E-Commerce ALERTS - Archive 2012

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2013 PREDICTIONS FOR COMPUTER SECURITY THREATS AND CYBER WARFARE

Some 2013 predictions have computer security becoming increasingly difficult in the new year. Cyber warfare is also of concern, with the real potential of nations like Iran and North Korea attempting to lash out at the world with increasingly sophisticated viruses and malware — MORE

MOST PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND CYBER THREATS, SAYS FORMER DHS CHIEF

Michael Chertoff, who ran the Department of Homeland Security from 2005 to 2009, says there's a reason that computer security isn't up to the threat posed by cyber criminals: Doing it right is too complicated for most people — MORE

THREATS TO TRAVELING DATA

With small and fast laptops, powerful smartphones, tablets and readily available Wi-Fi, working on the road -- on planes, in airports and hotel rooms -- has never been easier. But security experts say these conveniences also make the offices away from home more vulnerable to serious security threats — MORE

COMPUTER SECURITY AND CRIME PREVENTION TIPS FOR BUSINESSES

Computer crimes involve the illegal use of or the unauthorized entry into a computer system to tamper, interfere, damage, or manipulate the system or information stored in it. Computers can be the subject of the crime, the tool of the crime, or the target of the crime — MORE

WHAT COMPUTER SECURITY THREATS CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE IN 2013?

Sophos released the latest edition of its Security Threat Report, summing up the biggest threats seen during 2012, along with five trends that are likely to factor into IT security in the coming year — MORE

MOBILE BROWSERS FLUNK SECURITY TESTS

The browsers used in the vast majority of mobile devices -- including both smartphones and tablets -- suffer from a safety flaw: They make it difficult for even information security experts to know when they're engaging in risky browsing behavior — MORE

'EVERYONE IN U.S. UNDER VIRTUAL SURVEILLANCE' - NSA WHISTLEBLOWER

The FBI records the emails of nearly all US citizens, including members of congress, according to NSA whistleblower William Binney. In an interview with RT, he warned that the government can use this information against anyone — MORE

THE GLOBAL STATE OF INFORMATION SECURITY SURVEY 2013

This PwC survey had over 9,300 respondents involved in information security from 128 countries, including CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CISOs, CSOs, VPs, and directors of IT and security — MORE

7 TIPS FOR PROTECTING AGAINST A COSTLY DATA BREACH

At the same time the government is encouraging healthcare providers, doctors and insurance companies to digitize healthcare information, the landscape for attacking that info is increasing dramatically. Data beaches occur routinely, but data security experts warn about the vastly higher cost of waiting until a breach occurs, than doing the upfront work to prevent it — MORE

PRIVACY COMPLAINTS, DATA BREACHES JUMP: WATCHDOG JENNIFER STODDART

Record delays in accessing personal information held by Ottawa, along with more than six dozen breaches of sensitive data last year alone, show Canada's privacy laws are in dire need of updating, a federal watchdog says — MORE

RECENT CYBER-ASSAULT ON BANKS IS UNLIKE ANY THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN

The hacker group responsible has used distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, as the means to flood powerful financial-industry servers with traffic, making banks' websites unavailable to consumers and disrupting transactions — MORE

COMPUTER SCIENTIST FINDS SECURITY FLAWS IN PHONES, CARS, PACEMAKERS

A computer scientist at the University of Washington, Kohno has proved that you can hack and take over the circuitry of a pacemaker, an implantable defibrillator, a child's toy, a mileage-tracking device for runners, and - perhaps most chilling of all - a car — MORE

MANAGING DIFFERING ATTITUDES ABOUT SECURITY

While it's clear from this poll, and many others, that security attitudes differ, depending on age, the bigger question is: how do security leaders manage that issue? — MORE

COMPUTER VIRUSES AND MALWARE 'RAMPANT' IN MEDICAL TECH, EXPERTS WARN

High-risk medical technology has been found to be infected by computer viruses and malware, health and security experts have said — MORE

