Security

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) source has confirmed that technology made overseas and imported to the US has been known to contain spy tools. There's also a threat from counterfeit hardware. The confirmation came during a hearing by a House ... of Representatives committee into cyber security. It was discussing ways in which private companies can be encouraged to work alongside the government in tackling security threats. Damage, Spying Both A Threat Greg Schaffer, who works in the National Protections and Programs section of the DHS, did not go into great detail about the spying tools, ... (view more)

On Thursday last week, the Washington Post admitted the Jobs section of its website had been hacked in June, a breach that led to the theft of 1.27 million user log-ins and email addresses. (Source: pcworld.com ) According to the Post, an ... "unauthorized third party" laid siege to the employment opportunities section of its website and on two occasions (June 27 and June 28) was able to access user information. Although log-in names and email addresses were lost, the Washington Post emphasizes that no passwords were stolen and that other personal information remained unaffected by the attack. ... (view more)

Around 4.5 million computers have been caught in a botnet that some experts are calling as good as indestructible. Others, however, say that's an exaggeration. The botnet in question is named the TDL-4. In many senses, it's like any other botnet: ... once a computer becomes infected with malicious software, it is now controlled by remote and used for nefarious purposes. Many times the zombie PCs in a botnet (also known as a " botnet army ") are used to send bogus page requests to websites in an attempt to knock them offline --; referred to as a " denial of service attack ", or ... (view more)

One of the most sought-after downloads on the Internet is Google+, the new social network designed to rival Facebook. Now, online scammers are targeting the curious, sending out spam messages under the guise of fictitious Google+ invitations. ... "Insane Demand" for Google+ Service Google launched their social network just over a week ago in an invite-only testing phase (early members were encouraged to invite their friends to join), but new member additions were stopped the very next day due to an "insane demand" for the service. (Source: cio.com ) This obviously raised a few red flags for a ... (view more)

Fox News has reported that one of its Twitter accounts was recently breached by hackers. The hacked account was then used to post fake reports that President Barack Obama had been assassinated in Iowa while visiting a local restaurant. (Source: ... wsj.com ) Fake Tweet Stays Live for 9 Hours It's not known for sure who was behind the attack, though there are a number of suspects. Whoever it was, they made fixing the problem a hassle by changing account passwords, preventing Fox News from easily removing the post and offering an explanation. In total, the falsified tweet stayed live for about nine ... (view more)

A 'jihadist' Internet forum known as al-Shamukh has been disabled by an unknown hacker, counter-terrorism experts report. These same experts report that the group's website and its server appear to have been knocked out by the attack. Flashpoint ... Partners counter-terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann recently described the al-Shamukh site as a pro-Al Qaeda propaganda forum. He's not sure why the site has been allowed to continue operating, but suspects it might give Western governments a window into terrorist movements. "These sites can be like spy satellites, they're great ways of gathering ... (view more)

Hacker group Lulz Security (otherwise known as "LulzSec") has apparently called it quits after wreaking havoc against several different big-name companies and organizations, including PBS, Sony, and Nintendo. (Source: cnet.com ) In a public ... announcement last week, LulzSec said it would be disbanding its group. "Not surprisingly, they are quitting. Lulzsec members are feeling the heat and are busy avoiding arrest. As predicted, the end of Lulzsec was inevitable. During this [past] week they tried to cover up themselves in order to avoid arrest by: regrouping with Anonymous, ... (view more)

It's only been a couple of months since Sony suffered one of the most devastating hacker attacks in the history of the video game industry. Experts now believe the company could be in the hole for over a billion dollars thanks to the breach, which ... exposed the personal data of over 100 million PlayStation Network (PSN) customers. Now, another game company has also been hacked, exposing the personal information of about 1.3 million customers. It's a smaller attack, to be sure, but evidence that the gaming industry is in no way prepared for such invasions. Sega Hedgehogged by Hackers Sega, one ... (view more)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has made two announcements about successful operations against online bandits. The first is a near-complete takedown of a widespread virus, while the second is a series of arrests and seizures relating to ... two separate cybercrime gangs responsible for scareware scams. The virus in question had allowed criminals to set up a botnet . In short, a botnet is a large network of virus-infected PCs which is remotely controlled by one or a few individuals. The infected PCs are typically used to attack websites, send spam (unsolicited bulk email) to users around ... (view more)

Two major hacking collectives have announced they've forged a partnership. Anonymous and LulzSec say they are targeting high-profile classified information. The two groups do not carry out hacking in order to make money, either by stealing card ... details or selling bogus security software. Instead, they carry out a blend of hacktivism (a portmanteau of hack and activism), attacks made for a political purpose, or simply for amusement. The Anonymous group has carried out several politically-motivated operations in recent months. Among its most famous activities have been attacks on the homophobic ... (view more)