Fahmida Y. Rashid

Application Security updated its database-activity-monitoring tool with threat blocking that responds to suspicious database activity. The enhancements to DbProtect version 6.3 include the ability to block real-time attacks and unauthorized activities, Application Security said June 13. Blocking will be added to the audit and threat-management module in DbProtect and will depend on the company’s SHATTER […]

Adobe released five security bulletins as part of its quarterly security update. Three are rated “critical” and two “important.” Adobe fixed 11 vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader as part of its quarterly update released June 14. The company also resolved 24 vulnerabilities in its Shockwave Player and another serious flaw in Flash Player. The Flash Player […]

Users are encouraged to set a PIN code to lock mobile devices to secure data in case it is lost or stolen. However, users aren’t picking hard-to-guess combinations, according to a recent analysis of iPhone passcodes. The 10 most common passcodes used by iPhone users accounted for 15 percent of all the passwords analyzed, Daniel […]

Microsoft addressed 34 security vulnerabilities across 16 security bulletins in June’s Patch Tuesday update. This will be Microsoft’s second-largest Patch Tuesday in 2011 after April’s gargantuan release. Microsoft patched the Windows operating system, all supported versions of Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, SQL Server, Forefront, .NET/Silverlight, Active Directory and Hyper-V, the company said in its Patch […]

The PCI Security Standards Council issued a new guidance to help IT administrators deploy and manage cloud environments and virtual data centers while ensuring PCI compliance where necessary. The PCI DSS Virtualization Guidelines Information Supplement, released June 14, covers a number of virtualization areas, including different types of virtualization, specific notes on cloud computing and […]

Trend Micro updated its network-analysis tools and threat-management services to help organizations stop advanced persistent threats before they break into the network and do serious damage. The line of Real-Time Threat Management network appliances monitor network traffic for incoming malware and outgoing botnet activity, Trend Micro said June 13. The appliances provide organizations with detailed […]

White House officials unveiled a series of initiatives designed to help implement information technology to the national power grid to make it smarter, more efficient and secure. The National Science Technology Council outlined its plans to modernize the power grid in rural areas and to create a “smart grid innovation hub” in a report titled […]

The United States is helping fund and develop technology that can be used to bypass Internet censors in other countries, according to The New York Times. The State Department has several initiatives in place to establish cell phone networks and other communications systems in various countries to bypass the repressive regimes’ control over the Internet, […]

The International Monetary Fund was targeted by attackers over several months earlier this year, The New York Times reported. Many security experts are speculating the attackers may have had some support from a nation-state. The cyber-attackers appeared to have deliberately infected a computer at the IMF with malware designed to steal information, according to The […]

RSA Security made waves this week when it offered to replace SecurID tokens for a certain subset of its customers in the wake of the March data breach where attackers apparently stole intellectual property relating to the company’s two-factor authentication technology. It claimed that attackers were interested in only a certain segment of the industry, […]

Adobe plans to address several bugs in its Reader and Acrobat software as part of its scheduled quarterly update. All of the vulnerabilities being patched are rated critical, said Adobe in its pre-notification Security Advisory on June 9. Adobe is expected to roll out the quarterly security updates for Adobe Reader and Acrobat on June […]

Cyber-criminals are running their malware and spam operations like a business, security researchers said. The nature of cyber-crime has changed from a few years ago. Cyber-criminals often have ties to organized crime and are not just script kiddies messing around in the basement. The evolution means the criminal enterprise has similar infrastructure requirements and business […]