Newest iOS Update Jailbroken Already
Less than a week after Apple released the newest version of their mobile operating system iOS, the iPhone Dev Team has released its updated client for jailbreaking. Called redsn0w, this client allows iPhone users to install third party apps without the use of iTunes or the Apple approval process. For a lot of people, this is a very tempting offer even in the face of potentially voiding the warrantee. As of the writing of this article, only the iPad 2 remains impervious to redsn0w.
iPad Hackers Charged for Email Scheme
Back in the Summer of last year, a hacker group called Goatse Security found a breach in AT&T's server security that allowed them to access the email addresses of iPad 3G users. They downloaded over one hundred thousand of those email addresses, then alerted AT&T, who promptly fixed the hole. This past week, two of the hackers belonging to that group were each charged with crimes related to that breach.
Windows and Apple Both Release Security Updates
It's been a busy week for the two most popular operating systems on the market. Both Microsoft Windows and Mac OSX are being updated to patch security flaws.
Dell's Next Big Acquisition, SecureWorks
This past Tuesday, Dell announced that it will be buying SecureWorks Inc, which specializes in information security services. This comes on the tail end of their acquisition of Compellent Technologies last month and their announced intent to acquire InSight One, which says a lot about how Dell is expanding and growing as a company. SecureWorks, which was founded in 1999, focuses on protection from internet threats for businesses and organizations worldwide. This protection falls into three main types of services: Managed Security, Counter Threat Unit Intelligence and Risk Consulting. Dell will no doubt use this acquisition, as it has used past acquisitions, to provide more services that are tightly integrated with their current offerings than can be offered through third-party software.
A Lesson in Password Security
It seems today that every website you go to wants you to sign up for their site with a username and password. Not only this, but each site has its own restrictions on what your password can be. Some require you to use both letters and numbers, while others kick out anything less than (insert random number here) characters long. The worst though is when you are required to change your password after so much time has passed. Well, those restrictions exist for a reason, and there are certain things you can do to stay safe when you're browsing online.
Apple Releases Patch for 15 QuickTime Vulnerabilities
For those of you out there who are running QuickTime on your Macs or PCs, a new version has been released which fixes 15 different security vulnerabilities. Of the bugs fixed, 14 were touted with the ability to "lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution" according to Apple. The final flaw which only affects those running the movie player on Windows, could potentially allow access to a portion of the user's profile.
Wikileaks Suffers DDoS Attack, Dropped from Amazon Servers
The controversial website, wikileaks.org, has been affected by a highly effective DDoS attack that crippled the site for the first half of the week. This attack is still under investigation, but looks to be the work of a sole hacker who calls himself "Jester".
Facebook Messaging System Opens New Security Concerns
The next big thing in social media has been revealed in Facebook's new Messages system, which combines email, texting, and instant messaging into one threaded experience. They want to let people talk to each other without having to worry about whether the recipient prefers email or SMS, etc. This also opens the way for new security challenges to be overcome as more and more people start using this new service.
Patch Tuesday Visits Office, Forefront
Microsoft has gone through with its most recent round of Patch Tuesday updates, this time focusing on two software products. Microsoft Office contained seven vulnerabilities which were patched and Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG) was also affected.
Android Falls Short in Security Analysis
We've seen enough news about how Apple's iOS is vulnerable to attack. I think it's only fair that we talk about the shortcomings in its biggest competition, Android. According to a report by Coverity, the popular mobile operating system is home to hundreds of bugs in its kernel with a quarter of those bugs listed as 'high risk' that can be used to exploit user privacy.
Enormous Security Flaw in iOS 4.1
This is one for the record books. The password on your iPhone is not nearly as safe as you may like to think it is. A new vulnerability has been found that allows anyone to bypass that lock and get full access to your phone, contacts list, and even photos.
Antivirus Suite Released for Mac OS
As Mac usage grows and becomes a more popular platform, the threat of viruses increases right with it. This week, Panda Security released a new version of its antivirus suite geared specifically for Mac computers. This is in compliment to their line of Windows based antivirus solutions.
Facebook adds Extra Layer of Security
Facebook, the giant of the social media networks, has added extra security to user accounts. This security comes in the form of three new features that are available now for most users.
