Matthew Hines

Security researchers are reporting a newly discovered vulnerability in Microsoft Word that could potentially allow for remote execution by hackers or malware. Detailed in a security report distributed by training specialist organization The SANS Institute and tagged with a “critical” rating in the published summary, the list handling memory corruption flaw in Word specifically affects […]

Networking giant Cisco has issued a security advisory warning users of two authentication vulnerabilities in version 3 of SNMP, the widely-adopted Internet protocol element used by network management systems to monitor device activity. Patches for the flaws have been made available and the US-CERT also issued a related warning that includes a list of many […]

The price of spam just went through the roof. No, the spiraling cost of oil isn’t weighing heavily on the international trade of faux ham. Rather, Media Breakaway and its notorious CEO Scott “The spam king” Richter has been ordered to pay a $6 million arbitration settlement to social networking giant MySpace for using the […]

Red Hat has issued a security update covering multiple versions of the OpenOffice open-source productivity suite to address a flaw related to use of the software with its Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 operating systems. Rated as “highly critical” by Secunia, the heap overflow flaw in the OpenOffice memory […]

Web content and applications delivery specialist Akamai has warned its users of a potentially serious security vulnerability in its popular Download Manager application that could lead to online drive-by attacks. Akamai has issued a patch for the problem and reported that the vulnerability requires a user to visit a malicious URL to be infected. Once […]

There’s some encouraging news from the world of battling botnets, as one of the more high-profile targets brought down by the FBI’s Operation Bot Roast project is heading off for some serious prison time. Botnet mastermind Robert Matthew Bentley, 21 — who had previously entered a guilty plea on charges of computer fraud and conspiracy […]

Security researchers are finding no shortage of evidence that Web-based attacks are only getting worse, accelerating at an even greater pace over the last 12 months. According to a report issued the week of June 9 by malware filtering specialist company ScanSafe, the emergence of new Web attacks increased dramatically between May 2007 and May […]

The big picture: rules are broken all the time. If you take a gander at the disclaimer at the bottom of this page, I’ve promised my bosses here at eWeek that I will under no circumstances use Security Watch as a platform to trumpet the work of my formal employer, Core Security Technologies. However, the […]

I’m back, and it feels like a homecoming. Thanks to the powers that be at eWeek, I’ve been offered the opportunity to reconnect with you the readers of Security Watch, and I couldn’t be more enthused at the prospect. Not only do I consider this blog to be one of the places where I had […]

Earlier this week, researchers at Penn State University issued a report about a new software system they say can better defend against Internet worm viruses. And while much more attention is being given of late to spyware programs responsible for stealing real world assets from both businesses and consumers, the recent ripple caused by the […]

Among the most intriguing technologies being shown off at this year’s ongoing RSA Conference in San Francisco is a mobile penetration testing application made by Miami Beach, Fla.-based Immunity that allows people to scan networks for vulnerabilities on the go. Dubbed Silica, the sleek handheld, based on a Nokia tablet device, claims the ability to […]

With Super Bowl XLI preparing for kickoff in Miami on Sunday, NFL teams not participating in the game, which pits the Chicago Bears against the Indianapolis Colts, are still flexing new defensive schemes. As the intellectual property that serves as the lifeblood of National Football League teams moves further into the electronic realm–namely their playbooks, […]