Fahmida Y. Rashid

Researchers have long highlighted some of the security issues with the Secure Socket Layer system used to secure Internet communication. One of the issues happens to be one of trust as the SSL Certificate Authorities have been compromised in recent months, a researcher told Black Hat attendees.The attack on certificate authority Comodo in March highlights […]

Security researchers pointed out the vulnerability of industrial-control systems, such as programmable logic controllers and other units, during the recent Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems are used to run power plants, manufacturing processing, petrochemical production and other critical infrastructure. At the Black Hat conference in Las […]

As a result of recent high-profile data breaches and various changes in technology, organizations are expected to revise privacy policies by the end of next year, Gartner researchers predict. As cloud computing and location-based services proliferate, organizations are grappling with the privacy implications of having data reside outside corporate control, Gartner said in its latest […]

Under the banner of its “AntiSec” campaign, the so-called “hacktivist” collective Anonymous and its counterparts in the recently resurrected LulzSec struck again, this time going after multiple law enforcement agencies in the United States, Ecuador and Brazil. The group also defaced Websites belonging to the Syrian and Colombian governments. The attackers uploaded a 7.4GB file […]

McAfee researchers announced it had uncovered a massive phishing and information-stealing operation that affected more than 72 international organizations over the past five years. Dubbed Operation Shady RAT, the attackers launched phishing attacks and, once an employee was compromised, piggy-backed through the corporate network to steal information, McAfee said.Even though McAfee identified 72 victims, it […]

LAS VEGAS – A Carnegie Mellon University researcher used Facebook photos to demonstrate how facial-recognition technology can be used to identify people as they walk down the street. Using off-the-shelf facial-recognition software and students’ photos posted on Facebook, Alessandro Acquisiti, a CMU researcher, showed attendees at the annual Black Hat security conference how he was […]

Cyber-attacks are no longer limited to just computers. At Black Hat, a security researcher discussed how an attacker with a powerful antenna could launch a wireless attack to remotely control an insulin pump and kill the victim for up to half a mile away. Security researcher Jay Radcliffe set out to find out if proprietary […]

LAS VEGAS-Former L0pht hacker known as “Mudge” discussed a new government initiative to fund hacking projects designed to help block cyber-threats at the Black Hat security conference. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will fund new cyber-security proposals under the new Cyber-Fast Track project, Peiter Zatko, currently a program manager for the agency’s information innovation […]

The Pwnie Pwnie is pronounced “pony,” a form of hacker slang where ‘pwn’ means the hacker has penetrated and compromised your computer, meaning that you have been pwned. The winners receive a My Little Pony “statuette” painted gold. Lamest Vendor Response To the vendor who mishandled a security vulnerability “most spectacularly,” the Pwnie goes to […]

Sanford Wallace is accused of allegedly using half a million phished Facebook accounts to send 27 million spam messages in 2008 and 2009. He was indicted on July 6, but only voluntarily turned himself to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Aug. 4. The indictment was made public after Wallace turned himself in. He was […]