The case against a computer hacker who faced extradition to the US on charges of breaking in to sensitive military computers has been adjourned.
Skype said it has blocked a bug that created a means for hackers to attack vulnerable Windows PCs using malicious video files. The cross-zone scripting vulnerability involves the interaction between Skype and video-sharing sites such as DailyMotion, which allows users to download video clips and add them to their Skype VoIP client. The vulnerability had the potential to affect users of Skype 3.5 and 3.6 for Windows who used Skypeâs video gallery to access booby-trapped DailyMotion videos. The flaw, said to affect online video site MetaCafe as well as DailyMotion, came to light in a post by security researcher Miroslav Lucinskij to a full-disclosure mailing list on Thursday. For example, the security bug makes it possible to inject a malicious script to the “Add video to chat” dialogue using the title field of DailyMotion movie clips.
HACKERS are targeting users of social networking website MySpace using techniques popular with phishing scams. Mass emails sent to MySpace members would contain invitations to add the sender as a friend. When a link in the email is accessed, what seems to be an official MySpace page appears. The user is then asked to download and install the latest version of Adobeâs Flash Player software, which is required to run many of the applications on MySpace. However, the whole exercise is actually a scam, security experts say. Once the program is installed it would allow hackers to remotely take control of the computer, and use to victims PC to distribute more spam.
Cyber-security experts have long warned of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure like power, transportation and water systems to malicious hackers. Friday, those warnings quietly became a reality: Tom Donahue, a CIA official, revealed at the SANS security trade conference in New Orleans that hackers have penetrated power systems in several regions outside the U.S., and “in at least one case, caused a power outage affecting multiple cities.” “We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet,” Donahue said in a statement. “We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge.”
The latest rootkit in the wild hides on your hard driveâs boot sector and is starting to infect Windows PCs, according to security researchers. And the real kicker: The rootkit canât be detected by most antivirus applications. Symantec has been tracking the latest rootkitâTrojan.Mebrootâand provides a good overview of master boot record (MBR) rootkits. In general, an MBR is the first sector of a storage device, say a hard drive, and is used for booting the operating system. Control the MBR and control the OS.
In-flight entertainment has come a long way since passengers craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the flickering films shown in 1980s aircraft.Today’s passengers expect on-demand video systems, telephones and even broadband Internet access. Unfortunately, that’s not all they can do. The technology used by the new generation of aircraft is now so advanced that aviation officials fear that terrorists could use it to fly the plane.
Before Boeing’s new 787 jetliner gets the green light to fly passengers, the jet maker will have to prove the plane’s computer network can’t be hacked. Boeing has designed the 787 to allow airlines to offer passengers more in-flight entertainment and Internet options than it has with previous planes. Those new features and other aspects of 787′s computer network go beyond the scope of existing regulations, so the Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Boeing to show the new technology won’t pose a safety threat.
We’ve seen similar infections in the past, but since this is pretty new, it might manage to bypass the antivirus protection and install on your computer. Security company Trend Micro discovered BKDR_DARKMOON.AH, a new backdoor affecting the Windows operating systems which attempts to open a port in order to allow the hacker to connect to your computer. Basically, it can open any port it wants and, since there are so many remote control technologies available out there, it can easily allow its creator to control your system.
Computer worms, responsible for some of the worst virus outbreaks in recent years, are declining as hackers look to make money instead of inflicting damage, a new report claims. According to latest malware audit from security firm PandaLabs, worms are now heavily outnumbered by malicious codes such as adware or Trojans, which currently make up 49 percent of all detected infections.
Hackers obtained access last month to the e-mail addresses and passwords of thousands of donors to 92 charities that use online database software and services from Convio Inc. Among the charities are CARE and the American Museum of Natural History. There is no evidence that anyone has used the information to engage in fraud, but several charities have notified donors of the breach and advised them to consider changing passwords if they use the same password for other purposes. Convio, of Austin, Texas, which works primarily with charities, discovered the breach Nov. 1 and told clients about it two days later, said Tad Druart, a spokesman.