Around The Horn vol.1,29

Alerts

-- Aurora Report says no alerts today.

Security News

3:23 AM (3 hours ago)
On the importance of patching fast, (Tue, Feb 3rd)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Patching Every month we create an overview of the patches released by Microsoft on black Tuesday. O ...(more)...

Feb 2, 2009 (15 hours ago)
How do you audit your production code?, (Mon, Feb 2nd)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
A number of our readers have highlighted the issues at Fannie Mae. One asked an interesting question ...(more)...

Feb 2, 2009 (15 hours ago)
Backtrack 4 headsup, (Mon, Feb 2nd)

from SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green
Something interesting this way comes! Although its about seven months since the last BackTrack gener ...(more)...

Feb 2, 2009 (14 hours ago)
802.11 Network Forensic Analysis

from SANS Information Security Reading Room
Category: Wireless Access
Paper Added: February 2, 2009

9:45 PM (9 hours ago)
XKCD Security Comic on crypto

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.

8:45 PM (10 hours ago)
The security industry needs to re-align its training expectations for QA

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
I've been involved in the security community for over 10 years and have worked for small, medium, andlarge companies. I have also worked in Quality Assurance and base my comments here on my experiences being a QA tester, and speaking with them as an outsider. I've seen advice in articles, and...

7:26 PM (11 hours ago)
Microsoft's SDL and the CWE/SANS Top 25

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
"Bryan here. The security community has been buzzing since SANS and MITRE’s joint announcement earlier this month of their list of the Top 25 Most Dangerous Programming Errors. Now, I don’t want to get into a debate in this blog about whether this new list will become the new de facto...

Feb 2, 2009 (14 hours ago)
A run down of the major security mailing lists

from CGISecurity - Website and Application Security News by Robert A.
Here's a run down of the main mailing lists that I follow. While most of these are known in the security industry, many people who frequent this site are from various backgrounds and may find this list useful.Bugtraq: "BugTraq is a full disclosure moderated mailing list for the *detailed* discussion and...

8:01 PM (11 hours ago)
Default Security Policies For HTC Touch Pro Not So Secure

from McAfee Avert Labs by Kevin Watkins
Recently I bought a new cell phone: the HTC Touch Pro. Great mobile phone. Opera Mobile Web surfing is handled great. The Sprint EV-DO Rev A network is fast and it’s the most stable smart phone I’ve had so far. As a security researcher naturally I had to dig deeper into how secure this mobile phone actually is. I quickly found out things that make me wonder if the mobile handset industry has learned anything from the desktop industry as far as protecting consumers.

8:01 PM (11 hours ago)
The Month of Valentines…Spam

from McAfee Avert Labs by David Scharoun
For those who think the holidays always start too early, well guess what it is time to get your Valentine’s on. Well, at least spammers think so. Avert Labs started seeing Valentine enticing spam on January 22, and has been increasing steadily since. Currently we are tracking Valentine spam to be between 1-2% of the total email sent on a daily basis.

Feb 2, 2009 (13 hours ago)
Microsoft fortifies IE8 against new XSS exploits

from The Register - Security
Catching attacks without breaking the web
Engineers in Microsoft's Internet Explorer group continue to refine a new security feature designed to block malicious scripts that can be injected into trusted websites to steal email and account credentials. Judging from the magnitude of the problem, their task may never be completed.…

Feb 2, 2009 (16 hours ago)
Three hospital worm infection dubbed 'substantive failure'

from The Register - Security
Entirely avoidable
A worm attack that forced three London hospitals to shut down their computer networks late last year was entirely avoidable and represented a major failing by the organizations' IT staff, according to an independent review of the incident.…

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Blind phone phreaker coughs to harassment charges

from The Register - Security
Swatting menace faces long stretch
A legally blind phone phreaker has admitted prank phonecall and hacking charges.…

Feb 2, 2009 (19 hours ago)
Sony taps veins for better biometrics

from The Register - Security
Blood vessel layouts scanned
Sony has unveiled the next step in biometric security: a camera-based system that analyses veins in your fingers.…

Feb 2, 2009 (21 hours ago)
Fresh privacy fears over IE 8 Suggested Sites

from The Register - Security
Promiscuous URL sharing not a great idea, warns top Cambridge researcher
A top security researcher has called for Microsoft to rethink aspects of its Suggested Sites feature in IE8. The optional feature in the next version of Microsoft's browser allows users to "discover websites you might like based on sites you've visited", as Microsoft explains it.…

4:57 AM (2 hours ago)
New disk encryption standards may complicate data recovery

from Network World on Security
When the world's largest disk makers joined last week to announce a single standard for encrypting disk drives , the move raised questions among users about how to deal with full-disk encryption once it's native on all laptop or desktop computers.

4:57 AM (2 hours ago)
Study: Data breaches still getting more costly for businesses

from Network World on Security
Companies that are reluctant to invest what it takes on data security better be prepared to pony up a lot more if their systems ever get breached .

4:57 AM (2 hours ago)
Are You Addicted to Information Insecurity?

from Network World on Security
A recent study has a finding that defies reason: close to half of 154 smokers who had surgery to remove early stage lung cancer picked up a cigarette again within 12 months of their operation, and more than one-third were smoking at the one year mark.

4:57 AM (2 hours ago)
Ex-engineer pleads innocent to server bomb charge

from Network World on Security
The engineer accused of trying to destroy data on 4,000 servers operated by Fannie Mae has pleaded innocent, court documents show.

