Spammers turn on festive themes December 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment Like legitimate merchants, criminals make the most of the holiday season, hoping to snare unwary shoppers with scam emails claiming to come from online stores, banks and credit card companies. “During the holiday rush many users will not pay very … Continue reading → Tweet
Duqu malware update: all eyes on Microsoft November 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment Microsoft is under the spotlight following the discovery that the Duqu “son of Stuxnet” malware infects machines by exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Windows. Further investigations by CrySyS, the Hungarian team that first spotted the malware in the wild, and … Continue reading → Tweet
Duqu round-up: first reactions from security vendors October 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment The discovery of the so-called Duqu malware in the wild confirms fears that we are in a new era of malware development. Such fears were first given substance by the notorious Stuxnet malware, and the impact of Duqu on the … Continue reading → Tweet
Social media at work – risks outpace security September 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment Organisations face growing pressure from social media in the workplace as they try to exploit its benefits while managing the risks. Some 63% think that social media introduces security risks, while just 29% say they have the controls in place … Continue reading → Tweet
Windows infections traced to out of date Java and Adobe software September 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment Most Windows machines infected by viruses are penetrated through out of date Java JRE, Adobe Reader/Acrobat and Adobe Flash software, according to cyber crime researchers at CSIS. The findings underline the importance of patching and updating third party software regularly, … Continue reading → Tweet
SpyEye botnet kits take off – “malware as a service” to follow? September 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment The trade in kits for advanced malware has changed the botnet landscape, helping to propel the SpyEye malware family to top spot in the global rankings for botnet infections, according to researchers. SpyEye accounts for 9.3% of all victims, followed … Continue reading → Tweet
Cyber crime costs UK more than £1bn, says Symantec September 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment Cyber crime in all its forms costs the UK a total of £1.1bn per year, according to Symantec. The direct cost of money stolen coupled with an average of four days needed to resolve each incident contributes £474m to this … Continue reading → Tweet
Symantec research – “Well-meaning insiders” are wider threat than “hacktivists” and “targeted attacks” August 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment When probed about which actors pose the significant threats, some 46% of security professionals in 3,300 companies worldwide identify “well-meaning” insiders, according to the latest research from Symantec. It isn’t clear from the results what contribution IT or security staff … Continue reading → Tweet
Gaps in Android security turn smartphones into bugging devices August 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment Smartphone malware rarely gets coverage on UK national TV, but the News of The World phone hacking scandal has sharpened public interest and this week Channel 4 ran a news item on vulnerabilities that can turn older Android phones into … Continue reading → Tweet
Cutwail botnet pushes malicious spam to new peak August 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment The challenge posed by botnets is underscored by new research showing that up to one in four spam emails carry a malicious attachment, and that the overall volume of such messages is twice as high as the last observed peak … Continue reading → Tweet
