• June is National Internet Safety Month

    Private organizations and government agencies collaborate in promoting June as National Internet Safety Month; the sponsors encourage all Internet users to follow three simple steps when connecting to the Web: STOPTHINKCONNECT; the National Cyber Security Alliance also encourages Internet users to take a few moments to teach a young person about better online safety so that they use good judgment and behavior all-year long

  • SAIC Launches Inaugural Utah Cyber Defense Challenge and Symposium 2012

    SAIC will lead a Utah statewide cyber competition and symposium designed to raise cyber awareness across government, academia, and industry; the Utah Cyber Defense Challenge and Symposium (UCDC) 2012, to be held 1 June

  • Texas fights identity theft

    Everything is bigger in Texas, including the number of instances of identity manipulation; according to an April report from ID Analytics, the cities of Beaumont and El Paso lead the nation in per-capita identity manipulation attempts

  • Companies hiring hackers to harden defenses

    To burglar-proof your home, it is best hire a burglar as a consultant, as he is more likely to find the security vulnerabilities and demonstrate how they can be exploited; following this approach, companies large and small are now hiring hackers to test the companies’ security system vulnerabilities and find ways to harden these systems to withstand intrusion

  • zvelo reaches 100 OEM milestone

    Pivotal milestone attributed to strong adoption of zvelo’s URL database, website categorization and malicious website detection solutions for a vast array of applications

  • Including ads in mobile apps poses privacy, security risks

    Researchers have found that including ads in mobile applications (apps) poses privacy and security risks; in a recent study of 100,000 apps in the official Google Play market, researchers noticed that more than half contained so-called ad libraries, and that many of the apps included aggressive ad libraries that were enabled to download and run code from remote servers, which raises significant privacy and security concerns

  • Triple-threat computer protection reduces identity theft

    Having a triple-threat combination of protective software on your computer greatly reduces your chances of identity theft; computer users who were running antivirus, anti-adware, and anti-spyware software were 50 percent less likely to have their credit card information stolen

  • U.K. holds amateur cybersecurity challenge to spur interest in field

    For the past several weeks amateur cybersecurity experts have been searchingfor malware, defending against cyberattacks, and raising firewalls as part of Britain’s Cyber Security Challenge

  • Anonymous retaliates, takes down Interpol site

    In retaliation for the arrest of twenty-five suspected members of the hacktivist collective known as Anonymous, the group briefly took down Interpol’s website on Tuesday

  • Cryptographic attack shows importance of bug-free software

    Researchers have developed an attack that can circumvent the security OpenSSL should provide; the attack worked on a very specific version of the OpenSSL software, and only when a specific set of options were used

  • Cybersecurity firm discovers mutant computer viruses

    Cybersecurity firm BitDefender recently announced that it had uncovered multiple instances of computer viruses infecting other viruses to create “Frankenware”

  • Cyber-attackers think as regular crooks

    An engineer and a criminologist are applying criminological concepts and research methods in the study of cybercrime; their work has produced recommendations for IT managers to use in the prevention of cyber attacks on their networks

  • U.K. unveils new cyber defense strategy

    The U.K. government last week published its new Cyber Security Strategy; the government said the new strategy sets out “how the United Kingdom will support economic prosperity, protect national security, and safeguard the public’s way of life”

  • The 25 worst passwords of 2011

    SplashData, a password management application provider, has released its annual list of the worst Internet passwords. The list was prepared from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers. The worst password of 2011: “password.”

  • Government offers free cybersecurity protection tool for small businesses

    To help small businesses guard themselves against hackers and computer criminals, the U.S. government is offering a free online tool that helps business owners bolster their cyber defenses; the Small Biz Cyber Planner will help business owners create their own customized cybersecurity plans by answering basic questions about their company and its online presence