Computer Security

Yahoo! News: Security News

• Obama administration seeks online privacy rules (AP)
  AP - The Obama administration is calling for stronger privacy protections for consumers as mobile gadgets, Internet services and other tools are able to do a better job of tracking what you do and where you go.
  
  
• FCC urges Internet companies to safeguard Web (Reuters)
  Reuters - Internet service providers need to work harder to prevent hacks, data theft and other fraud, including contacting customers whose infected computers have been hijacked by organized crime and helping them clean out viruses, the head of the Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday.
  
  
• IBM eyes cybersecurity market with new platform (Reuters)
  Reuters - International Business Machines is gearing up to take a chunk of the growing Internet security market by applying its data analytics to help companies and organizations fight cyberattacks.
  
  
• InfoWorld's Windows 7 Security Deep Dive: The expert guide (InfoWorld)
  InfoWorld - Windows 7 has been warmly received and swiftly adopted by businesses, with improvements over Vista such as a friendlier UAC mechanism, the ability to encrypt removable media as well as hard drive volumes, broader support for strong cryptographic ciphers, hassle-free secure remote access, and sophisticated protection against Trojan malware in the form of AppLocker, to name a few.
  
  
• Colorado woman must turn over computer hard drive (AP)
  AP - Readily available, easy-to-use software can encrypt a computer hard drive so thoroughly it would take years for a hacker to break in. But that seems to be no impediment for government prosecutors, who have obtained an order compelling the disclosure of a computer's contents in one Colorado case.
  
  
• Rutgers suicide case may find "hate" hard to prove (Reuters)
  Reuters - The case captured national attention over what seemed to be an obvious case of cyber-bullying. A former Rutgers University student used a webcam to spy on his roommate's romantic tryst with another man in the days before the roommate's suicide.
  
  
• What's Your Bank Card PIN Number -- 1111 or 1234? [VIDEO] (Mashable)
  Mashable - You shouldn't be allowed to pick your own four-digit PIN numbers -- and banks should start blacklisting the most common PINs, according to a team of British computer security researchers. Too many bank accounts are protected by the numbers "1111" and "1234", their study found.
  
  
• Why Veterans Are a Good Fit for Tech Jobs [INFOGRAPHIC] (Mashable)
  Mashable - Unemployment numbers are down, but there are 220,000 military veterans who are still looking for work. Though these vets are having a tough time finding jobs, they're actually well equipped to work in the tech sector -- many vets are skilled in computer security, SQL and troubleshooting. Some employers are reluctant to hire those in the National Guard or Army Reserve, due to the required time off for service or training. But these employers could earn a tax credit upward of $9,600 for hiring veterans. These tax credits and an improving job market could help the American economy achieve First Lady Michelle Obama's goal of hiring 100,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014. Tech companies such as Microsoft and Google have stepped up to the plate thus far.
  
  
• AP Exclusive: Iran poised for big nuke expansion (AP)
  

  AP - Diplomats say Iran is poised for a major expansion of its nuclear program at a cavernous underground site.

  
  
  
  
• FBI could take down Internet for millions on March 8 (Digital Trends)
  Digital Trends - The Federal Bureau of Investigation may soon be forced to shut down a number of key Domain Name System (DNS) servers, which would cut Internet access for millions of Web users around the world, reports BetaBeat. The DNS servers were installed by the FBI last year, in an effort to stop the spread of a piece of malware known as DNSCharger Trojan. But the court order that allowed the set up of the replacement servers expires on March 8.
  
  
• Download InfoWorld's Malware Deep Dive report (InfoWorld)
  InfoWorld - If malware were biological, the world would be in the grip of the worst pandemic in history. In 2009, more than 25 million unique malware programs were identified, more than all the malware programs ever created in all previous years. No one need wonder what all that malware is trying to do: It's trying to steal money -- through data theft, bank transfers, stolen passwords, or swiped identities.
  
  
• Experts say Iran has "neutralized" Stuxnet virus (Reuters)
  Reuters - Iranian engineers have succeeded in neutralizing and purging the computer virus known as Stuxnet from their country's nuclear machinery, European and U.S. officials and private experts have told Reuters.
  
  
• Hotmail Top Spam-Stopping Email, Hotmail-Commissioned Study Says [VIDEO] (Mashable)
  Mashable - Hotmail is the top spam-stopping major email service, says a study commissioned by Hotmail.
  
  
• Microsoft India store down after hackers take user data (Reuters)
  Reuters - Microsoft India's retail website was down on Monday after being hacked, with a purportedly Chinese group called Evil Shadow Team posting screenshots the hackers said were customers' obscured usernames and passwords found unencrypted on the site.
  
  
• Hackers claim attack on Ala. government websites (AP)
  AP - Computer hackers claiming to be from the loose-knit group known as Anonymous say they have broken into several Alabama law enforcement and government websites and have stolen the personal information for more than 46,000 people.
  
  
• Path fumble highlights Internet privacy concerns (Reuters)
  Reuters - A privacy debate surrounding fledgling social network Path went viral this week, triggering discussions on blogs and on Twitter about how far social networks can go in using members' private data.
  
  
• Trouble in iParadise: Protesters target Apple, hackers target Foxconn (Digital Trends)
  Digital Trends - Following the recent rumor that Apple will unveil its highly anticipated successor to the most popular tablet ever in less than a month, the cacophony of iPad 3 buzz has grown deafening. Yet at the same time, a very different sort of cry is developing—one that the tech Goliath (at the time of this writing valued greater than Microsoft and Google — combined) is less experienced in dealing with.
  
  
• Mitt Romney favorite GOP candidate (among email spammers) (Digital Trends)
  Digital Trends - Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney may be on the fast track to the Republican nomination for the 2012 US presidential election. But his high profile has earned him another, less brag-worthy, title: King of political spam.
  
  
• Analysis: In cyber era, militaries scramble for new skills (Reuters)
  Reuters - With growing worries about the threat of "cyber warfare," militaries around the world are racing to recruit the computer specialists they believe may be central to the conflicts of the 21st century.
  
  
• Kaspersky Lab's sales growth slowed in 2011 (Reuters)
  Reuters - Russia's Kaspersky Lab reported that sales growth slowed substantially last year as the world's No. 4 maker of anti-virus software said its business was starting to mature.