The Washington Post Server Breached! Chinese Hackers Apprehend For This Cyber Attack

The Washington Post Server Hacked! Suspected That Chinese Hackers Are Behind This Cyber Attack 

Last week the story of Chinese eavesdropping on European ministries and diplomats at G20 summit draws the attention of the entire cyber world and made headlines. Yet again another breathtaking issue came in-front where also China found responsible for security breach that effected The Washington Post - the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington, D.C. Sources reveled that hackers broke into The Washington Post’s servers and gained access to employee user names and passwords. Mandiant, a cyber security contractor that monitors The Washington Post’s networks, said the intrusion was of relatively short duration. The extent of the loss of company data was not immediately clear, still the matter of relief is that the company passwords are stored in encrypted form, hackers in some cases have shown the ability to decode such information. although to avoid any further mishap Washington Post have planned to ask all employees to change their user names and passwords on the assumption that many or all of them may have been compromised. Officials at Washington Post said that they saw no evidence that subscriber information, such as credit cards or home addresses, was accessed by the hackers. Nor was there any sign that the hackers had gained access to The Post’s publishing system, e-mails or sensitive personal information of employees, such as their Social Security numbers. Post officials found that this hack is more-recent than the 2011 one. They also said, began with an intrusion into a server used by The Post’s foreign staff but eventually spread to other company servers before being discovered. “This is an ongoing investigation, but we believe it was a few days at most,” said Post spokeswoman Kris Coratti. 

China not only targeted Washington Post,  If you look at the story of major cyber attacks of this year we will find that the name of China has been involved several times for engaging cyber attacks against several high profile news organization of U.S. including New York Times, NBC and so on. So far Chinese Government have not responded to this issue, also none of Chinese hacker community take the responsibility of this breach. For upcoming updates on this story stay tuned with VOGH. 

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HSBC Comeback Online After Prolonged DDoS Attack From Anonymous

HSBC Comeback Online After Prolonged DDoS Attack From Anonymous 

Massive attack against banking and financial sector continues, this time HSBC became the latest victim of cyber attack. The attack which interrupt the service for 10 hours long were mainly originated from Iran and Russia. After 'Izz ad-Din al Qassam Cyber Fighters' now it was the time for Fawkes Security, an offshoot of hacktivist group Anonymous, quickly took credit for the attack, acknowledging the take down in posts yesterday afternoon on Twitter and Pastebin The group claimed to have knocked HSBC’s main site, along with its US, UK and Canadian counterparts offline and on Friday,claimed it logged 20,000 debit card details from the site while it was down. 

According to HSBC newsroom- "On 18 October 2012 HSBC servers came under a denial of service attack which affected a number of HSBC websites around the world." But HSBC denied any sort of data loss. Fawkes Security claimed to have details of more than 20K cards, but in their release HSBC said "This denial of service attack did not affect any customer data, but did prevent customers using HSBC online services, including internet banking." 

But now the whole situation is under control, websites belonging to British bank and financial services company HSBC are back online and working normally. According to an update posted on its website, HSBC restored all of its websites globally to full accessibility as of 3:00am UK time. 

New York Stock Exchange, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Bank and PNC was brought down by few hacker collective group as protest against the anti Islamic movie. After this attack the name of HSBC has also been enlisted with those poor victims (affected banks & finance sector) who suffered DDoS attack in last month.

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Greater Manchester Police Fined £150,000 By ICO For Using Unencrypted USB Sticks

Greater Manchester Police Fined £150,000 By ICO For Using Unencrypted USB Sticks 

To fight against major security breaches, data loss, cyber theft, and many other cyber challenges, both Government and higher authorities are becoming as tight and strict as they can. While sitting at edge of cyber security, not even a single mistake or carelessness will be negotiated. So either you have to deliver your very best, or you have to penalty, exactly the same thing happened to Greater Manchester Police. Yesterday, I mean 16th of October The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK recently fined the Greater Manchester Police £150,000 for a data breach. In their press release ICO said - Greater Manchester Police force is being fined for failing to take appropriate measures against the loss of personal data. The action was prompted by the theft of a memory stick containing sensitive personal data from an officer’s home. The device, which had no password protection, contained details of more than a thousand people with links to serious crime investigations. The ICO found that a number of officers across the force regularly used unencrypted memory sticks, which may also have been used to copy data from police computers to access away from the office. Despite a similar security breach in September 2010, the force had not put restrictions on downloading information, and staff were not sufficiently trained in data protection.

The findings prompted the Information Commissioner to use his powers under the Data Protection Act to impose a Civil Monetary Penalty of £150,000. Greater Manchester Police paid that penalty yesterday, taking advantage of a 20 per cent early payment discount (£120,000). 

David Smith, ICO Director of Data Protection, said: -“This was truly sensitive personal data, left in the hands of a burglar by poor data security. The consequences of this type of breach really do send a shiver down the spine. “It should have been obvious to the force that the type of information stored on its computers meant proper data security was needed. Instead, it has taken a serious data breach to prompt it into action.

