Dennis Fisher

Microsoft Corp. has released an updated patch for a security vulnerability discovered in Windows NT 4.0 in December. The new update fixes a flaw in the original patch that installed the wrong binaries on multi-processor machines, causing them to crash in some situations. The original vulnerability that the patch was meant to fix affected Windows […]

Security researchers have identified a dangerous new vulnerability in several recent releases of Oracle Corp.s flagship database software. The vulnerability puts not only the information in the database at risk, but in some cases, also can lead to a compromise of the operating system. The vulnerability, which is the result of an unchecked buffer, is […]

Now that the long-awaited next version of Windows is in customers hands, officials at Microsoft Corp. are bracing themselves for what they know is coming: vulnerability reports, bug alerts and all manner of other security-related issues. These problems are as inevitable as the sunrise, but Microsoft security personnel believe Windows Server 2003 is the most […]

SAN FRANCISCO—As the wave of acquisitions in the security industry continues to mold innovation and original thought into a gray mass of sameness and me-too product offerings, successful, independent security companies are fast becoming a dying breed. One of the few holdouts in this arena is Cryptography Research Inc., a small San Francisco-based company that […]

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday released a massive set of documents and guidelines meant to help administrators lock down servers running the companys new Windows Server 2003 operating system. Released this week, the new OS is the first major product to come out of the Redmond, Wash., company since the start of its Trustworthy Computing initiative […]

Cisco Systems Inc. on Thursday warned its customers about a serious security vulnerability in the software that controls several of its popular switches. The flaw enables attackers to bypass the password authentication and get control over a vulnerable switch. The vulnerability is found in the Catalyst OS software version 7.5(1), which runs on Catalyst 4000, […]

Computer Associates International Inc., Gemplus S.A. and several other companies last week announced the formation of a group that is working on open specifications and best practices for integrating information security and physical security. Two of CAs products, which are in beta, already support the groups specs, and the members hope that other large industry […]

In their continuing effort to find new markets and additional ways into customer data centers, more and more security vendors are beginning to think inside the box. Dedicated security appliances once were thought of as a low-end option for smaller IT shops that couldnt afford to invest millions of dollars in several separate security applications. […]

As Microsoft Corp. prepares to release the beta version of its anticipated and controversial Rights Management Services, a small security company has been quietly working on technology that could trump Microsofts and make it easier for companies to control digital content. Cryptography Research Inc. has developed a technology that associates security measures with each piece […]

SAN FRANCISCO—The upcoming release of Windows Server 2003 is a watershed event, not only for the Windows group, but also for the security team at Microsoft Corp. Company executives have made it quite clear over the last few months that the next version of the flagship operating system will be a key test for the […]

SAN FRANCISCO—There is a small group of true lifers in the security industry, and Dave Aucsmith is one of them. He began working on signal security several decades ago during his time in the military and then spent several years as the chief security architect at Intel Corp. Add to that his deep knowledge of […]

SAN FRANCISCO—A group of high-tech CEOs and the presidents cybersecurity adviser Tuesday once again called on private companies to step up their network security efforts and begin treating information security as a business imperative instead of an annoyance. Representatives from TechNet, a group of about 200 technology executives, said that although there has been an […]