Internet service providers now spend most of their IT security resources detecting and mitigating distributed denial-of-service attacks, concludes a report from Arbor Networks. As in the previous three reports, ISPs reported attacks where their networks were overloaded with packets, what's called a distributed denial-of-service attack.
After Limiting YouTube, Military Launches "TroopTube"
The U.S. military, with help from Seattle startup Delve Networks, has launched a video-sharing Web site for troops, their families and supporters, a year and a half after restricting access to YouTube and other video sites. TroopTube, as the new site is called, lets people register as members of one of the branches of the armed forces, family, civilian Defense Department employees or supporters.
Energy Sector Called at Risk for Cyberattack
Asked which industry is the biggest target for cyberattack, critical infrastructure insiders in the U.S., Canada, and Europe point to the energy sector. The energy industry also is the most vulnerable to cyberattacks and would have the most detrimental breach, while the financial sector is the best prepared in the case of a cyberattack, according to the survey sponsored by security firm Secure Computing.
Report Says Internet Attacks Getting More Massive
Attackers bent on shutting down large Web sites -- even the operators that run the backbone of the Internet -- are arming themselves with what are effectively vast digital fire hoses capable of overwhelming the world's largest networks, according to a new report on online security. In these attacks, computer networks are hijacked to form so-called botnets that spray random packets of data in huge streams over the Internet.
Pharmacy Provider Threatened with Exposing Data
One of the nation's largest processors of pharmacy prescriptions said that extortionists are threatening to disclose personal and medical information about millions of Americans if the company fails to meet payment demands. St. Louis-based Express Scripts said that in early October it received a letter that included the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and, in some cases, prescription data on 75 of its customers.
Japan Reports Doubling of Hacking-Related Arrests
Arrests associated with unauthorized access to computers more than doubled in Japan in 2007 compared to the previous year, according to figures released by Japan's Ministry of Justice. During 2007 a total of 1,442 arrests were made, up 703 arrests a year earlier, reported the ministry in its annual White Paper on Crime.
Spammers Profitable Despite Enormous Failures
Spammers are turning a profit despite only getting one response for every 12.5 million e-mails they send, finds a study. By hijacking a working spam network, US researchers have uncovered some of the economics of being a junk mailer.
White House E-mail Archives Attacked Several Times
U.S. officials have confirmed that the White House e-mail archives were attacked several times in recent months, according to a story by the Financial Times. The report says the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, a new unit established in 2007 to tackle cybersecurity, detected the attacks on the White House, and also traced the attacks back to servers based in China.
Google CEO Won't Serve as Obama's Tech Czar
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said he would not serve as technology czar in Barack Obama's administration if he was asked. "I love working at Google and I'm very happy to stay at Google, so the answer is no," Schmidt said in response to a question from CNBC host Jim Cramer in an appearance on his television show.
Italy Orders Google Officials to Stand Trial
An Italian prosecutor has ordered four former and current Google officials to stand trial on charges related to a video of a taunted youth with Down syndrome posted on its Italian website, court sources said. The prosecutor, Francesco Cajani, ordered the defendants to appear in a Milan court on February 3 to face charges of defamation and failure to exercise control over personal data, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Court in Malaysia Orders Blogger Released
In what lawyers described as a landmark ruling, a court in Malaysia ordered the release of one of the country's best-known bloggers, ruling that the government had acted beyond its authority in invoking a threat to national security. Lawyers have long complained that Malaysia's mildly authoritarian government uses a draconian law, the Internal Security Act, as a tool against political opponents.
Computers Hacked at Presidential Campaign Headquarters
Computers at the headquarters of the Barack Obama and John McCain campaigns were hacked during the campaign by a foreign entity looking for future policy information, a source with knowledge of the incidents confirms to CNN. The source said the computers were hacked mid-summer by either a foreign government or organization.
Obama Adds Technology Executives to Transition Team
President-elect Barack Obama has named tech executives from Google.org and InterActiveCorp to his transition team, according to reports. Google.org's Sonal Shah, and Julius Genachowski, a former IAC executive who also served as chief counsel to former Democratic FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, have both been named to the team, according to news reports.
Craiglist Agrees to Limit "Erotic Services" Listings
The online classifieds company Craigslist said that it had reached an agreement with 40 state attorneys general and agreed to tame its notoriously unruly “erotic services” listings. Prostitutes and sex-oriented businesses have long used that section of Craigslist to advertise their services.
Google Walks Away from Deal with Yahoo
Google offered its rival Yahoo a marriage of convenience this past summer: an advertising partnership that gave Yahoo an alternative to selling all or part of itself to Microsoft. That proposed marriage fell apart in the face of opposition from government antitrust regulators, leaving a jilted Yahoo under growing pressure to devise a new growth plan.
Speculation Arises Around Obama's Tech Agenda
When Barack Obama becomes president in January with a strongly Democratic Congress, he'll have the chance to push a technology policy that relies more on government subsidy and regulation than that of his immediate predecessor. In Washington and Silicon Valley circles, betting has already begun on who will be the nation's first "chief technology officer."
Spammers Increasingly Turn to Obama as a Ploy
Within hours of settling the U.S. presidential election, spam seen worldwide began incorporating the name and image of Barack Obama, according to various security vendors. The U.K.'s Sophos reported 60 percent of all spam seen by the lab on the day after the election was in some way Obama related.
Brand Owners Find Faults in Domain Name Expansion
Worried about having to shell out millions of dollars to protect their brands, several major companies are protesting the launch of a slew of new top-level domains -- the suffixes like ".com" that appear at the end of Web-site names. Verizon Communications, Marriott International and New York Life Insurance are among the companies arguing that the new domains could open the flood gates to Internet fraud and drastically increase their costs of doing business online.
Research Supports Link Between Video Games, Aggression
Children and teenagers who play violent video games show increased physical aggression months afterward, according to new research that adds another layer of evidence to the continuing debate over the video-game habits of the youngest generation. The research, published in the journal Pediatrics, brings together three longitudinal studies, one from the United States and two from Japan, examining the content of games, how often they are played and aggressive behaviors later in a school year.
Analyst Expects Rejection of Yahoo-Google Deal
The new search advertising deal between Yahoo and Google is unlikely to win U.S. antitrust approval, and therefore may open the door to a new bid for Yahoo from Microsoft, an analyst said. Under the revised deal the two companies have proposed to the Justice Department, Yahoo and Google significantly scaled back the scope of their agreement, including shortening the length of the partnership to two years from 10, a source said.
