Top 10 Stories

Symantec - In the first week of 2014, we came across a website using tried and tested social engineering techniques to coerce victims into installing malware. The domain http://newyearfix.com, was registered on December 30, 2013. Based on our research, 94 percent of  attacks appear to be targeting users based in the United Kingdom through  advertising networks and free movie streaming and media sites.

Arstechnica - LinkedIn is suing a gang of hackers who used Amazon's cloud computing service to circumvent security measures and copy data from hundreds of thousands of member profiles each day. "Since May 2013, unknown persons and/or entities employing various automated software programs (often referred to as 'bots') have registered thousands of fake LinkedIn member accounts and have extracted and copied data from many member profile pages," company attorneys alleged in a complaint filed this...

Infosecurity - As the value of bitcoins increases, and their mining gets harder, it seems that the criminals are turning to old-fashioned theft to get hold of them. There is a current targeted phishing campaign apparently designed to relieve bitcoin users of their currency. The phish mail claims to come from Erwann Genson who has trouble accessing his wallet. He thanks 'David' for offering to help, and includes a shortened link to his wallet.dat and password....

Register - A seven-month long search for a new European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has ended chaotically, after five candidates who were shortlisted for the job failed to meet Brussels' strict criteria, The Register has learned. It means that the posts that are currently held by Peter Hustinx and his deputy Giovanni Buttarelli will be left vacant come 16 January when their mandate is expected to expire, unless the pair agree to stay on for longer.

Infoworld - With three months to go until April 8 and the end of support for Windows XP, Microsoft has dropped another nasty surprise. Although it isn't clear when the decision was made, the official end-of-support Web page now states, "Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP on this date." We've all been anticipating, with no small amount of dread, Microsoft's threat to stop updating MSE malware definitions for Windows XP on April...

Security Affairs - Security researchers at IntelCrawler, a Los-Angeles based cyber intelligence company, discovered that VSAT terminalsare opened for targeted cyber attacks. VSAT terminals (very-small-aperture terminal) used for satellite communications are vulnerable to external cyber attacks, the discovery was made by security researchers at IntelCrawler, a Los-Angeles based cyber intelligence company.

Softpedia - Hackers of the Islamic Cyber Resistance Group claim to have breached the computer systems of the Israel Airports Authority (iaa.gov.il), the body responsible for the management of the country’s civil airports and land-to-land border terminals. The attack is part of the campaign called OpIsrael. The hackers say they’ve gained access to the organization’s internal networks and stole sensitive files, including information on domestic and international flights, details on management and flight routing software, weather condition...

Gigaom - The Irish Data Protection Commissioner, who regulates online privacy for most of the world, is looking into Adobe’s mega-breach last year, in which the details of at least 38 million people were purloined by criminals. Adobe’s doozy of a data breach last year, in which someone stole the details of 38 million people, has attracted the attention of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC).  

Infosecurity Magazine - "Guccifer", a hacker known for lifting high-profile information from A-listers, has managed to nab the scripts for Downton Abbey's season finale, while also targeting emails of various other celebrities. Guccifer lifted the Edwardian drama’s grand denouement by hacking the email account of Lord Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey’s creator.  

DefenseOne.com - Defense officials see cyberattacks as the greatest threat to U.S. national security, according to a survey released Monday. Forty-five percent of respondents to the Defense News Leadership Poll named a cyberattack as the single greatest threat—nearly 20 percentage points above terrorism, which ranked second.