Fahmida Y. Rashid

Apple rolled out its MacDefender removal tool in its latest security update to detect and remove the fake antivirus for Mac OS X from affected systems. The OSX.MacDefender.A definition was added to the quarantine list in Apple’s Security Update 2011-003, released May 31. Once the update has been installed, the system will search for and […]

As organizations increasingly use virtualization in their data centers, they are becoming more aware of the need for proper security to defend against threats, according to a new research report. As organizations make the shift to virtualization and cloud computing, they run the risk of introducing “new obstacles” such as inconsistent network policies and security […]

Several security firms, including ESET, Intego and Sophos, raised the alarm beginning earlier this month about the proliferation of fake antivirus programs specifically targeting the Mac OS platform. These scareware programs worked in the same way as the PC variants, with users being told their computers were infected with numerous viruses. Users were scammed into […]

It appears that a Russian online payment company may be behind the rogue antivirus MacDefender scam that has dominated security headlines for the past few weeks. A few days after the first attacks surfaced, users on Apple support forums reported that the Mac malware was directing them to mac-defence.com and macbookprotection.com to pay for the […]

LinkedIn joins the ranks of major Websites with serious security vulnerabilities that would allow attackers to access user accounts without needing passwords, a researcher said. LinkedIn’s vulnerability is directly tied into how it manages the login cookie that it downloads on to a user desktop, according to Rishi Narang, an independent security researcher, wrote on […]

An unpatched vulnerability in Internet Explorer allows attackers to steal login credentials to various Websites via cookies, according to a security researcher. Attackers can exploit the Internet Explorer flaw to steal cookies from user computers and use the saved information to access user data. The researcher, Rosario Valotta, demonstrated the exploit at the Hack in […]

Lockheed Martin has been battling a “major disruption” to its computer systems after its IT security team detected a network intrusion earlier this week, Reuters reported. The disruption began May 22 when the company detected an intrusion to the network, according to the May 26 Reuters story, which cited technology blogger Robert Cringley. Cringley claimed […]

Security experts and public officials testified at a congressional subcommittee hearing about the role the federal government should play in defending cyberspace and protecting critical infrastructure from attackers. There are more kinds of malware and online threats, and cyber-criminals are becoming more sophisticated, industry experts told congressional lawmakers at the May 25 hearing by the […]

Russian security firm ElcomSoft claims to have cracked the AES-256 encryption Apple used to encrypt data on user iPhones. Despite the claim of the company’s CEO, that’s not quite the case. The publicly available ElcomSoft Phone Password Breaker application provides users with the ability to view encrypted data extracted from mobile devices running Apple iOS […]

Damballa updated its cyber-threat monitoring service for internet service providers and telecommunications providers. The appliances detect malware infections affecting any device on the CSP (Communications Service Providers’) networks, including PCs, Macs, tablets and smartphones. Damballa CSP 1.6 passively monitors a carrier’s network activity to identify malicious traffic, the company said May 26. Because it works […]

Prompt Notification: What Sony Didn’t Do Companies should disclose the breach swiftly if names and identifying information such as Social Security numbers and passwords are exposed. Disclose What Exactly Was Stolen Customers should be notified to what extent their personal and financial information has been compromised so that they can figure out their risk (phishing, […]

Attachmate closed the $2.2 billion Novell acquisition four weeks ago and split up the various Novell products across multiple business units: Novell, SUSE, NetIQ and Attachmate. Each division will be independent with its own go-to-market strategy and will have its own organization structures, Attachmate announced on May 18. Novell’s SUSE Linux will be its own […]