Editor's News

AlienVault has announced new partners to its open threat exchange (OTX) program.   Added are Cegeka, GoGrid, Netflow Logic, Onsight, Risk I/O and ThreatStop, while Spiceworks has already integrated the OTX into its service for the benefit of 100,000 users with over 1.4 million threat alerts in January alone. The OTX partner member program provides access to the world’s largest crowd-sourced and collaborative threat exchange, enabling partners to utilise the AlienVault OTX API and gain...

More than 300,000 user credentials were published on Pastebin over the past year, with an average leak containing 1,000 user credentials.   According to research by High-Tech Bridge, Pastebin is commonly used to share text online and is often used by programmers sharing software code, while administrators are often removing records containing stolen information as fast as they are put on the site.   Of what is posted on Pastebin, 40 per cent is email details...

WikiLeaks has accused the NSA and GCHQ of spying on it and its readers.   In a statement, WikiLeaks publisher and founder Julian Assange said that he “strongly condemns the reckless and unlawful behaviour of the National Security Agency” and called on the US Government to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the extent of the NSA’s criminal activity against the media.   According to documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden, Assange was added to...

A method to control 70 per cent of Android devices has been revealed.   According to Rapid7 security researcher Joe Vennix, a browser exploit can control Android devices via a Web page or app. He claimed that this “gives the attacker the keys to your mobile device” and affects anyone using any Android version before 4.2.1, which is apparently about 70 per cent of Android devices.   It works by exploiting a vulnerability which was...

The NHS has admitted that its new medical records database could be vulnerable to hackers or could be used to identify patients maliciously.   According to the Telegraph, the database will include information about past illnesses, medication, weight and blood pressure; information that will be taken from medical files next month and put into a central database. Those behind it said that it will improve healthcare and help medical research, as well as allow access...

Crowd-funding website Kickstarter has suffered a security breach that saw some user information including names, encrypted passwords, mailing addresses and phone numbers potentially revealed.   While it said that older passwords were uniquely salted and digested with SHA-1 multiple times, more recent passwords are hashed with bcrypt and credit card information was not accessed during the breach.   In a statement by CEO Yancey Strickler, he said that he was contacted by law enforcement officials last...

Tesco.com breached with hackers leaking thousands of passwords Tesco has closed down over 2,000 customers’ accounts after a folder containing email addresses, passwords and voucher balances were posted online. The supermarket giant said that the data had been compiled by hackers using details stolen from other sites. The unidentified hackers are thought to have trawled lists of previously hacked accounts from other sites for matching log-in and password details for Tesco.com. Lancope CTO, Tim ‘TK’ Keanini,...

Taking the position of protecting data, irrespective of device or location, Cryptzone has released a free app that means workers can use their smartphones and tablets to securely access documents and enterprise web based applications without the risk of data loss, even if the device is personally owned. Cryptzone’s Mobile Access Protect (MAP) reduces risk and simplifies compliance management by providing organisations with the ability to give users of mobile devices a protected and secured...

Panda Security, The Cloud Security Company, has identified malicious apps on Google Play that can sign users up to premium SMS subscription services without their permission. These new threats have been able to infect at least 300,000 users so far, although the number of malicious downloads could have reached 1,200,000. “Easy Hairdos”, “Abs Diets”, “Workout Routines” and “Cupcake Recipes” are among the malicious apps available for download on Google Play. In the case of “Abs...

According to BT research, the UK is trailing in cyber security awareness rankings.  In fact, less than 20% of UK business leaders see cyber security as a "major priority" the study commissioned by telecoms giant BT showed.  It surveyed 500 IT decision makers in medium and large businesses in finance, pharmaceutical, retail and government sectors in seven countries. Out of the seven countries including the US, UK, Brazil, Germany, France, Singapore and Hong Kong, the...