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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.


OS X Mountain Lion to get automated, daily security updates

OS X Mountain Lion to get automated, daily security updates
  • Posted June 27, 2012, 11:00 AM by Lee Kaelin | Filed in Apple, Security
  • It appears that Apple has a fresh perspective on security updates, with the iconic Cupertino-based company adding a new automated security update tool in the latest update to its OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview operating system, now only a…

Two-year FBI undercover credit card operation results in 24 arrests

Two-year FBI undercover credit card operation results in 24 arrests
  • Posted June 27, 2012, 7:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Industry News, Security
  • The FBI has arrested two dozen people as part of the largest coordinated international cyber sting in history. The multi-million dollar operation spanned two years, eight countries and four continents, law enforcement officials said.

Malware affecting thousands of office printers worldwide

Malware affecting thousands of office printers worldwide
  • Posted June 25, 2012, 3:00 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security, Industry News
  • A piece of malware known as Trojan.Milicenso that originally surfaced in 2010 has been making a comeback over the past two weeks, primarily affecting office printers in the US, India, Europe and South America, according to Symantec. The resulting infection…

Flame virus created by U.S. and Israel sources say, Iran is target

Flame virus created by U.S. and Israel sources say, Iran is target
  • Posted June 20, 2012, 4:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Security, The Web
  • The Washington Post reports that Flame, an extremely sophisticated virus which was first discovered in Iranian oil refineries, is the brainchild of U.S. and Israeli efforts to slow Iran's nuclear program. This information comes from several Western officials who purportedly…

Hacker claims to have broken into nearly 80 banks, provides evidence

Hacker claims to have broken into nearly 80 banks, provides evidence
  • Posted June 19, 2012, 9:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security
  • A self-proclaimed grey hat hacker known as Reckz0r claims to have accessed nearly 80 large banks, collecting a massive amount of customer data in the process. To verify these claims, the hacker made a plain text file available on AnonFiles.com…

Internet Explorer zero-day flaw being used to target Gmail accounts

Internet Explorer zero-day flaw being used to target Gmail accounts
  • Posted June 14, 2012, 9:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security
  • A new zero-day exploit in Internet Explorer making the rounds has security experts from Microsoft and Google on their heels. The drive-by flaw is being used to gain access to Gmail accounts and remains unpatched as of writing, although Microsoft…

LulzSec Reborn strikes again, leaks 10,000 Twitter accounts on Pastebin

LulzSec Reborn strikes again, leaks 10,000 Twitter accounts on Pastebin
  • Posted June 12, 2012, 11:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security
  • An alleged restructured version of the LulzSec hacker group has taken responsibility for a collection of around 10,000 user accounts related to a third-party Twitter service. This is the second major attack that the otherwise quiet group has taken responsibility…

SandForce SF-2000 series controller limited to 128-bit AES encryption

SandForce SF-2000 series controller limited to 128-bit AES encryption
  • Posted June 12, 2012, 9:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security, Hardware
  • SandForce announced their SF-2000 series controller way back in 2010 as an overall improvement to the SF-1200 and SF-1500 series. Part of that upgrade included better security as the controller adopted a 256-bit AES algorithm, up from the 128-bit AES…

Last.fm security breach actually happened three months ago

Last.fm security breach actually happened three months ago
  • Posted June 11, 2012, 5:30 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security
  • Last week it was reported that Last.fm had been targeted in a string of security breaches that may have been linked to attacks on eHarmony and LinkedIn. New information has since surfaced that reveals the 1.5 million or so compromised…

Last.fm becomes latest victim in string of security breaches

Last.fm becomes latest victim in string of security breaches
  • Posted June 7, 2012, 4:00 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security
  • A number of high profile websites have fallen victim to security breaches this week and if today’s developments are any indication, it doesn’t look like the end is anywhere in sight. The latest victim is Internet music provider Last.fm who…

eHarmony confirms breach, about 1.5 million passwords stolen

eHarmony confirms breach, about 1.5 million passwords stolen
  • Posted June 7, 2012, 3:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Security, The Web
  • eHarmony has confirmed that nearly 1.5 million of its users have had their passwords -- or more specifically, hashed passwords -- stolen by hackers. The popular match-making site may have fallen victim to the same hackers who compromised LinkedIn's password database…

LinkedIn password database leaked, company confirms intrusion

LinkedIn password database leaked, company confirms intrusion
  • Posted June 6, 2012, 3:41 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in The Web, Security
  • LinkedIn may have suffered a serious blow in terms of the security and safety of its users today. Hackers claim to have leaked over 6.5 million password hashes originating from the career-focused social networking site. Although the hash values appear…

Google will begin warning users of state-sponsored attacks

Google will begin warning users of state-sponsored attacks
  • Posted June 6, 2012, 10:30 AM by Lee Kaelin | Filed in Security, The Web
  • Internet search giant Google has announced it will begin alerting Gmail users if they are being subjected to what it calls "suspected state-sponsored" attacks as well as offering advice on how to have additional layers of security to prevent unauthorized…

