Multiple human rights, foreign policy sites hacked

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

Amnesty International chapters in Hong Kong and the UK are among those found to have been hacked and serving spyware to visitors.

Amnesty International, Washingon think-tank and counter-terrorism institute websites found to be serving malware.

A rash of recent and ongoing targeted attacks involving compromises at high-profile websites should serve as a sobering reminder of the need to be vigilant about applying browser updates.

A broad index of prominent sites including Amnesty International and the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, belonging to foreign policy and human rights groups have been hacked and quietly serving spyware to visitors by exploiting newly patched flaws in widely used software from Adobe and Oracle.

The latest reports of this apparent cyberspy activity come from security experts at Shadowserver.org, a non-profit website that tracks malware attacks typically associated with so-called “advanced persistent threat” (APT) actors. APT is a controversial term that means many things to different folks, but even detractors of the acronym’s overuse acknowledge that it has become a useful shorthand for “We’re pretty sure it came from China”.

A diagram depicting the since-cleaned attack on the website of the Center for Defense Information. Photo: KrebsOnSecurity.com

One look at the list of the sites found to be currently serving an exploit to attack a newly-patched Adobe Flash Player vulnerability (CVE-2012-0779) shows how that shorthand is earned. Shadowserver uncovered Flash exploits waiting for visitors of the websites for Amnesty International Hong Kong and the Center for Defense Information, a Washington, DC think-tank. The home page for the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism was found to be serving up malware

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Article Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/it-pro/security-it/multiple-human-rights-foreign-policy-sites-hacked-20120515-1yoe1.html

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Hawaiian Telcom warning customers about phishing email

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

Here are the most recent story comments.View All

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Article Source: http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Hawaiian-Telcom-warning-customers-about-phishing/O2FW8HZ5c0anfUA9Z-TPrw.cspx

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Kaspersky investigates Mac security after spate of malware attacks

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

I worked briefly with Microsoft UK in 2006 but no longer have any connection with the company. Regardless, I remain impartial and unbiased in my views.

I don’t hold any stock or shares, investments or industrial secrets in any company, but have signed confidentiality agreements with a number of UK and U.S. organisations, whose names I am not at liberty to disclose.

I was involved with Kent Union, the University of Kent’s student union, undertaking voluntary, non-salaried, elected positions between early 2009 and mid-2010.

No other company, body, government department, non-governmental organisation or third sector organisation employs me or pays me a salary in any capacity whatsoever.

As a freelance journalist, whenever expenses are given and taken by a company that is not CBS Interactive, these will be disclosed in each relevant post to ensure transparency.

I currently work with a UK law enforcement unit, but this is an entirely separate position which bears no connection to other work.

(Updated: 23rd October 2011)

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Article Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/kaspersky-investigates-mac-security-after-spate-of-malware-attacks/76735

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Tobacco virus may help prevent Parkinson's, University of Louisville researchers say

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

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The same tobacco leaves that kill hundreds of thousands of smokers every year may hold the key to preventing Parkinson’s disease, according to new research from the University of Louisville.

U of L researchers say their findings stem from the question of why smoking appears to lower the risk for developing the devastating brain disorder.

The answer involves the tobacco mosaic virus, or TMV, which attacks plants such as the tobacco crops for which Kentucky is known, says Dr. Robert Friedland, a clinical and research neurologist at U of L.

The TMV apparently causes antibodies that “may be protective against Parkinson’s,” Friedland said by telephone from Granada, Spain, where he spoke about his findings last week at the International Congress on Autoimmunity. “No one has documented before that people have antibodies to TMV.”

Friedland said he hopes the finding will lead to a vaccine against Parkinson’s.

That would help people avoid the difficulties faced by patients such as Bob Wentzel, a 63-year-old Louisville retiree who says that, while medications have helped him deal with his condition, he begins shaking and has trouble with his balance when they wear off.

“This Parkinson’s is no picnic,” said Wentzel, who has never used tobacco. “If a vaccine ever came about, you’d have people lined up down the road to be vaccinated.”

Friedland’s research comes after dozens of studies showing that smokers have a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s. Dr. Honglei Chen, an investigator with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, said there have been more than 60 studies on the link.

But Chen, Friedland and others cautioned that the research shouldn’t be used as an excuse to smoke.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking increases by two to four times the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. And people who smoke are 15 to 30 times more

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Article Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120514/FEATURES03/305140045/1001/rsslink

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Security firm claims OS X is ‘really vulnerable’ to malware

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

If you’re in the market for a new Windows computer this year, you’ve no doubt been keeping an eye on the Windows 8 development process. After all, you don’t want to plunk down $1,000 on a brand new computer, only to … Continue …

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Article Source: http://news.yahoo.com/security-firm-claims-os-x-really-vulnerable-malware-000035745.html

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