SecurityWeek

A digital publisher said Monday it was likely the source of a data breach which resulted in the leak of personal data from as many as 12 million Apple iPhone and iPad users. Hackers initially claimed the data containing Apple identification codes known as UDIDs was stolen from an FBI computer, but the US law enforcement agency claimed this was incorrect.

On Sunday, after dealing with an attack on their website earlier in the week, Qatar-based news organization Al Jazeera suffered another attack at the hands of pro-Syrian hackers. The news agency said on Twitter that their SMS news service was compromised, and used to spread propaganda. In a message posted to Twitter on Sunday, Al Jazeera Arabic said that their SMS service was compromised by “pirates” who used the hijacked access to “send fake news with no basis.”

The National Cyber Security Hall of Fame announced this week that 24 individuals have been nominated and confirmed by the Board of Advisors and peers for consideration for the 2012 class.

Tenable Network Security, makers of vulnerability scanners and software solutions that helps find network security gaps, this week announced that it has raised $50 million in its first-round funding from Accel Partners. The company said it would use the cash boost to expand its security offerings and accelerate global growth, as well as deepening its research into threats.

Back in early 2010, Google announced it had been a victim of a persistent and sophisticated attack conducted over a sustained period of time. According to Google, the attackers behind "Operation Aurora" were from China and had the backing of the Chinese government.

Google Broadens Its Security Insight With Acquisition of VirusTotalGoogle has acquired VirusTotal, the popular service that lets users analyze suspicious files and URLs to help facilitate the detection of malware.

Last month, an (electronic) age old debate was rekindled by an article penned by Dave Aitel titled “Why you shouldn't train employees for security awareness”. His basic argument is that the money and time invested in Security Awareness Training is better spent elsewhere to better effect.

With Congress unable to enact comprehensive cyber-security legislation, it appears President Obama is considering taking unilateral action to safeguard the nation's critical IT infrastructure.

Reuters is reporting that sources close to the investigation efforts in the Aramco attack are reporting that insiders are partly responsible. In August, Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company – and the world’s largest oil producer – had to contend with a malware outbreak that hit 30,000 systems in a single go.

On Thursday, Joshua Schichtel was sentenced to 30 months in prison, and ordered to three years of supervised release. The sentence comes after he pled guilty to selling access to botnets last August. Schichtel, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, pled guilty to one count of attempting to cause damage to multiple computers without authorization by the transmission of programs, codes or commands. 

Analyzing data collected and categorized by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, researchers at Rapid7 crunched the numbers and determined that over the last three years, more than 94 million records containing personally identifiable information (PII) were exposed due to data breaches in the government sector.

NEW YORK, NY - Netherlands-based AVG Technologies, maker of popular free and premium Internet security software, this week officially launched its 2013 product line. The AVG 2013 lineup includes new versions of the company’s free and paid products, and additional enhancements to its security and performance optimization products.

The US Secret Service is investigating claims that someone has stolen the Mitt Romney’s tax returns, with plans to release them of their demands are not met. News of the extortion broke late Wednesday, after the discovery of a post on Pastebin with the claims. As it turns out, campaign offices for both the Democrats and Republicans had received the extortion demands late last week.

Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant subject to an investigation on Capitol Hill looking into their alleged ties to the PLA, has published a report on cyber security perspectives. The report is a mix of company promotion, as well as an indirect answer to Congress’ claims.

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