“This is a substantial monetary penalty, reflecting the significant failings the force demonstrated. We hope it will discourage others from making the same data protection mistakes.” 

The monetary penalty is paid into the Treasury’s Consolidated Fund and is not kept by the Commissioner.   

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Cyber Crime Cost $8 Billion Loss For India in Last 12 Months

Cyber Crime Cost $8 Billion Loss For India in Last 12 Months While Affecting 42 Million People 

In its annual cybercrime report, security firm Norton has estimated that India has lost more than $8 Billion; in Indian currency around 42,000 Crore in last twelve months. This big consumer cyber espionage has effected more than 42 million of people around the country. In terms of cost, this is a full 18 per cent increase. Against this, the global loss has been pegged at $110 billion. The study further notes that as many as 66 per cent of online adults in India have been a victim of cyber crime. During the past 12 months, as many as 56 per cent of online adults here have experienced cyber crime, over 1,15,000 victims per day, 80 victims per minute and over one every second.

According to the report, the average direct financial cost per victim is $192, which is up 18 per cent over 2011 when it was $163. One key finding this year is that both the cost per victim as well as social and mobile incidents are on the rise due to cybercrime. The study is based on the findings of self-reported experiences of over 13,000 adults across 24 countries, Norton by Symantec said in a statement. 

Globally, every second, 18 adults fall victim to cybercrime, resulting in over 1.5 million cybercrime victims each day. With losses totaling an average of $197 per victim across the world in direct financial costs, in the past 12 months, an estimated 556 million experienced cybercrime, representing 46 per cent of online adults, says the report. Last year, the figure was 45 per cent. "Cybercriminals are changing their tactics to target fast growing mobile platforms and social networks where consumers are less aware of security risks," says Norton by Symantec Asia director and internet safety advocate Effendy Ibrahim said. 

If we compare with other countries who are very much advance in IT then a very nasty truth will come appear, and that is being sound in IT still India is very much week and also careless of cyber security. This carelessness of Indian Govt has already cost maximum damage in terms of finance, defense, privacy and so on. India has already faced big damage in cyber space (both financially & reputation) from native countries like China, Pakistan, where sensitive data of Govt, defense, nuclear & space research has allegedly been stolen by cyber criminals. So far India was dam careless but couple of weeks ago things changed dramatically. And now the Indian Govt is working on a robust cyber security structure, Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh himself confirmed that from now on wards India will pay as much attention as possible to make the cyber fence digitally safe and secured. 

-Source (Norton & msn)

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PostgreSQL Patches Vulnerability in The built-in XML & XSLT (CVE-2012-3488,3489)

PostgreSQL Patches Vulnerability in The built-in XML & XSLT (CVE-2012-3488,3489)

PostgreSQL Global Development Group released security updates for all active branches of the PostgreSQL database system, including versions 9.1.5, 9.0.9, 8.4.13 and 8.3.20. This update patches security holes associated with libxml2 and libxslt, similar to those affecting other open source projects. All users are urged to update their installations at the first available opportunity. This security release fixes a vulnerability in the built-in XML functionality, and a vulnerability in the XSLT functionality supplied by the optional XML2 extension. Both vulnerabilities allow reading of arbitrary files by any authenticated database user, and the XSLT vulnerability allows writing files as well. The fixes cause limited backwards compatibility issues. These issues correspond to the following two vulnerabilities:

• CVE-2012-3488: PostgreSQL insecure use of libxslt
• CVE-2012-3489: PostgreSQL insecure use of libxml2

This release also contains several fixes to version 9.1, and a smaller number of fixes to older versions, including:

• Updates and corrections to time zone data
• Multiple documentation updates and corrections
• Add limit on max_wal_senders
• Fix dependencies generated during ALTER TABLE ADD CONSTRAINT USING INDEX.
• Correct behavior of unicode conversions for PL/Python
• Fix WITH attached to a nested set operation (UNION/INTERSECT/EXCEPT).
• Fix syslogger so that log_truncate_on_rotation works in the first rotation.
• Only allow autovacuum to be auto-canceled by a directly blocked process.
• Improve fsync request queue operation
• Prevent corner-case core dump in rfree().
• Fix Walsender so that it responds correctly to timeouts and deadlocks
• Several PL/Perl fixes for encoding-related issues
• Make selectivity operators use the correct collation
• Prevent unsuitable slaves from being selected for synchronous replication
• Make REASSIGN OWNED work on extensions as well
• Fix race condition with ENUM comparisons
• Make NOTIFY cope with out-of-disk-space
• Fix memory leak in ARRAY subselect queries
• Reduce data loss at replication failover
• Fix behavior of subtransactions with Hot Standby

Users who are relying on the built-in XML functionality to validate external DTDs will need to implement a workaround, as this security patch disables that functionality. Users who are using xslt_process() to fetch documents or stylesheets from external URLs will no longer be able to do so. The PostgreSQL project regrets the need to disable both of these features in order to maintain our security standards. These security issues with XML are substantially similar to issues patched recently by the Webkit (CVE-2011-1774), XMLsec (CVE-2011-1425) and PHP5 (CVE-2012-0057) projects. As with other minor releases, users are not required to dump and reload their database or use 

pg_upgrade

In order to apply this update release; you may simply shut down PostgreSQL and update its binaries. Perform post-update steps after the database is restarted. All supported versions of PostgreSQL are affected. Or you can download the new versions now at the main download page.