CYBERINSURANCE FOR PRIVACY, REPUTATION DAMAGES IN DEMAND

First and third party liability are what large IT vendors usually look for in cyberinsurance, but with the heavy damage from a large-scale security breach, IT vendors are increasingly looking for privacy extensions and data breach crisis response coverage, industry watchers note — MORE

WE'VE BEEN HACKED: STATE HAD WARNINGS

The warnings were there. But even as a hacker was cracking into the state Department of Revenue database, the top expert for the state hired to assess computer security at 16 agencies was sounding notes of confidence — MORE

WHY MOST COMPANIES ARE FIGHTING THE WRONG SECURITY BATTLE

Ashar Aziz has an urgent message for you. Much of the money you are spending on computer security is focused on fighting the previous generation of threats, not the current ones that are the most dangerous that compromise over 95% of organizations — MORE

DIRE WARNING OF CYBERATTACK ON U.S.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta warned Thursday that the United States was facing the possibility of a "cyber-Pearl Harbor" and was increasingly vulnerable to foreign computer hackers who could dismantle the nation's power grid, transportation system, financial networks and government — MORE

WHY SMARTPHONES NEED MORE PROTECTION THAN 'NOT-SMARTPHONES'

Why are smartphones a greater privacy risk than old-fashioned mobile phones? Well, the same reason your PC is a higher risk for a privacy breach than your refrigerator or scientific calculator -- it actually contains valuable, relevant information an attacker might be interested in — MORE

CYBER ATTACKS ON US BANKS EXPOSE COMPUTER VULNERABILITY

Cyber attacks on the biggest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) & Co., have breached some of the nation's most advanced computer defenses and exposed the vulnerability of its infrastructure, said cybersecurity specialists tracking the assaults — MORE

THE INTERNET IS SCARIER THAN EVER, SAY TOP COMPUTER-SECURITY FIRMS

Symantec's 2012 Norton Cybercrime Report and McAfee's second-quarter Threats Report both say that cybercrime is enjoying exponential growth at rates neither company has seen before — MORE

COMPUTER SECURITY THAT OUTSMARTS THE BAD GUYS

Smart security software can help keep you away from questionable Internet sites that trick you into sharing private information (phishing) or infects your PC with invisible spy malware. This can wreak havoc with your passwords and even steal personal financial information — MORE

HACKING THE MIND: 3 BRAIN HACKS EXPOSE NEW REALM OF SECURITY & PRIVACY RISKS

At the Usenix Security Symposium, one mind hack looked to create better security and an "unbreakable crypto" system; ther brain hack focused on threats to privacy by extracting secrets with brain computer interfaces. Yet other scientists have created a helmet to make an Inception-like world in which reality can be manipulated — MORE

PRIVACY BREACHES TOP LIST OF BRING-YOUR-OWN-DEVICE CONCERNS

Highlighting the growing concern over bring-your-own-device initiatives, IT pros said they might be concerned about the privacy of their personal information if mobile-device-management, or MDM, software were to be installed on phones or tablets they brought from home to use at work, according to the results of a survey of 335 IT professionals — MORE

SECURITY START-UPS CATCH FANCY OF INVESTORS

"People are starting to realize that the billions of dollars that have been invested into traditional network security is not working for them anymore," said Ted Schlein, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the venture capital firm — MORE

HACKERS CONVENE TO FIND MOBILE SECURITY FLAWS

The hackers in Las Vegas who are taking this stuff apart and poking holes in products we depend on are kind of like the investigative reporters of the digital age. He says their goal is to expose problems before criminals can find them and take advantage — MORE

HACKERS TARGETING HOME COMPUTERS TO BEAT CORPORATE SECURITY

According to a new study published by Jim McKenney, founder of computer security firm Daily Safety Check, a new type of cyber threat is emerging, called Advanced Persistent Threats. These threats target home computer users and quietly monitor their activity for months, gaining access to passwords, identifying personal information and more — MORE

