Fahmida Y. Rashid

A tool designed to launch denial of service attacks can bring down Secure Sockets Layer servers using just a laptop computer and a standard DSL connection. Developed by a German group called The Hacker’s Choice, THC-SSL-DOS tool is intended to be a proof-of-concept to disclose “fishy security” in the SSL protocol, the group wrote on […]

WikiLeaks has run out of money and shut its doors, according to a note on the whistleblower site. WikiLeaks blamed the situation on an “unlawful financial blockade” imposed on the site by several financial services organizations, said the Oct. 24 note. The site has suspended operations “temporarily” to secure its “economic survical.” “Our battles are […]

Security researchers have cracked the major XML framework used to encrypt data in major Web applications. Two researchers from Germany’s Ruhr-University demonstrated a practical attack against XML’s cipher block chaining module at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in Chicago Oct. 19. The technique affects messages encrypted with any of the algorithms supported […]

Oracle released its own NoSQL database and said the planned Big Data Appliance was poised to launch in the first quarter of 2012. The Oracle NoSQL database is available for download on the Oracle Technology Network, Oracle said Oct. 24. The new database software will also be a key component of the Oracle Big Data […]

The malware used to compromise RSA Security earlier this year may have been used in attacks against more than 700 other organizations, according to a report by security writer and analyst Brian Krebs. Facebook, Google and eBay are among the 760 organizations that may have been hit by malware that used the same command and […]

Symantec set the tone for the week when it released information about Duqu, a sophisticated worm found in the wild that appeared to share portions of its code with the Stuxnet worm. Duqu turned out to betwo separate programs, with one module based on Stuxnet and the other module designed to be a keylogger and […]

BALTIMORE – With malicious perpetrators increasingly devising sophisticated, complex attacks against critical systems controlling critical infrastructure, such as power plants and financial institutions, the time has come to consider a new secure alternative Internet, according to a top government official. The threats facing critical systems are not going away, and the systems can never be […]

Okta unveiled its platform that offers single sign-on service integrated with multi-factor authentication to secure cloud-based as well as on-premise applications. Organizations are increasingly relying on cloud applications for their business, but relying on just passwords to secure the data is no longer enough for enterprise security, Todd McKinnon, CEO and co-founder of Okta, told […]

Researchers were able to use accelerometers in a smartphone to track what a user sitting nearby was typing on a desktop computer. In a paper presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security on Oct. 20, MIT and Georgia Tech researchers described a scenario in which a malicious adversary could place a smartphone […]

Consumer demand for iPhones and Android devices and its 4G Long-Term Evolution wireless network boosted Verizon’s third-quarter performance, company executives said during its Oct. 21 earnings call. While rival AT&T continued to sell more iPhones, Verizon wasn’t that far behind. AT&T reported 2.7 million iPhone activations in the third quarter to Verizon’s 2 million. Verizon […]