Liquidmatrix Security DigestLiquidmatrix Security DigestYour Source For Network and Information Security News Articles
Security First, Requirements Later
2008-05-06 04:15:00 I find it interesting to watch the mad rush to beef up security at the US border points without any real thought to requirements. Sure, keep out the baddies. But, how exactly? There is the constantly escalating method or there could some semblance of a plan? From IDG Norway: News continues to worsen for business travelers carrying ... More About: Security , Airline Security
OK, So, Now What Yahoo?
2008-05-06 03:10:00 OK, so the date has ended. Microsoft didn’t get to second base. Yahoo was jilted for being too high maintenance and their stock dropped 15% today. So, what now for Yahoo? From Internet News: “With Microsoft’s withdrawal, we’ll be better able to focus our energy on growing our industry leadership and maximizing value for stockholders,” Yang said. The ... More About: Search , Yahoo!
Chinese Hackers Attack Indian Sites
2008-05-05 15:37:00 The Chinese army’s hackers continue to grab headlines. From The Times of India: China?s cyber warfare army is marching on, and India is suffering silently. Over the past one and a half years, officials said, China has mounted almost daily attacks on Indian computer networks, both government and private, showing its intent and capability. ( ... More About: News , Sites , Hackers
Security Briefing: May 5th
2008-05-05 14:24:00 Monday of my last week at work. I can see that the realization is beginning to set in with my co-workers. Well, I hope that I can share all I can before I’m off to carousel. I’d also like to say thanks to the folks who discovered the “donate” button on the next column over to ... More About: News , Security
Personal Data Anyone?
2008-05-05 02:51:00 Morning mail call. I may already be a winner, check. $10,000 from Publishers Clearing House, indeed. Ah, tax forms…with the social security number on the label. WTF? From Tulsa World: Tax forms were sent out to thousands of people in Wisconsin with their Social Security numbers on the mailing labels. A vendor hired by the state of Georgia lost ... More About: Personal , Data Security , Data , Privacy
Students Accused Of Hacking To Alter Grades
2008-05-04 04:58:00 Wow, this story really gave me a flashback to the 80’s. I remember watching as Ferris Bueller hacked into the school computers to change his grades. That was one of the early influences that helped shape my career. Glad to see that the spirit lives on. I do think that the Fort Bend Independent School ... More About: News , Students , Hacker , Grades , Alter
Air Marshalls On ?No Fly? List
2008-05-02 16:01:00 Sweet (insert deity). Thx to Charlie who emailed us in the story. From The Washington Times: Some federal air marshals have been denied entry to flights they are assigned to protect when their names matched those on the terrorist no-fly list, and the agency says it’s now taking steps to make sure their agents are allowed to ... More About: List , Airline Security
Japanese Worker Disciplined For 780K+ P0rn Hits
2008-05-02 15:42:00 Sweet Jeebus in a birch bark canoe. This guy managed to keep his job after he was caught surfing p0rn from the office. If ever there was a case for content filtering in an office this guy is the poster boy. From BBC: A local council employee in Japan has been punished after it was discovered he ... More About: Japanese , Dumbass , Hits , Worker
Security Briefing: May 2nd
2008-05-02 14:45:00 Ugh. Due to a misconfiguration by yours truly the news posting for yesterday didn’t see the light of day. So, as a penance I’m going to provide an extra long briefing round up for today. Thanks to all of our readers! And now, the news… Sun Microsystems to cut 1,500 to 2,500 jobs Almost 200 HMRC staff ... More About: News , Security
HSBC Catches Attempted £70 Million Fraudsters
2008-05-02 14:29:00 HSBC is back in the news again today. This time for a more positive reason than last we checked in on them. It appears that a rogue employee decided it was pay day. I guess he saw “Catch me if you can” one too many times. From the Reg: An HSBC worker has been charged after police ... More About: Million
Facebook Loophole Open To ID Theft
2008-05-01 18:41:00 I’ve never been one to entirely believe in the safety of social networking apps. Surfers beware. From the Telegraph UK: A loophole on social networking site Facebook could allow identity thieves to access the personal data of users, according to an investigation. By simply downloading an application, users enable its creator to view sensitive information, even if they ... More About: News , Open , Theft
Storm Botnet, Shrinking From Gale To Drizzle?
