Security

The UK government is being called out by a privacy charity, which is threatening legal action unless the MPs explain why they are shipping surveillance equipment and technology to repressive regimes in Iran, Egypt and Syria. Privacy International is the name of the group spearheading this campaign and it is …

The largest internet service providers in the United Kingdom were ordered at the end of April to bloc access to the Pirate Bay file sharing website. The BBC filed a report today which highlights that the action has had little effect on file sharing. Not really a shock to us …

Hackers have posted 450,000 user names and passwords online, stolen from Yahoo Voice, according to the Guardian newspaper. Similar attacks have taken place against other online services, including Android forums and Formspring. Users are being advised to change their passwords to protect the accounts as soon as possible. The Yahoo …

If you have been reading Kitguru in the last week you will already be aware that the FBI were removing their safety net, exposing a DNS change left by malware on users systems. Initial concerns had assumed that almost a quarter of a million people could be affected, but the …

If you can read this today then you are likely to be safe from the DNS Changer malware which has reportedly infected thousands of computers. We reported last week that week that 277,000 people may be struggling to get online today. This malware has been active since 2007, and it …

Reports from the FBI say that over a quarter of a million users could lose internet access on Monday. The FBI are taking down a ‘safety net' which is protecting these people from a malicious piece of code infecting their systems. The FBI say that 64,000 Windows machines are infected …

Eugene Kaspersky, the chief executive of Kaspersky labs has said that part of the Flame virus program code is almost identical to code from a 2009 version of Stuxnet. He spoke out at the Reuters Global Media and Technology Summit on Monday. The information was confirmed later in the day …

Linkedin have been reassuring its business customers that their data is safe. They said they received no reports that member accounts were breached after experiencing a password theft targeting 6.5 million people. These passwords were stolen and then published on a website last week. Security experts said  that Linkedins protection …

Experts spoke out last night to say that the Flame computer virus has received orders to self destruct. Symantec said in a blog post last night that the Flame “command-and-control servers sent an updated command to several compromised computers. This command was designed to completely remove (Flame) from the compromised …

Dating site eHarmony have said that they were exposed in a breach yesterday, following shortly after the Linkedin password problems earlier this week. Becky Teraoka of eHarmony's corporate communications said “After investigating reports of compromised passwords, we have found that a small fraction of our user base has been affected.” …

During the week Kaspersky announced they had found one of the most dangerous pieces of virus code to date. The ‘Flame' virus is actually that good that the company said that it was likely a government sponsor was behind the code. Vitaly Kamlyuk, a senior antivirus expert at Kaspersky said …

Apple have released security fixes for OS 10.5 Leopard, to protect against Flashback malware. The update also disables outdated Java and Flash functionality. Apple machines were infected last month, infecting more than 600,000 Macintosh computers. Apple released two security fixes last night for OS X 10.5 Leopard. Apple have been …

Famous hacking group Anonymous have targeted the UK government, after giving them forewarning that it was going to happen. It selected Easter for the protest. The Telegraph reports “The British branch of Anonymous – a loose global collective of computer hackers who often target law-enforcement websites – first advertised “#OpTrialAtHome” …

Anonymous have apparently defaced over 480 web sites in the People's Republic Of China in the last few days. These websites include Government operations. Anonymous want Chinese hackers to join their cause and are highlighting their skills to the countries talented hackers. They have even launched their own AnonymousChina Twitter …

Reports indicate that Microsoft, with an escort of U.S. Marshals seized control of command and control servers on Friday in two states in America. This is an ongoing campaign by Microsoft to take down botnets involving 13 million computers infected with the Zeus Malware. Microsoft announced last night that “some …

Federal authorities said yesterday that a Lulzsec leader provided information on his colleagues after being arrested last year. The information helped authorities to arrest other top members of the hacking organisation. Hacker ‘Sabu', real name Hector Xavier Monsegur, 28 years old from New York has been working with the FBI …

– Imperva, Inc  a pioneer and leader of a new category of data security solutions for high-value business data in the data center, released today a report that reveals details on an attack by hacktivist group ‘Anonymous’ against a high-profile unnamed target during a 25-day period in 2011. The Hacker …

There's a security flaw to be aware of with iOS 5.0.1 which allows someone to bypass the lock screen on GSM-based iPhones and have unauthorized access to contacts as well as the phone's calling features. The method used is admittedly fairly complicated and involves inserting and ejecting the phone's SIM …

While defending your home is the realm of gun clubs, martial artists and the chaps from Yale, protecting your bits requires a different set of tools entirely. KitGuru caught up with one happy chappy over at Distree in Monte Carlo. He was holding something large in the air, smiling and …

Symantec told a hacker group that they were willing to pay $50,000, to keep the source code for some of their flagship products off the internet. They confirmed this with CNET last night. CNET wrote “An e-mail exchange revealing the extortion attempt posted to Pastebin (see below) today shows a …

Those dastardly folks of Anonymous undoubtedly have more history surrounding their hacking antics than we will probably ever know. It has only just come to light for Symantec that hackers related to the team stole source code from the 2006 versions of Symantec's Norton products, including Antivirus Corporate Edition, Internet …

McAfee, creator of world renowned Anti virus software have said that there is a flaw in one of their products which could cause vulnerability issues for the PC, potentially leaving the machine open to distribute spam. The company, who are now a part of Intel Corporation, disclosed the flaw in …

Hacking group Anonymous looks to have pulled on a Christmas coup against the life styles of the rich and famous, by hacking into card details being poorly secured by a company called Stratfor. KitGuru dons a trench coat and picks up bits of paper. Stratfor stands for strategic forecasting and …

We've all lived with spam for so long, that we're so tuned into the concept, that we often tune out the rejection process. While the Nigerian Generals will live long in the collective memory of the post-web society, there are more marginal situations where – to be honest – a …

According to reports today, the FBI and Philippine law enforcement officers have arrested four people apparently paid by terrorists to hack into AT&T. The company have said their system has not been compromised. The four people were arrested during the week in Manila, and have apparently been paid by the …

Android has been reeling recently, after being targeted by several viruses and trojans. The latest spyware application known as Zitmo has been altered to target the Android Platform. Axelle Apvrille, an antivirus analyst for Fortinet has written a blog post on the subject. She says “Lately, there’s been an active …

Symantec have published their latest findings after putting both Google Android and Apple iOS through a series of security tests. According to their claims, iOS is more resilient against three out of five types of threat, which include data loss and malware. The security firm also claim that social engineering …

Lulzsec, a well known hacking group managed to break into the Senate website at the weekend. US officials have ordered a security review into the incident to ensure it doesn't happen again. Lulzsec are a high profile group of hackers who have previously targeted Nintendo, Sony and Fox News. An …

In the latest in a long line of recent hacks, an Atlanta based FBI partner site has been compromised with 180 passwords stolen and leaked on the Internet. The logins belonged to InfraGard, a public/private partnership which was dedicated to sharing information about threats to the US physical and Internet …

Apple have been battling the ruthless makers of OSX malware tool MacDefender. They issued a patch to stop users from accidentally installing it, and several hours later the malware makers issued an update to bypass it. Apple are keen to ensure that their user base isn't under threat from this …