Security Breaking News

Researchers reveal 'clickjacking' attack info
The security researchers who two weeks ago warned of new "clickjacking" vulnerabilities in browsers, Web sites and popular plug-ins, revealed a dozen variants of the bug Tuesday. More..

11 Microsoft security updates due next week
Next week will be a busy one for system administrators as Microsoft is planning to ship 11 security updates -- four of them rated critical -- for its products. More..

Microsoft to improve Vista's problematic UAC in Windows 7
Microsoft plans to improve the much-maligned user account control (UAC) feature in the next version of its Windows client OS, acknowledging that the new security feature it built into Windows Vista has caused unnecessary problems for users. More..

Clickjackers could hijack Webcams, microphones, Adobe warns
Adobe Systems warned users Tuesday that hackers could use recently-reported "clickjacking" attack tactics to secretly turn on a computer's microphone and Web camera. More..

Firefox extension blocks dangerous Web attack
A popular free security tool for the Firefox browser has been upgraded to block one of the most dangerous and troubling security problems facing the Web today. More..

Symantec to buy e-mail security vendor MessageLabs
Symantec will pay $695 million for MessageLabs, a security vendor that offers a hosted spam and Web traffic filtering service. More..

U.S. man indicted for hacking Palin's e-mail account
A 20-year-old Tennessee man has been indicted for hacking into an e-mail account of U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, according to court records. More..

Cambridge lab sets quantum key world record
The hugely promising security technology of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has moved an important step closer to commercialization with the announcement by U.K.-based researchers that they can now shift encryption keys around at speeds of 1Mbps. More..

Mac security focus: Privacy
At the very least, losing your wallet to a thief is a major pain in the neck: you lose your cash and (possibly) some precious mementos, and you have to cancel your credit cards and replace your driver's license. More seriously, the thief could steal your identity, using your personal information to make purchases, get loans, or cause you all kinds of grief by pretending to be you. More..

IBM, Secret Service among elite group to study identity/cyber crime issues
IBM, LexisNexis and the Secret Service are among a group of corporations, government agencies and academic institutions that has formed to study and help solve identity management challenges around cybercrime, terrorism and narcotics trafficking.  More..

Remote workers to IT: We do care about security
Fear not IT and infosecurity personnel: Most of your remote workers, mobile users and road warriors toting around laptops and BlackBerrys have the business's best interests in mind when it comes to network security. More..

Why security pros hate SharePoint, and what to do about it
Microsoft SharePoint has many fans these days, but Andre Koot isn't among them. More..

Trend Micro: India is highest-spamming nation in Asia
India is the 7th largest spam sender in the world, according to Trend Micro Incorporated, a company dealing with Internet content security (also the makers of Trend Antivirus and other security software). India is the leader among Asian countries in spam, accounting for more than 4% of the total global spam. It is ahead of other Asian countries such as China (3.39%), Republic of Korea (2.57%) and Thailand (2.04%). Asia contributes 16.57% of the global spam volume. More..

Cisco IronPort unveils e-mail security appliances
Cisco's IronPort Systems unit this week unveiled hardware extensions to its e-mail security appliances (compare messaging security products) that more than double the performance of the company's previous-generation platforms. More..

Palin hacking charge flawed, lawyers say
David Kernell is facing five years in prison for allegedly hacking into Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account, but lawyers watching the case say that the felony charge against him is a bit of a stretch. More..

Colorado state Web site dishes out SSNs of top execs
The Web site of the Colorado Secretary of State is making available the Social Security numbers and other personal data of numerous CEOs, company chairmen, presidents, board members and other senior executives at some of the country's largest companies, a privacy advocate said. More..

Accused Palin hacker has a history of intrusion
The college student charged with illegally accessing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's e-mail has been accused of computer intrusion before, although last time he faced only an afternoon detention. More..

Why eliminate administrator rights?
In the 20-plus years I've spent consulting, hand-holding, troubleshooting and securing networks one of the most frequently asked questions I hear from business leaders is "How do I keep sensitive data from the prying eyes of the network administrators?" The answer has always been "trust." It was that way because we really had no way to remove administrative privileges from the administrators. But a new e-book by IT consultant Greg Shields promises to help. In fact, it's titled "Eliminating Administrator Rights" and is a part of Realtime Publishers' Essentials series. If you have a Windows network, this is essential for you. More..

Anatomy of SQL injection attack
While there are a number of security risks in the world of electronic commerce, SQL injection is one of the most common Web site attack techniques used to steal customer data such as credit card numbers, hold customer data hostage by encrypting it or destroy data outright. More..

Six essential Apple iPhone security tips
If you're an Apple iPhone user and security's not on your mind, you're at risk; at risk of having a Web mail account hacked; at risk of having your online identity stolen; and at risk of losing valuable personal information, such as wireless service account data, that could result in financial losses, among other disasters. More..

California privacy laws heighten need for HIPAA compliance
Healthcare organizations that operate in California have two more good reasons to be sure that they comply with the data security and privacy requirements of the federal HIPAA law. More..

Court orders spammers to pay $236M to Iowa ISP
A federal judge has ordered an Arizona couple to pay more than $236 million for sending millions of spam messages to a small Iowa ISP. More..

CA ups identity management bet with IDFocus
CA has bought IDFocus, a seller of identity management software. More..

Cybersecurity, password recall, IT culture and more
As part of a comprehensive cybersecurity push, the U.S. government will focus on improving its network defense capabilities and revamping acquisition rules to protect against malicious code installed during the manufacturing process of electronic devices. More..

Don't be a Blobmonger
Mudd: Regular people do not want to hear about some vague entity waiting in the shadows to insinuate itself into their computers. That holds true for at-home users as well as business executives. So, borrowing a quote from The Blob's protagonist, Steve Andrews (played by Steve McQueen): "How do you get people to protect themselves from something they don't believe in?" More..