed breach at Heartland Payment Systems , banks and credit unions from Washington to Maine have begun to reissue thousands of credit and debit cards over the past few days.

Jan 28, 2009 (16 hours ago)
Brief: Netgear commits to SMB security market

from SecurityFocus News
Netgear commits to SMB security market

Jan 28, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Leigh Purdie, InterSect Alliance, co-founder of Snare: Update on log analysis

from SANS Technology Institute - Security Laboratory
We asked Leigh Purdie if he would give us an update on Snare and log analysis, as a follow to our interview with him in March, 2008, and we certainly thank him for his time.

Jan 28, 2009 (21 hours ago)
How Secure Is Firefox?

from PC World Latest Technology News
Mozilla's popular Web browser is long on user-friendly features and third-party extensions, and short on granular security controls

-- Aurora Report says the light, the light, it burns my eyes, turn it off, turn it off!

Around The Horn vol.1,23

Alerts

Jan 27, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Conficker - Re-Booted from Windows Embedded, (Tue, Jan 27th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Anyone with funny stories about Conficker infected Windows Embedded systems you can share please sub ...(more)...

Security News

9:22 PM (9 hours ago)
Microsoft Fixes Clickjacking in IE8

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
"Microsoft has introduced a release client version of its latest browser, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), and the new iteration of the application includes several security improvements, including a noteworthy attempt to address the emerging problem of clickjacking attacks. For those who don't recall, clickjacking is a relatively new technique -- first...

Jan 27, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Web Application Scanners Comparison

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
anantasec posted a scanner comparison to the web security mailing list today. "In the past weeks, I've performed an evaluation/comparison of threepopular web vulnerability scanners.This evaluation was ordered by apenetration testing company that will remain anonymous. The vendorswere not contacted during or after the evaluation.The applications (web scanners) included in this...

Jan 27, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Isreali Government Utilized SEO To Control Criticism

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
"In what may prove to be one of the ways global conflicts are fought in the 21st century, Israel used search engine optimization (SEO) to halt the online backlash it was receiving during the recent conflict in Gaza.As well as some search engine optimization work (SEO) done by a Texas company...

8:14 PM (10 hours ago)
ICANN freezes over fast flux fury

from The Register - Security
Botnet deadlock
The non-profit group that oversees the internet's address system is seeking the public's help in deciding what to do about the growing use of a technology known as fast flux, which is used by cybercriminals to thwart take-down efforts, but which can also be used for legitimate purposes as well.…

Jan 27, 2009 (14 hours ago)
Microsoft boasts 'out of box' IE8 clickjack protection

from The Register - Security
Imperfect solution to perfect storm
Analysis Microsoft has beefed up its latest Internet Explorer browser with an "out of the box" feature that it says will protect users against a serious class of attacks that allows maliciously controlled websites to manipulate the links visitors click on.…

Jan 27, 2009 (16 hours ago)
MyBarackObama profile hack punts malware

from The Register - Security
Inaugural Trojan
Virus authors are exploiting a website associated with President Barack Obama in order to distribute a Trojan.…

Jan 27, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Easy updates best for browser patching

from The Register - Security
Google and Swiss researchers prod insecure surfers
Easy update mechanisms have a far greater effect on browser patching than perceived threats or other factors, according to a new study by Google and Swiss academics.…

Jan 27, 2009 (23 hours ago)
Spammers target Twitter

from The Register - Security
Twammers will punish you for your inane burblings
After undermining the usefulness of email, turning newsgroups into a forum for promoting sex sites and filling blog comment sections with adverts for penis pill adverts and get rich quick schemes, spammers have set their sights on a new target - Twitter.…

Jan 27, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Kiwi finds US military secrets on 'MP3 player'

from The Register - Security
Will return, if asked
A New Zealand man has been declared the latest winner of find-the-USB-device-containing-classified-government-data hide-and-seek.…

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
Encrypt USB Flash Disks for Free

from Network World on Security
I've got a desk full of USB flash disks that I'm prone to lose. I don't care too much about losing the hardware--most are small freebies from tradeshows. But I do care about the data. Here's how to use TrueCrypt to create an encrypted area on a drive. It's like buying a fancy, off-the-shelf, encrypted USB thumb drive, but with a little more hassle and less cost. Now my data stays protected even if lost.

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
IE8's clickjacking fix not much help, experts say

from Network World on Security by Robert McMillan
New Microsoft technology designed to protect Internet Explorer users from a powerful new Web-based attack will not fix the problem, security experts said Tuesday.