INTERNAL SECURITY AUDITS PLAY CRITICAL ROLE IN PREVENTING BREACHES: PWC

Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has released a whitepaper outlining how internal audits have become a key pillar of security strategies in the age of data breaches and what companies can do to overcome some common hurdles to audit effectiveness — MORE

EXPERTS HOPE TO SHIELD CARS FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES

Intel's McAfee unit, which is best known for software that fights PC viruses, is one of a handful of firms that are looking to protect the dozens of tiny computers and electronic communications systems that are built into every modern car — MORE

INFAMOUS HACKER'S GRIM WARNING FOR AUSTRALIA

Notorious hacker Kevin Mitnick went to jail for five years for breaking into US companies, and he says Australian government inaction means scores of privacy disasters are going under the radar — MORE

ELECTIONS ONTARIO FAILS TO ENCRYPT DATA AFTER LOSING INFO ON 2.4 MILLION VOTERS

Four days after Elections Ontario discovered that two unencrypted memory sticks containing the personal information of millions of voters had vanished, the agency continued to use sticks without protective software, according to Ontario's information and privacy commissioner — MORE

NO CHARGES IN HUGE SASKATCHEWAN MEDICAL FILES PRIVACY BREACH

In 2011 almost 3,000 medical files were found in a blue recycling dumpster in Regina's south end. The government admitted the doctor who was responsible for those files won't be prosecuted — MORE

YAHOO SECURITY BREACH SHOCKS EXPERTS

Security experts were befuddled as to why a company as large as Yahoo would fail to cryptographically store the passwords in its database. Instead, they were left in plain text, which means a hacker could easily read them — MORE

DATA BREACH PREVENTION AND REMEDIATION

With these embarrassing security breaches, and the widespread revelation of their inadequate information security practices, Yahoo and LinkedIn were added to the rapidly growing list of large companies who have suffered massive data breaches in recent years — MORE

WHY PRIVACY IS BIG BUSINESS FOR TRIAL LAWYERS

Attorneys now see the privacy stumbles of Internet firms as a new area ripe for litigation and fat settlements — MORE

LINKEDIN PASSWORD BREACH: 9 FACTS KEY TO LAWSUIT

Did LinkedIn fail to follow "industry standard" information security practices? That's the charge leveled against the business-oriented social networking site in a class action lawsuit filed last month in U.S. District Court — MORE

TAKING THE CYBERATTACK THREAT SERIOUSLY

Fortunately, last month's scenario was just a simulation - an exercise to test how well federal, state and local governments and the private sector can work together in a crisis. But it was a sobering reminder that the cyber threat to our nation is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face — MORE

FOUR MILLION ONTARIO VOTERS WARNED OF 'UNPRECEDENTED' PRIVACY BREACH

Four million eligible voters in Ontario were put on alert that their personal information may have been compromised in a major privacy breach at the province's electoral office — MORE

COMPUTER GLITCH CAUSES OLYMPICS SECURITY FIASCO

A computer glitch is partly to blame for a shortfall in security staff for the London 2012 Olympic Games — MORE

SECURITY TIPS TO STAY SAFE THIS SUMMER

PandaLabs, the anti-malware laboratory of Panda Security, The Cloud Security Company, today published its annual security tips for consumers to stay safe this summer and avoid falling victim to computer fraud — MORE

6 BIGGEST BREACHES OF 2012 SO FAR

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, during the first half of 2012 we have seen 266 breaches that affect more than 18.5 million records — MORE

CANADIAN PRIVACY EXPERTS COMMENT ON SERVICEONTARIO DECISION FOLLOWING SECURITY BREACHES

Some of Canada's leading privacy and security experts are in support of the government's decision to shutdown and investigate reported ServiceOntario kiosk compromises. The action, they say, is in compliance with Ontario's privacy laws as well as newly introduced best practices — MORE