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Chinese Hackers Broke Into Indian Navy's Computer System & Stolen Sensitive Data (VOGH Exclusive)

VOGH Exclusive:- Chinese Hackers Broke Into Indian Navy's Computer System & Stolen Sensitive Data

Again cyber criminals from China targeted Indian cyber fence. This time Indian Navy have fallen victim of this cyber espionage. According to sources hackers have broken into sensitive naval computer systems in and around Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command, and planted malware that relayed confidential data to IP addresses in China.  There is, to date, nothing known about the data thieves. 

Primary investigation revealed that the classified data has been leaked and that the breach may have occurred as a result of the use of USB flash storage on important systems. The Navy and other armed forces store sensitive data on standalone systems, unconnected to the internet and supposedly with no free USB ports where a flash drive could be plugged in.

The malware is reported to have created a hidden folder on the USB flash drives. When the drive was plugged into a Navy system, the malware searched for files based on particular key words it had been configured to look for. These files were then copied to the flash drive where they would remain hidden. When the drive was plugged into a system which was connected to the internet, the malware would then begin to transfer the files to a specific IP address. The extent of the loss is still being ascertained, and officials said it was “premature at this stage” to comment on the sensitivity of the compromised data. But the Navy has completed a Board of Inquiry (BoI) which is believed to have indicted at least six mid-level officers for procedural lapses that led to the security breach. Navy official also said: “An inquiry has been convened and findings of the report are awaited. It needs to be mentioned that there is a constant threat in the cyber domain from inimical hack ers worldwide.”

Couple of months ago Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible. 

The above phenomena are clearly indicating that hackers from China was directly linked and responsible for all those biggest cyber espionage. Still it is not clear that whether these cyber criminals are supported by the Govt. or not!!

 

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Personal Details of 38,000 Participants London Marathon Exposed

Personal Details of 38,000 Participants London Marathon Exposed 

Personal details including postal address, email-id and so on of more than 38,000 participants in Sunday's London Marathon accidentally get exposed. Among those there are few high-profile celebrities and politicians who had their personal details made public in the data protection breach. The details were accessible all day to anybody logging on to the site. Include celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Shadow chancellor Ed Balls, pop singer Will Young, newsreader Sophie Raworth, and stars of TV shows such as Coronation Street and The Only Way is Essex. 

Nick Bitel, chief executive of the London Marathon, apologized for the security lapse, and said that action was taken immediately to correct the problem. "We do not believe that this has led to a substantial number of individuals' details being accessed by members of the public," Bitel told. 

The Data Protection Act states that appropriate measures must be taken against accidental loss of personal data. Under the act any breaches could be considered either a civil or criminal offence depending on the circumstances, the Information Commissioner's spokesman said. 

-Source (BBC) 

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Chinese Hackers Targeted 7 Different Law Firms & Stolen 40 Billion Dollar

Chinese Hackers Targeted 7 Different Law Firms Stolen 40 Billion Dollar & Sensitive Data

Again hackers from China strikes again. Few months ago US Chamber of Commerce faced massive attack and investigator suspected that Chinese hackers ware behind this one. This time the target was world’s largest potash producer by an Australian mining giant zeroed in on offices on Toronto’s Bay Street, home of the Canadian law firm. Experts said that hackers installed back door on the system and they ware looking to derail the $40 billion acquisition. 

Over a few months beginning in September 2010, the hackers rifled one secure computer network after the next, eventually hitting seven different law firms as well as Canada’s Finance Ministry and the Treasury Board, according to Daniel Tobok, president of Toronto-based Digital Wyzdom. His cyber security company was hired by the law firms to assist in the probe. The investigation linked the intrusions to a Chinese effort to scuttle the takeover of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. by BHP Billiton Ltd. as part of the global competition for natural resources, Tobok said. Such stolen data can be worth tens of millions of dollars and give the party who possesses it an unfair advantage in deal negotiations, he said.
Though the deal eventually fell apart for unrelated reasons, the incident illustrates the vulnerability of law firms. They are increasingly threatened with a loss of client business if they can’t show improved security as such attacks continue to escalate. Stephen Surdu, vice president of professional services at Mandiant Corp., a cybersecurity firm that tracks industrial espionage, compared the risk of hacking in the mergers and acquisition arena to gambling. “You’re playing poker, and there’s a mirror over the other guy’s shoulder,” Surdu said. 

