An Austin based security researcher demonstrated how a software flaw, used to control oil refineries, power plants and other critical structures, can be hacked by terrorist groups or criminals. The software is used to manage supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, systems – computers that regulate the functioning of such important infrastructure as oil and gas pipelines, water treatment and power transmission facilities and the giant factories used by large technology companies. Attendees at Defacon hackers conference on computer security were surprised as well anxious about vulnerabilities in infrastructures which affect our day-to-day life such as SCADA system. The flaw can pose major problems, as it is capable of crushing SCADA computer systems, which carry mostly lightweight software, making it easy for intruders to cheat by sending a false request. The main targets of attack are sensors within the facilities, linked to internet through encrypted connections, said Ganesh Devrajana, a security researcher with 3Com Corp.’s TippingPoint in Austin, Texas. Authorities and other officials present at conference took it as a matter of great terrorism concern and emphasized the need to point out similar weaknesses existing in other programs. Image Credit: ABC News Via: Aviran
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IBM misplaces tapes with retired employee data
IBM, an inventor of magnetic tape storage over 50 years ago and a leading supplier of data encryption, was recently reported to have lost an unrevealed number of backup tapes that were contained with personal info of employees. Company spokesperson Fred McNeese was quoted by SCMagazine.com that the tapes were unintentionally lost Feb. 23 whilst they were being transported by an intermediary purveyor from an IBM location in Westchester County, N.Y. to an everlasting storage capability. Fred McNeese also mentioned that a few of the tapes, hinging on what info was being carried by them, were encrypted, whereas others were not. IBM would not make public to what number of tapes were lost or to what number of employees – lots of them retirees – were impinged on, however McNeese stated that the tapes are not easy to be accessed on a computer and none of the data has been misrepresented. McNeese was quoted as saying,. It’s a plural number (of affected people). We don’t know if anybody’s got them (the tapes), but if someone’s got them, we don’t want to give them additional information. Read
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McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro join army to augment signature-based methodology
Considering constant attacks of hackers, McAfee, Symantec and Trend Micro, the three leading security vendors are joining forces to enhance decades-old methodology, which is now seen as an insufficient defense against the internet-borne threats. They are said not to be discarding signature-based defense, which needs detecting a specific malware sample to generate a matching signature so as to spot and remove it. A few of the latest methods being devised by them are going to be unveiled as products this year. Brian Foster, Symantec’s senior director for product management, who notes the security firm receives 200,000 submissions of potential malware each month, was quoted saying, Everyone agrees signature-based defense is not enough. The number of variants is increasing. With the aim of enhancing signature-based detection in its next enterprise anti-virus release set to be brought out this summer, Symantec is intended for incorporating white-listing technology for policy-enabled control of apps down to a software-component level. Foster says that this avant-garde malware protection as of Symantec is also claimed to make use of behavior blocking that boasts of stopping as a minimum a few malware from executing, holding it ‘in a unmoving condition on that system.’ The three leading giant claims that the core of their strategy is that they will change the game .
