A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said. Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, is quietly turning thousands of personal computers into servers of e-mail spam and installing spyware, they said.
Broadcom Gets $891 Million from Qualcomm in Settlement
Qualcomm Inc. said it agreed to pay $891 million to Broadcom Corp. over four years as part of a settlement of a series of bitter legal disputes between the rival chip makers. Under the deal, Qualcomm and Broadcom agreed to end their litigation and exchange rights to each others' patents.
Twitter User Arrested for Threatening "War"
An Oklahoma City man who allegedly threatened on Twitter to turn a tax protest into a massacre has been arrested on suspicion of making interstate threats in what is believed to be the first federal prosecution based on posts made to the micro-blogging site. Using the micro-blogging site, Daniel Knight Hayden allegedly threatened to start a "war" against the government at the Oklahoma City Capitol where a "Tea Party" tax protest was planned.
Craigslist CEO Defends Site After Murder
In the wake of the murder of Craigslist-advertising masseuse Julissa Brisman, and the arrest of Philip Markoff, Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster of Craigslist gave interviews to Martin Bashir of ABC's Nightline. Their attitude was both defiant and a little uncomfortable.
Oklahoma Department of Human Service Loses Laptop
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services reported that a laptop was stolen from one of its employees. The laptop contained the personal data of people receiving government assistance, specifically those enrolled in the following programs: Medicaid, Child Care assistance, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Researchers Identify First Mac-Specific Trojan Horse
Blogs are buzzing about what two Symantec researchers have called the first harmful computer program to strike specifically at Mac. This Trojan horse program, dubbed the "iBotnet," has infected only a few thousand Mac machines, but it represents a step in the evolution of malicious computer software.
White House May Get Bigger Cybersecurity Role
The federal official overseeing a 60-day review of the U.S. government's cybersecurity efforts indicated that the final report recommends shifting more responsibilities to the White House. "It provides the president with recommendations for a White House organizational structure that can effectively address cyberspace-related issues," Melissa Hathaway, acting cyberspace director for the White House's National Security and Homeland Security councils, said at the RSA computer security conference.
Court to Hear Arguments on Real's DVD-Copying Software
RealNetworks says it wants to help increase DVD sales by allowing people to copy their movie discs. Hollywood studios say that idea will only hurt their already struggling business. The two sides square off in a federal court to determine who prevails.
Online Bank Security Called Privacy Threat
A widely used technology to authenticate users when they log in for online banking may help reduce fraud, but it does so at the expense of consumer privacy, a civil liberties attorney said during a panel at the RSA security conference. When logging into bank Web sites, users are typically asked for their user name and password. But that's not all that is happening.
Hospitals Affected by Conficker, Security Official Says
The Conficker worm infected several hundred machines and critical medical equipment in an undisclosed number of hospitals recently, a security expert said on Thursday in a panel at the RSA security conference. "It was not widespread, but it raises the awareness of what we would do if there were millions" of computers infected at hospitals or in critical infrastructure locations, said Marcus Sachs, director of the SANS Internet Storm Center and a former White House cybersecurity official.
Facebook Users Vote to Support Changed Terms
Facebook users have voted to back changes which give them control over data and content they post on the site. Early results suggest 75% of those who voted support the proposals.
2 Million PCs Reportedly Hit by Ukrainian Hackers
Almost two million PCs globally, including machines inside U.K. and U.S. government departments, have been taken over by malicious hackers. Security experts Finjan traced the giant network of remotely controlled PCs, called a botnet, back to a gang of cyber criminals in Ukraine.
White House Planning New Security for Military Computers
The Obama administration is finalizing plans for a new Pentagon command to coordinate the security of military computer networks and to develop new offensive cyber-weapons, sources said. Planning for the reorganization of Defense Department and intelligence agencies is underway, and a decision is imminent, according to a person familiar with the White House plans.
Germany Backs New Law to Limit Child Porn Online
The German cabinet backed a new draft law that would make it harder to access child pornography online and easier to prosecute those who use it. The bill will oblige Internet providers to block access to child porn sites by installing a "stop" sign when people try to enter them, the German ministries for justice, families and the economy said in a joint news conference.
Defense Secretary Says U.S. Under Constant Cyberattack
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the United States is "under cyberattack virtually all the time, every day" and that the Defense Department plans to more than quadruple the number of cyber experts it employs to ward off such attacks. In an interview for an upcoming edition of 60 Minutes, CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked Gates about the nation's cybersecurity after hackers stole specifications from a $300 billion fighter jet development program as well as other sensitive information.
Infections by Conficker.C Worm Reported Higher
IBM is the second company in two days to suggest that the number of computers infected by the Conficker.C worm may be higher than previously thought.
EU States, Parliament at Odds Over Illegal Downloads
European Union states headed for a collision course with the bloc's parliament as a spat over how to tackle illegal downloads threatened a wider telecom reform. There is broad agreement over the reform package, authored by EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding, but a last-minute standoff between member countries and parliament has put back final adoption to May at the earliest.
House Committee Reopens Probe of File-Sharing Services
The main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives has reopened a probe of Lime Wire and other peer-to-peer file-sharing companies over the issue of "inadvertent sharing." The move comes nearly two months after it was alleged that Iran took advantage of a computer security breach to obtain information about President Barack Obama's helicopter.
Computer Spies Penetrate Penatgon Weapons Program
Computer spies have broken into the Pentagon's $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project -- the Defense Department's costliest weapons program ever -- according to current and former government officials familiar with the attacks. Similar incidents have also breached the Air Force's air-traffic-control system in recent months, these people say.
Blog Post Says Pirate Pay Verdict Appealed
Days after four defendants in the high-profile Pirate Bay case were found guilty of violating copyright law, the Web site implored fans to stay calm, not to send donations, and to stay united. In a blog posted to Thepiratebay.org, the controversial BitTorrent tracker said the "verdict has already been appealed by us and will be taken to the next level of court."
