Tag: security
Abode Tighten up Software Security
Lockheed Martin’s computer incident response team and the Defense Security Information Exchange, who both monitor potential security threats for military contractors and other organisations, have revealed that hackers have been exploiting a weakness in the most recent versions of Abode Reader and Acrobat applications. Abode have confirmed this and explained that the security weakness in the applications are allowing hackers to hijack computers which are using Microsoft Windows, putting confidential …
DARPA Increase Budget to Improve Internet Security
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was heavily involved in creating the internet and now they are stepping up their efforts to help improve internet security. At its Colloquium on Future Directions in Cyber Security, Dugan declared that the agency has steadily increased its cyber research and that the agency is set to increase its funding once again in 2012. Its budget submission for 2012 will increase cyber research …
What Happens to the Data of the Deceased
The number of applications which people have accounts with online has grown exponentially in recent years. This is leading to an increased tendency to leave account passwords in wills for friends and relatives. A study by Goldsmiths at the University of London found that 1 in 10 people are leaving such information behind. This has come from the recognition that people can have their digital identity stolen by hackers if …
Tighter Data Breach Laws Required in Oz
Stricter laws regarding data breach notifications have been highlighted as one key aspect which needs to be tackled under a multinational joint plan outlined by the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Australia in particular, is a government which has been accused of not keeping up with developments. Nigel Waters, the former Assistant UK Data Protection Registrar commented, “The government has dragged its feet. I don’t think there’s any …
Rise of the Data Crime Bot
Automated cyber attacks are becoming increasingly prominent according to a new report conducted by Imperva. The Web Application Attack Report (WAAR) studied attacks on 30 different enterprise and government web applications highlighting that assaults on websites and databases are now as frequent as 25,000 per hour. The sheer volume of these attacks is worrying. However perhaps more concerning is the fact that most of them are conducted by automated bots. This …
New U.S. Cyber Defence
The DoD in the U.S. is introducing a new ‘Cyber Unit.’ The new department will not only aim to defend against incoming attacks but will also conduct online military skirmishes. Cyber security is now a major priority and online terrorists are being viewed as very likely future threats to national security. In effect the online battlefield will be treated the same as the traditional domains of land, sea and air. …
Security risks plague UK schools, experts claim
Research suggests that thousands of schools in the UK could be at risk from exploitation by hackers, potentially leading to damaging data loss and a loss of public trust. A study by NGS Secure took place in a pair of schools, one dealing with secondary students and the other with younger primary pupils, in order to determine the levels of data protection and IT security in place at each establishment. …
Value of data unrecognised by many, study finds
Research suggests that most employees are not aware of the intrinsic value of data and, as such, focus more on lessening the chances of damaging mobile devices and portable storage, rather than actively minimising the threat of loss or theft. There is clearly a confusion among most employees as 58 per cent of respondents to a recent study conducted by BlockMaster, said that they thought damaging a laptop to the …
UK retailers questioned over PCI DSS compliance
A study has found that a significant proportion of retailers operating in the UK are not in the loop concerning the revised Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This news has come as a result of research carried out by LogLogic, which discovered that 13.8 per cent of retailers do not have any knowledge of the second edition of the PCI DSS and a further 15.5 per cent …
Businesses failing to fund system security improvements, survey finds
A new study has found that most businesses around the world are unprepared for attacks from cybercriminals, despite the fact that most are well aware of the heightened risks facing unprotected businesses in the current climate. Vistrom sought the help of the Ponemon Institute in order to conduct this survey and it concluded that, although the growing number of attacks which manage to breach security and compromise the integrity of …