2008-05-01 18:26:00 The folks at MessageLabs are stating that the Storm botnet has dropped down to around 100K nodes from it’s prjected high of over two million. From IT News: MessageLabs’ Intelligence Report for April 2008 said that new malicious software removal tools aimed at removing Storm infections were responsible for the sudden reduction in Storm-infected computers. The security firm ... More About: Malware , Botnet , Storm botnet
Security Briefing: April 30th
2008-04-30 18:39:00 “It’s gonna be a bright, sunshiny day” And now, the news… Declassified NSA Document Reveals the Secret History of TEMPEST Evidence presented in New Jersey e-voting discrepancies Microsoft postpones automatic Service Pack updates The Battle for Your Browser SQL injection attack infects hundreds of thousands of websites EFF blasts Microsoft over DRM validation McAfee ‘Hacker Safe’ cert sheds more cred Off Topic: Southwest Airlines ... More About: News , Security , April
Exit Stage Left?
2008-04-30 18:29:00 Well, after six years working in the critical infrastructure vertical I have decided to move on. I tendered my resignation yesterday and will be moving on the new adventures in a few weeks. I’ll let slip my new day job at that time. It has been an interesting ride to say the least. There have ... More About: Left , Stage
Blogger Uses iPhone As Boarding Pass
2008-04-30 14:57:00 I wonder if Christopher Soghoian had tried this one? A blogger by the name of Gerald Buckley used his iPhone to provide his boarding pass at a American Airlines gate. From gwhiz: I was travelling yesterday to San Antonio. An all-day, down and back. Last week I went to Houston via Southwest Air and had Twittered I ... More About: Mobile , Blogger , Iphone , Airline Security , Pass
PCI Council Issues Clarification on Web App Security
2008-04-30 14:28:00 This one got past me last week. From Search Security : Responding to a wave of criticism and confusion surrounding the imminent deadline for a new section of the PCI Data Security Standard regarding Web application security, the PCI Security Standards Council has released documentation intended to clarify the requirements for securing Web applications. The clarification is meant ... More About: News , Issues
Live In Concert
2008-04-25 17:49:00 Well, we’re no Led Zeppelin, Tragically Hip or Peter Gabriel. That being said it should a great time tonight when the band that I play bass for, “The Shiitake Project” takes the stage at Clinton’s in Toronto. We are raising money for prostate cancer research. The show gets rolling around 9 pm and cover is $10 ... More About: Concert , Live
Security Briefing: April 25th
2008-04-25 14:49:00 Friday, finally. Only a few hours till the band takes the stage. And now, the news… Click here to subscribe! Researcher Finds New Way to Hack Oracle Database UK Info Chief Takes Aim at Security Breaches Feds to leave disclosure of data security breaches to businesses: legislative plan Security testing standards council launched Cracking the ‘Great Firewall’ of China’s Web censorship Thieves ... More About: News , April
FSA To Banks, Smarten Up
2008-04-25 14:35:00 Things don’t look so rosy in the FSA report with respects to how financial institutions handle data security. From eGov Monitor: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published today its report on Data Security in Financial Services. Whilst it might make for uncomfortable reading, this is a timely report from the FSA, and its relevance extends beyond ... More About: Banks
Spammer, Sharp Like Beach Ball
2008-04-25 03:15:00 Wow, how stupid do they think I am? It’s a rhetorical question wise guy. Here’s a phishing email that I received this evening. —————— ;– From: Chianelli, Russell R. Date: Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 8:05 PM Subject: UNICEF ORGANISATION DONATION AWARDED PIN NUMBERS U-777-1815, D-01-47 CONTACT INFOS (**********@yahoo.com.hk) To: undisclosed-recipients UNICEF ORGANISATION DONATION. Unicef Organisation Concern. The Unicef Orgnasation, Would like ... More About: News , Spam , Beach , Phishing , Sharp
Shmoocon 2008 Presentations Online
2008-04-24 14:53:00 Thanks to a reader email (thx KS) it turns out that the presentations from Shmoocon 2008 are now posted online. The videos are not up yet but, I’ll update this as soon as they’re available. Shmoocon 2008 presentations. Shmoocon 2008 videos (pending). More About: News , Online , Presentations