LINKEDIN LOOKS TO SOOTHE USERS' PRIVACY CONCERNS

LinkedIn has moved to calm users' privacy and security concerns following a massive data breach that saw 6.5 million hashed passwords published online — MORE

EXPERTS WARN OF SHORTAGE OF US CYBER-PROS

Leading cyber experts warned of a shortage of talented computer security experts in the United States, making it difficult to protect corporate and government networks at a time when attacks are on the rise — MORE

THE GENERATION GAP IN COMPUTER SECURITY

A recent Dimensional Research survey sponsored by ZoneAlarm clearly shows that while the younger set believe they have more security knowledge, their elders are more effective at implementing protection — MORE

CANADIAN PUBLICATION ADDRESSES CORPORATE PRIVACY AND SECURITY, SPELLS OUT SOLUTIONS

Managing Personal Information addresses the prime concerns of executives that value the protection of privacy and seek to derive a calculable return on investment from risk-based initiatives. The book's official site is located at www.PrivacyExperts.ca and includes quotes from the authors — MORE

MCAFEE REPORTS BIG SPIKE IN MALWARE

The security company registered the biggest increase in malware in four years during the first quarter of this year, bringing the total number of samples to 83 million — MORE

SECRET MEMO WARNS OF CANADIAN CYBER THREAT AFTER POTASH AND NORTEL ATTACK

Cyber attacks pose a greater risk to Canada's economic prosperity than the government previously believed and the country lacks the tools to fight hackers, officials warn in internal documents obtained by Bloomberg News — MORE

CYBERCRIME IN CANADA SAID TO BE SKYROCKETING

The number of Canadian servers being targeted by hackers has increased sharply, according to an IT security company that compares cybercrime rates around the world. San Diego-based Websense Inc. argues that hackers are taking advantage of Canada's "squeaky clean" cyber reputation, which may no longer be as well-deserved as many believe — MORE

RUSSIAN SECURITY FIRM SPOTS CYBER SUPERVIRUS THAT TOPS STUXNET

A computer virus designed to scoop up secret information like an "industrial vacuum cleaner" is infecting computers in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East, according to the Russian Internet security firm Kaspersky Labs — MORE

GOOGLE'S PRIVACY BREACH UNACCEPTABLE

The past 10 years have brought an onslaught of technology that can be extremely useful. It can also be explicitly dangerous if placed in the wrong hands, and Google has proven this to be true — MORE

DOCTORS RISKING EMAIL PRIVACY BREACHES

A medical advice body is warning that while trying to use modern technology to contact patients, doctors are sometimes revealing confidential information — MORE

SOPHISTICATED CYBER-BATTLES RAISE FEARS OF CYBER-BLOWBACK

Unlike a bullet or missile fired at an enemy, a cyberweapon that spreads across the Internet may circle back accidentally to infect computers it was never supposed to target. It's one of the unusual challenges facing the programmers who build such weapons, and presidents who must decide when to launch them — MORE

ELECTION OFFICIAL APOLOGIZES FOR PRIVACY BREACH

A serious privacy breach has been discovered with the New Brunswick voters list, Premier David Alward informed the legislative assembly. Elections NB distributed a computer disc containing private information about voters, including phone numbers and driver's licence numbers to New Brunswick's political parties — MORE

RESEARCH: VIRUSES ARE THE LEAST OF YOUR WORRIES

Panda Security's first-quarter report for 2012 reveals something rather interesting about the antivirus market. Based on the report's figures, a literal antivirus program, one that strictly and only protects against viruses, would miss almost 95 percent of new malware threats — MORE

MALICIOUS ONLINE ADS TARGET CONSUMERS

One of the sneakiest scams among cybercrooks these days involves malicious advertisements that can infect a computer with nasty software even if a person merely happens onto a website where the ads appear and doesn't click on them — MORE

10 BIGGEST COMPUTER SECURITY MYTHS BUSTED

While many criminals and scammers use email, web sites and other electronic tools, they haven't abandoned more traditional methods. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, phone scams remain more common than any other type — MORE

