Brian Prince

Google Patches Security Flaw Affecting Gmail Users

Google has patched a vulnerability that could have been used to spam Gmail users who visited a specially crafted Website. The bug was first reported Nov. 20 by TechCrunch after someone known as Vahe G. created a site to exploit the issue. The situation affected users who visited the site while they were still logged […]

Security Recap: Stuxnet, China Internet ‘Hijacking’ Allegations Lead News

Cyber-security took a political bent this past week due to discussions of Stuxnet’s true target and allegations that a Chinese company had caused Internet traffic to be rerouted through servers in China. The allegations against China Telecom were aired in a report to Congress by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In the report, […]

Apple Issues Safari Security Update

Apple fixed 27 vulnerabilities in Safari for Mac OS X and Windows today. All of the vulnerabilities exist in the open-source Webkit engine. In addition, nearly all of them can be exploited to execute code remotely on Macs or Windows PCs. Among the vulnerabilities is a problem due to Safari using a “predictable algorithm” to […]

Adobe Reader X Sandboxing Security Technology Arrives

Adobe Systems has released Adobe Reader X, bringing with it sandboxing technology the company has touted as an answer to some of the company’s recent security challenges. The sandboxing technology is aimed at Windows users, who bear the brunt of the attacks against the PDF-viewing software. The technology is similar to what Google built into […]

Malaysian Man Accused of Hacking Federal Reserve

A Malaysian man was charged today by a federal grand jury with hacking into a Federal Reserve Bank computer network and possessing more than 400,000 credit and debit card numbers. Lin Mun Poo, 32, was arrested shortly after his arrival in the United States Oct. 21 and has been in custody since then, according to […]

China Internet Hijacking Accusation Fallout Continues

China Telecom, the Chinese wireless service provider at the center of the recent Internet hijacking charges, has called the accusations against it “groundless,” but that has done little to squash a controversy that could have reaching implications. In a report to Congress (PDF), the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said China Telecom routed some […]

McAfee: Spam Falls, but Malware Still King

Spam might have slipped, but malware authors were as busy as ever during the third quarter of the year, according to McAfee. In the “McAfee Threats Report: Third Quarter 2010″ (PDF), the company notes that even though spam declined, an average of 60,000 new malware threats were identified each day, which is nearly four times […]

Cyber-Security Job Development Challenges Highlighted in Survey

Much has been made about the U.S. government’s need to hire more cyber-security professionals. But finding the best way to build that workforce may be difficult. A new survey from the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)?? found that many of the trending ideas on how to structure the cyber-security workforce do not jibe […]

Stuxnet Requires Better Critical Infrastructure Security Approach

The Stuxnet worm was a “game-changer,” and the country must develop better approaches to address today’s cyber-threats. Those were two of the sentiments that came out of a hearing today by the U.S. Senate committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. First detected in June and publicized in July, Stuxnet is the first threat known […]

Facebook Bug Locks Out Female Users

Many Facebook users found themselves locked out of their accounts Nov. 16 due to a bug in the social network. According to Facebook spokesperson Simon Axten, the problem was created by a bug in a system designed to find and root out fake accounts. Though the issue was fixed within hours, the site is still […]