‘Iranian Cyber Army’ Takes Down China’s Baidu
The group that took down Twitter.com last
month has apparently claimed another victim: China’s largest search
engine Baidu.com. Read the full article. [Computerworld]
Government
Data Breach Numbers In 09 Down From 08
In 2009, the Identity Theft Resource Center recorded 498 breaches, less than the 657 in 2008, more than the 446 in 2007. Are data breaches increasing or decreasing? That is the question no one can answer. Read the full article. [Help Net Security]
FBI Indicts 19 Texans For Cybercrime Fraud
A federal grand jury in Dallas returned a superseding indictment this
week charging 19 defendants in a massive cybercrime conspiracy,
announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of
Texas. Read the statement. [FBI]
On January 1, 2010, two important state data security and privacy laws
took effect in Nevada and New Hampshire that create new
obligations for most companies that do business in Nevada and for
health care providers and business associates in New Hampshire. Read the full article. [Hunton & Williams Law Blog]
Banks, military contractors and software companies, along with federal
agencies, are looking for “cyber ninjas” to fend off a sophisticated
array of hackers, from criminals stealing credit card numbers to
potential military adversaries. Read the full article. [NY Times]
The FBI is investigating the theft of nearly a half million dollars
from tiny Duanesburg Central School District in upstate New York, after
cyber thieves tried to loot roughly $3.8 million from district online
bank accounts last month. Read the full article. [KrebsonSecurity]
An unidentified man breached airport security at Newark Airport on Sunday, walking into the secured area through the exit, prompting an evacuation of a terminal and flight delays that continued into the next day. This problem isn’t common, but it happens regularly. The result is always the same, and it’s not obvious that fixing the problem is the right solution.
Notorious hacker Albert Gonzalez pleaded guilty Dec. 29 to conspiracy to hack into the computer networks of Heartland Payment Systems, 7-11 and Hannaford Brothers and faces sentencing between 17 and 25 years on top of his previous guilty plea for the TJX breach and others. Read the full article. [eWEEK]
Cryptographers have moved closer to their goal of eavesdropping on
cellphone conversations after cracking the secret code used to prevent
the interception of radio signals as they travel between handsets and
mobile operators’ base stations. Read the full article. [The Register]
Threatpost editor Dennis Fisher talks about the implications of Howard Schmidt’s appointment, the story of the year in 2009 and what 2010 might bring for security.
