Top 10 Stories

Forescout has announced interoperability between its CounterACT product, and Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation firewalls and WildFire to secure network and application access, enforce endpoint compliance, and fortify threat management. Enabled via ForeScout’s ControlFabric architecture, allow mutual customers of ForeScout and Palo Alto Networks to enforce user and role-based access to network resources and web applications, to ensure endpoint compliance, and to identify and contain advanced persistent threats (APTs) and zero-day attacks. Scott Gordon, CMO of...

A hacker used his cat’s name as the password for his encrypted computer.   Jeremy Hammond, charged for the attacks on Stratfor in 2012, was the FBI's most wanted cyber criminal and was tracked down with the help of LulzSec member turned informant Hector Xavier Monsegur.   According to an Associated Press profile of the 29-year-old's life behind bars, his password was "Chewy 123."    VIEW FULL STORY

Symantec and Deloitte today have partnered to create a threat vulnerability management service. Pairing Symantec Data Loss Prevention and Symantec Managed Security Services with Deloitte’s consulting services, the two organisations will help businesses address concerns around cyber security and information protection. The alliance will focus on markets across EMEA, including the United Kingdom where the integrated offering will be delivered through the Deloitte Cyber Intelligence Centre. The services are managed by Deloitte consultants who oversee the...

Proofpoint and Social@Ogilvy, a worldwide practice connecting social media experts, have launched the first Social Media Security Council (SMSC) to help organisations better protect their corporate social infrastructure.   A global, cross-functional group of experts that spans departmental silos, the Social Media Security Council fosters discussions, conducts research and provides thought leadership about brand protection, technology and compliance risks associated with social technologies.   Initial board members represent industries including news and entertainment, banking and...

More than half (56 per cent) of respondents to a survey could not accurately identify what ‘GDPR’ means.   Despite the rollout of the General Data Protection Directive due to be next month, the survey, by Ipswitch of 316 IT Professionals from the UK, France and Germany, found that 35 per cent confessed to not knowing whether their IT policies and process were up to the job. while only a mere 12 per cent of...

A laptop containing the details of a number of children attending HSE Speech and Language Therapy services in Donegal has been stolen.   Taken from the boot of a staff member's car, the laptop included a caseload register which had the names, age group, schools, addresses and phone numbers of a number of children.   Parents and guardians of the children attending the services in Donegal received letters, dated November 7th, from the HSE this...

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has suspended telecommuting for employees while it investigates the network intrusion which exposed data on 800,000 postal workers and an additional 2.9 million customers. The virtual private network (VPN) service for postal employees was taken down this weekend and will not be brought back up until a version with more robust security features can be installed, USPS spokesman David Partenheimer said in an emailed comment to Dark Reading. A separate FAQ for employees...

One in five Americans still use their online banking password for different website accounts.   According to a survey of 1,300 people from across the USA, only 44 per cent say they are more cautious as a result of recent problems with national retailers in the news and one in four has never changed his or her personal identification numbers.   Nearly 40 per cent say that at least one person knows their user name...

techUK has announced the launch of a Cyber Connect Web Portal aimed at supporting cyber businesses and start-ups in the UK.   Introduced by the business secretary Vince Cable, the portal will increase support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups by delivering ten “key initiatives”. These are to support for cyber security start-ups and small business through in: small business representation and collaboration; cyber business mapping project; cyber connect portal; access to finance workshops; export support...

An iOS app installed using enterprise/ad-hoc provisioning could replace another genuine app installed through the App Store, as long as both apps used the same bundle identifier.   This in-house app may display an arbitrary title that lures the user to install it, but the app can replace another genuine app after installation. This vulnerability exists because iOS doesn't enforce matching certificates for apps with the same bundle identifier.   The research by FireEye allows an...