Sean Michael Kerner

There was an interesting story this week on SFGate about some new Stanford University research into how sensors on smartphones could be used for tracking people. To make a long story short, the researchers found that every smartphone that has an accelerometer movement sensor has a unique digital fingerprint. That is, through careful analysis, subtle […]

The OpenStack Foundation was officially launched in September 2012 in a bid to provide an open governance model for OpenStack. OpenStack is an open-source cloud platform originally started by Rackspace and NASA in 2010 that has since become a much bigger effort with widespread industry participation. Allan Clark, currently serves as the chairman of the […]

There has been a lot of talk lately about the potential for the Internet of things—just this week Intel threw its hat into the ring. The Internet of things will connect all manner of devices, including household appliances, to the Internet. One thing that few vendors have talked about though is security for the Internet […]

TORONTO—Automated teller machines are a common sight in modern society, and they’re also obvious targets for attackers looking to steal money. Researchers from security firm Trustwave discussed security issues related to ATMs at the SecTor security conference here, outlining their discoveries of ATM insecurity made during penetration-testing engagements. The flaws are widespread implementation issues that […]

Are mobile devices actually safe? That’s the question a new PayPal and National Cyber Security Alliance study is aiming to help answer. The study, based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults about their views on mobile device security and usage, shows where the shortfalls are in mobile security. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents […]

TORONTO—Metaphors are always a fun and easy way to try to describe complicated topics. In the security world, metaphors have long been part of the vernacular helping us to draw comparisons and build understanding. This week at the SecTor security conference here, I heard G. Mark Hardy, founder and president of National Security Corp., give […]

TORONTO—People around the world are being targeted for exploitation with malicious remote admin tools (RATs) that are taking advantage of old, already patched Microsoft vulnerabilities. That’s the finding of researchers from the Citizen Lab based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, speaking at the SecTor security conference here this […]

Microsoft released its monthly Patch Tuesday security update, including fixes for a pair of critical zero-day flaws in the Internet Explorer Web browser. IE, however, isn’t the only critical area that Microsoft users need to be concerned about this month. “There will be one thought on IT teams’ minds today: ‘Where did this second IE […]

Cyber-Crime Costs Keep Rising: Seven Surprising Reasons Why by Sean Michael Kerner U.S. Has the Highest Cyber-Crime Costs in the World The HP-sponsored Ponemon Institute study isn’t just a U.S study. It also examines the global landscape. The cost in the U.S. is currently higher than in any other country analyzed. Cost of Cyber-Crime Varies […]

The bad news is in: The cost of cyber-crime in 2013 is actually going up despite projections last year that it might level off in the future. “The bad news is that companies across different industries are experiencing a fairly substantial cost of cyber-crime,” Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute told eWEEK. […]

There are a lot more big-name vendors, including IBM, HP, Dell, Cisco and Intel, that are involved in the open-source OpenStack cloud effort than there are smaller vendors like Mirantis. Mirantis is an OpenStack training and services vendor that has raised $20 million in funding to date as it ramps up its services and its […]

Both cyber-security awareness and the security threat landscape itself have changed over the past decade, but some of the basics about how individuals and enterprises can stay secure have not. October 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which is all about helping educate users and enterprises on how best to […]