bytestyle.tv Shelly Roche reports in on a new Cybersecurity bill would grant the President unprecedented power to shut down the internet and ignore privacy laws. Resources: www.opencongress.org www.govtrack.us Contact your reps: www.congress.org Contact your reps and local newspapers: www.usalone.net More information: www.eff.org blog.cdt.org www.eweek.com www.breakthematrix.com Sponsor my next video! bytestyle.tv Stay in the loop: twitter.com –
The Hill (blog)
By Brendan Sasso – 03/17/12 10:49 AM ET Lawmakers and administration officials have warned of potentially catastrophic consequences if Congress doesn’t pass cybersecurity legislation this year, but some observe
Bigger and bigger bureaucracies throwing more and more weight around just don’t work … when will we learn that?
911 demonstrated that there are flaws in all these big grandiose schemes and it only takes one person with a pulse and a few active brain cells to find one.
The number of flaws in any government security plan is directly proportional to the size of the bureaucracy that dreamed it up, and the number of people employed to implement it.
Coping With Severe Virus Strains
Article by Donald Munoz
What we need is the Dewey Decimal System to go digital …
Specifically, someone needs to coax their keepers into putting some logical order into how computer viruses are sorted.
Recently, warnings abounded about the Kama Sutra virus quickly proliferating cyberspace, joining the Grew.A and Nyxem.E as serious threats to computer file security. However, only those who took a closer look at these strains were able to discover that they all had something in common.
They were virtually the same virus.
There is uniformity in the library world when it comes to catalogging the millions of books contained therein, thanks to Dewey. The weather service administrators do their bit for personnification by breathing a bit of nefarious charm into the tropical storms they track by assigning them names in alphabetical order each year. They key to both of these facts is that someone devised a universal means of identifying something that assists the general public in dealing with it.
The time is rapidly approaching when someone needs to step forward and put some order into the villainous world of computer infections.
New viruses arise so suddenly and spread so quickly that those whose job it is to seek and destroy them have little time to muse over what to name them. With Kama Sutra, for instance, its file-destroying program seemed to be spread by junk e-mail enticements to visit porn sites. The news media ran with that theme and gave it a headline-grabbing handle; Kama Sutra, of course, is the legendary lovemaking guide compiled to classify the creativity of ancient Hindu hedonism.
Geeks, however, have their own perspective when they put a spin on things. Just as banks need to have stately names, spyware apparently needs to carry Matrix-like titles to make them appear darker, more foreboding and a worthy challenge. After all, who amongst them would want to quash the Kama Sutra? Wouldn’t that confirm the geek image as a cyber-eunuch?
Thus, titles like Grew.A and Nyxem.E are coined to look so much more imposing and in need of professional assistance to eradicate.
F-Secure is a Finnish virus fighter and widely acclaimed to be one of the best of its kind on the market. Their stature is such that when they identify an intrusive program, others notice and accept the name they give it. In this case, F-Secure saw the program shared code and techniques with cetain file-destroying predecessors, so they went with ‘Nyxem.E,’ derived from the acronym for the New York Mercentile Exchange, whose web site was targeted by the initial culprit.
Other vendors took note that this program destroyed files instead of overloading websites with fake traffic. Using a logic known only to one of the backroom gnomes in their employ, this meant that ‘Grew.A’ was the most appropriate description. I can only think that asking for a clarification for that decision would cause most of us as much of a headache as trying to remove the program after it has hit our computers.
Anyway, in these trying times of terrorism alerts, if nobody else is willing to tackle the task of virus classification, those rock-lifters and cobweb-sweepers at the USA Department of Homeland Security are prepared to step into the fray. They have devised a system of virus naming through the Common Malware Enumeration, or CME. Outbreaks are assigned a random number, which in this case turned out to be ’24.’
We’ll see if such a system captures teh public’s imagination.
This is an important point, because if a unified virus identification system is to be effective, it has to immediately raise a general awareness so that the virus’ spread can be better contained.
