security

A new survey suggests that the majority of hackers carry out their work simply because they find it fun and thrilling. The survey also found that only a small portion of hackers do their work in pursuit of financial gain. The survey was carried out ... by Washington-based security firm Thycotic, which asked hackers attending last week's Black Hat conference (held in Las Vegas, Nevada) what motivated them. More than half of the respondents, or 51 per cent, said they hack for the "fun" and "thrill" of it. Just 19 per cent, or about one in five of the hackers surveyed, said ... (view more)

A Russian gang is believed to have stolen more than a billion online passwords. But the security firm that discovered the breach has also caused controversy over its handling of the situation, including paid-for services to deal with the breach. ... Hold Security of Milwaukee discovered and publicized the breach. The company is legitimate, and its previous claims of breaches have checked out: it was responsible for detecting a massive breach at Adobe last year. The company says it discovered that a Russian group named CyberVor (which translates as cyber-thief) has gathered together data from 420, ... (view more)

Microsoft is planning to release a slew of security fixes for Internet Explorer (IE) -- suggesting the web browser continues to face a torrent of security threats . Nevertheless, a recent study shows that Internet Explorer maintains a vice-like grip ... on the web browser market. Yesterday, Microsoft released a Security Bulletin Advance Notification for July 2014 , with plans to ship a total of six security updates to customers next Tuesday (July 8, 2014). The updates will patch security vulnerabilities present in every version of Internet Explorer and all supported editions of the Windows ... (view more)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has disrupted a major malware botnet specifically designed to steal personal financial data from computers. Both US and UK security agencies are warning all users that they have a two week grace period to ... shore up their defenses before cybercriminals reactivate the threat. A botnet is essentially an army of malware-infected computers under the control of cybercriminals. In this case, the botnet is known as the GameOver Zeus. When a computer becomes infected with malware, it can also become part of a botnet. Malware infection is usually the result of ... (view more)

A new study reviewed security among leading online companies following the Heartbleed bug scare, in which a commonly used encryption technique for secure websites had the capability to expose highly confidential data. The study comes from Dashlane, ... a password management firm. The study evaluated 80 web sites and examined 6 factors with regard to the way passwords and login processes are handled. Using these details, Dashlane ranked each site between +100 and minus -100. Based on a range of security issues, the study suggests Apple and Microsoft have the securest policies for passwords, while ... (view more)

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DOHS) has warned that users should switch away from Internet Explorer until a serious bug has been fixed. It's the first big security scare since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP earlier this ... month. The bug doesn't have a glamorous nickname and is instead simply known as CVE-2014-1776. When triggered, the bug allows for remote code execution, which means a third party would have full control over a remote PC without the need for credentials or consent from the PC owner. By clicking on a malicious link or by visiting an infected ... (view more)

Facebook has officially released a new and somewhat controversial feature that allows users to track the location of their friends. But if used maliciously, the app raises major privacy concerns. The application is called "Nearby Friends" and it ... uses location information collected by smartphones. Facebook says its goal is to make it simple for people to find their friends and meet up in real life. When it's enabled, Nearby Friends shows users a list of Facebook friends who have agreed to share their location. The app can also alert a user if a friend comes within range (such as ... (view more)

A massive number of websites could be affected by a critical security flaw used in conjunction with web sites and web browsers. Experts suggest that all web users change their passwords to all major web sites (including banking, social media, etc) - ... but doing so comes with a number of caveats. The security flaw is related to SSL (secure sockets layer) and is expected to affect approximately six percent of all websites world-wide. According to a recent survey that reviewed approximately 959 million websites, "66% ... are powered by technology built around SSL, and that doesn't include ... (view more)

Google says the rate at which governments and other groups ask it to hand over user data has more than doubled in the past five years. However, a growing proportion of those requests are proving unjustified. The figures come from Google's ... twice-yearly Transparency Report, which it has been publishing since the second half of 2009. Back then it received a total of 12,539 requests in six months. That figure has risen in every period and the latest data, covering the second half of 2013, shows 27,477 requests. Since the first report, the number of requests made by governments has increased ... (view more)

A major financial news outlet has accused Target of missing clear warning signals that it was being hacked and customer data put at risk. Target is the second largest discount retailer in the United States, next to Walmart. In December 2013, Target ... confirmed that hackers had stolen credit card data from 40 million customers. The attack happened approximately 19 days after American Thanksgiving (November 28, 2013). The theft not only affected customers who had used credit cards online, but in stores as well. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Target had already set up a security center in ... (view more)