Brian Prince

To hear some tell it, all signs are pointing to an era when biometrics will be a key element of authentication for enterprises. Just how close that era is depends on who you ask. For companies like UPEK, the time for biometrics is now. The company strategy has involved partnering with notebook vendors such as […]

Symantec has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PC Tools, a provider of security and utilities software for Microsoft Windows. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2008, were not disclosed. Headquartered in Australia, PC Tools has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and the Ukraine. […]

Most security pros like social networking sites-at least that’s what Symantec found in a survey of security administrators in Europe and North America. The survey was conducted earlier in 2008 and ran for about three weeks. Responses were gathered from 87 security admins belonging to organizations both big and small. What Symantec found was that […]

It’s no secret vendors such as Microsoft and Amazon.com have placed a bet on providing databases in the cloud. Still, a number of challenges remain before enterprises can begin adopting database-as-a-service offerings in a big way-notably concerns over security, vendor pricing models and performance in the case of large application workloads. Despite these concerns, given […]

UPDATED: Hackers believed to be behind the CNN-spam campaign have changed tactics slightly-they are now using messages claiming to be from news network MSNBC. The best advice for users-be careful what you click. The spoofed MSNBC messages try to entice victims with provocative subject heads, such as “msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS: McCain told lies to […]

Lest any of us forget the age in which we live, the cyber-attacks on Georgia this past week have highlighted that the Internet is becoming the latest weapon used in terrorism or military campaigns. During the past year or so, there have been a number of high-profile reports and accusations of hacking of government computers […]

A security researcher claims to have uncovered evidence suggesting a link between the Russian government and the cyber-attacks launched against Georgia. The cyber-attacks started as Georgian and Russian military units fought over the disputed territory of South Ossetia. The fighting started after Georgia sent troops into the breakaway region that it claims is part of […]

Microsoft released its August Patch Tuesday update Aug. 12 with 11 bulletins that plug 26 security holes across multiple products. Six of the bulletins are rated “critical” and address remotely exploitable flaws in Internet Explorer, PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft Office and the Windows operating system. The critical bulletins swat a total of six […]

When Microsoft announced plans Aug. 5 to share information on vulnerabilities with security software vendors as part of the Microsoft Active Protections Program, the company underscored what could be a shift to a new era of cooperation in the name of security. In light of the largely successful coordinated release of patches for the much-publicized […]

LAS VEGAS-Sometimes our friends aren’t really our friends. Just ask security researchers Nathan Hamiel and Shawn Moyer. Hamiel, senior consultant for Idea Information Security, and Moyer, Agura Digital Security’s chief information security officer, teamed up before an audience Aug. 7 at the Black Hat conference to lay bare some of the security risks users of […]

LAS VEGAS-As some of you may have already read by now, one of our brilliant cyber-minds at eWEEK who will remain nameless (Brian Prince … oh wait … damn!) entered one of his passwords in the clear and had it intercepted at this year’s Black Hat conference. Alas, I broke one of the cardinal rules […]

LAS VEGAS-The creators of the Coreflood Trojan have managed to stick their digital hands into the pockets of victims for years. And they have done it largely under the radar, according to research revealed at the Black Hat conference here Aug. 6. Some may remember the Coreflood Trojan from the well-publicized case of Joe Lopez, […]