Features
The switch is on
Tarron Weir and Joseph Raquel might well be "poster boys" for the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) virtual private network (VPN) movement. In fact, their experience with the latest in secure remote-access technology more or less epitomizes what’s going on in the VPN marketplace right now.
Jun 6 2006 8:05PM
Security
Remote control wars
Monitoring an illicit Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel recently, Nicholas Albright couldn’t believe what he was seeing. First, he observed a network operator sending commands to install keyloggers on thousands of compromised, remote-controlled computers. Then, all this private data started flying over the channel — HIPAA-protected medical information, financial account numbers, usernames and passwords.
Jun 6 2006 7:47PM
Security
The race to reduce insider threats
As part of the recent Infosecurity Europe 2006 Conference in London, a Hackers’ Panel included the likes of Gary McKinnon — also known as Solo, who could be extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. for allegedly hacking into various military and NASA systems. A less covered session, however, hit upon a problem that has existed for ages but that seems to still get short shrift in enterprises today: insider threats.
Jun 5 2006 10:45PM
Security
News briefs
Breach in Texas
The University of Texas suffered its second major data breach in three years when more than 197,000 personal records were exposed at the McCombs School of Business.
The breach compromised the Social Security numbers and other biographical information of alumni, faculty, staff and students of the business school.
Not much is known about the source of the breach, though UT officials said they are working on an investigation. In the meantime, the university set up a website and toll-free numbers to direct those potentially affected to protect their identities.
Jun 5 2006 10:41PM
Security
Company news
Lumeta, a provider of network intelligence solutions, has promoted David Arbeitel to CTO and senior vice president of product strategy. He previously served as senior vice president of strategic development. Arbeitel’s new role comes as Lumeta is expanding its overall technology focus to help businesses with compliance, IT optimization and security risk management.
Jun 5 2006 10:04PM
Security
IM-based malware threat grows
Just as the number of end-users enlisting instant messaging (IM) programs to communicate has risen, so too has the number of distinct families of IM-based malware. More attackers are utilizing this propagation method and infections are increasingly sophisticated.
Jun 5 2006 9:39PM
Security
Structure found in process
As technically oriented security professionals we often don’t pursue structure in our testing. We simply use the same vulnerability scans and penetration tests we’ve been using for years — updated, of course, for the latest network nasties. Today, that simply is not enough.
Jun 5 2006 9:35PM
Security
Advance commerce through innovation
Smart cards make perpetrating fraud considerably more difficult than "traditional" magstripe cards. In regions where offline processing is the dominant method for processing transactions this especially is true. As a result — and even though we have driven payment card fraud to an all-time low — our industry is now seriously exploring how smart card technology can become the primary driver in the evolution of payment card security.
Jun 5 2006 9:03PM
Security
Meet your attackers on their own own turf
There’s plenty of talk today about perimeter security strategies. Protecting the perimeter with multilayered security. Identifying the perimeter. The latest buzz on firewalls. Zero-day attacks. Worm storms. Security toolkits with the latest intrusion detection tools. Secure software applications.
Jun 5 2006 8:28PM
Security
Review: AppSense Application Manager and Environment Manager
The AppSense Application Manager (AM) can be set up as a standalone product in a test environment before actual deployment. The standalone
preconfiguration enables an administrator to get to know and tweak the program for the best configuration for each particular environment.
Jun 1 2006 12:00AM
Security
Review: LANDesk Security Suite
This product incorporates all the features of a great endpoint security product in one program. LANDesk must be installed on a central server, which must pass certain security and version tests before install will begin. After installation, policies can be set for access, applications, software versions, service packs, anti-virus, and so on. Agents planted across the network also allow the console administrator to take remote control of machines in violation of policies. Security Suite is part of a larger set of integrated products.
Jun 1 2006 12:00AM
Security