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Microsoft files adware patent to follow you everywhere
Well, imagine that your favorite media files are running on your computer and suddenly an ad page opens and says, ‘What old fashion music you are sticking to, we have something new for you.’ Then you switch to find some books and again an ad hits your computer screen and giving you a list related to whatever you were typing. Furthermore, you will surely feel bewildered that ads will follow you in whatever context you use a window. Isn’t it amazing that how an advertiser knows what is going on your computer screen? Microsoft submitted an adware patent back in 2006 that will use your ‘context data’ from your hard drive to select focus advertising for you to view while you are reading your e-mail, working on word and excel documents. Yes, that’s true-now, no stone will be left unturned to get access to your data on your hard drive in order to flash an advertisement that matches your interest. The present advertising relies on individual’s web browsing habits, the type of sites they visit, or kind of search engine used. This adware framework would utilize almost all the data to assure they it targets the right individual for right product. It can collect data by inspecting your computer settings, user e-mail files, media files, status messages, and files that you download. Ads would be limited to something around 4 per hour and will only support text or graphical ads, a little insurance that you won’t get tons of irrelevant ads popping up all over your computer screen. Unfortunately, this patent application filed in February last year, was uncovered recently by InformationWeek, which mentions nothing in context of data security or how it will protect your personal data. Of, course anybody would like to get rid of unwanted and irrelevant ads which this new patent promises. In reality, it seems nothing more than another method to get better hold on the users and score more points in order to sell their products. It’s more or less like,’organized disturbance’ and will follow you with every word you type or every file you open. Image Credit: EECS Via: Arstechnica
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Skype worm gets into MSN, AIM, Yahoo and ICQ
Be aware of the latest Skype worm, Stration worm. It is not only targeting Skype contacts, but also making its way to other popular IM clients such as AIM, Trillian, Yahoo! Messenger, Miranda and ICQ through Skype. Chirs Boyd of FaceTime confirms, The infection checks the registry for evidence of programs like AIM, Trillian, Yahoo Messenger, Miranda and ICQ – however, so far we’ve only seen it fire a message to an ICQ and an MSN Messenger Client. The worm sends a link and downloadable executable file. If the user clicks the link and downloads the file, then the PC is infected with worm. The worm starts sending messages to Skype contacts. The Spyware Guide explains the worm uses the tried and tested methods employed by similar infections over the past few months, with the ultimate payload being the Stration Worm. Although Stration is regarded as low-risk infection and not so prevalent, but it is giving tough times to security venders creating hundreds of variants. Read
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Symantec warns of Infostealer.Wowcraft.C Trojan horse
Symantec has warned computer users of Infostealer.Wowcraft.C, a Trojan horse, which is said to be making attempt to commit theft of sensitive info related to online games and send it to a remote attacker. Computer users were reported to have complained regarding links in Outlook email, which, on being clicked, create a host of Trojans aimed at stealing gaming credentials. The newly-detected Trojan also known as PWSteal.Wowcraft.C in fact puts the Trojan file, INTEXPLORE.com, as middleman. As soon as the link in email is clicked by the users, the INTEXPLORE.com file is installed, and let the control go to the browser. It’s viable that either any anti-virus software is getting rid of the Trojan however leaving behind the registry edit, or the file is being deleted by the affected users themselves but leaving behind the registry edit. Whatever be the way, the outcome is the unchanged – on the whole giving rise to a dead end every time a link in email is clicked by you. Symantec has reported that Infostealer.Wowcraft.C: Modifies the values “(Default)” = “%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\INTEXPLORE.com” -nohome” “(Default)” = “%ProgramFiles%\common~1\INTEXPLORE.pif” %1″” in the registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command Luckily, there is a simple fix to get rid of the Trojan. First of all, the users will have to provide scan to their system with the latest anti-virus software unless the Trojan really is rooted out. After that edit the registry and put back the bad value with the default value as give below:
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Estonia accuses Russia of unleashing cyber war
