Few would dispute the powerful link between social engineering and the success of a cyberattack in today's financially-driven threat landscape. So now, for the first time, the SANS Institute has named human error to its twice-annual Top 20 Internet Security Attack Targets list, a line-up that, until now, was reserved solely for technology.
Shake-up at McAfee
An internal McAfee probe spurred by Securities and Exchange Commission inquiries has led to a shake-up at the security giant. George Samenuk retired as chairman and CEO, while Kevin Weiss was fired. Board of Director Dale Fuller took over as interim president and CEO, while Charles Robel, another board member, was named chairman.
A special committee's investigation determined insiders were participating in a questionable stock options practice known as backdating. News of the departures led some analysts to conclude that McAfee is ripe for acquisition. Fuller said: "All options are on the table."
When IBM unveiled the first mainframe on April 7, 1964, a high-capacity computer known as System/360 that cost $5 billion to develop, few could have predicted the machine would still be as crucial to big businesses and government agencies as it is today.
Just when you thought that spilling a hot cup of latte was all you had to worry about while surfing the web at your local Starbucks - or any public place for that matter - think again: Nearby attackers can now exploit the wireless drivers used in many popular laptops to assume control of your machine, and there is little you can do to stop them.
In hackers' latest move in the cat and mouse game with security companies, the hackers that created Gromozon redesigned the malware last week to include pop-ups and other fake clues to trick the infected user into thinking United Kingdom-based Prevx is the source of infection.
Wikipedia, the user-driven online encyclopedia, was a victim of its open-source nature when malware writers posted a link to a malicious website in a German-language article describing a popular computer worm.