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
How to Beat Card Skimmer Scams, Other Money Drains

from Network World on Security
When you think of technology security scams, you think of dangers to your PC more often than dangers to your pocketbook.

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
Businesses use NAC for something other than what it was designed for

from Network World on Security by Tim Greene
Few customers of network-access control use it for what it was intended, preferring instead to deploy the security technology to keep guests and contractors away from corporate production networks, according to a new report.


5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
The 7 dirty secrets of the security industry

from Network World on Security
Do you ever get the feeling your security providers are failing to tell you the whole truth? We entrust the industry to protect us from unacceptable risk. But we must confront the underlying truth: The goal of the security market is to make money.

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
Cisco delivers security, storage and unified communications for small business

from Network World on Security by Jim Duffy
Cisco this week unveiled products specifically for small companies as part of its recently announced $100 million commitment to that business market.

Jan 27, 2009 (16 hours ago)
Security Firm Sees Alarming Rise in 'Transient' Threats

from Network World on Security
Anti-virus firm AVG Technologies says an alarming rise in the number of virus-laden sites that are here today and gone tomorrow is causing security experts to re-think traditional virus protection strategies.

Jan 27, 2009 (16 hours ago)
AVG notes rise in number of malicious Web sites

from Network World on Security
Web sites rigged with malicious code are becoming more numerous by the day, but the time those sites are online is declining, according to new research from security vendor AVG Technologies.

Jan 27, 2009 (16 hours ago)
Monster.com Breach: Evolution of a Disclosure Letter

from Network World on Security
When Monster.com suffered a data breach last year, two disclosure letters went out to customers -- one from Monster itself and another from US AJOBS, a federal employment organization that relied on Monster.com databases for its job listings. Though they covered the same breach, each letter was starkly different.

Jan 27, 2009 (16 hours ago)
ICANN ponders ways to stop scammy Web sites

from Network World on Security
The overseer of the Internet's addressing system is soliciting ideas for how to fix a problem that is enabling spammers and fraudulent Web sites to flourish.

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
12 tips for managing your information footprint

from Network World on Security
When it comes to managing personal information online, most people are their own worst enemies. Many of us fail to adequately protect our personal data before it gets online, but once information makes its way to the Internet, it can be quickly replicated and is often difficult, if not impossible, to remove.

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
Websense buys Defensio to keep user-generated content clean

from Network World on Security by Ellen Messmer
Websense is acquiring Defensio, whose technology defends against spam and malware posted as comments to blogs, user forums and social-networking sites.

5:12 AM (1 hour ago)
Coming soon: Full-disk encryption for all computer drives

from Network World on Security
The world's six largest computer drive makers Tuesday published the final specifications (download PDF) for a single, full-disk encryption standard that can be used across all hard disk drives, solid state drives (SSD) and encryption key management applications. Once enabled, any disk that uses the specification will be locked without a password -- and the password will be needed even before a computer boots.

4:04 AM (2 hours ago)
Independent Web Vulnerability Scanner Comparison - Acunetix WVS, IBM Rational AppScan & HP WebInspect

from Darknet - The Darkside by Darknet
I saw a relevant paper published today by an individual that claims the comparison was ordered by a penetration testing company (a company which remains unnamed). The vendors were not contacted during or after the evaluation. Testing Procedure The author tested 13 web applications (some of them containing a lot of vulnerabilities), 3 demo...

Jan 27, 2009 (19 hours ago)
Brief: Spam nears pre-McColo-shutdown levels

from SecurityFocus News
Spam nears pre-McColo-shutdown levels

Jan 27, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Online Privacy Advice for Kids

from PC World Latest Technology News
To stay safe online, teens should do as adults say -- not as they do.

Jan 27, 2009 (13 hours ago)
With Acquisition Websense to Silence Comment Spam

from PC World Latest Technology News
Websense has bought comment spam protection provider Defensio.

Jan 27, 2009 (16 hours ago)
What the Web Knows About You

from PC World Latest Technology News
What information is available about you in cybersapce? Where does it come from, and what risks does it present?

Jan 27, 2009 (17 hours ago)
How Secure Is Google Chrome?

from PC World Latest Technology News
Google's new open source Web browser is a frustrating blend of excellent security model and questionable decisions.

Jan 27, 2009 (17 hours ago)
New Apple Trojan Slays Adobe Pirates

from PC World Latest Technology News
The Trojan that was being distributed last week in pirated copies of Apple's iWork 09 program on BitTorrent has reappeared.