Blaming Russia for initiating hacking attacks, Estonia was recently reported to have said that its websites have been hit by a series of cyber attacks. Leaders in the capital, Tallinn, claim that many of the attacks have emanated from Russia and are being disseminated by state computer servers in the nation. Nevertheless, Moscow says no to any connection in the attacks. Nato spokesman James Appathurai was quoted by BBC News as saying, In the 21st century it’s not just about tanks and artillery. We have sent one of our experts at the request of the Estonian authorities to help them in their defense. The Baltic nation says the assaults started after the removal of a Soviet war memorial in the capital. Ever since the removal, the two countries have been confined into a clash and Estonia has been flooded with denial-of-service (DoS) attacks for the last three weeks, with websites for the government, banks and political parties noted. A talking head for NATO, stated the organization had dispatched technical specialists to Estonia to help fight the difficulty. Estonian officers have obstructed access to a few of the servers from outside of the nation to put off additional assaults. The Prime Minister of Estonia, Andrus Ansip, has straightforwardly laid blame on the Russian govt of being behind the attacks. Image Read
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Privacyware’s Privatefirewall 5.0, protects Widows desktops and servers
Privacware, Corp. has launched an integrated desktop firewall and multilayer intrusion prevention software, Privatefirewall 5.0, which delivers signature less, zero hour protection from know or new spyware, viruses, hacking techniques and other intrusions on Windows desktops and servers. Privatefirewall 5.0 solves the Windows vulnerabilities, which hackers exploit to gain unauthorized access and damages private systems and data. Privatefirewall 5.0 models and monitors system identifies block activity characteristic, known as malware, hacking and phishing, so that users and IT managers of small and medium enterprise can protect the environment and private data more effectively. The new software includes following protection layers, which are given below: 1) Desktop firewall 2) Port manager 3) URL filtering 4) Process monitor and application/system behavior modeling 5) Anomaly detection components Privatefirewall 5.0 is integrated with eTrust Antivirus and eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware solutions and also supports Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows 2000/2003 server. Privatefirewall 5.0 evaluates WinAPI calls and analyzes a variety of system variables, security-sensitive registry keys and alerts administrators. Currently, Privatefirewall 5.0 is available as a stand alone solution to use in home and small business. Image Credit: PWI Corp. Via: Managing & Automation
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US House finally nods to anti-spyware bill
An antispyware bill, which was introduced back in March by California Democrat Zoe Lofgren and Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, has finally been approved by the US House of Representatives Sponsored by Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, and Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, the bill is reported to make it illegitimate to make access to a PC but for authorization to commit another federal crime, like a PC scam. Such crimes might bring about to up to five years imprisonment, while getting or relaying personal info so as to deceive or harm somebody carries a punishment of up to two years in jail, as does denting a PC. The bill additional would endow the Department of Justice with US$10 million yearly for four years to handle phishing, or utilizing fake e-mail addresses or Web sites to bait unwary preys to give personal info like credit-card numbers and pharming, which is related with hackers redirecting traffic to bogus Internet sites to deceitfully gain personal data.
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Democracy no more safe: e-voting Machines found hack able
House and Senate Democratic leaders must have got alarmed about the security of e-voting machines, as computer Scientists from California University were able to hack into three electronic voting systems used in California and elsewhere in nation. Team of computer experts, acting on the request of state had hacked into systems from three most famous companies in the business: Diebold Election Systems, Hart InterCivic and Sequoia Voting Systems. After the investigation, they found every system hack able in one or another way to affect the correct recording, reporting and tallying of votes. Hackers were able to gain physical access to the system, manipulate several; components networked to sever, loading wireless drivers onto the server used to access a wireless device plugged surreptitiously into the back of server and many more other ways. Although in many cases it might be difficult to alter the results, however possibility of that cannot be denied. Matthew A. Bishop, a professor of University of California, who led the team, said in the report, that it was surprising that how easily hackers broke not only the physical locks, but also the software defenses meant to block intruders. The addition of security measures after the basic system had been designed appeared to be the biggest problem with computerized touch screen machines, optical scanning systems and broader election-management software. However, Industry executive criticized the report calling it unrealistic as it was not conducted in the realistic environment and no machine was known to be hacked in any election. He further added that report contains several inconsistencies, alternate conclusions and errors. Whatever be the level of insecurities detected, what is the point in using these voting machines as pivotal and main source in voting, said Senate and Democratic leaders and proposed a shift to paper ballots and other backup records to increase confidence. However, election supervisors are waiting for Secretary Bowen’s decision by Friday. Her decision will decide whether to ban these e-voting machines, which can pose problems for the upcoming Presidential elections in February. Image Credit: MAIL Via: TECHDIRT