-Source (Bloomberg)

 

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MOR11 : Most Advanced VoIP Software For Telecoms By Kolmisoft

Kolmisoft has released the most advanced VoIP software. The latest version of its advanced VoIP Softswitch with Billing and Routing functionality. MOR11 enables alternative telecoms to significantly improve their voice services. MOR11 enables alternative telecoms to significantly improve their voice services, effectively manage service offerings and grow their voice businesses due to the systems stability and high traffic scalability. 

Designed for small and mid-sized telecommunication companies specialised in delivering various VoIP services, MOR 11 now supports expanded API, improved active calls monitoring, improved online cash flow monitoring and an absolutely new functionality that allows telecoms to build their own clouds and launch a virtual multiline business telephone system, or PBX.

“With hundreds of new features, this new version of MOR is the easiest and fastest way for voice service providers to increase profits from their daily operations,” said Mindaugas Kezys, CEO of Kolmisoft. “MOR 11 gives every telecom the tool they need to control the quality of calls, improve their service level and protect voice services from hacking and money loss.”

The new API (application programming interface) in MOR allows telecoms to integrate their billing and routing data with any ERP, CRM or accounting software. Such integration accelerates customer service processes including helpdesk, reporting and invoicing. In addition, it allows voice service providers to increase sales due to more flexible pricing, customised offers and service assurance and fulfilment.

For More Information & To Download Click Here

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2 Bangladeshi Hacker Get Busted In Supreme Court Website Hacking Case

Two Bangladeshi hacker, Md. Rasel (18) & Mizanur Rahaman (21) get busted by RAB due to Supreme Court hacking case. Earlier in this month a Bangladeshi Hacker group named 3xp1r3 Cyber Army has hacked and defaced the official website of Bangladesh Supreme Court. Official authority of RAB said that 7 guys ware related in that hacking case, among them four guys are from Bangladesh, two from Arab and one from Kuwait. Mizanur & Rasel said that they did not hack the site, it was done from some other country, they just enter the server and tried to protect the data. Also they claimed that no data loss was done on that particular server. 

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Adidas, German Sportswear Under Cyber Attack

Adidas, the German sportswear and equipment manufacturer was forced to take its website offline after facing a 'sophisticated and criminal' cyber assault. The company has revealed that it had no confirmations that its users' data had been violated, but said that the affected sites was being taken down in order to safeguard visitors. In addition, it has been revealed according to a recent statement by Adidas that the hacking incident was first spotted on November 3.
The company further stated that ever since the breaching activity was first tracked, the company has reinforced data security measures and has started relaunching the content of its websites. The statement released by the company stated, "Nothing is more important to us than the privacy and security of our consumers' personal data. "We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time", the statement further stressed.

The recent cyber assault is the latest to the chain of various high-profile attacks which took place in recent past are targeted websites of many high-profile organizations like Sega, and Nintendo. Assuring its users regarding no loss of personal information and other data, the German multinational stressed on the fact that the company values the privacy of its users beyond anything else and due to this very reason, the decision has been made to keep the site offline for a while. The recent cyber attack, which will soon be monitored by forensic experts, has narrowly follows a recent report by security officials wherein they claimed that nearly 29 chemicals companies have been targeted for a sequence of cyber-invasions less than a week ago.

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Obama Administration Is Implementing Tighter Penalties For Cybercrimes

The Obama administration is seeking tougher sentences for people who are found guilty of hacking or other digital offenses, two officials said Wednesday.  

Associate Deputy Attorney General James Baker and Secret Service Deputy Special Agent in Charge Pablo Martinez said the maximum sentences for cyber crimes have failed to keep pace with the severity of the threats.  

Martinez said hackers are often members of sophisticated criminal networks.

"Secret Service investigations have shown that complex and sophisticated electronic crimes are rarely perpetrated by a lone individual," Martinez said.

"Online criminals organize in networks, often with defined roles for participants, in order to manage and perpetuate ongoing criminal enterprises dedicated to stealing commercial data and selling it for profit," he said.

Baker and Martinez appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the portion of the White House's cybersecurity legislative proposal that calls for stiffer penalties for cyber crimes as part of an update to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

The administration argues the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act should be updated to make CFAA offenses subject to its terms. That law is used to prosecute organized crime. 

Baker said hacking has increasingly become a tool of choice for crimes like identity theft, extortion and corporate espionage.

"As computer technology has evolved, it has become a key tool of organized crime," Baker said. "Many of these criminal organizations are similarly tied to traditional Asian and Eastern European organized crime organizations."

