About
Dennis Fisher is a journalist with more than 13 years of experience covering information security.
Oracle has released a slew of patches for its Java platform, fixing a total of 29 bugs in Java SE and Java for Business. Several of the flaws allow a remote attacker to take complete control of a vulnerable machine.
Microsoft has released its largest-ever bundle of patches, pushing out 16 updates that fix a total of 49 individual vulnerabilities. The patches include updates for six critical vulnerabilities, most notably a huge fix for some remote code-execution bugs in various versions of Internet Explorer.
The European agency responsible for protecting the critical infrastructure of EU countries is warning its member states that the Stuxnet attack represents a major change in the malware landscape and that they should be prepared for further attacks with the same level of sophistication and professionalism.
Chris Soghoian, a well-known privacy advocate and former Federal Trade Commission technologist, has filed a complaint with the FTC asking that the commission force Google to amend its privacy policy to reflect what he says are shortcomings in the company’s protection of data related to consumers’ searches.
In the face of continued attacks targeting its hugely popular Gmail service, Google has put together a checklist to help Gmail users better secure their accounts by looking at the settings in their inboxes, their browsers and their PCs. The security guide doesn’t automate any of these tasks for users, but instead gives them a guide comprising 18 steps to help lock down their Gmail inboxes.
It took a malware attack with an unprecedented level of sophistication to make it happen, but officials in charge of the security of much of the country’s electrical grid have come ot the conclusion that there is a need for more secure software and better security processes and procedures to prevent future attacks in the vein of Stuxnet.
Since at least the time of the release of the first generation Apple iPhone, sophisticated smartphone users have been working diligently to jailbreak their devices in order to load their own software, install third-party applications and make other modifications. Now, one Android device, the G2 from HTC, has the ability to roll back modifications and restore the phone to its original state.
This video from the Black Hat USA 2010 conference shows IOActive researcher Barnaby Jack demonstrating his ability to remotely attack ATMs and force them to dispense all of their cash.
Adobe officials have said that the next version of Reader, one of the more popular and oft-targeted applications on the Internet right now, will have a sandboxing feature, and now the company is providing a detailed description of the new Protected Mode addition.
Microsoft is proposing a new Internet-wide security model, based on the concepts of public health, that is designed to address the problem of how to prevent infected machines from affecting the security and performance of PCs elsewhere on the Web. The model would require each PC to present a “health certificate” that outlines its security posture before it could connect to the Internet.
Infosec Insider content is written by a trusted community of Threatpost cybersecurity subject matter experts. Each contribution has a goal of bringing a unique voice to important cybersecurity topics. Content strives to be of the highest quality, objective and non-commercial.
Sponsored Content is paid for by an advertiser. Sponsored content is written and edited by members of our sponsor community. This content creates an opportunity for a sponsor to provide insight and commentary from their point-of-view directly to the Threatpost audience. The Threatpost editorial team does not participate in the writing or editing of Sponsored Content.
