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Cyber Attacks

FBI warns of SMS and phone-based phishing scams

Angela Moscaritolo November 24, 2010

The FBI issued a warning on Wednesday about so-called "smishing" and "vishing" scams, which are likely to be prevalent this holiday season.

Scammers ready to pounce on Cyber Monday deal-hunters

Angela Moscaritolo November 23, 2010

Social networking sites and search engines are expected to be hit hard as cybercriminals try to wrangle in unsuspecting holiday shoppers.

Google quickly shores up Gmail spam flaw

Angela Moscaritolo November 22, 2010

Google has fixed what is being described as a serious security flaw that allowed a hacker to harvest Gmail addresses and send spam from the search giant's servers.

Senate debates DHS, reporting responsibility post Stuxnet

Angela Moscaritolo November 19, 2010

The Stuxnet worm has prompted lawmakers to consider imparting additional cyber-oversight on the Department of Homeland Security.

Lawmaker says attack against power grid will happen

Angela Moscaritolo November 11, 2010

The likelihood of a crippling cyberattack against the U.S. electric gird is 100 percent, a congresswoman said Wednesday at SC World Congress in New York.

Targeted, smarter attacks dominate 2010 threat landscape

Angela Moscaritolo November 10, 2010

According to an SC World Congress speaker, cybercriminals have over the past year grown more innovative and relied heavily on opportunistic, targeted and blended attacks.

Hacker accesses Louisiana EMT licensing database

Angela Moscaritolo November 09, 2010

An unauthorized individual recently gained access to a Louisiana state licensing database that contained the personal information of tens of thousands of emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

Stuxnet: Lessons not yet learned?

Charles Jeter, ESET cybercrime investigator November 03, 2010

According to Iran, Stuxnet is no longer a threat - however use of a new zero-day exploit has extended its life cycle.

National security expert to address threat of cyberwar

Angela Moscaritolo October 20, 2010

The cyberwar battlefield exists in every part of society in which we live and work, according to a national security expert who will be speaking at the third annual SC World Congress.

Stuxnet: Cyber warfare's game-changer, Part Two

Charles Jeter, ESET cybercrime investigator October 14, 2010

Is Stuxnet cyber warfare's Trinity Test?

Stuxnet: Cyber warfare's game-changer, Part One

Charles Jeter, ESET cybercrime investigator October 14, 2010

Is Stuxnet cyber warfare's Trinity Test?

More than half of critical infrastructure targeted

Angela Moscaritolo October 07, 2010

In the wake of the Stuxnet worm, a new survey found that 53 percent of critical infrastructure providers said their networks have experienced politically motivated attacks.

Microsoft exec proposes new internet "health" model

Angela Moscaritolo October 06, 2010

Governments, the IT industry and internet access providers should evaluate and ensure the health of consumer devices before allowing them full access to the internet, according to a Microsoft executive.

From sci-fi to Stuxnet: Exploding gas pipelines and the Farewell Dossier

Charles Jeter, ESET cybercrime investigator September 30, 2010

Becoming part of a supply chain failure for nation-states willing to bypass embargo could lead to life-changing consequences.

Stuxnet should serve as wake-up call, say experts

Angela Moscaritolo September 28, 2010

The Stuxnet worm should serve as a wake-up call that cyberwarfare is a reality, experts said.

Cyber Storm III exercise set to begin Tuesday

Dan Kaplan September 28, 2010

Thousands of cybersecurity experts from across the country and abroad will converge this week for Cyber Storm III, a three-day-long exercise designed to evaluate America's ability to respond to a cyberattack. The exercise will offer the first test of the recently devised National Cyber Incident Response Plan by simulating a large-scale assault on the nation's critical infrastructure, according to a news release. Participants are expected to include representatives from federal agencies, 11 states, 60 private companies and 12 countries. Cyber Storm exercises previously were held in 2006 and 2008. — DK

Prison sentence for RBS hacker suspended in Russia

Angela Moscaritolo September 09, 2010

One of the leaders of a cybercriminal gang that hacked into payment services provider RBS WorldPay and stole $9 million has received a six-year suspended sentence in Russia, according to reports.

Pentagon official reveals "most significant" military breach

Angela Moscaritolo August 26, 2010

Observers believe a Pentagon official's recount of a major breach can help others from making the same mistake, while some think the incident calls into question the U.S. military's IT security preparedness.

Comcast hijacker gets four months in prison

Angela Moscaritolo August 11, 2010

A member of the Kryogeniks gang that took down Comcast's home page for several hours in 2008 was sentenced Monday to four months in prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office. James Robert Black Jr., 21, of Tumwater, Wash. and two other individuals accessed Comcast's account in May 2008 to change the site's DNS records so that users who intended to visit comcast.net were redirected to a site under the hackers' control. Comcast lost $128,578 as a result of the prank, which prevented customers from retrieving their email, voicemail and other services. — AM

Experts encourage investment in attribution technologies

Angela Moscaritolo July 16, 2010

A number of experts testified before U.S. House members Thursday that research and development is needed to improve ways to determine the identity and location of cyberattackers. Such technologies could could limit the impact of a major attack, witnesses said at a meeting of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Technology. During the hearing, members and witnesses said that increasing coordination between government and industry to develop new attack attribution technologies would help prevent redundant efforts and take advantage of all available resources. — AM

Cyber progress report: More work is needed

Angela Moscaritolo July 15, 2010

Cybersecurity stakeholders converged at the White House this week to discuss ideas and progress being made since President Obama issued a digital protection plan last year.

Government to help defend private sector networks

Angela Moscaritolo July 08, 2010

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has launched a pilot program to detect and respond to cyberattacks against public and private entities, such as energy companies and nuclear power plants, that operate the nation's critical infrastructure.

Anti-hack: Retaliatory action against digital attacks

Deb Radcliff July 01, 2010

Has the time come to take retaliatory action against digital attacks? And if so, where is the line drawn? Deb Radcliff reports.

Senate Committee passes major cybersecurity legislation

Angela Moscaritolo June 25, 2010

A U.S. Senate committee unanimously passed a cybersecurity bill, which would grant the president emergency power over critical infrastructure networks.

Senate bill would expand government cybersecurity role

Angela Moscaritolo June 15, 2010

A Senate Committee is set to consider a bill that would grant the president emergency power over critical infrastructure networks, in addition to createcybersecurity offices within the White House and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Cyberattackers stole Google's password system

Angela Moscaritolo April 20, 2010

According to a new report, those behind the cyberattack against Google managed to steal the company's password system, which controls millions of users' access to all of Google's web services.

Pennsylvania CISO's dismissal not in good judgment

Dan Kaplan March 11, 2010

The information security industry took a step back this week with news that the CISO of the state of Pennsylvania, Bob Maley, lost his job, likely over remarks he made during a panel discussion last week at the RSA Conference.

Intel the victim of "sophisticated" cyberattack

Angela Moscaritolo February 23, 2010

Intel told the federal government that it was the victim of a "sophisticated" cyberattack that occurred in January, around the time cybercriminals compromised systems at Google, Adobe and more than 30 other large companies.

Cybercriminals exploiting luger's death, Winter Olympics

Angela Moscaritolo February 16, 2010

Attackers have been using Twitter and black hat search engine optimization tactics to promote fake videos from the Winter Olympics that are spreading malware, experts warned.

Report says U.S. needs new approach for security

Angela Moscaritolo February 01, 2010

A new report authored by retired Gen. Eugene Habiger of the U.S. Air Force finds that that the public and private sector must deploy secure systems that are properly tested and certified to withstand sophisticated cyberattacks.