The administration's proposal also calls for a national data breach standard to replace the current patchwork of state laws. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) expressed concern that the proposed 60-day window for companies to notify customers their data has been breached would be too long, but Baker said the administration is willing to work with Congress on the issue. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) shifted the conversation to the portion of the White House plan dealing with protecting critical private sector networks from outside attacks.

Baker said the White House plan does not include any criminal or civil provisions for forcing companies to comply with Department of Homeland Security cyber security standards. "The idea was to create a lighter touch ... to build incentives into the system," Baker said.

Experts have warned that without some sort of enforcement mechanism companies will not take the necessary security precautions. Blumenthal echoed that stance, suggesting the administration "consider some kind of stick as well as a carrot." Industry has argued that resources are the main limitation and argued for incentives such as liability protection for firms that experience attacks. 

But Baker expressed agreement with Blumenthal and said the current range of incentives built into the system, such as the loss of investor trust, stock market value and privileged corporate data has not been enough to convince companies to take adequate security measures.

-News Source (The HILL, CCFA, HLS)

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Thousands of Sources in Written-Password (SNAFU) Exposed By WikiLeaks

The cone of silence over WikiLeaks' thousands of sources - many of whose lives are at risk if identified - has been shattered, all thanks to the most mundane, all-too-human security screwup imaginable.

To wit: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wrote down the password on a piece of paper, and then forgot to change it later. The security breach has thrown open the doors to WikiLeaks' entire archive of 251,000 secret U.S. diplomatic cables.

To the horror of the media partners it has worked with in the past to carefully redact the documents - The Guardian, The New York Times, El Pais, Der Spiegel and Le Monde - WikiLeaks has published its entire archive, unredacted, putting in danger several thousands of people whom the U.S. has tagged as being at risk if exposed. The documents also cite more than 150 whistle blowers.

"We deplore the decision of WikiLeaks to publish the unredacted state department cables, which may put sources at risk," the organizations said in a joint statement. 

"Our previous dealings with WikiLeaks were on the clear basis that we would only publish cables which had been subjected to a thorough joint editing and clearance process. We will continue to defend our previous collaborative publishing endeavour. We cannot defend the needless publication of the complete data – indeed, we are united in condemning it."

The media partners made it clear that this time, with this move, Assange got no help from them. "The decision to publish by Julian Assange was his, and his alone," they said in the statement. Der Spiegel has chronicled the archive’s publishing, tracing it back to a meeting between Assange and David Leigh of The Guardian.

According to the account, as the British journalist recounts in his book "Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy", Leigh and Assange at one point sat down to discuss how Assange would provide Leigh with a file including all of the diplomatic dispatches received by WikiLeaks.

According to Der Spiegel, Assange placed the file on a server and wrote part of the password on a slip of paper. To make it work, one had to complete the list of characters with a certain word.

Can you remember it? Assange asked. Of course, Leigh said.

"At the time, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, who later founded the site OpenLeaks, was the German spokesman for WikiLeaks. When he and others undertook repairs on the WikiLeaks server, he took a dataset off the server which contained all manner of files and information that had been provided to WikiLeaks. What he apparently didn't know at the time, however, was that the dataset included the complete collection of diplomatic dispatches hidden in a difficult-to-find sub-folder," according to Der Spiegel.

With the dataset in the hands of Domscheit-Berg, Leigh went on to describe his meeting with Assange in his book. In the book, however, he included not only the portion of the password on the slip of paper, but also the part he had been asked to commit to memory.

What followed included feuding between Domscheit-Berg and Assange, attempts to prove that Assange wasn’t trustworthy, and the eventual disclosure that not only was the entire dataset circulating, but that the password could be found in Leigh's book.

At this point, fingerpointing is rampant. WikiLeaks' Twitter feed blames The Guardian. The Guardian is protesting its innocence, putting out a statement claiming that it had been told the password was only temporary.

The U.S. Embassy in London and the U.S. State Department were notified of the possible publication on August 25 to enable officials to warn the named informants. Hopefully, this has given them enough time to remove themselves from harm.

Whether that is possible for all the sources who’ve been put in harm's way is an open question.

But one thing is certain: The platforms to which whistleblowers have hitherto brought their leaks are compromised. They are as riddled with security holes, as flailing with common human weaknesses, as the most ridiculed home user running an unsecured wireless network and the most inept office worker writing down his password on a Post-It note.

Let us hope that this carelessness, this breathtaking lapse in security hygiene, leads to no loss of life.

-News Source (Wikileaks & Naked Security)

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Operation Shady RAT (The Biggest Cyber-Attack Ever)

Researchers from security software concern McAfee say they have discovered the biggest series of computer intrusions ever, covering some 72 organizations and governments around the world, including the U.S., Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Canada and India — some of them dating back as far as 2006. (See the map of targets, courtesy of McAfee, below.)

