I just posted a video walking through the stuxnet exploit and how it can impact endpoints simply by viewing the site and how a strong application whitelisting solution like BOUNCER stops this.
This attack is a good illustration of a vulnerability that affects all versions of Windows and was specifically targeting SCADA environments. More specifically it affects any systems that use shortcuts.
While antivirus companies scramble for a fix to the latest threat of the day, it seems to make more sense to look for security solutions that defend against these sorts of attacks proactively.
April showers may bring May flowers, but the Internet also saw something else in full bloom — cyber crime. Computer systems around the globe experienced a variety of problems in April ranging from more fake antivirus software to malicious code that avoids detection from search engine Web crawlers. But none were as big as a well-publicized faulty security update that crashed thousands of computers and became a public relations nightmare for one of the world’s top security software makers. Here were some of the top security stories from April 2010: Continue reading this post…
There is no question that cyberspace is a new frontline in traditional and untraditional conflict. Many nations and organizations have the ability, directly and by proxy, to target and attack critical infrastructure within the US and worldwide. The recent cyber attacks launched within China against Google and several other companies raised questions about the state of industry preparedness to help defend cyberspace.
The US government relies on commercial industry to safeguard the Internet, telecommunications, power, water, and other critical infrastructure that underpin our national economy. Elements of this infrastructure also directly support our ability to project military power worldwide. Continue reading this post…
Growing evidence suggests that a rootkit infection was *one* of the culprits behind last week’s Blue Screen of Death incident that caused countless Windows PCs to lock down after installing several Microsoft security patches. While many follow-up articles have focused on the malware infection that caused the problem, including Robert Westervelt’s SearchSecurity.com article, “Windows blue screen may be result of rootkit infection,” from an endpoint security standpoint, most seem to be missing the point. And that point is even though malware may be causing this problem, rushed patching is a process that can always cause problems. Continue reading this post…
I truly believe that 2010 is a turning point in endpoint security. The old antivirus model has reached the end of its practical usefulness and the disadvantages of an approach with a foundation of blacklisting far outweigh its benefits. Operation Aurora and the attacks against major online brands perfectly illustrates the failure of our old paradigm to protect endpoints.
Later this week, we are launching a fun (and funny) awareness campaign, called Planet Antivirus, highlighting the weaknesses of antivirus and focusing on the need to completely rethink our approach to how we defend endpoints. Today I am kicking this campaign off by highlighting the top five failures of antivirus technology: Continue reading this post…
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