Fahmida Y. Rashid

A new attack uses malicious SMS messages to disable the messaging hub on Windows Phone devices, according to researchers. The SMS message exploits a flaw in how the Windows Phone mobile platform handles messages to trigger a denial-of-service attack that can disable all messaging functionality on the device, WinRumors reported Dec. 12. A factory reset […]

The federal government has launched an assessment and monitoring program under which cloud providers have to commit to a certain level of security before being allowed to work with the government. The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) establishes a baseline of security requirements for government contractors interested in providing the federal government with […]

Many companies still fail to adequately manage user privileges and protect sensitive data, exposing them to the risks of data breaches, according to a study from Hewlett-Packard and the Ponemon Institute. A survey of 5,500 IT professionals around the world found that more than half the organizations were still giving employees access to sensitive, confidential […]

In the “How Cool is This?” files, the Federal Trade Commission has decided to send reimbursement checks to more than 300,000 people who have been victims of a rogue antivirus scam. The checks are the result of a settlement between the agency and several defendants named in a complaint file by the FTC in 2008. […]

The Federal Trade Commission would take a hard line on companies that violate consumer privacy using facial recognition technology, the agency’s chairman said at a public workshop.Government officials, privacy advocates and technology companies discussed the ethics of facial recognition and the impact on user privacy at a workshop in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8. Facial […]

Blue Coat Systems has agreed to be acquired by a group of investors led by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which intends to take the Internet networking and security vendor private, the two companies announced on Dec. 9. Valued at approximately $1.3 billion, the deal would give Blue Coat shareholders $25.81 for each share they […]

Microsoft plans to patch 20 vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system for both the desktop and the server, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Publisher and Windows Media Player.Microsoft is also apparently patching the flaw that was being exploited by the Duqu Trojan earlier this year, although the Patch Tuesday advisory doesn’t mention it by name.For […]

The Obama Administration has outlined its road map of priorities for government agencies that sponsor research and development on cyber-security. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) organized the government’s priorities into four major areas, or “thrusts,” in a report titled “Trustworthy Cyberspace: Strategic Plan for the Federal Cyber-Security Research and Development Program,” which […]

A judge told the group of spammers who tricked users into thinking they’d won a prize in a fake lottery to pay Yahoo $610 million in damages for using the Web company’s name in the scam. Yahoo filed a lawsuit in 2008 against a group of scammers accusing them of running a spam campaign in […]

Kaspersky Lab has quit the Business Software Alliance to protest the controversial anti-piracy bill currently making the rounds in Congress. If passed, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would allow copyright holders to order sites to be shut down just by claiming the sites were selling or distributing counterfeit or pirated products. Many technology giants, […]