And these aren’t the kind of cyber attacks carried out by bumbling troublemakers like the LulzSec gang, which make headlines but really only cause a nuisance for companies like Sony. In these cases, networks were compromised by remote access tools — or RATs, as they’re known in the industry. These tools — and they are tools, because they have legitimate uses for system administrators — give someone the ability to access a computer from across the country or around the world. In this case, however, they were secretly placed on the target systems, hidden from the eyes of day-to-day users and administrators, and were used to rifle through confidential files for useful information. It’s not for nothing that McAfee is calling this Operation Shady RAT.

McAfee says the attacker was a “state actor,” though it declined to name it. I’ll give you three guesses who the leading candidate is, though you’ll probably need only one: China.

Dmitri Alperovitch, McAfee’s Vice President, Threat Research, makes a statement in his blog entry on the discovery that should give everyone minding a corporate or government network pause: “I am convinced that every company in every conceivable industry with significant size and valuable intellectual property and trade secrets has been compromised (or will be shortly), with the great majority of the victims rarely discovering the intrusion or its impact.” He further divides the worldwide corporate landscape into two camps: Those who have been compromised and know it, and those who simply don’t know it yet.

This has been a particularly nasty year on the cyber security front. (I hate to say it, but I told you so.) Prior to this, the big attack whose full impact has not yet been fully sized up was the one against the RSA SecureID system, which uses popular keychain devices that create a constantly changing series of numbers that in turn create a second password for access to system resources. They’re widely used in government and military circles and among defense contractors. Google has been a regular target in recent years.

The RSA attack and Operation Shady RAT are examples, Alperovitch says, of an “Advanced Persistent Threat.” The phrase has come to be a buzzword that, loosely translated into English, means the worst kind of cyber attack you can imagine. Unlike the denial-of-service attacks and network intrusions carried out by LulzSec and its ilk, which require only minimal skill and marginal understanding of how networks and servers work, an APT is carried out by someone of very high skill who picks his targets carefully and sneaks inside them in a way that is difficult to detect, which allows access to the target system on an ongoing basis that may persist for years.

How did these attacks happen? Its very simple: Someone at the target organization received an email that looked legitimate, but which contained an attachment that wasn’t. This is called “spear phishing,” and it has become the weapon of choice for sophisticated cyber attackers. The attachments are not what they appear to be — Word documents or spreadsheets or other routine things — and contain programs that piggyback on the targeted user’s level of access to the network. These programs then download malware which gives the attackers further access. This all happens in an automated way, but soon after, live attackers log in to the system to dig through what they can find, copy what they can, and make a getaway — though they often leave the doors unlocked so they can come back for repeat visits.

Alperovitch notes — correctly, to my mind — that the phrase has been picked up and overused by the marketing departments of numerous security companies. His larger point is that too often those attacked in this way refuse to come forward and disclose what they’ve learned, thereby allowing the danger to continue for everyone else.

Alperovitch says that the data taken in Operation Shady RAT adds up to several petabytes worth of information. It’s not clear how it has been used. But, as he says, “If even a fraction of it is used to build better competing products or beat a competitor at a key negotiation (due to having stolen the other team’s playbook), the loss represents a massive economic threat not just to individual companies and industries but to entire countries that face the prospect of decreased economic growth.” It’s also bad for a target’s national security, because defense contractors dealing in sensitive military matters are often the targets. The best thing that can happen is that victims start talking about their attacks and sharing information with each other so that everyone can be ready for the next one, which is surely coming.

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Linvo Linux 2010.12.6.

A new distribution flew onto my radar today and it might be interesting to take a quick look. Linvo is a Bulgarian hailed distribution based on Slackware featuring the GNOME 2.32 desktop. Yesterday, developers released Linvo 2010.12.6.

According to the Official Website of Linvo:-

Why Linvo?

● Out-of-the-box experience
● Functionality
● Software support and installation
● Easy to configure
● Live CD
● Full multimedia support
● Compatibility
● Security and stability
● Easy to use, fast and beautiful desktop!
● Only platform-independent and function-rich applications
● Innovations that improve security, practicability and speed
● Absolutely free and open source

For new distributions especially it's an advantage to ship as a live CD/DVD and Linvo does just that. Most Slackware-based distros come as install images, so Linvo got bonus points before I even booted into the desktop. But it lost one because of being available just for 32-bit architectures.