If nothing else, ‘Kama Sutra’ generated enough clicks to quickly spread the word that a cyber-invader was on the prowl. Once named as such, a program that had been circulating for weeks, but was set to destroy files only on the third day of each month, finally came to the public’s attention. That gave vendors time to update their products and warn customers.
Incidentally, this strain is known to corrupt documents using the most common file types, including ‘.doc,’ ‘.pdf’ and ‘.zip.’ It affects most versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which caused them to issue the most widely-heeded warning of the problem.
Given the recent animosity-filled anti-trust suit brought by the American government against the software giant, it does seem like their efforts to raise the awareness of this virus has necessitated that they become the proverbial strange bedfellows.
It’s only appropriate that something named Kama Sutra would bring them together. It’s inevitable that they would find themselves in this position. The task now is for them — and everyone else — to agree upon what to call it.
About the Author
Find tips about eyelid skin and flabby skin at the Tips For Healthy Skin website.
Net Hub tribute of IT Industry
Article by Tarun Yadav
Introduction about Net Hub
Net Hub looks very short by its name but it is large as a fragment of the IT industry that deals with the higher networking and security technology. Net Hub is an IT training company that was founded by Mr. Rohit Verma, the CEO of the company. It is situated at South-Ex in New Delhi and being under a single roof we expand our services across the world. Net Hub is indulged in providing IT training like Current Industry Standards such as CISCO, CHECK POINT, EC-COUNCIL, MICROSOFT, JUNIPER, and (ISC)2 all around the world. We provide the candidates real working environment and CCIE mock lab as good as Cisco.
Training courses provided by Net Hub
Net Hub is very popular with its training courses that are recognized worldwide. Through these courses we offer a super fast track to the IT scholars who want to make their future in the IT domain. The courses are as follows:
Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA), Cisco certified Networking Associate @ Voice (CCNA Voice), Cisco Certified Networking Associate @ Security (CCNA Security), Cisco Certified Networking Associate @ Wireless (CCNA Wireless), Cisco Certified Network Professional @ Security (CCSP), Cisco Certified Network Professional @ Routing and Switching (CCSP @ RNS), and Cisco Certified Network Professional @ Service Provider (CCIP).
Check Point Certified Security Administrator (CCSA), Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE), and Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCMSE)
Certified Ethical Hacker V.7 (CEH V.7), EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT), and Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator
Microsoft Certified Security IT Professional MCITP, Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Juniper Networks Certified Internet Associate (JNCIA), and Juniper Networks Certified Internet Specialist (JNCIS)
Cisco Certified Internet Expert @ Security (CCIE Security), Cisco Certified Internet Expert @ RNS (CCIE RNS), Cisco Certified Internet Expert @ Service Provider (CCIE SP), and Cisco Certified Internet Expert @ Voice
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Systems Security Certified practitioner (SSCP)
All these separate programs make you knowledgeable and skillful in their own fields. We also offer the complete course material along with the complete certification of the programs. Not only this we also offer 100 placements to the scholars who are having straight focal point on their IT career track in the high standard IT companies and MNCs with high pay scale. And the people who have experience in the IT domain more than 2 or 3 years it become very easy for them to make their entry on high profile in the industry with the salary hike.
Facilities of Net Hub:
As Net Hub serve the best in the industry to the IT scholars and pamper them with their great and unique facilities for them. Our facilities are such as:
Residential facilities for the students who come from other stations
Pick and drop facility
PD and communication classes
Week day and week end classes
24*7 lab facility and many more
Having a strong and expert team of professional trainers having an experience of more the 5 years provide training to the students and make them expert in their particular certification program. We also provide CEH (certified Ethical Hacker) 2 days workshop for those students who want to cover all aspects of information security and ethical hacking, enabling one to become an Information and Cyber Security Expert. Along with this we are also providing Networking Boot Camp for the students who want to get well trained in network security.
About the Author
Author highly recommends Self Test Engine for All IT Certification Preparation such as ECSA Training and CHFI Certification. For more information about Courses please visit http://net-hub.in
Computer Security Programs Are Most Effective When Used Properly
Article by Stephen Champagne
Protecting you information with computer security programs will keep your personal information safe.
