Dennis Fisher

As further evidence of the trend toward convergence of security products, Internet Security Systems Inc. on Monday will release a new version of its RealSecure Desktop Protector software, which will include a new application-protection feature. Desktop Protector already combines IDS, firewall and several other security functions in one box. The new functionality can prevent modified […]

The Federal Trade Commission Thursday issued a proposed consent order with Microsoft Corp. over complaints that the company falsely represented the security and privacy provisions in its Passport family of services. As part of the order, Microsoft must submit to a bi-annual review of its security program for Passport by an independent third party. The […]

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday issued a patch for three critical vulnerabilities in one of its .Net servers, the Microsoft Content Management Server 2001 (MCMS). All three flaws give an attacker the ability to execute code on a vulnerable server. MCMS, one of the .Net Enterprise Server products on which Microsoft is pinning much of its […]

Researchers at Lucent Technologies Inc.s Bell Labs have developed a new authentication technology that experts say could greatly improve the security of enterprise networks. The software comprises two pieces, known as Secure Store and Factotum, and is unique in that it doesnt store usernames and passwords on client machines. All user credentials are stored on […]

Researchers have identified a security flaw in a code library included in numerous popular applications that could enable an attacker to execute code on remote servers. The problem affects the External Data Representation (XDR) libraries derived from Sun Microsystems Inc.s SunRPC remote procedure call technology. XDR libraries are used to translate data between systems, regardless […]

A dire warning from the FBIs Internet security unit about potential large-scale attacks on U.S. Web sites and ISPs caused a stir in the security community Tuesday, but so far there has been little attack activity of note. The FBIs National Infrastructure Protection Center, known as NIPC, on Monday night issued an alert warning that […]

A vulnerability in numerous versions of Symantec Corp.s Raptor firewall enables an attacker to hijack any session going through the firewall. The problem lies in the algorithm the firewalls use for generating initial sequence numbers (ISN) at the beginning of each session. The ISNs, used as identifiers between client machines and host machines in TCP […]

Government officials preparing the federal cyber-security plan due out next month are considering ways of exerting more influence on Internet security that could impact the software and security industries. The biggest change being discussed would require government agencies to purchase hardware and software that have been certified under the National Institute of Standards and Technologys […]

LAS VEGAS—A group of security experts working on a plan for responsible vulnerability disclosure will meet here Friday to try to nail down the final details of their organizations structure and discuss the status of their plan. The group, known informally as the Organization for Internet Safety, has been collaborating for nearly a year and […]

Security appliance vendor SonicWall Inc. on Thursday announced the resignation of its CEO, Cosmo Santullo. The company appointed Mike Roach, vice president of partners, alliances and strategic accounts, to fill the position on an interim basis. Santullo joined the Sunnyvale, Calif., company last year and has been commuting between the companys headquarters and his home […]

LAS VEGAS—The governments top information security official sharply criticized the software industry, ISPs and the government itself for a lack of commitment to security. Saying that the current climate demands more and better security, Richard Clarke, chairman of the Presidents Critical Infrastructure Protection Board (PCIPB), said it was time for a change. “The software industry […]

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. this week will unveil a new set of features and capabilities for its line of virtual private network products. The most noticeable enhancement is the addition of support for “clientless” VPN connections via Secure Sockets Layer. Customers can now connect to their corporate networks using any Web browser on any […]