Attackers are finding it more lucrative than ever to compromise e-mail marketing firms and exploit their resources to send out spam, often containing malware, according to a new report from Websense.
The Alureon rootkit has become not just a major headache for its victims, with its insidious infection routines and persistence once on a machine. But it also has proved to be a challenge for researchers engaged in trying to identify new versions and unwind its new tactics and techniques. The latest hurdle thrown up by Alureon is the use of steganography to hide configuration files to update infected machines with new instructions.
Microsoft officials are seeking to assuage concerns that its implementation of UEFI in Windows 8 will prevent users from loading non-Microsoft operating systems or applications on their machines. Despite concerns raised by security researchers and open-source advocates about vendor lock-in and other issues arising from the use of a secure boot sequence in the upcoming OS, Microsoft says “the customer is in control of their PC.”
Malware that targets Mac OS X isn’t anywhere near catching up to Windows-based malware in terms of volume and variety, but it seems that OS X malware may be adopting some of the more successful tactics that Windows viruses have been using to trick users. Researchers have come across a sample of an OS X-based Trojan that disguises itself as a PDF file, a technique that’s been in favor among Windows malware authors for several years now.
Windows 8, like Windows 7 and Vista before it, is being touted as the most secure version of Windows ever. In past releases, many of the security improvements have come through exploit mitigations such as ASLR and DEP and better software security practices during development. In Windows 8, however, one of the major changes is the addition of UEFI, a BIOS replacement that will include a secure boot sequence to help prevent low-level malware infections. That change, however, is not sitting well with everyone.
A new, exceptionally cheap botnet builder has surfaced called Aldi Bot and is for sale online for as little as US $8.
Hundreds of business leaders and academics joined Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Attorney General Martha Coakley to launch the state’s Advanced Cyber Security Center (ACSC), one of the first of its kind in the nation.
The Morto Worm began to make waves just three short weeks ago after working its way through Windows’ Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) but now the worm appears to have an entirely new mode of transport: Jade Dynasty, a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) that is popular in China.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Japan’s primary defense contractor, recently suffered a data breach that may be the first major cyber-attack on Japan’s defense industry to be publicly disclosed, according to a report from Reuters.
DroidDream, a malicious program that targets Android devices, received a major overhaul, and now contains more features for stealing data and phishing the owners of compromised Android phones and tablets, according to a Trend Micro researcher.
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