Brian Prince

Exploit code for a new zero-day vulnerability targeting Windows systems has appeared on the Web. On Valentine’s Day, an anonymous researcher going by the name “Cupidon-3005” released proof-of-concept code for a Server Message Block (SMB) vulnerability affecting the CIFS (Common Internet File System) browser service. More specifically, the vulnerability is inside an error-reporting function of […]

Few companies have as bright a media spotlight on their security successes and failures as Adobe Systems does. During the past two years, that has translated into an increased emphasis on hardening the company’s most popular applications by improving the development process and adding technologies such as Adobe Reader X’s sandbox into the mix. According […]

What exactly is a cyber-war, and are we in the middle of it? Here at the RSA Conference, it depends whom you ask. A panel-featuring former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, security guru Bruce Schneier, former National Security Agency Director John Michael McConnell, and James Lewis, director and senior fellow of the Center […]

After being stung by the controversy regarding the hack by “Anonymous,” HBGary has pulled out of the RSA Conference in San Francisco. The decision followed controversy that erupted last week when hacktivists in Anonymous swiped thousands of e-mails belonging to HBGary Federal and posted them on the Web. The e-mails uncovered a plot aimed at […]

Spam levels may have dropped, but botnets are still busy. In fact, security researchers at this year’s RSA Conference highlighted a mix of botnets both famous and unheard of that are growing on the strength of do-it-yourself kits and pay-per-install (PPI) systems. Joe Stewart, director of malware research for Dell SecureWorks, reported that the most […]

Many people agree that fighting cyber-crime requires a mix of awareness, technology and user buy-in, but finding the balance between those elements and mixing them into a cyber-security solution hasn’t been easy. Still, vendors at the RSA Conference are putting forth their own strategies to address the proliferation of malware targeting consumers and businesses today. […]

Several companies are using this year’s RSA Conference to highlight their focus on virtualization security. With the show just two days under way, a number of vendors had made announcements with an eye toward protecting virtual environments. Among these companies were Symantec, Trend Micro and Hewlett-Packard, all of which announced additions to their virtualization road […]

That securing the country’s critical infrastructure requires alliances between companies and government is an oft-repeated theme at security conferences, and today was no exception. At the RSA Conference in San Francisco, Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn III and Symantec CEO Enrique Salem discussed the threats facing the country’s most vital networks, as well as […]

When it comes to enterprise computing environments, the skies are getting increasingly cloudy-and dealing with that will mean covering up with flexible, dynamic security. This was the message of Art Coviello, executive chairman of EMC’s RSA security division, during his keynote at the RSA Conference today, in San Francisco. Last year, he told the audience, […]

In an updated report on the infamous Stuxnet worm, researchers from Symantec called the malware a targeted attack on five organizations in Iran. The organizations were hit in five separate attacks over the course of 2009 and 2010, according to the firm. Three of these organizations were targeted once, one was targeted twice, and another […]

Security researchers’ revelations that hackers have targeted oil companies around the world lead this past week’s IT security news. According to McAfee, a coordinated attack campaign it has dubbed “Night Dragon” has been under way since at least 2009 and impacted oil, energy and petrochemical companies in Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Greece and the United States. Circumstantial […]

The buzzword for this year’s RSA Conference-cloud. The conference, which will run from Feb. 14 to Feb. 18 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, has an entire track focused on cloud security. It is one of 17 class tracks available at this year’s conference, which typically draws a large crowd of vendors, researchers and […]