Security

The war of words between China and the United States over alleged cyber-espionage continues. A Chinese government official has revealed data that he says shows US sources are behind more than a million annual attacks on two Chinese websites. An ... American security firm recently published a report indicating that a Chinese hacking group has carried out at least 140 security breaches of US websites in an attempt to steal sensitive information. US Firm Tracks Hacks Back to China The report said the group's attacks could be traced back to a specific building in Shanghai known to be operated by a ... (view more)

A new 'Kickstarter' project is getting a whole lot of attention from PC security experts. That's because the device attached to the project 'myIDkey' is a USB stick that effectively protects a user's passwords by using cutting-edge security ... technologies. Kickstarter is an online funding and investment service that allows everyday people to invest in ideas they like. The company behind a product establishes an investment goal and if enough people contribute and that firm reaches its goal, it gets to use the cash towards developing the new product. Those who invest get a share in the new ... (view more)

According to reports, NBC.com was hacked late last week. The hackers bypassed security and then spread malicious software designed to steal bank account information from site visitors. It wasn't just the main NBC.com site that was affected, either. ... Reports indicate that sub-sites, including sites dedicated to the Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno late night shows, were also affected by the hack. Security experts say that hackers modified the NBC.com site so that it would serve up an 'iframe,' which is a method of adding content to a site from a distant domain. In this case, the iframe effectively ... (view more)

It seems like high-profile Twitter accounts have been under siege in recent days. The newest victim: 'hacktivist' group Anonymous. Anonymous has made headlines over the past few years for a series of attacks on major businesses and government sites. ... The group -- which has no formal structure and is made up of individuals largely acting independently -- practices what's known as 'hacktivism,' or politically-charged hacking. Although Anonymous doesn't have an official spokesman, members do issue public statements through a series of social media accounts, including @Anon_Central on Twitter. ... (view more)

Adobe has issued a fix for what it is calling a top-priority security flaw. The bug could allow hackers to seize control of affected machines. The update fixes problems with Adobe Reader, the software used to open and view PDF documents. It also ... affects Adobe Acrobat, the software used to create PDF files. Although Acrobat is not as popular as Reader, many people will be running at least one of the two programs. The flaws involve memory corruption and buffer flow vulnerabilities which could allow a hacker to force a computer to crash. It's a tactic that's more likely to be targeted at ... (view more)

Fast food restaurant Burger King has had its Twitter account hacked and defaced by hacktivist group LulzSec. The organization, which has claimed responsibility for a number of high-profile hacks in the past few years, posted false information to the ... Burger King Twitter page. According to reports, around noon Eastern Time on Monday, February 18, 2013, the @BurgerKing account name was changed to "McDonalds," while the familiar McDonald's logo was splashed across the screen. In addition, LulzSec added false information indicating that Burger King had been purchased by its primary fast food rival ... (view more)

A security firm claims a Chinese military unit is responsible for mass-scale hacking targeting the United States and other Western powers. Mandiant says the Chinese government is not only aware of the hacking but may even be funding it. ... Virginia-based Mandiant says the hacking group is known online as both the "Comment Crew" and the "Shanghai Group". Mandiant says that this group is a unit within the People's Liberation Army of China. Mandiant suggests that a 12-story building in Shanghai is the hacking unit's headquarters. (Source: nytimes.com ) Secret Document Points to ... (view more)

Facebook has confirmed it was attacked by someone using a particularly sophisticated hacking technique. It says it doesn't appear the hackers were able to access any user data, but the site says it is taking the issue very seriously. The hackers ... didn't use the direct approach favored by many would-be attackers who either try to simply access a website's public servers, or send bogus emails to staff in the hope of tricking them into opening infected attachments. Hackers Lay Trap for Developers Instead, the hackers breached security at an external website used by developers of mobile ... (view more)

Europol has arrested 11 people for allegedly posing as the same police organization that has now picked them up. The alleged scammers are said to have posed as Europol in an attempt to trick people into handing over money. Europol is a police agency ... that operates across national borders. The scam is known as ransomware, which involves spreading malicious software and demanding victims pay a fee to have that software removed. The most common version of the scam involves making false claims that files will be deleted from the computer unless the user pays up. Victims 'Fined' For Illegal Content ... (view more)

The Bush family's email accounts have reportedly been hacked. Lost in the security breach: correspondence records, phone numbers, addresses, and photographs. The Smoking Gun website reports that a hacker calling themselves 'Guccifer' was able to ... infiltrate the Bush family email accounts and steal recent personal documents, including a photograph of George H.W. Bush, taken before he was released from a Texas hospital in January 2013. The image shows Bush in a hospital bed where he was recovering from a number of ailments, including bronchitis. Another photo showed the former Republican ... (view more)