Best Of The Web

TMC NEWS
Committee Examines Growing Cyber Threat To Businesses
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman and Ranking Member Susan Collins participate in a hearing focused on how the federal government can help SMBs defend themselves against attacks

THE WASHINGTON POST
Data Breach Highlights Role Of 'Money Mules'
Maine-based heating and hardware firm Downeast Energy & Building Supply suffered a breach that resulted in the theft of more than $200,000 from its online bank account; hackers used online money mules to move money

TACTICAL WEB APPLICATION SECURITY
Distributed Brute-Force Attacks Against Yahoo
In large-scale attack, spammers beat the bushes to find valid email accounts

IT PRO PORTAL
NY Times Credibility Affected By Malicious Advertising Campaign
"Malvertising" causes readers to see bogus ads, newspaper says

WEBSENSE
Malicious Sites Grow 233 Percent In Six Months
Number of malicious sites has grown 671 percent in the past year, report says

YAHOO! TECH
Cybercriminals Targeting Small Businesses
Bad guys look to victims who don't have the resources to keep up with the threats, officials say

TECH HERALD
A Guide To Facebook Security And Privacy
Detailed guide offers users advice on how to safely use the social networking site

INFORMATION SECURITY RESOURCES
Developing Social Media Policies For Business
The NFL restricts the use of Twitter on game days. Should your company take a similar approach?

BIZ NETWORK
Spammers Turn To Social Networks To Proliferate Porn Spam
Approximately 15 percent of traffic on Twitter is porn spam, researcher says

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SECURITY
Testimony: Hackers Better Organized Than Government
Attackers do a better job of information-sharing than defenders in business and government, DHS official says

SOPHOS
Shouldn't Protecting IPhone Users From Phishers Be Easier Than This?
Apple says iPhone OS 3.1 users aren't going through the proper process to launch its new anti-phishing feature; they need to launch Safari, connect to a WiFi network, and charge their iPhones with the screen turned off

MASHABLE
Joe Wilson's Payments Provider Reports DDoS Attack
Piryx says it was targeted in a DDoS attack due to its hosting of a fundraising campaign for Congressman Joe Wilson

BANK INFOSECURITY
Chase Bank Notifies Customers Of Breach
A computer tape with Chase Bank customers' personal information was reported missing from a third-party vendor's storage facility

COMPUTERWORLD
Windows Bug Enables PC Hijacking, Microsoft Warns
A bug in the Server Message Block (SMB) 2 network file- and print-sharing protocol in Vista, Windows Server 2008, and the RCs of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 could be used to hijack PCs

SC MAGAZINE
ISPs Asked To Cut Off Malware-Infected Pcs
The Internet Industry Association has drafted a new code of conduct that suggests ISPs contact, and in some cases disconnect, customers that have malware-infected computers

CHANNEL INSIDER
California Leads The Nation In Breach Disclosures
A bill awaiting the governor's signature will require any company operating in California or holding data on its residents to provide victims of an unencrypted data breach with guidance on how to guard their identities and what to do after their identity was compromised

NETWORK WORLD
Domain-Name Abuse Proliferates; Rogue Registrars Turn A Blind Eye
Botnet and phishing operations abuse domain names with the help of rogue registrars

CONSUMERIST
Video: Guy Installing Skimmer On ATM
Surveillance video footage shows a man in Brazil installing a skimming device onto a bank ATM, followed by his arrest

MX LOGIC
Hacker Pleads Guilty In Identity Theft Scam Defrauding Wal-Mart
A California man pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and identity theft in an international scam that used personal information stolen with phishing sites to open fraudulent Wal-Mart credit accounts

ZDNET BLOG
Apple Plugs 33 Mac OS X Security Holes, Updates Flash On Leopard
Mac OS X update includes patches for Adobe's Flash Player plug-in, Clam AV, MySQL, and PHP, while another update fixes vulnerable Flash Player in Snow Leopard

THE REGISTER
Scareware Scumbags Exploit 9/11
Websites supposedly containing info about 9/11 actually contain fake anti-irus scams

CNET
Symantec Tool Calculates Your Data's Value To Thieves
Symantec's new Norton Online Risk Calculator assesses how much your online information is worth on the black market

SYMANTEC
Google Groups Trojan
A backdoor Trojan is using Google Groups newsgroups to distribute commands, according to Symantec

FEDERAL COMPUTER WEEK
Aides Defend Presidential Powers In Cybersecurity Bill
The bill doesn't give government sweeping control over the Internet, Senate aides say

THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Porn Spam On Social Networking Sites Overtaking Taking Porn Email
As much as 15% of Twitter traffic, 10% of MySpace traffic, and 7% of Facebook traffic is porn spam

GOVERNMENT COMPUTER NEWS
How To Measure Security? NIST Maps Out The Emerging Field Of IT Metrology
NIST says an objective, quantifiable way to measure security is missing

BURTON GROUP
U.S. Government Announces Open Identity Initiative
Project could be path to new "trust framework"

INTERNET EVOLUTION
Cybercrime Fighters Adopt Community Tactics
Initiatives may signal the beginnings of a netizen-based "Cyber Corps"

PC ADVISOR
Phishing Attacks Fell By 45 Percent In August
Trend is likely short-term, Symantec researchers say

SEARCH SECURITY
Security Vendors Can Learn From ConSentry Networks' Demise
Vendors must learn that enterprises will seldom change business processes to improve security

APPRIVER
Notice Of Underreported Scareware
Fake IRS messages could mislead unwary users, researchers say

MCAFEE
McAfee Researchers Release September Spam Report
"Chinese pharmacy" spam, Twitter DDoS attacks analyzed

OFFICE OF INADEQUATE SECURITY
Phisher Who Victimized Tens Of Thousands Pleads Guilty
International identity theft ring stole personal data from thousands of users, prosecutor says

TECH NEWS WORLD
Navigating The New Cybercrime Threat Landscape, Part 1
A look at where cybercrime has been -- and where it's going

THE REGISTER
Website Exposes Sensitive Details On Military Personnel
Vulnerabilities on a California commuter Website expose sensitive information of workers for hundreds of employers, including at least one military installation

CNET
Microsoft Faces Second WGA Lawsuit
Plaintiffs say Windows Genuine Advantage program acts as "spyware" on their systems

NETWORK WORLD
Beware The Evil Lurking Behind California Wildfire
Attackers are capitalizing on popular search terms, like "California wildfire," to direct people to fraudulent Web sites, according to Symantec

THREAT POST
Firefox To Check For Adobe Flash Patch
Firefox 3.5.3 and Firefox 3.0.14 will warn users if their version of Adobe Flash Player is out of date

COMPUTER WEEKLY
Congress Drafts Law To Prevent Web Profiling
The House is considering legislation that would prevent U.S. firms from collecting data to build profiles of people's Web surfing habits

PHILO SECURITY
What Does DHS Know About You?
A copy of a DHS travel record shows the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol stores credit card number and expiration, IP addresses used for Web travel reservations, hotel and itinerary, and full name, birth date, and passport number