Brian Prince

IBM pulled the covers off an upgraded appliance July 15 that combines intrusion prevention with data and Web application security. IBM IPS 4.1 offers a unified platform for managing network security capabilities ranging from automated virtual patch technology to client-side application protection. Through integration with IBM Security AppScan, the appliance can automatically produce custom policies […]

New research has found attackers are abusing Adobe System’s ActionScript programming language to dodge anti-malware defenses. ActionScript is the programming language of the Adobe Flash platform. In a recap of the threat landscape for the first six months of 2010, M86 Security reported observing attackers combining JavaScript with ActionScript in a bid to obfuscate malicious […]

Mozilla has removed a malicious, password-stealing Firefox add-on from its servers and added it to its block list. The add-on, Mozilla Sniffer, had been in Firefox’s library of add-ons since June 6, and had been downloaded nearly 1,800 times. “It was discovered that this add-on contains code that intercepts log-in data submitted to any Website, […]

Oracle pushed out 59 security patches July 13, including 13 for its database portfolio. Six of the 13 database vulnerabilities are for the Oracle Database server. Four of these can be exploited remotely over a network without authentication, Oracle advised. Both of the vulnerabilities in the TimesTen In-Memory Database can be exploited remotely without authentication […]

Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 today. For many businesses, this means one thing — if you are still using the nearly 6-year-old version of the operating system, it is time to upgrade. Not just because Microsoft says so, and not just because organizations still using Windows XP SP2 are not […]

Coverity is teaming with Armorize Technologies to help their customers better manage application security. With new integration between Armorize CodeSecure and Coverity’s static analysis tool – slated to be available later this year – is the vendors’ bid to unify the code analysis and remediation efforts of development and security teams. The coupling of the […]

GFI Software announced July 13 that it has acquired security vendor Sunbelt Software in a move to expand its security offerings. GFI offers security, backup and archiving products for small and midsize enterprises. In particular, the company said it wanted to get its hands on Sunbelt’s VIPRE anti-malware technology, which it said will allow GFI […]

Microsoft addressed five security vulnerabilities July 13 in a relatively small Patch Tuesday update. The most notable was a vulnerability in the Windows Help and Support Center feature included in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 that has come under attack. The bug was reported to Microsoft by Google engineer Tavis Ormandy June 5, and […]

In an age of data leaks, businesses can’t afford not to pay attention to social networking activity by employees. A new study from Trend Micro finds the number of people using sites like Facebook and others at work is increasing — and those doing it via laptop are more likely to share confidential information than […]

Oracle is prepping a massive update for July 13 to fix 59 new security vulnerabilities across its products. The fixes follow an update in April that covered 47 vulnerabilities across Oracle’s product lines. This time, 21 of the 59 impact the Solaris product suite, which the company acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems. Seven of […]

Secunia is calling out application vendors for poor updating practices and reminding users that third-party software vulnerabilities-and not bugs in the operating system-are the main targets of attackers. In the Secunia Half Year Report 2010, (PDF) the company says it found that the number of vulnerabilities affecting the average end-user PC reached 380, almost 90 […]

The National Security Agency revealed some information about the nature of its “Perfect Citizen” cyber-security program after a report about the agency’s plans surfaced in the media. While the agency is unwilling to confirm or deny some details of the Wall Street Journal article, the agency described Perfect Citizen as a “vulnerabilities-assessment and capabilities-development” effort, […]