4:57 AM (2 hours ago)
Spotting a PC Infection

from Network World on Security
It's a common fear, stoked by never-ending news of major threats like the Conficker worm and yet another Monster.com database hack: Is my computer infected with malware?

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
NHS worm infection was 'entirely avoidable', says review

from Network World on Security
The infection of 4,700 PCs by a worm at three London hospitals in mid-November was "entirely avoidable," according to an independent security review.

4:57 AM (2 hours ago)
Some Incidents Can Make Life Interesting

from Network World on Security
No security manager wishes for a security incident . They can be costly, disruptive and a professional black mark. But getting to the bottom of a minor event -- one that causes no real harm or has a minimal effect but isn't run-of-the-mill and therefore requires a bit of investigating -- can make the job more challenging. You have to figure out just what happened so that you can prevent a recurrence, and you have to do it quickly so that damage is kept to a minimum. It's a time-sensitive task that requires quick thinking and expertise. We just had an incident of that sort, and it's an interesting story.

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Microsoft denies Windows 7 UAC vulnerability

from Network World on Security
Microsoft is denying that there is a security hole in the User Account Control feature of Windows 7 after a blogger reported it last week and posted what he said was a fix for it.

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
2008 was year of the SQL injection attack: IBM

from Network World on Security by Ellen Messmer
2008 was the year of the SQL injection attack, IBM's ISS "X-Force 2008 Trend statistics" report makes note.

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
IE or Firefox: Which Browser is More Secure

from Network World on Security
The conventional wisdom in security circles used to be that Microsoft's Internet Explorer was hopelessly attack-prone and that only someone with a cyber death wish would prefer it over such alternatives as Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Apple's Safari browser.

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Drive Makers Agree on TCG Encryption Standard

from Network World on Security
The world's largest disk drive makers have pledged to support three new Trusted Computing Group (TCG) encryption standards for hard disk drives, solid-state drives and encryption-key management applications.

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Ex-employee calls Microsoft spying lawsuit 'desperate'

from Network World on Security
The former Microsoft employee accused of stealing company information is disputing Microsoft's version of events, saying the lawsuit against him is "a desperate attempt" to force him to abandon a patent infringement case.

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Obama still won't say whether he's using a BlackBerry

from Network World on Security
The mystery continues. President Barack Obama said in a television interview broadcast Monday he has a very secure handheld device, but he would not divulge whether or not he's still using his coveted BlackBerry .

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Data losses proving more costly for businesses

from Network World on Security
Data breaches are costing companies more than ever as consumers shun those that have lost information, according to a new study.

7:03 AM (12 minutes ago)
dradis v2.0 Released - Open Source Security Reporting Tool

from Darknet - The Darkside by Darknet
This is more of a tool for the information security professional amongst us, those working in a team carrying out web application audits, penetration tests and vulnerability assessments. It’s useful for a team to use a tool like dradis so everyone is on the same page and the progress and segregation of responsibility can easily be [...]Read the full post at darknet.org.uk

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Chrome and Firefox Face Clickjacking Exploit

from Darknet - The Darkside by Darknet
Just remember that even though Firefox tends to be more secure than Internet Exploder - it’s not immune from vulnerabilities (although they do tend to get fixed much much faster). The latest one that’s cropped up in both Firefox and Chrome is a clickjacking vulnerability. This is basically where a link is replaced by an attacker [...]Read the full post at darknet.org.uk

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
Brief: Heartland faces first lawsuit in massive data loss

from SecurityFocus News
Heartland faces first lawsuit in massive data loss

Feb 2, 2009 (16 hours ago)
App Store DRM cracked, but what's the point?

from Ars Technica - Front page content by (Erica Sadun)

Sunday, warez site Funky Space Monkey announced the release of Crackulous 0.9, a GUI front end to xCrack. Crackulous, as the name suggests, removes the DRM from App Store software, allowing users to distribute pirated programs outside of App Store channels without the developers or Apple getting paid. Crackulous was developed at Hackulo.us, a donation-supported forum dedicated to, well, stealing software. There's really no way to put a good spin on it.

12:21 AM (7 hours ago)
Final Guilty Plea Wraps Up Federal 'Warez' Crackdown

from Wired Top Stories by David Kravets
Federal judges in Connecticut have gone soft on as many as 18 so-called 'warez' club copyright scofflaws as part of a nationwide crackdown. All the defendants, accused of participating in a nationwide scheme of uploading thousands of copies of unauthorized video games, software and digital music files, have received probation and not prison time.

8:08 PM (11 hours ago)
Microsoft: Windows 7 Security 'Bug' Is a 'Feature'

from PC World Latest Technology News
Outsiders insist change to UAC in Windows 7 could be exploited by attackers.

Feb 2, 2009 (13 hours ago)
Fannie Mae Engineer Pleads Innocent

from PC World Latest Technology News
Alleged server-bomber is accused of trying to destroy data on 4,000 servers.

Feb 2, 2009 (13 hours ago)
Google Goof Is a PR Nightmare

from PC World Latest Technology News
Analysts predict that Google's snafu may cause loyal users to consider search alternatives.

Feb 2, 2009 (15 hours ago)
Spotting a PC Infection

from PC World Latest Technology News
Security company Sophos has a list of warning signs that can help home users figure out if their computer has been invaded by malware.

Feb 2, 2009 (18 hours ago)
NHS Worm Infection Was 'entirely Avoidable', Says Review

from PC World Latest Technology News
The infection of 4,700 PCs by a worm at three London hospitals in mid-November was "entirely avoidable," according to an independent security review.

-- Aurora Report says spotting malware and WiFi forensics look interesting.