Linvo ships with Linux 2.6.36, Xorg X Server 1.9.5, and GCC 4.5.2. A starter set of applications includes Biniax, GIMP, OpenOffice.org 3.2, Shotwell, Empathy, Gwibber, Skype, Chromium, Evolution, Brasero, Cheese, VLC, Rhythmbox, and lots of utilities such as a firewall configuration. Updates and additonal software can be installed using Gslapt with Linvo and Slackware repos. Even more applications can be installed from what some might call Linvo one-click installers on the Website. From the Website:

LinvoApp

This is the most distinctive feature of Linvo: the application management system. It allows you to:

● Multi-user, every system user can use different applications for himself
● Using applications from different kinds of media without needing installation
● Compared to other systems of that kind (for example, portableapps.org), LinvoApp does not require any special repackaging for the application to be converted into the required format
● Compared to systems like Slax's modules, LinvoApp works on an installed system rather than only on LiveCD and provides automatic dependency handling
● Synchronization with the website, an ability to restore your applications if any data loss occurs or if you install a different instance of Linvo; this is also usable if you need to synchronize a group of computers with the same selection of software (for example, in schools)
● An ability to personalize the Live CD
● Unbreakable upgrades between versions - applications and settings are (optionally) kept after reinstall, so it works as well as upgrade, only much more stable

The installer is quick and easy with just a few configuration questions. It worked well with no damage to my other partitions. The only complaint I have is that it didn't give me a choice about installing a bootloader. It installed GRUB seamlessly. I had a pretty bootloader that I liked, but Linvo's did pick up all my other installs and added them to the list. It's not very pretty though. But the Linvo desktop is quite pretty. It uses an attractive but unobtrusive window decoration and theme as well as a really pretty wallpaper. I haven't tested all the applications or spent lengthy time stress-testing Linvo, but what I've seen I like. I'm impressed. For a relative newcomer, it seems to be holding its own against any other 1-CD distribution.

 To Download Linvo click Here

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The First Cyberspace Strategy By U.S. Defense

Cyberspace is a defining feature of modern life. Individuals and communities worldwide connect, socialize, and organize themselves in and through cyberspace. From 2000 to 2010, global Internet usage increased from 360 million to over 2 billion people. As Internet usage continues to expand, cyberspace will become increasingly woven into the fabric of everyday life across the globe. 
U.S. and international businesses trade goods and services in cyberspace, moving assets across the globe in seconds. In addition to facilitating trade in other sectors, cyberspace is itself a key sector of the global economy. Cyberspace has become an incubator for new forms of entrepreneurship, advances in technology, the spread of free speech, and new social networks that drive our economy and reflect our principles. The security and effective operation of U.S. critical infrastructure – including energy, banking and finance, transportation, communication, and the Defense Industrial Base – rely on cyberspace, industrial control systems, and information technology that may be vulnerable to disruption or exploitation. 
Along with the rest of the U.S. government, the Department of Defense (DoD) depends on cyberspace to function. It is difficult to overstate this reliance; DoD operates over 15,000 networks and seven million computing devices across hundreds of installations in dozens of countries around the globe. DoD uses cyberspace to enable its military, intelligence, and business operations, including the movement of personnel and material and the command and control of the full spectrum of military operations. 
The Department and the nation have vulnerabilities in cyberspace. Our reliance on cyberspace stands in stark contrast to the inadequacy of our cybersecurity – the security of the technologies that we use each day. Moreover, the continuing growth of networked systems, devices, and platforms means that cyberspace is embedded into an increasing number of capabilities upon which DoD relies to complete its mission. Today, many foreign nations are working to exploit DoD unclassified and classified networks, and some foreign intelligence organizations have already acquired the capacity to disrupt elements of DoD’s information infrastructure. 
Moreover, non-state actors increasingly threaten to penetrate and disrupt DoD networks and systems. We recognize that there may be malicious activities on DoD networks and systems that we have not yet detected. 

DoD, working with its interagency and international partners, seeks to mitigate the risks posed to U.S. and allied cyberspace capabilities, while protecting and respecting the principles of privacy and civil liberties, free expression, and innovation that have made cyberspace an integral part of U.S. prosperity and security. How the Department leverages the opportunities of cyberspace, while managing inherent uncertainties and reducing vulnerabilities, will significantly impact U.S. defensive readiness and national security for years to come. 

DOD’S STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN CYBERSPACE:-

As does the nation as a whole, DoD relies on a secure and reliable cyberspace that protects fundamental freedoms, privacy, and the free flow of information. In support of both U.S. core commitments and national security, DoD has significant strengths and opportunities in cyberspace. The U.S. military’s ability to use cyberspace for rapid communication and information sharing in support of operations is a critical enabler of DoD missions. More broadly, DoD’s depth of knowledge in the global information and communications technology sector, including its cybersecurity expertise, provides the Department with strategic advantages in cyberspace. 
The quality of the United States’ human capital and knowledge base in both the public and private sectors provides DoD with a strong foundation on which to build current and future cyber capabilities. DoD has played a crucial role in building and leveraging the technological prowess of the U.S. private sector through investments in people, research, and technology. DoD will continue to embrace this spirit of entrepreneurship and work in partnership with these communities and institutions to succeed in its future cyberspace activities. 
Given the dynamism of cyberspace, nations must work together to defend their common interests and promote security. DoD’s relationship with U.S. allies and international partners provides a strong foundation upon which to further U.S. international cyberspace cooperation. Continued international engagement, collective self-defense, and the establishment of international cyberspace norms will also serve to strengthen cyberspace for the benefit of all. 

