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IT Security News Headlines
The latest developments in IT security: your rights online, securing your systems via timely patching, updates on anti-malware tools, and relevant stories on hacking and system vulnerabilities.
Windows 8, IE10 suffer multiple critical zero-day vulnerabilities
- Researchers at Vupen, a private security firm based in France, claim to have found multiple, critical vulnerabilities in Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10. The team's exploits allow hackers to remotely execute code, allowing crafty individuals to potentially gain control…
Hacker steals 3.6M Social Security numbers from Dept. of Revenue
- South Carolina officials recently revealed that a hacker had infiltrated computers at the state’s Department of Revenue offices and got away with a mountain of personal taxpayer data. It is believed that as many as 3.6 million Social Security numbers…
Digital rights activist buys data of 1.1 million Facebook users for $5
- Bogomil Shopova recently purchased a collection of 1.1 million Facebook users' names, IDs and e-mail accounts. Fortunately, the Bulgarian blogger and digital rights activist has no intentions of spamming the list or hacking into accounts- he did it to prove…
Leading defense, tech firms team up to tackle cybersecurity
- Some of the industry’s leading tech and security companies are joining forces to tackle "grand challenges" related to cyber security. As Reuters reports, AMD, Honeywell, Intel, Lockheed Martin, and RSA/EMC will form a private non-profit consortium known as the Cyber…
Hackers steal credit card data from 63 Barnes & Noble retail stores
- Barnes & Noble customers would be wise to keep a close eye on their credit card statements in the near future. The retailer recently revealed that hackers have stolen credit card information of shoppers at 63 retail stores across the…
SplashData posts 25 "most popular" passwords of 2012
- We’ve been seeing an unprecedented number of security breaches over the last few years targeting large corporations and individuals alike. That isn’t stopping people from using the most unimaginative and predictable passwords when signing up to a website or online…
Android apps used by millions vulnerable to data theft
- Security researchers at the Leibniz University of Hanover have released a study showing that more than 1,000 legitimate Android apps, out of a sample of 13,500 popular apps from the Google Play market, contain inadequate SSL protections that could leave…
Security researchers discover vulnerability in Steam URL protocol
- Security researchers from ReVuln have discovered a zero-day vulnerability in Valve’s Steam browser protocol. The exploit can allow an attacker to remotely exploit bugs in the Steam client or directly in games which can ultimately be used to run malicious…
Solar panel management systems vulnerable to attack, DHS warns
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued another industrial control warning (pdf) regarding critical vulnerabilities found across a number of solar panel systems. Affected systems can be easily exploited using "proof of concept" code developed by security researchers Roberto Paleari…
NASA hacker won't be extradited to U.S. due to Asperger's
- U.K. citizen Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the U.S. for his suspected role in the intrusion of sensitive government computers, namely those of NASA, the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. British officials have refused to send McKinnon abroad…
TD Bank "misplaced" the unencrypted data of 267,000 customers
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Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank is notifying customers about a mishap that may have exposed the personal details of more than a quarter million people. In letters sent to folks along the East Coast of the US, the company writes that it lost two data backup tapes that may have...
Microsoft says free money scams are most commonly encountered
- Microsoft has released results from a recent survey as part of a campaign to promote National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The questionnaire reveals that the phrase “Congratulation, you’ve won!” or something related to lottery winnings is the most popular line…
Kaspersky Lab discovers highly specialized miniFlame malware
- Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered an advanced piece of malware dubbed miniFlame (officially referred to as “SPE” and “John” by the designers) being used to attack high-profile targets. miniFlame works as an espionage add-on tool alongside similar state-sponsored code…
Chrome hacked at Pwnium, "Pinkie Pie" does it again
- For the second time this year, hacker "Pinkie Pie" gave Google a run for its money -- and won. The clever hacker exploited yet another vulnerability in Chrome during the second Pwnium conference this year, netting himself (or perhaps herself)…
Mozilla patches a security flaw introduced by Firefox 16
- Folks who installed Firefox 16 on Tuesday may want to ensure that they've received an update released this afternoon (16.0.1) which addresses a security flaw. On Wednesday, Mozilla halted distribution of Firefox 16 after learning about a vulnerability that could…
Dorkbot worm spreading via Skype, installs nasty ransomware
- A malware infection is quickly spreading over Skype IM that can allow the author to lock a user out of their PC and demand a ransom. The payload is delivered in the form of a spoofed message from someone on…
Flaws in 3G protocol make devices susceptible to tracking
- Security researchers from the University of Birmingham have discovered a flaw in 3G-enabled mobile phones that could allow someone to track a device at any given time. Unfortunately there’s no software hot-fix available as the problem is ingrained in the…
Hackers accuse The Pirate Bay of collecting personal user data
- Hackers citing affiliation with Anonymous have recently taken to Twitter claiming that torrent file and magnet link sharing site The Pirate Bay has been logging personal user information. @pokex says the site collects information like email and IP addresses –…
Major scamware creator fined $163 million by U.S. authorities
- Software scam artist Kristy Ross has been fined $163 million by U.S. authorities for running an unscrupulous "scareware" operation. The Federal Trade Commission had been following Ross since 2008 in hopes of closing in on her dealings and the judgment includes…
Regulators crack down on telemarketing scareware scammers
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Regulators from five countries including the US FTC have announced a crackdown on six scareware operations that imitated tech support agents to trick unwitting users into paying for the removal of fake malware. The scammers were mostly based in India and targeted...
Google issues another wave of state-sponsored attack warnings
- Earlier this year Google began issuing warnings to several Gmail users that their accounts may have been the target of state-sponsored attacks. Google now says they have noticed attacks are on the rise and as such, have once again issued…
Twitter login security flaw lets hackers steal your account
- A Twitter user has uncovered a serious flaw with the micro-blogging site that allows hackers to gain access to your account. The attacker can then lock you out of the account and if it’s a “valuable” handle, it can be…
IEEE accidentally exposed 100,000 unencrypted user credentials
- A Romanian researcher who recently found plaintext usernames and passwords on an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) server has published his analysis of the data. Radu Dragusin, a computer scientist who works for search engine FindZebra, discovered the…
FTC settles with computer rental stores who spied on users
- Seven computer rental companies and a software developer have settled federal charges that they spied on customers. Developed by the now-defunct DesignerWare LLC, PC Rental Agent was installed on as many as 420,000 computers by more than 1,617 rent-to-own stores…
Researcher uncovers new Java exploit, 1 billion Macs and PCs at risk
- Security researcher Adam Gowdiak has uncovered a new zero-day vulnerability in Oracle’s Java software. The bug is said to be present in currently-supported versions including Java 5, Java 6 and Java 7 and has the potential to allow attackers to…
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