The unification of XML and SQL relational data has taken another significant step forward recently with the introduction of significant new XML functionality in mySQL, the world’s most popular open source database. In versions 5.1 and 6.0, mySQL adds the… [From XML Moves to mySQL]
Browsing Posts published in December, 2007
A vulnerability exists in the Cisco Firewall Services Module (FWSM) “a high-speed, integrated firewall module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 switches and Cisco 7600 Series routers, that may result in a reload of the FWSM”. The only affected FWSM System Software Version is 3.2(3). [From Application Inspection Vulnerability in Cisco Firewall Services Module]
It’s been a decade now that the very first version of the GNU Privacy Guard has been released … [From GnuPG's 10th birthday!]
[From FBI E-Mail Shows Rift Over Warrant-less Phone Record Grabs
Senate delays vote on spy bill [From News: Senate delays vote on spy bill]
OSes like OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and major Linux distributions are all well within the range of popularity where obscurity does not provide security, particularly considering the similarities between these systems, the commonality of software between them, and their ubiquity as Internet-connected server systems. Couple this with the fact that — in the case of open source [...]
The Perl community just celebrated the 20th anniversary of Perl. Here are some stories from Perl hackers around the world about problems they’ve solved and memories they’ve made with the venerable, powerful, and still vital language. [From Memories of 20 Years of Perl]
USA Adopts Security By Obscurity Stance: Get A Clue The Army is integrating Macs into their IT network to thwart hack attempts. The Mac platform, they argue, is more secure because there are fewer attacks against OS X than Windows-based systems.
Gartner’s latest survey into the realm of phishing attacks paints a rather bleak picture for 2007, with a record estimated loss of $3.2 Billion (that’s Billion, with a B) U.S. Dollars.
At the end of 2006, the FBI’s Telecommunications Intercept and Collection Technology Unit compiled an end-of-the-year report touting its accomplishments to management, a report that was recently unearthed via an open government request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Strikingly, the report said that the FBI’s software for recording telephone surveillance of suspected spies and terrorists [...]
In his latest move to demonstrate that Russia is again a world power, President Vladimir Putin has sent an 11-ship carrier task force to the Mediterranean Sea. Speaking at a Kremlin conference also attended by Putin, Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov said that the sole Russian aircraft carrier, two large anti-submarine ships, and a guided [...]
The global military community witnessed the first cyber war earlier this year. While many consider the three week attack on Estonia a non-event, others point to it as a sign of things to come. One of the most common cyber attack strategies is the network effect on the weakest link theory. The strategy requires the [...]
Discover how to scan your network for services and how to regularly monitor your services to keep uptimes to a maximum. A key way of ensuring the security of your network is to know what is on your network and what services individual machines are at risk of exposure. In this article, learn how to [...]
Researchers at Google and the Georgia Institute of Technology are investigating a “virtually undetectable” form of attack that will quietly direct unsuspecting Internet users to phishing websites and other scams. According to IDG News, an upcoming study will investigate a new generation of phishing attack wherein code hijacks a user’s DNS settings, directing them to [...]
Zero-day attacks hitting media players and chat programs
Hackers have succeeded in breaking into the computer systems of two of the U.S.’ most important science labs, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In an age where “data equals money,” fortune has replaced fame as hackers’ key motivation. Criminals are willing to pay top dollar for personal, financial, and corporate data collected by Trojans and other “crimeware.”