CYBER THREATS:-

The Internet was designed to be collaborative, rapidly expandable, and easily adaptable to technological innovation. Information flow took precedence over content integrity; identity authentication was less important than connectivity. The Internet’s original designers could not have imagined the extent of its vital and growing role for DoD and its operations. The global scope of DoD networks and systems presents adversaries with broad opportunities for exploitation and attack. 
Low barriers to entry for malicious cyber activity, including the widespread availability of hacking tools, mean that an individual or small group of determined cyber actors can potentially cause significant damage to both DoD and U.S. national and economic security. Small-scale technologies can have an impact disproportionate to their size; potential adversaries do not have to build expensive weapons systems to pose a significant threat to U.S. national security.
In developing its strategy for operating in cyberspace, DoD is focused on a number of central aspects of the cyber threat; these include external threat actors, insider threats, supply chain vulnerabilities, and threats to DoD‘s operational ability. DoD must address vulnerabilities and the concerted efforts of both state and non-state actors to gain unauthorized access to its networks and systems. 
Foreign cyberspace operations against U.S. public and private sector systems are increasing in number and sophistication. DoD networks are probed millions of times every day, and successful penetrations have led to the loss of thousands of files from U.S. networks and those of U.S. allies and industry partners. Moreover, this threat continues to evolve as evidence grows of adversaries focusing on the development of increasingly sophisticated and potentially dangerous capabilities. 
The potential for small groups to have an asymmetric impact in cyberspace creates very real incentives for malicious activity. Beyond formal governmental activities, cyber criminals can control botnets with millions of infected hosts. The tools and techniques developed by cyber criminals are increasing in sophistication at an incredible rate, and many of these capabilities can be purchased cheaply on the Internet. Whether the goal is monetary, access to intellectual property, or the disruption of critical DoD systems, the rapidly evolving threat landscape presents a complex and vital challenge for national and economic security. 

Some cyber threats also may come from insiders. Malicious insiders may exploit their access at the behest of foreign governments, terrorist groups, criminal elements, unscrupulous associates, or on their own initiative. Whether malicious insiders are committing espionage, making a political statement, or expressing personal disgruntlement, the consequences for DoD, and national security, can be devastating. 
Software and hardware are at risk of malicious tampering even before they are integrated into an operational system. The majority of information technology products used in the United States are manufactured and assembled overseas. The reliance of DoD on foreign manufacturing and development creates challenges in managing risk at points of design, manufacture, service, distribution, and disposal. 
Potential U.S. adversaries may seek to exploit, disrupt, deny, and degrade the networks and systems that DoD depends on for its operations. DoD is particularly concerned with three areas of potential adversarial activity: theft or exploitation of data; disruption or denial of access or service that affects the availability of networks, information, or network-enabled resources; and destructive action including corruption, manipulation, or direct activity that threatens to destroy or degrade networks or connected systems. 

Cyber threats to U.S. national security go well beyond military targets and affect all aspects of society. Hackers and foreign governments are increasingly able to launch sophisticated intrusions into the networks and systems that control critical civilian infrastructure. Given the integrated nature of cyberspace, computer-induced failures of power grids, transportation networks, or financial systems could cause massive physical damage and economic disruption. DoD operations—both at home and abroad—are dependent on this critical infrastructure. 
While the threat to intellectual property is often less visible than the threat to critical infrastructure, it may be the most pervasive cyber threat today. Every year, an amount of intellectual property larger than that contained in the Library of Congress is stolen from networks maintained by U.S. businesses, universities, and government departments and agencies. As military strength ultimately depends on economic vitality, sustained intellectual property losses erode both U.S. military effectiveness and national competitiveness in the global economy. 

CONCLUSION:-

National security is being redefined by cyberspace. In addition to opportunities, DoD faces significant cyberspace challenges. The Department’s military, intelligence, and business operations all depend upon cyberspace for mission success. The “Department of Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace” assesses these challenges and opportunities and sets a strategic approach for DoD’s cyber mission. 
The Department’s five strategic initiatives offer a roadmap for DoD to operate effectively in cyberspace, defend national interests, and achieve national security objectives. Each initiative is distinct, yet necessarily connected with the other four. Across the strategy, activities undertaken in one initiative will contribute to DoD’s strategic thinking and lead to new approaches in the others.
By pursuing the activities in this strategy, DoD will capitalize on the opportunities afforded to the Department by cyberspace; defend DoD networks and systems against intrusions and malicious activity; support efforts to strengthen cybersecurity for interagency, international, and critical industry partners; and develop robust cyberspace capabilities and partnerships. This strategy will guide the Department’s defense of U.S. interests in cyberspace so that the United States and its allies and partners may continue to benefit from the innovations of the information age.

To read the full Department of Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace Click HERE

-News Source (Defence Professionals)

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