InfoWar.com

Iranians Targeted In Massive Phishing Campaign

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:01:24 +0000

“Google says it has detected and derailed several email-based phishing attacks targeting tens of thousands of Iranian users during the past few weeks in what appears to be a politically motivated campaign.
Eric Grosse, vice president of security engineering at Google, said in a blog post that for three weeks Google has been spotting and disrupting the phishing emails, which contain a link to a Web page that spoofs a Google account maintenance option. ‘If the user clicks the link, they see a fake Google sign-in page that will steal their username and password,’ Grosse said in the post.”

Source:Iranians Targeted In Massive Phishing Campaign — Dark Reading

Medical devices are vulnerable to hacking, warns FDA

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:29:07 +0000

“The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to the healthcare industry, calling for more vigilance when it comes to protecting medical devices from hacking. Anything from Pacemakers to hospital x-ray machines are at risk, thanks to a wide array of lax cybersecurity practices like ‘hard-coded passwords,’ out-of-date software, and poorly-protected internet connections. The FDA is calling on medical device manufacturers to ‘take steps to assure that appropriate safeguards are in place,’ and is recommending that device makers submit security plans as a part of their FDA approval requests.”

Source:Medical devices are vulnerable to hacking, warns FDA | The Verge

Drudge Report Links to Malware-Infected Story

admin — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:25:46 +0000

“Drudge readers who clicked on the Free Beacon link would in many cases have been infected immediately. The malware being used had polymorphic code, meaning it changes often and would not have been detected by code-analyzing anti-virus software.”

Source:Drudge Report Links to Malware-Infected Story – Technology & science – Tech and gadgets – TechNewsDaily | NBC News

NSA chief says data disrupted ‘dozens’ of plots

admin — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:21:52 +0000

“The US electronic spying chief has said massive surveillance programmes newly revealed by an ex-intelligence worker had disrupted dozens of terror plots.

In a US Senate hearing, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Keith Alexander defended the internet and telephone data snooping programmes.

Also, US Secretary of State John Kerry said they showed a ‘delicate but vital balance’ between privacy and security.”

Source:BBC News – NSA chief says data disrupted ‘dozens’ of plots

Another advanced hacking crew from China is revealed – Red Star

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:03:57 +0000

“In the spirit of last February’s report by Mandiant detailing the exploits of a Chinese-government-linked hacker group, Russian IT security giant Kaspersky Lab today released a report on another sophisticated Chinese cyber-espionage outfit, dubbed the Red Star APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) by the lab.

According to the lab, this advanced hacker group of about 50 people has been active since at least 2005, possibly 2004, and has invaded the networks of more than 350 ‘high profile’ victims ranging from Tibetan and Uyghur freedom activists to government agencies, embassies, universities, defense contractors, and oil companies in 40 countries using ‘covert surveillance’ and espionage software called NetTraveler. (The name sounds so innocent, doesn’t it?)”

Source: i-HLS Red Star: Another advanced hacking crew from China is revealed

EU to vote on harsher penalties for hackers

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:58:16 +0000

“The EU has drafted a new directive that includes harsher penalties for those convicted of hacking.

The European Parliament last week approved a draft of the proposal and will vote on it in July.”

Source: EU to vote on harsher penalties for hackers | Naked Security

The Value of a Hacked Email Account

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:01:01 +0000

“One prominent credential seller in the underground peddles iTunes accounts for $8, and Fedex.com, Continental.com and United.com accounts for USD $6. Groupon.com accounts fetch $5, while $4 buys hacked credentials at registrar and hosting provider Godaddy.com, as well as wireless providers Att.com, Sprint.com, Verizonwireless.com, and Tmobile.com. Active accounts at Facebook and Twitter retail for just $2.50 apiece.”

Source:The Value of a Hacked Email Account — Krebs on Security

Why Insiders, Not Hackers, Are the Biggest Threat to Cybersecurity

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:34:53 +0000

“The National Security Agency leaks by Edward Snowden will easily go down as one of the biggest revelations of the year, if not the decade. But the episode also raises new questions about the risk that insiders pose to government and corporate cybersecurity, in spite of the attention lavished on foreign hackers.
Snowden’s case is unique in that it uncovered a previously unknown surveillance apparatus that’s massive in size and scope.The way the whistle-blower did his deed, however, is not unique. Two-thirds of all reported data breaches involve internal actors wittingly or unwittingly bringing sensitive information to outsiders, according to industry analysts.”

Source:Why Insiders, Not Hackers, Are the Biggest Threat to Cybersecurity – NationalJournal.com

Pentagon Five-Year Cybersecurity Plan Seeks $23 Billion

admin — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:57:27 +0000

“A Pentagon cybersecurity budget outline calls for spending almost $23 billion through fiscal 2018, as efforts are expanded on initiatives from protecting computer networks to developing offensive capabilities.

The Defense Department already has proposed $4.65 billion for such programs in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, an 18 percent increase from the $3.94 billion budgeted this year. The five-year ‘cyber-expense’ budget obtained by Bloomberg News calls for spending to remain elevated from past levels.”

Source:Pentagon Five-Year Cybersecurity Plan Seeks $23 Billion – Bloomberg

#OpTurkey: Hacktivists hit Turkey with massive Cyber attack

admin — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:02:24 +0000

“Turkey suffers massive cyber attack after several hacktivists started to participate in the ongoing hacking operation against Turkey government. ‘#OpTurkey’,the operation was launched in retaliation to the violent police response against protesters.”

Source: #OpTurkey: Hacktivists hit Turkey with massive Cyber attack – E Hacker News