Jan 27, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Don't Bite That Apple, It's Full of Worms

from PC World Latest Technology News
Talk about kicking somebody when they're down.

Other News

9:43 PM (9 hours ago)
Google Delivers Offline Access for Gmail

from PC World Latest Technology News
Google will roll out a much-awaited ability to use Gmail without an Internet connection.

Jan 27, 2009 (14 hours ago)
Apple Releases IPhone Software 2.2.1

from PC World Latest Technology News
Apple on Tuesday released a software update for its iPhone and iPhone 3G devices.

-- Aurora Report says an hour of prevention each day, keeps the hackers at bay.

Around The Horn vol.1,22

Alerts

-- Aurora Report says no new alerts today.

Securtiy News

Jan 26, 2009 (19 hours ago)
Conficker/Downadup Scanning, (Mon, Jan 26th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Eric Chien of Symantec has been blogging some advanced analysis of Conficker/Downadup. Downadup: At ...(more)...

Jan 26, 2009 (17 hours ago)
OWASP interviews Gary McGraw

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
Gary posted the following to the SC-L list today."hi sc-l,OWASP just posted an interview with me as part of their budding podcast series. It's nice to have the tables turned after doing all the Silver Bullet (and Reality Check) interviews! It's also nice to be able to answer some of the...

Jan 26, 2009 (16 hours ago)
Abusing Shortcut files

from McAfee Avert Labs by Shinsuke Honjo
Shortcuts, or LNK files, are small binary files which have the path to an applications, sometimes with optional parameters. These files are used for running applications and are placed on folders where they are easy to access by users on such places as Desktops, and Application Launchers. The LNK files are also placed within the Startup folder to run automatically upon system boot. This indirect way of running applications is often attractive to malware authors as shortcuts have not been called out to most user’s attention for the sake of security as much as executable files have. At Avert Labs, we have recently seen some malware abusing shortcut files to launch malicious files/scripts in several different ways. Here, we introduce some methods we have recently seen:

Jan 26, 2009 (14 hours ago)
Mac malware tide on the rise

from The Register - Security
New Trojan, rogue AV storm beaches
Less than a week after researchers spotted new malware targeting naive Mac users, two additional titles have been spotted.…

Jan 26, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Rogue contractor admits Oz gov hack attacks

from The Register - Security
Cracking spree followed 'brain snap'
An Australian has admitted causing AUS$1m in damage after hacking into the computer systems of the Northern Territory Government and deleting records of thousands of civil servants.…

Jan 26, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Spam volumes increase to pre-McColo takedown levels

from The Register - Security
Mega-D botnet spewing out junk mail torrent
Junk mail levels are back to 80-90 per cent of their volumes prior to the takedown of infamous junk mail-friendly ISP McColo in November 2008 last year.…

Jan 26, 2009 (22 hours ago)
Conficker botnet growth slows at 10m infections

from The Register - Security
Diary of the Dead
Infections as a result of the infamous Conficker (Downadup) worm have peaked at around the 10m PC mark.…

Jan 26, 2009 (14 hours ago)
Countdown to Conficker activation begins

from The Register - Security
A superbotnet will rise
Security watchers are bracing themselves to respond to the activitation of the huge botnet created by the Conficker superworm.…

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
Stop Internet Poachers from Stealing Your Wi-Fi

from Network World on Security
Everyone has a different system for keeping their home networks secure. And by "secure" I mean "safe from cheapskate neighbors looking to poach some free Internet."

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
Scan and Monitor Your Network With Nsauditor

from Network World on Security
If you've got a solid networking background and are looking for an all-in-one tool for monitoring the safety of your network, Nsauditor Network Security Auditor is well worth the download. It offers numerous, sophisticated scanning and monitoring tools so you can ensure that your network is safe from intruders, spyware, and more.

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
White House e-mail crashes

from Network World on Security by Tim Greene
The tech-savvy Obama White House is suffering the inconvenience and embarrassment of an e-mail crash that has lasted several hours this afternoon, according to published reports.

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
Hackers lurking in Obama's Web site

from Network World on Security by Robert McMillan
U.S. President Barack Obama ran a successful Web 2.0 campaign last year. Now, as president, he's got to deal with a very Web 2.0 problem: hackers abusing the social-networking features of his Web site.