Security Briefing: April 24th
2008-04-24 14:44:00 The week just keeps getting better. More sleep and easing up on my beloved coffee is working out nicely. And welcome to our new subscribers that joined us yesterday! And now, the news… Click here to subscribe! Hackers jack thousands of sites, including UN domains YES WE CAN - get XSSed Transcript: FBI director on surveillance of ‘illegal’ Internet activity China ... More About: News , Security , April
Hacker Testifies News Corp Unit Paid Him
2008-04-24 14:29:00 Conspiracy plot line or just some hacker that got pinched? From Reuters (via Yahoo): A computer hacker testified on Wednesday that a News Corp (NWSa.N) unit hired him to develop pirating software, but denied using it to penetrate the security system of a rival satellite television service. Christopher Tarnovsky — who said his first payment was $20,000 in ... More About: Paid , Hacker , News Corp , Unit
Microsoft Mislabels Skype As Adware
2008-04-24 14:15:00 Um, whoops? From Computer World: Skype users who have been getting strange error messages from Microsoft ’s security products over the past week can breathe easy now. It was all a mistake. Microsoft said Wednesday that a buggy antivirus definition update, released Friday, had mislabeled Skype as pop-up adware program called Win32/Vundo.gen!D. The issue was fixed Monday in a ... More About: News , Adware , Quality Control
Border Agents Green Lighted To Search Laptops
2008-04-23 20:32:00 From Threat Level/Wired: Federal agents at the border do not need any reason to search through travelers’ laptops, cell phones or digital cameras for evidence of crimes, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, extending the government’s power to look through belongings like suitcases at the border to electronics. The unanimous three-judge decision reverses a lower court finding ... More About: Laptops , Agents , Search , Green , Privacy
It?s a hump day miracle?
2008-04-23 19:05:00 Click to enbiggen… Harvey Wallbanger (a frequent commenter) asks: “How different is the reality of work for a CISO compared to the average 9-5er?” Well… Let’s start with how busy it is… Basically, I don’t have much of a life beyond work. There’s a certain “Superman” tendency amongst those who do this which leaves them unable to ... More About: Miracle , Hump
We don?t need another hero?
2008-04-22 16:19:00 Except that according to the folks at the Sydney Morning Herald, we’re all headed for a new kind of horror - cybergeddon, the digital mushroom cloud. Is it just me, or do these nice people all seem to have a complete freakin’ fetish for the prefix Cyber? In trying to make a point, these people all come ... More About: Hero
Security Briefing: April 22nd
2008-04-22 15:09:00 OK, this week is shaping up nicely so far. Hope springs. Fingers are crossed and stapled. Ah, so that’s what that pain is. And now, the news… Microsoft PatchGuard: Locking down the kernel, or locking out security? Soft tokens tighten online banking security Critical infrastructure open to IT security threats Adobe Products BMP Handling Buffer Overflow Vulnerability PCs and Parenting: Tips for ... More About: News , Security , April
Thought Process Behind Online Password Services
2008-04-22 14:58:00 In the world of bad ideas we have seen a remarkable array. There was hair in a can, the car-b-q and the pocket fisherman to name a few. Sure they have camp value but, you wouldn’t rely on any of them as a matter of practice. So, why then do people hand over their passwords ... More About: Education , Services , Privacy , Online , Thought
Big Brother Russian Style
More articles from this author:2008-04-21 17:39:00 Big ???? is watching you. In a further attempt by the Russian government to turn the screws on the populace they are now mandating that all wireless APs, wireless devices, and the like, are registered with the government. From Computer World AU: Business travellers to Russia might want to keep their laptops and iPhones well-concealed - ... More About: Wireless , Big Brother , Style , Freedoms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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