Surviving the Week 6/01/2012

Revealed: Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don’t want the government spying on you

This week, The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats. There are some interesting words which are very common in the information security industry. In fact, the word “security” is on the list as well. One thing, I am pretty sure of is, my blog is monitored.  The complete list can be accessed from – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150281/REVEALED-Hundreds-words-avoid-using-online-dont-want-government-spying-you.html

Flame malware – more details of targeted cyber attack in Middle East

On June 28, the Flame malware was discovered as targeting Iranian computer systems. Flame can activate a computer’s audio system to eavesdrop on Skype calls or office chatter, take screenshots, log keystrokes and even capture information from Bluetooth-enabled phones left nearby.   http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/05/28/flame-malware-cyber-attack/

May 2012 Threat Stats

Very interesting stats on zombie or bot controlled systems.  Among notable factoids, Threat Stats from the May issue of SC Magazine indicate where the largest increases in month-over-month zombie activity occurred. http://www.scmagazine.com/may-2012-threat-stats/slideshow/746/#0

Cookie law: websites must seek consent from this weekend

A new EU law will be in effect from this Saturday in the UK.  It is a very interesting law which talks about taking user’s consent before saving any data (including temporary storage as part of the browser i.e. cookie, applet, activeX) on user’s computer. On one hand, this will effect usability of web applications but will give some level of protection against malware and drive by downloads. http://packetstormsecurity.org/news/view/21037/Cookie-Law-Websites-Must-Seek-Consent-From-This-Weekend.html

 

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