Latest News: Cyber Attacks on US Banks Expose Computer Vulnerability Businessweek Cyber attacks on the biggest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) & Co., have breached some of the nation's most advanced computer defenses and exposed the vulnerability of its infrastructure, said cybersecurity ... Latest Cyber Tips: Read here or click to download the cyber tips card (Titan Cyber Tip Card New.pdf): 1. Using your smartphone for banking is potentially dangerous. 2. When banking online, close all other windows; ensure https is displayed. 3. If using public WiFi (hotel, coffee shop, airport, etc.), use a proxy to encrypt data. 4. You should encrypt all important data. 5. If emailing sensitive info use secure or encrypted email. 6. Always log out of any account (Facebook, LinkedIn, bank, etc.). Don't just close the window, you will still be logged in. 7. Don't click on links in emails. Go to the actual site, like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Many fake links exist that will take you to a fake website. 8. Do not install security patches in emails. They are fake. 9. Do not click the "unsubscribe" link for unwanted emails or respond to the unwanted emails. This legitimizes your email and may get you put on the spam list. Just continue to delete the email or put it in your junk mail box at least 3 to 4 times before unsubscribing. Usually, but not always, if you receive it 3 or 4 times or more it was legitimate and just annoying. 10. Use the password protection feature on all of your mobile devices. Thousands of tablets, iPads, smartphones, etc. are lost or stolen every week. As some may know I am a big fan of Brian Krebs blog, Krebsonsecurity.com. Here are recent posts: Espionage Hackers Target 'Watering Hole' Sites (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/09/espionage-hackers-target-watering-hole-sites/ Security experts are accustomed to direct attacks, but some of today's more insidious incursions succeed in a roundabout way -- by planting malware at sites deemed most likely to be visited by the targets of interest. New research suggests these so-called "watering hole" tactics recently have been used as stepping stones to conduct espionage attacks against a host of targets across a variety of industries, including the defense, government, academia, financial services, healthcare and utilities sectors. Chinese Hackers Blamed for Intrusion at Energy Industry Giant Telvent (Author BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/09/chinese-hackers-blamed-for-intrusion-at-energy-industry-giant-telvent/ A company whose software and services are used to remotely administer and monitor large sections of the energy industry began warning customers last week that it is investigating a sophisticated hacker attack spanning its operations in the United States, Canada and Spain. Experts says digital fingerprints left behind by attackers point to a Chinese hacking group tied to repeated cyber-espionage campaigns against key Western interests. The attack comes as U.S. policymakers remain gridlocked over legislation designed to beef up the cybersecurity posture of energy companies and other industries that maintain some of the world's most vital information networks. In letters sent to customers last week, Telvent Canada Ltd. said that on Sept. 10, 2012 it learned of a breach of its internal firewall and security systems. Telvent said the attacker(s) installed malicious software and stole project files related to one of its core offerings -- OASyS SCADA -- a product that helps energy firms mesh older IT assets with more advanced "smart grid" technologies. The firm said it was still investigating the incident, but that as a precautionary measure, it had disconnected the usual data links between clients and affected portions of its internal networks. OpenX Promises Fix for Rogue Ads Bug (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/05/openx-promises-fix-for-rogue-ads-bug/ Hackers are actively exploiting a dangerous security vulnerability in OpenX -- an online ad-serving solution for Web sites -- to run booby-trapped ads that serve malware and browser exploits across countless Web sites that depend on the solution. Security experts have been warning for months about mysterious attacks on OpenX installations in which the site owners discovered new rogue administrator accounts. That access allows miscreants to load tainted ads on sites that rely on the software. The bad ads usually try to foist malware on visitors, or frighten them into paying for bogus security software. OpenX is only now just starting to acknowledge the attacks, as more users are coming forward with unanswered questions about the mysteriously added accounts. Please use the link above to continue reading this posting. Global Payments Breach Window Expands (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/05/global-payments-breach-window-expands/ A hacker break-in at credit and debit card processor Global Payments Inc. dates back to at least early June 2011, Visa and MasterCard warned in updated alerts sent to card-issuing banks in the past week. The disclosures offer the first additional details about the scope of the breach since Global Payments acknowledged the incident on March 30, 2012. Please use the link above to continue reading this posting. Service Automates Boobytrapping of Hacked Sites (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/05/service-automates-boobytrapping-of-hacked-sites/ Hardly a week goes by without news of some widespread compromise in which thousands of Web sites that share a common vulnerability are hacked and seeded with malware. Media coverage of these mass hacks usually centers on the security flaw the allowed the intrusions, but one aspect of these crimes that's seldom examined is the method by which attackers automate the booby-trapping and maintenance of their hijacked sites. Regular readers of this blog may be unsurprised to learn that this is another aspect of the cybercriminal economy that can be outsourced to third-party services. Often known as "iFramers," such services can simplify the task of managing large numbers of hacked sites that are used to drive traffic to a handful of sites that serve up malware and browser exploits. Please use the link above to continue reading this posting. Other News: ICANN to reveal extent of data breach ZDNet UK (blog) By Tom Espiner , 2 May, 2012 11:29 ICANN has said it will tell gTLD applicants by early next week whether their information was exposed by a security glitch in ICANN's application system. Internet address coordinator ICANN said on Friday that it would ... See all stories on this topic » In the Tablet Age, Law Firms Face New IT Threats Corporate Counsel By Matthew Huisman. When Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. testified about his agency's budget last month on Capitol Hill, members of the appropriations committee questioned him about what he was doing to stop cyber-attacks. Rep.
