Security

NBC Web site back up after hack attack

NBC's Web site is up and running again after being knocked offline by a cyberattack for several hours yesterday.

The NBC site was the victim of a form of malware known as the Citadel Trojan. This specific strain targets companies in an attempt to steal usernames, passwords and other sensitive data. People who visit sites infected by the trojan can find their own PCs infected as well.

In the past, Citadel typically attacked banks and financial firms but has since expanded its reach to a wider range of organizations.

NBC, which is part of cable giant Comcast, is still trying to figure out how the attack occurred, … Read more

Malware getting smarter, says McAfee

Malware continues to grow, not just in volume but in sophistication, according to a new report from McAfee.

Released today, the security vendor's fourth-quarter 2012 Threats Report found that more organizations are being targeted by more clever cyberattacks.

The number of trojans designed to steal passwords rose 72 percent last quarter. Some of these trojans are part of "customized" threats, while others are packaged with more "off-the-shelf" forms of malware. As one example, the Citadel trojan was specifically designed to hit financial services companies.

Operation High Roller and Project Bliztkrieg were also cited by McAfee … Read more

Adobe patches critical security flaws in Reader, Acrobat

Adobe has issued a patch to plug up critical security holes in its Reader and Acrobat software.

Released yesterday, the security updates address flaws that could cause the applications to crash and potentially let an attacker gain control of an infected computer. Adobe confirmed last week that the exploits have already led to some targeted attacks against vulnerable systems.

The patches are directed toward the following products and versions:

Adobe Reader XI (11.0.01 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh Adobe Reader X (10.1.5 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh Adobe Reader 9.5.3 and earlier … Read more

China slams cyberattack accusations over lack of proof

China is refuting a report that names its military as the source of recent cyberattacks against the U.S.

A report released this week by U.S. security firm Mandiant linked the People's Liberation Army to a large number of cyberattacks against U.S. corporations, government agencies, and other organizations. The report specifically pointed the finger at Chinese military Unit 61398, noting that digital forensic evidence led investigators to the building housing that unit.

China's response?

As expected, the government has criticized the report, citing a lack of hard evidence. In a press conference held by China's … Read more

Apple: Employee computers were targeted in hack attack

Apple today said it too was targeted as part of the string of hacking efforts on companies and news agencies.

The iPhone and Mac maker told Reuters that hackers targeted computers used by its employees, but that "there was no evidence that any data left Apple."

In a statement, Apple said it discovered malware that made use of a vulnerability in the Java plug-in, and that it was sourced from a site for software developers:

Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware … Read more

Google warns of an increase in attempted account hijackings

The New York Times' report Monday of state-sponsored hacking in China drew new attention to the sophisticated techniques that would-be infiltrators use to gain access to victims' accounts. But it's not just China, Google said today -- the techniques used against U.S. government agencies and corporations are being used increasingly by hackers around the world.

"Compared to five years ago, more scams [and] illegal, fraudulent, or spammy messages today come from someone you know," security engineer Mike Hearn said in a blog post. "Although spam filters have become very powerful -- in Gmail, less than … Read more

Adobe confirms targeted attacks due to security hole in Reader

A zero-day security flaw in Adobe Reader and Acrobat is being exploited through a series of targeted attacks against vulnerable computers, Adobe Systems said yesterday.

In a security bulletin, Adobe confirmed that the vulnerabilities could cause Reader and Acrobat to crash, potentially opening the door for an attacker to gain control of the system.

"Adobe is aware of reports that these vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild in targeted attacks designed to trick Windows users into clicking on a malicious PDF file delivered in an email message," the company revealed in the bulletin.

Adobe said it's … Read more

Hackers can easily breach Emergency Alert Systems

Hackers broke into several television stations' Emergency Alert Systems this week and broadcast that zombies were "rising from their graves" and "attacking the living."

While a comical hoax, security consultancy firm IOActive warns that this type of behavior is dangerous and not that hard for hackers to do, according to Computerworld. This week it's zombies, but next time it could be something that might make people really panic, such as an anthrax or terrorist attack.

IOActive says that devices used by TV and radio stations to air emergency alerts have critical vulnerabilities that make them … Read more

Anonymous fails to shut down live streams of Obama address

Despite Anonymous' vows to block Web broadcasts of tonight's State of the Union address, the hacktivist collective failed to disrupt the president's speech.

Declaring that "there will be no State of the Union Address on the Web tonight," the loose-knit group announced earlier today its intention to block live streams of the address in protest of the president not mentioning issues during his speech that are important to Anonymous.

However, live streams originating from the White House's Web site and YouTube appeared unaffected during the president's speech.

Anonymous, which is famous for using distributed … Read more