SecurityWeek

What Does 8861 Mean? Security Researchers Search for Significance Researchers are asking for help figuring out the significance of a password frequently used in targeted attacks in an attempt at crowd-sourcing the answer.

A British market research firm, Goode Intelligence, says that biometrics for mobile devices will be an essential feature before the decade is out. Their claims come from previous forecasts that point to a market growth of nearly 39 million users by 2015. Smart Mobile Devices (SMDs) are now the personal device of choice, Goode notes, with sales outpacing PCs. The BYOD trend is accelerating the need for enhanced security as SMDs are being used more often for consumer and business-sensitive...

From Flame to Madi, malware used for cyber espionage continues to stay under the radar while silently swiping data from corporation's digital coffers. In a new report, Dell SecureWorks researcher Joe Stewart went inside this part of the cyber-underworld, uncovering a realm where hundreds of actors make, control and propagate malware designed to spy on institutions around the world.

In a talk on router hacking during Def Con on Sunday, Recurity Labs’ Felix (FX) Lindner told those in attendance that for the 20th anniversary of Def Con, the gift was China. This is because he was about to give a presentation on the seriously security challenged status of routers manufactured by Huawei.Update: China's Huawei Responds to US Hackers

HITRUST Launches Cyber Threat Analysis Service for the Healthcare Industry An industry association of healthcare providers, technology companies and government agencies launched a cybersecurity service intended to facilitate information sharing within the health care sector.

IBM announced on Tuesday that it would be launching a new class of security appliance that targets the risks associated with social media. The IBM Security Network Protection XGS 5000 will focus on Web risk, but it is being pitched as a solution that will help organizations manage social media and other BYOD types of problems.

NEW YORK - (AFP) - Two online poker sites have agreed to pay $731 million in a settlement of a US probe that will compensate consumers who claimed they were defrauded in online games, officials said Tuesday.The deal announced by the US Justice Department also allows PokerStars, a British-registered firm believed to operate the largest online card gaming site, to acquire the assets of Irish-based Full Tilt Poker.The agreement approved by a federal judge settles investigations by US officials into...

Ask about distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS), and many people will envision a website being non-responsive. However, according to researchers at Arbor Networks, cybercriminals are also advertising to launch DDoS attacks against a less likely target – your telephone.

It’s Sunday evening, surrounded by sand and mountains, the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas twinkles a fond farewell to thousands of hackers as they head home from DEF CON's 20th anniversary gathering. Plenty has changed since Jeff Moss (AKA "The Dark Tangent") gathered some friends for a bit of fun during the summer of 1992. Def Con, for example, has moved around a bit, having outgrown (or worn-out their welcome depending on who you ask), three hotels since its...

Wells Fargo on Monday said that it has appointed Rich Baich to the role of chief information security officer (CISO). Baich will join San Francisco-based Wells Fargo late this summer following his departure from Deloitte and Touche, where he has led the Global Cyber Threat and Vulnerability Management Practice.Prior to Deloitte and Touche, Baich served in several executive security roles including Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, ChoicePoint, and the FBI.

Sophos on Monday officially launched Sophos Mobile Security, a free mobile security solution designed to protect Android devices against malware, privacy issues and lost hardware.

Police in South Korea have reportedly arrested two people for hacking into the network of KT Corp., the country's second largest mobile carrier and selling the data. According to a report by the Yonhap News Agency, police arrested a 40-yeard-old suspect – identified only by his family name of Choi – as well as a second person and accused them of leaking the personal information of roughly 8.7 million mobile phone subscribers since February. 

A researcher with viaForensics demonstrated how to beat encryption for Android devices at the DEF CON security conference in Las Vegas. 

HTML5 Top 10 Security Threats, Stealth Attacks and Silent Exploits

BLACK HAT USA 2012 - Information security professionals can establish a better relationship with the users within the organization by improving lines of communication, a security analyst told Black Hat attendees.