83% OF CONSUMERS WOULD CHANGE MOBILE PROVIDERS IF THEIR PRIVACY WAS COMPROMISED

According to AdaptiveMobile's third Global Security Insights in Mobile report, polling 1024 consumers, eight out of ten consumers feel extremely strong about security, representing both an opportunity and a threat for operators today — MORE

EU PRIVACY CHIEF WARNS OF INTERNET SPYING THREAT

A global trade deal to stop copyright theft could give internet providers the right to spy on users, breaching European Union law, the EU's data privacy chief said on Tuesday — MORE

CRIMEWARE, BIGGEST THREAT TO COMPUTERS

Today, the biggest threat facing computers is crimeware. This malicious software is written by cybercriminals with the purpose of making money illegally — MORE

MICROSOFT RAIDS TACKLE INTERNET CRIME

Microsoft employees, accompanied by United States marshals, raided two nondescript office buildings in Pennsylvania and Illinois in March, aiming to disrupt one of the most pernicious forms of online crime today - botnets, or groups of computers that help harvest bank account passwords and other personal information from millions of other computers — MORE

IRS COMPUTER SECURITY CENTER NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

The office at the Internal Revenue Service that is responsible for monitoring the IRS network for cyberattacks and computer vulnerabilities is generally doing a good job, but still has room for improvement, according to a new government report — MORE

PRIVACY BREACH: IS YOUR BUSINESS READY TO MANAGE ONE?

A recent study facilitated jointly by Verizon Risk, the U.S. secret service and the Dutch High Tech Crime Unit reported that 96% of studied breaches could have been avoided by the victim business without needing to take difficult or expensive steps — MORE

SECURITY TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES

When your computer is acting weird and you can't find any reason for it, turning it off and on again really is the first thing you should try. Here are a few other techniques for tracking down problems that may or may not represent malware activity — MORE

NEW INTEREST IN HACKING AS THREAT TO SECURITY

During the five-month period between October and February, there were 86 reported attacks on computer systems in the United States that control critical infrastructure, factories and databases, compared with 11 over the same period a year ago — MORE

COMPUTER SECURITY SPENDING UP IN EUROPE

Western European companies are spending significantly more to protect against cyberattacks as "denial-of-service" cases mount, analysts said this week — MORE

IS YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER AT RISK WHEN YOU GO TO A RESTAURANT?

The real threat isn't that your charming waiter will steal your financial information. It's that the Russian mafia will steal it from your waiter — MORE

STOLEN NASA LAPTOP HAD SPACE STATION CONTROL CODE

NASA had 5,408 computer security lapses in 2010 and 2011, including the March 2011 loss of a laptop computer that contained algorithms used to command and control the International Space Station (ISS), the agency's inspector general told Congress — MORE

HACKERS PENETRATED NASA COMPUTERS 13 TIMES LAST YEAR

Hackers penetrated NASA's computers 13 times last year, including one China-based breach that gained total access to and control of crucial systems and employee accounts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the space agency's inspector general told Congress this week — MORE

SEVEN COMPUTER SECURITY FEARS TO SHAPE 2012

On the conference's first full day, some experts told attendees about which specific bogeymen we need to be wary of. Here are seven taken from talks at the event today, starting with some surprising ones from influential security expert Bruce Schneier — MORE

5 STEPS TO ASSESS HEALTH DATA BREACH RISKS

A new report outlines the financial costs of breaches of protected health data - and offers a five-step method for healthcare providers of any size to assess their risk — MORE

AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE UNDER INVESTIGATION OVER PRIVACY BREACH

The bungle at Townsville's Lavarack Barracks posted medical information, discipline records and psychology reports online for all to see — MORE

CHINESE CYBER-SPIES SET UP FAKE FACEBOOK PROFILE TO 'FRIEND'TOP NATO OFFICIALS

An online scam has been exposed in which senior British military and government officials were tricked into becoming Facebook friends with someone masquerading as U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander and lead officer on the Libyan mission — MORE