Flame malware subverts Windows Updates, infects networked PCs

Flame malware subverts Windows Updates, infects networked PCs
  • Posted June 5, 2012, 3:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Security, Microsoft
  • Flame or Flamer, an admittedly sophisticated piece of malware, appears to have more tricks up its sleeve than security researchers had initially believed. Security firm Kaspersky has discovered that the virus turns infected PCs into Windows Update servers which may…

China not responsible for US "military chip" backdoor

China not responsible for US "military chip" backdoor
  • Posted May 31, 2012, 7:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security, Hardware
  • A research paper by PhD candidate Sergei Skorobogatov at the University of Cambridge has been circulating in the media that highlights a backdoor in Microsemi/Actel ProASIC3 chips allegedly used by the US military. Many outlets have been reporting that China…

Iran targeted by Flame malware in 'most complex' cyber-attack yet

Iran targeted by Flame malware in
  • Posted May 30, 2012, 10:30 AM by Lee Kaelin | Filed in Security
  • The Duqu and Stuxnet malware heralded in a new era in cyber warfare, and brought cyber-espionage to the forefront of security experts minds. In many ways this has also resulted in the general public becoming increasingly sensitive to the almost…

Exploit allows command prompt to launch at Windows 7 login screen

Exploit allows command prompt to launch at Windows 7 login screen
  • Posted May 29, 2012, 9:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security, Microsoft
  • An unpatched exploit in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 8 Consumer Preview allows a user to launch an elevated command prompt by manipulating the sticky keys function. The hack requires very little knowledge and can be exploited…

Google warns users infected with DNSChanger malware, provides help

Google warns users infected with DNSChanger malware, provides help
  • Posted May 25, 2012, 5:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Security, The Web
  • Google has begun providing a warning to visitors who appear to be infected with DNSChanger, a malware which attempts to redirect users to various websites by modifying their DNS settings. The notification is a highly visible alert which tells the…

Yahoo Axis launch marred by security flaw within Chrome extension

Yahoo Axis launch marred by security flaw within Chrome extension
  • Posted May 24, 2012, 10:00 AM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Software, Security
  • Just hours after unveiling its pseudo-Web browser "Axis," which serves as a visual search tool on desktop and mobile devices, Yahoo was forced to disable the Chrome version on the desktop due to security concerns. Turns out the company accidentally…

IBM bans Siri from the workplace, cites privacy concerns

IBM bans Siri from the workplace, cites privacy concerns
  • Posted May 23, 2012, 10:33 AM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Industry News, Security
  • Siri can be an invaluable assistant to some iPhone users, allowing for quick web searches and setting up reminders, among other stuff. But with the rise of “bring your own device” (BYOD) policies in businesses, some are also starting to…

Blizzard: Battle.net account theft increase normal, hacking not issue

Blizzard: Battle.net account theft increase normal, hacking not issue
  • Posted May 22, 2012, 4:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Gaming, Security
  • Blizzard has responded to the recent upswing of stolen Battle.net accounts since the release of Diablo 3. Although critics might be tempted to point the finger at Blizzard's security, the game company says that every complaint it has investigated has…

ZTE admits Score M smartphone has backdoor, promises fix

ZTE admits Score M smartphone has backdoor, promises fix
  • Posted May 21, 2012, 4:30 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Mobile Computing, Security
  • ZTE has confirmed that one of its Android-based smartphones contains a backdoor that could allow an intruder to gain full control of the device. Revealed through Pastebin on May 10, the Score M has a built-in hole to supply root access with a hardcoded password, which is readily available online...

Flashback Trojan maker missed out on fraudulent ad click payout

Flashback Trojan maker missed out on fraudulent ad click payout
  • Posted May 17, 2012, 6:30 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security
  • At the height of the Flashback Trojan, experts say it spread to more than 600,000 Macs worldwide. Aside from being a pain in the rear end of those who were infected, it was estimated that the author could be generating…

DDoS attack sidelines The Pirate Bay, Anonymous to blame?

DDoS attack sidelines The Pirate Bay, Anonymous to blame?
  • Posted May 16, 2012, 3:30 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Security
  • In what can only be described as a bit ironic, The Pirate Bay has been taken down not by court order of ISP blockades but by a DDoS attack of unknown origin. The popular torrent sharing site has been sidelined for the better part of...

Apple releases Flashback Trojan patch for OS X 10.5 Leopard

Apple releases Flashback Trojan patch for OS X 10.5 Leopard
  • Posted May 15, 2012, 12:30 PM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Apple, Security
  • Apple released a patch for the much-publicized Flashback Trojan back in April covering the most recent versions of its operating system, OS X 10.7 “Lion” and the almost three-year-old 10.6 “Snow Leopard”. That still left a number Mac owners running…

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