Jan 26, 2009 (18 hours ago)
After McColo takedown, spam surges again

from Network World on Security
Spammers have regrouped and are finding ways to send more junk mail despite recent efforts by security experts.

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
Exploring Disaster Recovery Options

from Network World on Security
Now that my disaster recovery budget for 2009 has been wiped out, I'm trying to find some kind of replacement that won't cost any money upfront. I can't in good conscience sit idly by while we roll out critical services without the safety net of DR -- that's like watching a friend drive without a seat belt. Maybe there's a very good chance that nothing bad will happen, but if something does go wrong, the consequences can be so severe that the overall risk is beyond acceptance.

Jan 26, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Data Breach at Heartland May Be Bigger Than TJX's

from Network World on Security
A data breach disclosed last week by Heartland Payment Systems Inc. may displace the one revealed by The TJX Companies Inc. in January 2007 as the largest compromise of payment card information to date.

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
Windows? More Like a Brick Wall

from Network World on Security
No reader questions today. I've got a story of my own to tell. One sure to quake your bones, disrupt your sleep, and make you wonder why you ever bought a PC.

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
Enable BIOS Passwords for Extra Security

from Network World on Security
Your PC likely asks for your username and password to grant access to Windows, a nice security measure, but ineffective if someone has physical access to your hard drive. (They'll just install it in another PC and boot from a different disk.) You should enable hard drive encryption for the best protection against data thieves. But also use additional BIOS tricks enable more layers of security, asking for another password to boot, access the drive, or change BIOS settings. Here's how to adjust those system settings.

5:06 AM (1 hour ago)
Advice to the next Homeland Security CPO

from Network World on Security
If you had a chance to pose any question to the person in charge of protecting Americans' privacy as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security executes its mission, what would you say? I had that chance this month when Hugo Teufel, departing chief privacy officer at the DHS, delivered an address, entitled "Reflections on My Time as DHS CPO of the War on Terror," to the Twin Cities Privacy Retreat.

Jan 26, 2009 (18 hours ago)
New Apple Trojan slays Adobe pirates

from Network World on Security
The Trojan that was being distributed last week in pirated copies of Apple's iWork 09 program on BitTorrent has reappeared only days later hiding inside copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Jan 26, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Reflex offers secure virtual systems management

from Network World on Security by Denise Dubie
Reflex Security updates its name to Reflex Systems, combines virtual security technology with new virtual systems management tools.

Jan 26, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Mac Trojan horse discovered in pirated Photoshop

from Network World on Security
Security software firm Intego reports that pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4 may contain a variant of the "Trojan horse" malware first reported in copies of Apple iWorks '09 last week.

Jan 26, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Brief: Bot software peers at victims' screens

from SecurityFocus News
Bot software peers at victims' screens

Jan 26, 2009 (12 hours ago)
NSA Whistleblower: Grill the CEOs on Illegal Spying

from Wired Top Stories by Kim Zetter
Did credit card companies voluntarily share consumer transaction records with the National Security Agency on a massive scale? Former NSA analyst Russell Tice says bank and credit card industry CEOs should be called to answer in Congress.

8:38 PM (10 hours ago)
Safety Precautions for Monster.com Users after Hack Attack

from PC World Latest Technology News
Job seeker information was stolen once again, the site says. Watch out for phishes and malware.

7:38 PM (11 hours ago)
Microsoft Adds Clickjacking Protection to IE8 RC1

from PC World Latest Technology News
Protection against malicious Web attacks and tweaks to a feature that allows for private Web browsing are among updates in IE8...

Jan 26, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Spreading Downadup via Sneaker-net

from PC World Latest Technology News
Share malware the new, old-fashioned way!

Jan 26, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Malware Off to a Good Start in 2009

from PC World Latest Technology News
Mac fanboys and Windows stalwarts alike are suffering the effects of a New Year's malware hangover.

Jan 26, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Hackers Lurking in Obama's Web Site

from PC World Latest Technology News
Hackers are posting links to Trojan download sites on the my.barackobama.com Web site.

Jan 26, 2009 (16 hours ago)
Heartland Says Entire Industry Should Revamp Security

from PC World Latest Technology News
The credit card payment firm that recently suffered a major breach says the industry should rally to fight cybercrime.

Jan 26, 2009 (16 hours ago)
After McColo Takedown, Spam Surges Again

from PC World Latest Technology News
Spammers have regrouped and are finding ways to send more junk mail despite recent efforts by security experts.

