Symantec has plunged into the data-loss protection (DLP) market via the acquisition route, announcing on Monday that it has agreed to purchase partner Vontu for $350 million. The acquisition, rumored for several weeks, further validates the hot DLP sector, where a number of large players, including EMC and Websense, already have snatched up similar companies. Symantec took a similar approach. “The big guys are gulping these companies up, basically,” Chenxi Wang, the principal security and risk management analyst for Forrester Research, told SCMagazineUS.com today.
Read more…
Hackers and Greenpeace protestors are both promising to do their bit to undermine the UK iPhone launch this week. Apple will ship iPhones in the UK with new software designed to block iPhone hackers from unlocking the iPhone, or breaking into the device in order to add additional applications. Hackers aren’t happy, and have sworn to unlock the device “within hours” of the launch, according to a report in The Guardian.
Read more…
UK IT professionals are more concerned about internal system failures than hacker attacks, according to new research. The study by training company Firebrand Training asked 601 UK IT workers to rank their greatest concerns. System failure ranked the highest with 63 per cent of those questioned more concerned about interrupted IT services than the 24 per cent who ranked external threats as their key worry.
Read more…
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) A hacker broke into the Web page of Chile’s presidency and planted the flag of neighboring Peru, leaving the site inoperable for about 18 hours until it was restored Monday. The intruder left a message – “Long live Peru,” followed by an expletive – as well as the flag around midday Sunday. Officials took the site down a few minutes later, leaving a notice: “Because we want to give a better service, we are working for you.”
Read more…
Two students have been charged with hacking into the California State University database and changing their grades. John Escalera worked at the university helpdesk and is alleged to have gained access to administrative controls in the PeopleSoft student database by setting up false accounts in the names of the registrar and academic records co-ordinator. Escalera is accused of changing his own grades and those of his friend Gustavo Razo Jr in exchange for cash.
Read more…
The US Federal Trade Commission is warning businesses to be on the lookout for spam that contains a trojan-laden attachment claiming to be a legal complaint against recipient. The bogus emails appear to come from frauddep[at]ftc[dot] gov, a spoofed address, and contain the actual logo for the FTC to establish legitimacy. The text says that “a complaint has been filed against you and the company you’re affiliated with,” a social engineering tactic used to dupe victims into opening the attachment.
Read more…
McAfee has announced that it will acquire certification vendor ScanAlert in a deal potentially worth $75 million. McAfee will pay $51 million up front for the Napa, Calif.-based company, as well as $24 million if performance targets are met. The acquisition is McAfee’s second in weeks. The company acquired encryption provider SafeBoot for $350 million on Oct. 8 to boost its enterprise data security offerings.
Read more…
The Chinese state is behind almost daily internet espionage attacks on German companies and government bodies, a top German intelligence official said on Monday. “In our view, state Chinese interests stand behind these digital attacks,” said Hans Elmar Remberg, vice president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the country’s domestic intelligence agency.
Read more…
Recently, Robert Graham, CEO of Errata Security, posted a blog in which he stated that “today’s CPUs can ‘crack’ passwords eight times fast than they can ‘check’ the passwords.” And we’re not even talking about dual-core machines, just your plain vanilla PC desktop. Graham, who last summer hacked someone’s Gmail account before a live Black Hat audience, is used to making provocative statements. And, as with the Gmail hack, Graham’s not afraid to back these statements up with data.
Read more…
Hackers are vowing to unlock the iPhone from the O2 mobile network, just days before it goes on sale in Britain. The ÂŁ269 touchscreen mobile phone, dubbed “revolutionary” by its maker, Apple, is already one of the most eagerly awaited of gadgets and stores are expecting a shopper frenzy as it goes on sale in the UK this week. Combining the music and video capability of the iPod, with a touch-sensitive screen and wireless internet access, the iPhone was dubbed “invention of the year” by Time magazine last week.
Read more…