CIA HACK EXPOSES AGENCY'S COMPUTER SYSTEM VULNERABILITY TO ATTACK

The CIA website was hit in a series of attacks conducted by the elusive hacker group that previously targeted US law enforcement agencies in response to the "crack down" of Occupy movement protestors — MORE

AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESSES LAG ON COMPUTER SECURITY

Small businesses have embraced the internet but 16 per cent don't use anti-virus software and 30 per cent don't use a protective firewall, a new study shows — MORE

CANADIAN VETERANS' PRIVACY BREACHES PROMPT CALL FOR INQUIRY

NDP veterans affairs critic Peter Stoffer is calling for a public inquiry into breaches of privacy of the medical information of former military members — MORE

GOOGLE SLAMMED FOR LATEST PRIVACY BREACH

Google faced an avalanche of criticism Friday as regulators, digital rights activists and consumer groups harshly criticized the Internet giant's deliberate decision to override the privacy controls in the Web browsers of Apple iPhone and Mac users — MORE

COMPUTER SECURITY CAN BE TRICKY

Researchers at National Chung Hsing University in Taichung, Taiwan, have devised a method through which the computer can pick up through the palms of the hands whether the individual possesses the heartbeat required to unlock a particular hard drive — MORE

BUSINESS CRIME THRIVES IN 'THE CLOUD' - RCMP

Canadian police are struggling to combat business crime in the cloud computing world, an elusive and little-controlled realm that criminals can exploit to steal money and personal identities, and in which foreign governments can collect trade secrets — MORE

CYBERCRIME: PROTECTING AGAINST THE GROWING THREAT

Against a backdrop of data losses and theft, computer viruses and hacking, the survey looks at the significance and impact of this new type of economic crime and how it affects businesses worldwide — MORE

GLOBAL INFORMATION SECURITY SURVEY

This survey has run annually for the past 14 years in order to help businesses focus on the most critical risks, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and improve their information security — MORE

INSIDERS: SECURITY RISK NO. 1

News this week about a former drive-thru employee at a McDonald's in Olympia, Wash., who was busted for skimming patrons' card details, hammers the reality that insiders are always our greatest security risks — MORE

MAJOR CYBER SECURITY EVENTS OF 2011

We present a month-by-month summary of major cyber security incidents that occurred globally in 2011 — MORE

FORCE FIRMS TO DISCLOSE DATA PRIVACY BREACHES, REPORT URGES

In a report published this week, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) criticized Bill C-12, claiming it provides "excessive discretion to organizations that have had a data breach, allowing them unilaterally to characterize the breach as non-harmful to consumers." — MORE

SMB COMPUTER SECURITY AND INTERNET SECURITY AWARENESS GROWS

A recent survey of 1,000 US- and UK-based SMBs released by internet security software provider indicates that traditional IT vulnerabilities are still causing SMBs the most concern, but there is a slow awakening to threats related to emerging technologies, especially among larger SMBs — MORE

7 COMPUTER SECURITY RESOLUTIONS FOR 2012

In spite of one high profile computer security breach after another, many people are still not employing even the most basic safeguards to protect their privacy and their data. Canadian information security firm Defence Intelligence has created the following seven computer security resolutions to help people protect their privacy, their data, and their wallets — MORE

24 MILLION CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS HACKED AT ZAPPOS

Online shoe retailer Zappos told customers this weekend that it has been the victim of a cyber attack affecting more than 24 million customer accounts in its database — MORE

MAFIA NOW "ITALY'S NO. 1 BANK" AS CRISES BITES - REPORT

Organized crime has tightened its grip on the Italian economy during the economic crisis, making the Mafia the country's biggest "bank" and squeezing the life out of thousands of small firms, according to a report on Tuesday — MORE

ADDITIONAL NEWS ARTICLES IN 2011 ARCHIVE

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