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
Nitro campaign linked to wider espionage attacks November 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment A wave of attacks designed to steal research data from chemicals companies across the world, including five based in the UK, appear to have been carried out by hackers in China, according to an investigation carried out by Symantec. The … Continue reading → Tweet
UK tops global league for phishing emails October 2011 | Derek Parkinson | Leave a comment The UK is awash with phishing emails, in October becoming the most heavily targeted country in the world with one in every 178 emails a phishing attempt, according to the latest Symantec Intelligence Report. This represents a concentration of phishing … 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
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
Qakbot – malware under the microscope May 2011 | Redaction | Leave a comment Microsoft researchers have released the latest findings from their analysis of Qakbot, malware which is unusually sophisticated, being purpose-built to steal banking information from high-value targets. From e-zine to enterprise The research is timely given recent spikes in observed infections, … Continue reading → Tweet
Researchers plan tests of cloud-based approaches to virus detection May 2011 | Redaction | Leave a comment Experts at City University hope to shed more light on the detection capabilities of off-the-shelf anti-virus (AV) products, including the benefits of combining products from more than one vendor (http://community.securityvibes.com/docs/DOC-1316). As well as empirical testing, the Centre for Software Reliability … Continue reading → Tweet
Can Symantec successfully become an identity provider? May 2010 | Redaction | Leave a comment Symantec’s acquisition of the identity and authentication business of VeriSign has opened divisions in the industry between supporters of the acquisition and its critics. Shortly after news of the acquisition broke, Gartner was quick to pour cold water on the … Continue reading → Tweet
High-speed development brings the bots April 2010 | Redaction | Leave a comment Cybercriminals are increasingly taking advantage of lazy security practices and fast broadband connections to host botnets in developing nations, a new report has found. Brazil, Russia and India entered the Top 10 nations for the number of botnets hosted in … Continue reading → Tweet
