Security

A string of hotel room thefts in Texas has brought into question the security of an estimated 10 million electronic door locks commonly used worldwide in hotels and other facilities. Back in July, a security researcher demonstrated a problem with a ... system known as Onity HT locks. He said the technology is used in one-third of hotels worldwide and covers more than half of all locks now in use. The researcher, Cody Brocious, says the main flaw in the system is the equipment used for two specific purposes: opening a door when the battery in the lock has failed and creating a master key card for ... (view more)

A new type of malware targeting Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system (OS) reportedly uses Google Docs to carry out its attacks on unsuspecting users. According to a report from security firm Symantec (which discussed the issue in one of its ... recent Security Response blogs), a Trojan horse known as Backdoor.Makadocs is targeting Windows 8 users. Malware Disguises Itself; Tricks Users Here's how it works, according to Symantec: the malware exploits a vulnerability in the Google Docs program called "Viewer." Apparently the malware masks itself as a Rich Text Format (RTF) or Microsoft ... (view more)

A new security technique could completely prevent hackers from intercepting data communications. The technique involves hiding an encryption key inside the same light that travels through standard fiber optic cables. The technique, known as quantum ... key distribution, uses a small amount of data as a key for decrypting much larger quantities of data. Quantum key distribution conveys the encryption key in the form of photons, the fundamental elements of visible light. Polarized photons can be used to indicate a 0 or a 1 -- standard computer binary code -- which is enough to carry any digital ... (view more)

According to the United States' Homeland Security chief, America's biggest financial institutions are "actively under attack" by hackers. Experts suggest it's a troubling scenario that is only going to get worse. Homeland Security chief Janet ... Napolitano recently discussed this problem at a cybersecurity event hosted by The Washington Post. In her presentation, Napolitano told attendees that cybercriminals are actively stealing data and money from major US banks. However, she stopped short of providing much detail. "I really don't want to go into that per se...I'm not giving you any classified ... (view more)

It appears that during Tuesday night's election the privacy of a number of high-profile Twitter users was invaded when an unknown website or Internet service compromised their accounts. That prompted Twitter to force password resets on many of its ... users. It remains unclear at the moment how the security breach occurred or how many users' accounts were compromised. Whatever that number, Twitter created a huge stir by sending out more password reset emails than necessary. "We unintentionally reset passwords of a larger number of accounts, beyond those that we believed to have been compromised ... (view more)

Security firm Vupen says it has found several serious security loopholes in the new Windows 8 operating system (OS). However, another security expert says he's not worried about the issues. Vupen operates in a gray area of the computer security ... market. Like other security firms, it hunts for flaws in popular software. But it doesn't always pass on its findings to the companies that produce the software. Instead, Vupen often sells its data to government agencies and major corporations. (Source: geek.com ) "Multiple Vulnerabilities" Found: Vupen CEO That's why eyebrows were raised ... (view more)

The hacking group Anonymous claims it successfully stole data from security firm Symantec on Monday, November 5, 2012. However, Symantec denies the claim. Anonymous also claims to have gained access to servers belonging to ImageShack, a service that ... hosts pictures online. However, there has been no independent confirmation of that reported security breach, either. November 5th is an important date for Anonymous because it marks the anniversary of Guido 'Guy' Fawkes' attempt to blow up the English Parliament buildings in 1606. In England the event is remembered as 'Guy Fawkes Day.' Over time ... (view more)

According to a new report, nearly one in every eight home networks in North America is infected with malware. Experts consider about half of those threats to be "serious." The study comes from Mountain View, California's Kindsight Security Labs. In ... its third-quarter malware report, the company indicates that 13 per cent of all home networks are infected. Kindsight's report suggests that about 6.5 per cent of these infections are serious enough to have converted the computers on the infected network into a botnet , or are capable of compromising a user's information security. ZeroAccess Botnet ... (view more)

According to a new report, the international political hacking group Anonymous wants to start a new service similar to Julian Assange's Wikileaks. The new service would reportedly expose the secrets of governments and major corporations. The effort ... would be right in line with Anonymous' established penchant for carrying out attacks against the UK government , Church of Scientology, and internationally-recognized firms like Visa, MasterCard, and Sony. Financial, Legal Troubles Sideline Assange Anonymous' new service is important because Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been sidelined by ... (view more)

A security firm has revealed the twenty-five most common passwords used on websites. For the most part, they leave users particularly vulnerable to hacking. One reason? "Password" is still the most common password. The list, from analyst firm ... SplashData, is based on login details published by hackers online. Sadly, the amount of data that becomes publicly available this way seems to be ever increasing. Following "password", the next most popular passwords in decreasing order are "123456", "12345678" and "abc123", all of which appear to have been chosen by users who obviously cared ... (view more)