Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Sophos 2012 Security Threat Report, (Fri, Feb 3rd)

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Last week Sophos released it 2012 Security Threat Report which highlighted some key finding from 2011:
- Smartphones and tablets causing significant security challenges

- Major data breaches and targeted attacks on high-profile companies and agencies

- Hacktivism - A shift from hacking for money to hacking as a form of protest or to prove a point

- Conficker worm is still the most commonly encountered pieces of malicious software seen is Sophos customers

- Fake antivirus software is still the most common type of malware but in second half of the year appears to be on the decline

- Spearphishing attacks on the rise
Despite all this, some successes On March 16, 2011 a coordinated effort known as Operation b107 between Microsoft, FireEye, U.S. federal law enforcement agents and the University of Washington knocked Rustock offline. [1] The entire report available here.
Handler Mark published a diary on some of the things to take in consideration When your service provider has a breach. [3]
[1] http://www.sophos.com/en-us/security-news-trends/reports/security-threat-report/html-07.aspx

[2] http://www.sophos.com/en-us/security-news-trends/reports/security-threat-report/html-01.aspx

[3] https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=10651

[4] http://www.sophos.com/medialibrary/PDFs/other/SophosSecurityThreatReport2012.pdf
Data breach diaries reported by ISC in 2011:
[1] Wordpress.com https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=10729

[2] RSA Breach https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=10609

[3] Lockheed Marting https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=10939

[4] Sega Pass https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=11065

[5] SonyPictures https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=10996

[6] DigiNotar SSL Breach (result = bankruptcy) https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=11479

[7] GlobalSign https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=12205

[8] Stratfor Global Intelligence https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=12271
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Guy Bruneau IPSS Inc. gbruneau at isc dot sans dot edu (c) SANS Internet Storm Center. http://isc.sans.edu Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

Pirate Bay Founders’ Prison Sentences Stand (February 1, 2012)

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Sweden's Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of the prison sentences for The Pirate Bay founders that were meted out by the Swedish Court of Appeals more than a year ago.......

FDIC Issues Warning About Risky Payment Processors (February 1, 2012)

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued guidance for banks and other financial services institutions, warning that certain third-party payment processors could prove to be security liabilities.......

Symantec Issues Hotfixes for pcAnywhere (February 1 & 2, 2012)

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Symantec has released hotfixes for its pcAnywhere software.......

Mozilla Releases Firefox 10.0 (February 1, 2012)

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Mozilla has released a new version of its flagship browser, Firefox 10.......

Google Won’t Remove Apps with Counterclank Adware From Android Market (January 31 & February 1, 2012)

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Thirteen apps that have been identified as containing adware known as Counterclank will remain available in Google's Android Market.......

Spear Phishing Attack Plants Trojan on Targeted Computers (February 1, 2012)

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A recently detected, sophisticated spear phishing attack disguises itself as conference invitations.......

Kelihos Botnet Regaining Momentum (February 1 & 3, 2012)

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The Kelihos botnet, which Microsoft was instrumental in helping take down last year, appears to be regaining its foothold.......

Apple Issues Security Updates (February 2, 2012)

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Apple released its first security update of 2012 for Mac OS X, patching more than 50 vulnerabilities.......

Kernell’s Appeal to Overturn Obstruction of Justice Conviction Denied (January 30 & February 2, 2012)

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David Kernell, the Tennessee college student who was found guilty on hacking into then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's Yahoo email account has lost an appeal to have his conviction for obstruction of justice thrown out.......