Welcome to National Cybersecurity Awareness Month!
October 2010 is the seventh annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security. In celebration, I wanted to share with you a few of the cybersecurity tips recommended to keep you and your loved ones safe in the world wide web.
FBI Wants Backdoor into Private Sector Encryption
This past week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began preparing to push for a greater jurisdiction in the world wide web. They will be filing a request in federal court that would allow them the ability to wiretap encrypted communications. This mandate will affect all U.S. companies as well as foreign companies who wish to do business within the U.S.
Twitter Fixes Mouse-Over Flaw
The Twitter mouse-over vulnerability, which caused grief for thousands upon thousands of Twitter users has been patched and resolved. The bug which was first reported at 2:54 am PDT on Tuesday was declared gone by 6:50 am PDT.
Two Critical Vulnerabilities in Adobe Software
Within the space of a week, Adobe has come out with two separate security vulnerabilities that it has labeled "critical." The first affects Reader and Acrobat, while the second affects Flash Player.
Internet Explorer 8 Vulnerability Exposed
A new vulnerability has been discovered in Internet Explorer that takes advantage of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), in order to steal data from the browser.
Dell Collaborates with Trend Micro
Small and medium businesses are constantly at risk of being targeted by cybercriminals, simply because they are smaller than large corporations. The bigger a company is, the more money they have to invest in higher-tech security systems and larger, more involved IT departments. For smaller companies, it is easy to focus on trying to expand business and let security sit on the back-burner. This is where the partnership between Dell and Trend Micro comes in. They have come up with an easy way for small and medium sized businesses to manage their security needs without breaking the bank.
Apple and Adobe Both Roll Out Large Security Updates
Both Apple and Adobe have shipped out relatively large collections of security patches this past week, Apple fixing up OSX and Adobe locking down it's Shockwave player. Both sets of patches have been given a security rating of 'critical,' which means that there is the possibility of malicious code execution on an unprotected system.
HP to Acquire Fortify
Earlier this week, HP announced that it will soon be adding Fortify to its list of recently acquired companies. This will be a huge advantage for HP in the security market.
Microsoft Issues Record Breaking Security Update
Patch Tuesday has come and gone, and with it came the biggest Microsoft Update ever seen since they began their monthly update cycle in 2003. The Windows Operating System as well as Internet Explorer, MS Office, MS Office for Mac, MS Works, Silverlight 2 and 3, the .NET Framework and Movie Maker are all affected.
Microsoft Fixes Most Recent Vulnerability
Microsoft has released a non-standard update to the Windows Operating System. This unusual move was prompted by a slew of highly critical viruses taking advantage of a vulnerability in shortcut links.
Google Pushing to Redefine 'Responsible Disclosure'
After all the debate about disclosing security vulnerabilities within software, Google is trying to reshape the process for fixing bugs. There has always been discussion on whether or not responsible disclosure was actually responsible or not, but it came to a head (at least from a media standpoint) last month with the Microsoft/Tavis Ormandy occurance.
Mozilla Rolls Out Security Update for Firefox
This week, Mozilla released a security update for their popular Firefox web browser. Firefox 3.6.7 fixes several security issues that were found in the 3.6.6 version. Over half of the vulnerabilities fixed were listed as "Critical," which is the highest danger level that Mozilla associates with security issues.
Windows XP Security Patch
This week, Microsoft released a new security patch for issues affecting the XP and Server 2003 operating systems. The vulnerabilities were all related to remote code execution, though only the XP patches were listed as critical by the Microsoft Security Bulletin.
iTunes Store to Receive Security Makeover
Apple is in the news this week about the new security measures it will be implementing in the wildly popular iTunes store. Granted, this is not a major security upgrade, but it does help to prevent the kind of security holes that have been recently exposed.
The "New" Paper Trail
These days, with threats of computer hackers stealing data to insurance companies "accidentally" publishing hundreds of thousands of peoples most sensitive information on the internet, data security is a very prevalent issue. A CBS news investigation recently turned up a new source of potential data leakage, the standard office copy machine.
Security Holes Fixed by iOS 4
Apple has released the newest version of the iPhone/iPod/iPad software, collectively known as iOS. Formerly known as iPhone OS, the new name is not the only change to be had with this update.
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