In a month known for love, February was filled with more heartbreaking stories of security problems and problematic fire drill patching. Is it me, or does it seem like everybody’s experiencing security compromises stemming from patching flaws and vulnerabilities within their system? Instead of resulting in more secure networks, what these and other recent stories point out is that malware only highlights the fact that existing desktop security isn’t working properly. Check out some of the top stories from February 2010.
Security patches cripple Windows XP computers
Windows customers were up in arms over a Microsoft security patch that left their PCs locked down with the notorious Blue Screen of Death. This was yet another glaring example of the problems organizations experience when rolling out patches quickly. 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…
Looking back, I have to say that January brought some security industry setbacks, highlighted by Operation Aurora and the publicity surrounding Google’s claims of highly coordinated attacks from China. Particularly relevant to us in these attacks is the fact that application whitelisting would have stopped the attacks while anti-virus was once again helpless to prevent new and targeted attacks. As always, I appreciate your readership and hope that this blog continues to bring value and insight to what we as security professionals are up against in 2010. So without further delay, here were some of the top stories from January 2010. Continue reading this post…
Much has already been written about the impact of Operation Aurora on the threat landscape. The international attacks on some of the world’s leading Internet companies reminded us once again of the vulnerabilities within interconnected networks that can be accessed from virtually anywhere in the world.
These attacks also illustrate the growing need for, and strength of, application whitelisting solutions. As Aurora first gained access by attacking an endpoint within Google’s network to trick a user into installing malware, even leading antivirus software designed to detect such viruses and malicious code couldn’t stop it from running within the network. Continue reading this post…