Robert Lemos

Most people worry about traditional viruses and Trojans—the malware that could infect their computer and steal data or use the system’s resources to attack other computers. Yet new research shows that people should, perhaps, worry more about their ever-present mobile phones and the devices’ ability to record their lives. Researchers at the University of Indiana […]

The computer systems of nearly 1,000 companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations were compromised in a cyber-espionage operation that used semi-targeted attacks—known as waterhole attacks—to infect systems within certain industries, such as international finance, utilities, defense and government contractors, security firm RSA stated in a report released on Sept. 26. The campaign, dubbed VOHO by […]

Following attacks on its critical infrastructure and businesses, Iran’s government has kicked off a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening its digital defenses and its ability to operate online. On Sept. 23, the Iranian government announced it had implemented the first step toward creating its National Information Network by connecting all government agencies to the […]

Vulnerability disclosures are on a trajectory to hit an all-time high this year, driven by a resurgence of cross-site scripting issues, making technologies that hinder exploitation increasingly important, IBM stated in a report released on Sept. 20. While the number of vulnerabilities found in major products has declined, thanks to the adoption of secure development […]

Vulnerability disclosures are on a trajectory to hit an all-time high this year, driven by a resurgence of cross-site scripting issues, making technologies that hinder exploitation increasingly important, IBM stated in a report released Sept. 20. While the number of vulnerabilities found in major products has declined, thanks to the adoption of secure development methods, […]

A technology that promises easy payments via mobile phones was used to hack into an up-to-date Android device Sept. 19 at the Pwn2Own contest in Amsterdam. Using two vulnerabilities in the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone, researchers from U.K.-based security consultancy MWR InfoSecurity used the near-field communication (NFC) protocol to transmit their attack, according to statements […]

The Flamer cyber-espionage tool that targeted the Middle East has likely been operational for more than five years and as recently as May 2012, according to an analysis published by security firm Symantec on Sept. 17. Analyzing records from two command-and-control (C&C) servers discovered by security researchers, Symantec, along with Kaspersky Lab, the International Multilateral […]

Microsoft issued two security patches Sept. 11, fixing a pair of cross-site scripting flaws in two of its server products, but security researchers focused on an update coming in October that will restrict applications that use encryption keys with a length smaller than 1,024 bits. The September Patch Tuesday update fixes issues in the Microsoft’s […]

A recent criminal attack on the network of app developer BlueToad likely led to the leak of a million device identifiers for iPhones and iPads, the company said in a statement Sept. 10. The breach happened nearly a week ago, likely a day or two before a group linking itself to the Anonymous movement claimed […]

A group of data thieves, possibly linked to a 2009 attack on Google, has ramped up its operations, using exploits for at least eight previously unknown vulnerabilities-widely referred to as “zero-days”-to compromise systems at defense contractors, suppliers to the defense sector, human rights organizations and other companies, security firm Symantec stated in a report released […]

While malicious software targeting mobile phones has surged, it’s still a drop in the bucket compared with the horde of viruses, Trojan horses and rootkits that plague personal computers. For good reason: Mobile devices are typically of limited value to online criminals, who are driven by dollars. Yet criminals in China, Russia and Eastern Europe […]

A malicious program, designed by cyber-criminals to help them build their botnets, is causing disruption at hundreds of small Websites as the program attempts to hide its communications by sending out a large number of fake requests, said security firm Dell Secureworks Sept. 5. The software, known as Pushdo, communicates with its command-and-control servers-central systems […]