Dennis Fisher

A new Christmas-themed virus began spreading Wednesday morning on the Internet and is likely to catch many PC users unaware, security experts said. The new mass-mailing worm is variously known as W32.Reeezack and W32.Zacker and is spreading via Microsoft Corp.s Outlook e-mail client as well as the MSN Messenger instant-messaging client, according to an advisory […]

The Sun Microsystems Inc.-backed Liberty Alliance Project is gaining backing from a number of large companies, some of whom cite the consortiums dedication to interoperability as the determining factor in their decision to join. The alliance, a conglomeration of high-tech, financial and other industries, on Wednesday announced that several large companies had joined its ranks, […]

After months of preparatory work, several banks and other financial institutions have launched pilot implementations of Identrus LLCs secure B2B payment system. The company also announced Tuesday that it has received an unspecified amount of new funding. Known as Project Eleanor, the application is the first fruit of the Identrus system, which was formed by […]

Open-source security tools are gaining appeal in the enterprise as IT managers and CIOs search for ways to step up security while holding down costs. Many of the tools have been available for years and are used in niche environments or small offices. But only recently have enterprise MSSPs (managed security service providers) begun incorporating […]

RSA Security, along with several encryption experts, has developed a new technology that it says will solve one of the major security flaws in 802.11b wireless LANs. WLANs have been beset by security problems almost since their introduction, but the last year has been particularly troublesome for the much-hyped 802.11b standard. Security researchers found a […]

The federal government has agreed to drop its case against a Russian programmer charged with violating e-book copyright laws, in return for his testimony against his employer. Dmitry Sklyarov on Thursday agreed to testify against ElcomSoft Co. Ltd., the Russian software company that sells the Advanced eBook Processor, a program he wrote that bypasses the […]

Three new security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Corp.s newest Internet browser give attackers the ability execute arbitrary code and read files stored on target machines. All of the flaws affect Internet Explorer 6.0, and two of them also affect IE 5.5. Microsoft has given all three vulnerabilities critical ratings, its most serious designation. The most severe […]

Security researchers on Wednesday warned of a potentially serious vulnerability that enables a remote attacker to gain superuser privileges on machines running some versions of Unix-based operating systems. The problem is a buffer overflow in the login service on some versions of Sun Microsystems Inc.s Solaris software and IBM Corp.s AIX operating system. Crackers have […]

Authentica Inc., a provider of rights-management security software, has agreed to acquire Shym Technology Inc. The deal will be announced on Monday, but the terms have not be disclosed. Both companies serve the financial services, health care and pharmaceutical sectors. Authentica, of Waltham, Mass., and Shym also share a common investor in North Bridge Venture […]

The federal government on Tuesday conducted three separate actions aimed at taking down a large network of software pirates operating around the globe. In one of the actions, Operation Bandwidth, federal agents created and ran a “warez” –- or pirated software — site for two years, during which time more than 12,000 separate programs were […]

Guardent Inc. on Wednesday will unveil its new Security Defense Appliance, a Linux-based box that combines firewall, IDS and vulnerability scanning capabilities. The appliance is the centerpiece of a new service from the managed-security services company that will integrate security technologies with Guardents ability to correlate event data. Installed at client sites, the SDA is […]

Hackers who defaced the Web site of the U.S. General Accounting Office earlier this week say they acted to protest the U.S. war in Afghanistan as well as the plight of Palestinians and Kashmiris. Meanwhile, government officials say theyve discovered the security flaw exploited by the vandals, but expressed little hope of catching the perpetrators. […]