Top 10 Stories

Most organisations have gaping security holes when it comes to protecting themselves against insider threats.   According to a SpectorSoft survey of 772 IT security professionals, 32 per cent of respondents said that they have no ability to prevent an insider attack, while 52 per cent of respondents cannot size the potential damage. Also, 44 per cent do not know what they are spending to address the threat.   Although almost three-fourths of respondents (74...

People don’t feel as safe online following the launch of hundreds of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).   According to a poll from NCC Group, 40 per cent of web users reported feeling less secure online since the introduction of the domains which includes the likes of .shop, .bank and .London. Furthermore, 87 per cent said they do not feel very comfortable browsing the new domains.   The survey also found that 45 per cent...

Apple has kept root certificates from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) despite both Google and Mozilla revoking trust in the agency altogether. As part of security upgrades for both of its operating systems and the root certificate for the Chinese CA remains in the trusted stores for iOS and OSX. However last month, both Google and Mozilla removed CNNIC from their browsers’ respective trust stores after an intermediate CA called MCS Holdings installed...

Eleven channels associated with the French-language global television network TV5Monde went offline late last night after an "extremely powerful cyber attack".   According to the network's director Yves Bigot, the network said it was "hacked by an Islamist group" as ISIS logos and markings could be seen on some TV5Monde social media accounts.   The outage began around 10 pm Paris time and network teams were still working to restore the service more than five...

The FBI has issued a warning to WordPress users to patch their content management systems before their websites are defaced by Islamic State sympathisers.   The Bureau has issued a notice titled "ISIL defacements exploiting WordPress vulnerabilities" in which it warns that "Continuous Web site defacements are being perpetrated by individuals sympathetic to the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL) a.k.a. Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS)."   It read: “The defacements have affected website operations...

Facebook is being sued by around 25,000 users for alleged violations of European privacy laws.   According to a class action suit of 900,0000 users due to be heard in a Vienna court later today, the claim focuses on the way Facebook collects and forwards data. It has been brought against Facebook's European headquarters in Dublin, which registers all accounts outside the US and Canada.   The case includes a compensation claim of about €500...

A serious security flaw in BitTorrent Sync can be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code, according to an advisory published by HP’s Zero Day Initiative .   The severity of the vulnerability has been rated as “high,” with a CVSS score of 7.5. However, arbitrary code can be executed on vulnerable systems only if the attacker can trick the victim into visiting a malicious page or opening a specially crafted file.  ...

Security is the single most important consideration for Brits when shopping online according to Worldpay.   According to a survey of 250 online shoppers and desktop research of 25 of the UK’s top retail sites, 75 per cent of British consumers consider a website more secure if it prominently displays payment authentication and digital certification logos on its homepage.   Also, 60 per cent of shoppers would reconsider storing their details online with a retailer...

A group known as APT28 has been collecting information from defence and political intelligence targets in Eastern European and European security organisations.   According to FireEye, all of these areas are of particular interest to the Russian Government and it suspected that the group may be sponsored by the Russian Government.   “Despite rumours of the Russian Government’s alleged involvement in high-profile Government and military cyber attacks, there has been little hard evidence of any...

Russian hackers behind the damaging cyber intrusion of the State Department in recent months used that perch to penetrate sensitive parts of the White House computer system.   While the White House has said the breach only affected an unclassified system, the hackers had access to sensitive information. As in many hacks, investigators believe the White House intrusion began with a phishing email that was launched using a State Department email account that the hackers had taken...