Intruders try to target credit card numbers, bank account information, or any other type of information that they can use in order to steal your identity.
Identity theft is now one of the top criminal activities in the United States.
The identities of many people have been exploited and credit ratings have been ruined by thieves who get information from unsecured systems, or bypass computer security programs for illegal gains.
Money related information is not the only thing most hackers are after. Believe it or not, hackers will also steal the resources of your computer such as the hard disk space, processor and even your internet connection.
Why? Because these computer resources are used in order to hack other computer systems, leaving the hacker virtually untraceable. Some computer security programs were designed to specifically prevent this type of criminal activity.
Yet with the development of many different computer security programs available on the market, hackers are still able to wreak havoc on people’s lives and computer systems. This makes it harder for law enforcement officials to locate the origin of the attack.
Home computers are more susceptible to hackers because the computer security programs are often easier to break through than the more sophisticated layers of security for business networks. Although recent news showed that hackers were even able to breach the computer system of the Department of Homeland Security.
People who have high-speed internet connections and leave their computers on 24/7 are even more vulnerable to intrusions.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of every personal computer owner to take precautionary steps by using computer security programs to minimize their risks.
One of the most common ways hackers will use to break into a computer is by sending an email which contains a virus. Once the email is opened, the hackers use this to access your computer. They now have control over everything on your computer just as if you knowingly gave them permission.
Once the hackers have access, they will install programs where they can continue to have access to your computer, even if you fix the areas that left you vulnerable in the first place.
You should use extra precautions in conjunction with computer security programs. Be very selective when choosing a password that cannot be guessed easily. Programs available for use include a firewall system, anti-virus program, patches and a file encryption feature to increase the level of your home computer’s security.
About the Author
Stephen Champagne owns and operates http://www.computersecurityfacts.com Computer Security Program
Computer Security in London and Edinburgh
Article by Harvey McEwan
Computer security is a growing field: in London, in Edinburgh, and in the whole of the UK. World-wide, information security has evolved from a specialist discipline to a central component of an organisation’s security function.
Computer security is a growing field: in London, in Edinburgh, and in the rest of the UK. In the world as a whole, information security has evolved from a specialist discipline to a central component of an organisation’s security function. Since the advent of the personal computer in the 1980′s, computers have escaped from the data processing centre to colonise every office in the country, and in great numbers. Right behind them is the consequent increased need for computer security, due to the exponential growth in the numbers of malicious hackers and opportunistic cyber-criminals in recent years.
As an industry sector in the UK, computer security is relatively new, whether in London, Edinburgh or other cities and towns. Information security has yet to reach its natural level in most areas of the UK, and in principle there is still room for expansion in at least the major financial and industrial centres, such as Edinburgh. In practice, however, further expansion will probably depend on an increase in awareness at board level of the vital importance of information security to all business types today.
In London, this has translated into a plethora of information security consultancies. The UK’s capital city is the location of the British headquarters of international banks, financial services companies, and multinational companies of every type. Many of these organisations are subject to stringent regulatory requirements, which include the need to comply with information security standards. This means that computer security in London is a highly active industry sector, with many specialist consultancy firms, as well as regular conferences (such as the annual Infosecurity Europe conference) and university degree courses in information security (such as the highly-regarded < href=”http://www.isg.rhul.ac.uk/msc”>MSc in Information Security from Royal Holloway College, University of London).
However, it is a different picture in other areas of the UK. Even in large cities, such as Liverpool or Edinburgh, there are comparatively few computer security consulting firms, and only a few education or training courses in the subject. This is no doubt due to the comparative lack of large companies that are subject to regulatory pressures on information security governance. Without such pressures, organisations can be tempted to relegate computer security to a lower priority: a policy which may be appealing in the short term, but which risks damaging consequences in the longer term.
This unequal relationship between London (and the south-east of England) and the rest of the UK is not seen only in computer security. Although Edinburgh, for example, is a capital in its own right, and the headquarters of several banking and finance companies, it has only a fraction of the wealth and attractive power of London with regard to employee mobility, senior management posts, and international recognition. This situation has built up over many years, over centuries even, and will not change in a matter of a few years only.