Other Articles

12:31 AM (7 hours ago)
How to Create a Word 2007 Table of Contents

from PC Magazine Tips and Solutions
When your Word documents approach novel—or even novella—length, it may be time to give readers a table of contents.

Jan 26, 2009 (13 hours ago)
Overtype in Word 2007

from PC Magazine Tips and Solutions
How to turn overtype mode on and off in Microsoft Word 2007.

-- Aurora Report says just scan and pick a few of interest - no way you have time to read all of these articles.

Around The Horn vol.1,21

Alerts

-- Aurora Report says happy no alerts Monday!

Security News

Jan 25, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Solving CAPTCHA with HTML5 canvas, JavaScript and neural network

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Romain Gaucher
Solving CAPTCHA with neural networks is not new; this is actually a glorified OCR... What is new, is to do it in JavaScript using the new HTML5 canvas capabilities and pre-calibrated neural network. John Resig, creator of jQuery, analyzes a very neat piece of GreaseMonkey script which cracks CAPTCHA using new...

1:04 AM (4 hours ago)
List of Famous Hackers in Computer History Both White Hat and Black Hat

from Darknet - The Darkside by Darknet
This is a very complete list, probably the most complete one I’ve seen and it includes pictures - pictures of people who rarely have their pictures taken or allow them out on the Internet. The list is according to the proper original definition of a Hacker, as taken from the New Hacker’s Dictionary: A person who enjoys [...]

Jan 25, 2009 (20 hours ago)
Cybercrooks Target Social Networks

from PC World Latest Technology News
Phishing schemes and Trojans are showing up in greater numbers on social networking sites, security researchers say.

-- Aurora Report says short and sweet, so sleep in already.

Around The Horn vol.1,20

Alerts

Jan 24, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Twam?? Twammers?, (Sun, Jan 25th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
It was bound to happen. The bad guys always have to ruin a good thing ...(more)...

Jan 24, 2009 (22 hours ago)
Network Solutions DDoS, (Sat, Jan 24th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
We've had several requests for confirmation of the Network Solutions DDoS that was on-going. I ...(more)...

Security News

Jan 24, 2009 (17 hours ago)
Identifying and Removing the iWork09 Trojan, (Sat, Jan 24th)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
So, there is no malware for Mac! Well, I am sure that we all heard this one time or anotherhe ...(more)...

Jan 24, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Competitive intelligence gathering via LinkedIn's new Company Profile pages, (Wed, Apr 2nd)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Individuals looking to gather competitive intelligence have a new tool at their disposal: Company Pr ...(more)...

2:14 AM (6 hours ago)
NSA whistleblower: warrantless wiretaps targeted journos

from The Register - Security
Door to room 641A cracked open
Russell Tice has dropped another bombshell. More than two years after he leaked the existence of the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program to the New York Times in late 2006, Tice says warrantless wiretaps specifically targeted journalists and news organizations - all day, every day.…

2:14 AM (6 hours ago)
Countdown to Conficker activation begins

from The Register - Security
A superbotnet will rise
Security watchers are bracing themselves to respond to the activitation of the huge botnet created by the Conficker superworm.…

Jan 24, 2009 (14 hours ago)
Brief: Monster.com warns job seekers of breach

from SecurityFocus News
Monster.com warns job seekers of breach

Jan 24, 2009 (12 hours ago)
Block Wi-Fi Intruders with a Secure Paint Job

from PC World Latest Technology News
Researchers are developing a kind of paint that can be used to block unauthorized visitors to wireless networks.

Jan 24, 2009 (14 hours ago)
How the Sumitomo Bank Hackers Failed

from PC World Latest Technology News
A small clerical error tripped up the $318 million heist inside its offices.

Jan 24, 2009 (16 hours ago)
Amazon Cloud Could Be Security Hole

from PC World Latest Technology News
Hackers are turning their attention to cloud services, and Amazon's EC2 may not be prepared.

Jan 24, 2009 (22 hours ago)
Brace Yourself for the Worm's Next Attack

from PC World Latest Technology News
Researchers say there's a second act looming for the prolific Downadup/Conficker Worm.

10:13 PM (10 hours ago)
Monster.com Reports Theft of User Data

from PC World Latest Technology News
Monster.com revealed that information including user e-mails has been stolen from its database.

10:13 PM (10 hours ago)
Conficker Hitting Hardest in Asia, Latin America

from PC World Latest Technology News
Asia and Latin America have been hardest hit by the Conficker worm, security experts say.

-- Aurora Report says good morning.