SecurityWeek

Malicious Web advertising has long been a way for attackers to compromise PCs, but now the technique appears to be making its way to the world of mobile devices.

NEW YORK CITY - A New York regulator announced a probe into virtual currencies like Bitcoin Monday, saying they could be used by drug traffickers and gun runners and threaten US national security.

Google announced on Monday that it has paid out more than $2,000,000 in rewards for vulnerabilities found in its products as part of its security reward initiatives. Since introducing a rewards program for security flaws found in its Chromium and Google Web properties, Google said that it has rewarded and fixed more than 2,000 reports of security flaws.

A new study from the Ponemon Institute shows that companies are increasingly looking towards cyber-security insurance to shield them in the event of a cyber-attack.

BOGOTA - Colombian officials will raise the issue of US electronic surveillance on Monday during a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry, the American ambassador said.

According to new research from soon-to-go-public security firm FireEye, the threat actors behind the attacks against the New York Times late last year appear to be using upgraded versions of the malware they use, and are conducting a new wave of attacks.

Network security firm Palo Alto Networks announced new capabilities in its WildFire malware analysis sandbox, saying that the technology can now analyze Android applications in the APK file format to detect threats embedded within Android applications.

For many victims of an information security breach, prioritization of vulnerabilities becomes an act forced upon them a priori. “Ooops, that one was serious, we should have prioritized it!”, is the lament heard afterwards.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama pledged to overhaul US secret surveillance on Friday, promising greater oversight and transparency and insisting he had no interest in snooping on ordinary citizens.

I remember an old exercise, designed to make you consider what is truly important to you, in which you had to answer the question, “Your house is on fire. Every person and pet is safe, but you have time to go into your house and save exactly ONE thing. What would that ONE thing be?”

BERLIN - Germany's three biggest email providers announced Friday a partnership to bolster the security of messages sent between them in the wake of revelations of US online surveillance. Telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom as well as GMX and Web.de, both subsidiaries of Germany's United Internet, will automatically encrypt their email traffic from now on.

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama met with leaders of IT and telecoms giants, including Apple, Google and AT&T, to discuss controversial electronic surveillance programs, Politico reported Friday.

Silent Circle, a startup providing private encrypted communications solutions, has shut down an encrypted email service that it offered as part of its secure communications offerings.

Proofpoint, a Sunnyvale, California-based provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions, announced that it has agreed to acquire Armorize Technologies, a maker of cloud-based anti-malware products for roughly $25 million in cash.

Security software maker ESET this week launched the latest version of its mobile security solution for Android. Completely rebuilt and redesigned, the new ESET Mobile Security for Android brings improved scanning, an anti-phishing module and a redesigned user interface, the company said.