About the Author
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Think Your Network is Safe? So Did They…
Article by trendmicro
As an IT professional, you are responsible for ensuring your company is safe from the threat of cybercriminals. They may be part of an organized gang determined to steal the credit card numbers of your customers, an element that’s interested in acquiring proprietary information or even kids looking to gain hacker credibility by defacing your website. The threats come from all directions, and they’re constantly changing. You invest in the latest security products and make sure to keep them up to date, but there’s another element to providing effective security, and that’s being aware of trends and threats. It takes just a few minutes each day to read the insights of experts in the field, and having this information goes a long way toward being proactive about preventing security issues.
If you think relying on your security software and firewalls is sufficient, here are five stories about companies or organizations that had adequate security protection in place, but still got burned by cybercriminals. The methods of attack may have been unanticipated by the victims, but analysts had pointed out vulnerabilities, providing ample warnings that proactive security measures might have been able to address.
Hackers Infiltrate Key US Defense Contractors
In May 2011, a number of US defense contractors were hacked by cybercriminals who discovered a weakness in the electronic key system used by workers who were logging into corporate networks remotely. While no one may ever know exactly what information the hackers stole during the intrusion, these companies were working on classified future weapons and defense systems for the US military.
Sony PlayStation Network Breach
One of the top stories of 2011 was the massive security breach that affected Sony’s popular PlayStation Network. Hackers gained access to Sony’s network, stealing credit card numbers of customers and using their access to damage the network. Sony had no choice but to shut the PlayStation Network down for a month, preventing 100 million active users from playing online games or viewing streaming movies. The company, forced to deal with a public relations disaster, paid for identity theft insurance for customers, offered free games as compensation and spent weeks reconfiguring and tightening security on their servers. While the final cost of the hack has yet to be determined, it initially cost the company in excess of 0 million, and some analysts are expecting the final toll to exceed a billion dollars.
Google Suffers Aurora Attack
n December 2009, Google suffered a cyber attack that resulted in the theft of valuable intellectual property. Known as the “Aurora attacks,” the network intrusion affected not only Google, but dozens of other technology companies. While fingers were pointed at Chinese hackers (possibly university students working in conjunction with the Chinese military), the persons responsible were never verified and the culprits were never caught.
US Drones Infected With Key Logging Virus
The United States military has come to rely increasingly on unmanned drone aircraft, especially in remote locations such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. These are deadly machines equipped with missiles to kill terrorists, and human “pilots” remotely control them from computers at bases thousands of miles away. But in October of 2011, the military revealed that the unmanned Predator and Reaper drones had been infected with a key logging virus that could allow cybercriminals to monitor the activities of drone operators. Despite efforts of military IT staff, the virus continued to re-infect computer systems on the military base where it appeared, even after a thorough cleaning and repair of the network.
Sesame Street’s YouTube Channel Is Hacked
Sometimes hackers can hurt everyone. In October 2011, a hacker (or hackers) hit Sesame Street’s YouTube channel. This was a particularly unpleasant attack because they deleted the content–aimed at young children–and replaced it with porn. YouTube owner Google detected the attack and rectified it within 20 minutes, but the damage had been done. No one knows how many children were exposed to graphic porn, the reputations of YouTube, Sesame Street and Google suffered, and parents are now more concerned than ever about allowing their kids to access online content–even content that they previously trusted to be age-appropriate.
All of these attacks are examples of cybercriminal activity that was extremely costly and high profile. Standard security measures failed. Learning from these attacks and keeping an ear to the ground on what threats are emerging help IT professionals to be alert and proactive about preventing the next big hack.
About the Author
Helen Beck writes about Internet security issues for a wide range of industry blogs and publications. According to Helen, cybercriminals continue to push the envelope, requiring IT professionals to not only be aware of current threats, but stay on top of growing trends as well.