Espionage Hackers Target 'Watering Hole' Sites (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/09/espionage-hackers-target-watering-hole-sites/ Security experts are accustomed to direct attacks, but some of today's more insidious incursions succeed in a roundabout way -- by planting malware at sites deemed most likely to be visited by the targets of interest. New research suggests these so-called "watering hole" tactics recently have been used as stepping stones to conduct espionage attacks against a host of targets across a variety of industries, including the defense, government, academia, financial services, healthcare and utilities sectors. Chinese Hackers Blamed for Intrusion at Energy Industry Giant Telvent (Author
Espionage Hackers Target 'Watering Hole' Sites (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/09/espionage-hackers-target-watering-hole-sites/
Security experts are accustomed to direct attacks, but some of today's more insidious incursions succeed in a roundabout way -- by planting malware at sites deemed most likely to be visited by the targets of interest. New research suggests these so-called "watering hole" tactics recently have been used as stepping stones to conduct espionage attacks against a host of targets across a variety of industries, including the defense, government, academia, financial services, healthcare and utilities sectors.
Chinese Hackers Blamed for Intrusion at Energy Industry Giant Telvent (Author
BrianKrebs)
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/09/chinese-hackers-blamed-for-intrusion-at-energy-industry-giant-telvent/
A company whose software and services are used to remotely administer and monitor large sections of the energy industry began warning customers last week that it is investigating a sophisticated hacker attack spanning its operations in the United States, Canada and Spain. Experts says digital fingerprints left behind by attackers point to a Chinese hacking group tied to repeated cyber-espionage campaigns against key Western interests.
The attack comes as U.S. policymakers remain gridlocked over legislation designed to beef up the cybersecurity posture of energy companies and other industries that maintain some of the world's most vital information networks.
In letters sent to customers last week, Telvent Canada Ltd. said that on Sept.
10, 2012 it learned of a breach of its internal firewall and security systems.
Telvent said the attacker(s) installed malicious software and stole project files related to one of its core offerings -- OASyS SCADA -- a product that helps energy firms mesh older IT assets with more advanced "smart grid"
technologies. The firm said it was still investigating the incident, but that as a precautionary measure, it had disconnected the usual data links between clients and affected portions of its internal networks.
OpenX Promises Fix for Rogue Ads Bug (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/05/openx-promises-fix-for-rogue-ads-bug/ Hackers are actively exploiting a dangerous security vulnerability in OpenX -- an online ad-serving solution for Web sites -- to run booby-trapped ads that serve malware and browser exploits across countless Web sites that depend on the solution.
Security experts have been warning for months about mysterious attacks on OpenX installations in which the site owners discovered new rogue administrator accounts. That access allows miscreants to load tainted ads on sites that rely on the software. The bad ads usually try to foist malware on visitors, or frighten them into paying for bogus security software. OpenX is only now just starting to acknowledge the attacks, as more users are coming forward with unanswered questions about the mysteriously added accounts.
Please use the link above to continue reading this posting.
Global Payments Breach Window Expands (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/05/global-payments-breach-window-expands/ A hacker break-in at credit and debit card processor Global Payments Inc. dates back to at least early June 2011, Visa and MasterCard warned in updated alerts sent to card-issuing banks in the past week. The disclosures offer the first additional details about the scope of the breach since Global Payments acknowledged the incident on March 30, 2012.
Service Automates Boobytrapping of Hacked Sites (Author: BrianKrebs) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/05/service-automates-boobytrapping-of-hacked-sites/
Hardly a week goes by without news of some widespread compromise in which thousands of Web sites that share a common vulnerability are hacked and seeded with malware. Media coverage of these mass hacks usually centers on the security flaw the allowed the intrusions, but one aspect of these crimes that's seldom examined is the method by which attackers automate the booby-trapping and maintenance of their hijacked sites. Regular readers of this blog may be unsurprised to learn that this is another aspect of the cybercriminal economy that can be outsourced to third-party services. Often known as "iFramers," such services can simplify the task of managing large numbers of hacked sites that are used to drive traffic to a handful of sites that serve up malware and browser exploits.
Other News:
ICANN to reveal extent of data breach ZDNet UK (blog) By Tom Espiner , 2 May, 2012 11:29 ICANN has said it will tell gTLD applicants by early next week whether their information was exposed by a security glitch in ICANN's application system. Internet address coordinator ICANN said on Friday that it would ... See all stories on this topic »