Apple Releases OS X 10.6.8, Addresses Multiple Vulnerabilities
Article by Eccuni
Recently, Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.8. The latest update brings improvements to the Mac App to facilitate upgrade to the next version Mac OS X Lion. The update enhances VPN reliability, provides better support for IPv6, rectifies time zone data in iCal for Lisbon, improves detection of MacDefender malware and mitigates issue, which causes unexpected exit of preview. The update facilitates use of Kerberos authentication to proxy server, rectifies a document saving issue related to XCode or TextEdit on use of NFS home directory, introduces support for additional digital cameras, and resolves issue related to importing certain forms of media files into Final Cut Pro.
The vendor has also addressed multiple security vulnerabilities associated with various components. The addressed security flaws include an out of bounds memory read issue related to AirPort while handling Wi-Fi frames. The issue may allow an attacker on the same network to cause system reset, when connected to Wi-Fi. The security update mitigates an error handling issue in Certificate Trust Policy that causes acceptance of revoked certificate by specifying OCSP URL in most of Extended Validation (EV) certificates. The vendor has resolved a heap buffer flow issue in the way Image IO handles JPEG2000 images, which may cause application termination or execution of arbitrary code on visit to a malicious website. The security update mitigates an issue in MobileMe, wherein the Mail makes requests through HTTP for identifying a user
Get Your Cyber Security Buttressed With An Immaculate Avast Support
Article by Richard Stevens
Today, the internet has become a quintessential part of our life. Be it the habit of reading newspaper, liaising with your professional counterparts and connecting with your near and dear ones etc. the internet has completely changed the way we used to live our life for furtherance. Although, on one hand, with all these developments, the technology is progressing to offer the internet users, a better tomorrow but on the other, to cash in on this opportunity, the hackers are leaving no stone unturned to malign these advancements. And the immense rise in the internet activities is helping them to make the virtual world a hot bed of criminal activities, where they can cheat on the innocent internet users. However, it is true that the internet comes with scores of vulnerability but with Avast antivirus support, you can shield any possible threats that you doubt, can be harmful. Once, an Avast Antivirus is installed in the computer system, it gives you an all-round safety by blocking viruses & spyware intrusion, giving timely file reputation warnings, streaming real-time updates, securing shopping and banking online transactions, lets you surf the web virtually without the fear of uncertainties, running risky programs virtually, blocking hacker attacks, securing personal data from illegal sources, safeguarding your identity to outsiders, putting an end to annoying spams, blocking phishing scams etc.
Conspiracy to Annexation Your Duck Diamond
Although, it is not the first time that these malice souls with their ugly appearance giving the computer user and their computers a hard time. These threats are directly or indirectly affects to the registry, the file system, and the network (HTTP-based communication) of a computer system and it becomes more serious as the malware evolving at an unprecedented rate, where social media helping it to spread it wings wider. Thus, it is important for any computer user to take some measure for the safety of its computer system and for that Avast Antivirus support proves to be a perfect option and that’s the reason that currently, there are around hundred million people worldwide have subscribed to it. Today, Avast antivirus is the first preference among the rest of the internet security mechanism, for it provides unmatched services to its users and guarantees a comprehensive security.
Avast Support Drawing a Line of Control
Avast’s experience reveals that, the Windows XP still is the fertile breeding ground for malicious software followed by Vista and Windows 7. Undeniably, these issues are in fact unembellished and that can only be handled with some specialized aid but you need not worry as PCCare247 is there to take care of all your woes. PCCare247 has a team of expert technicians providing online technical support, with the proven record of 91% first call case resolution. And with regards to Avast Internet security, PCCare247 has customized solution to deal with it in simple and easy way. We provide our customers a number of services, likewise, installation, uninstallation, and upgradation of Avast Antivirus, fixing firewall compatibility issues with the operating system and so on.
About the Author
Richard Stevens is a techno whiz and an ardent blogger, who has got the knack in putting pen to paper for whole portfolio of tech associated topics, especially those of Avast Internet Security technology. He doles out his writing services for numerous technical firms including PCCare247- a mogul in Avast Antivirus Support services.
