All posts tagged cybersecurity

Survey: As Clouds Gather, CIOs Optimistic About Information Security

A recent survey of 9,600 CEOs, CIOs and other corporate officers who oversee information security just found a new definition for “optimist.”

Despite facing a decline in funding for even the most basic security practices and the rise of new, more persistent security threats, a whopping 43% of the respondents expressed confidence in their organization’s information security strategy.

The authors of the 2012 Global State of Information Security Survey had a different take, writing that “visibility into when and how the next cyber threat to information will emerge is poor, at best.”

Digits Live Show: Yahoo Approached by Bidders; Netflix Plunges

On today’s digits: Kara Swisher and Spencer Ante have details on which players have approached Yahoo about possibly acquiring the Web giant, Netflix share slide on a dip in subscriber numbers, Facebook unveils the ‘Subcribe’ button, tech start-ups poach talent, mobile payments heat up and the FBI investigates a series of digital thefts.

Stealing Money With Square

Square, the tool that lets people turn their iPhones and iPads into credit-card readers, can be hacked in a way that might make it easier for thieves to get cash from stolen credit card numbers, according to a pair of security researchers who presented their findings on Thursday.

The duo – Adam Laurie and Zac Franken of the security research firm Aperture Labs – demonstrated how a thief could use a laptop, the Square software and a credit-card number to get cash into a bank account without making a real purchase. The process could be easier than current methods of credit-card fraud, which involve purchasing actual goods and reselling them for cash, said Laurie.

“This really takes the hassle out of it,” he said. Laurie and Franken discussed the vulnerability as part of a talk at Black Hat, the annual security conference in Las Vegas. They said the problem with Square is just the latest example of how credit-card technology is vulnerable.

Former Counterterrorist Chief: Cyber Attacks Are the Next Big Threat

Nearly 10 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the former director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center says he believes America’s current attitude toward cyber warfare is eerily similar to its attitude toward terrorism before 9/11.

Before Sept. 11, terrorism “was new to decision makers and they didn’t understand” the threat, said Cofer Black, who is now a vice president at BlackBird Technologies, a security analysis and consulting firm. “The decision makers today are still sort of in that boat [when it comes to cyber attacks]. They hear it but they don’t believe it.”

Black was speaking at the annual Black Hat conference on cybersecurity in Las Vegas, against a backdrop of increasing, well-publicized hacking attacks from state sponsors as well as activist groups.

Tech Today: Massive Cyber-Spying Operation, ‘Shady Rat,’ Revealed

Massive Cyber-Spying Operation, ‘Shady Rat,’ Revealed: Dozens of government entities, major companies and non-profits were the victims of a massive, years-long cyber-attack effort, according to a study released Wednesday by security firm McAfee.

Dubbed “Operation Shady Rat” by the report’s author, Dmitri Alperovitch, the effort took data from groups ranging from the United Nations to media organizations, the government of Taiwan and the International Olympic Committee, the study says.

The targeting of the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency, which were targeted around the 2008 Olympics – “potentially pointed a finger at a state actor behind the intrusions, because there is likely no commercial benefit to be earned from such hacks,” Alperovitch wrote. And it doesn’t take too much reading between the lines to conclude which nation he’s talking about. Vanity Fair, in its scoop on the report, quotes other security experts as saying the signs point to China.

Corporate Security Chiefs Focus on ‘Human’ Side of Cybercrime

It’s no surprise that corporate IT leaders are focused on preventing data loss, especially given the recent attacks on Sony, Epsilon, Citigroup and Lockheed Martin. What is surprising, however, is where IT security chiefs see the biggest danger.

In a survey hosted by the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, almost 80% of participating chief information security officers said they were more worried about human, rather than technological, holes in their IT infrastructure. These security chiefs are well aware of the dangers — 90% felt that security risk has increased over the past 12 months, and almost 70% believed that it was “very” or “somewhat likely” that their business would experience a significant cyber disruption or breach in the next year.

Tech Today: Google ‘Super Excited’ About Everything

Google, Shareholders “Super Excited” About Everything: The search engine giant showed all young Silicon Valley upstarts how it’s done yesterday, shaking off accusations of being a mere “value” stock and announcing a 36% jump in revenue for the second quarter. The growth was driven by Google’s core search engine advertising. Company shares went up more than 10% in after-hours trading.

Almost as big for some Google followers was that CEO Larry Page, not one for the spotlight, delivered the opening statement at the earnings presser. He stayed around for the Q&A and likely would have remained for cocktails—-if they were any–because it was quite obvious that Page was reveling in the news.

Other takeaways: The two-week old Google+ network has more than 10 million users and these users share more than 1 billion items per day. About 550,000 devices powered by Android are activated daily. Google is a toothbrush.

And this was just the beginning, according to Page who said that there are “more opportunities for Google today than ever before, because, believe it or not, we are still in the very early stages of what we want to do.”

The Wall Street Journal wraps up the numbers, reporting that Google posted a quarterly profit of $2.51 billion, or $7.68 a share, up from $1.84 billion, or $5.71 a share, a year earlier. Total revenue was $9.03, up from $6.82 billion a year ago. [WSJ, Business Insider, Digits/WSJ, LiveBlog/WSJ, TechCrunch, Google]

Tech Today: Foursquare Checks-In to Possible Revenue Stream

Foursquare Checks-In to Possible Revenue Stream: Foursquare is hoping to earn a “making money” badge. The New York-based startup with a $600 million valuation and no significant revenue stream is in talks to remarket daily coupon deals from LivingSocial, Gilt Groupe and AT&T to its users. The Wall Street Journal reports that Foursquare is in similar talks with Groupon. [WSJ]

Tech Today: Cisco, China Team Up for Surveillance

Cisco, China Team Up for Video Surveillance Project: A massive new video surveillance project in China sheds light on how Western tech companies do business in places where technology is sometimes used for political purposes. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Chinese city of Chongqing plans to build and maintain a video surveillance network with the help of Cisco, the world’s biggest maker of networking equipment.

Other companies tied to the project include H-P and Alabama-based Intergraph, a developer of software that analyzes video feeds for unusual situations such as fires (or gathering crowds).

The story contrasts city official claims that the technology will be used to prevent crime, with complaints from human-rights advocates that surveillance footage has been used in the past against protesters in Xinjiang and Tibet.

Digits Live Show: Videogame Law, Hackers Join Forces and Five Tools for Entrepreneurs

What Ruling Means for Videogame Makers: The Supreme Court ruled that a California law banning the sale of violent videogames to minors is unconstitutional. WSJ’s Ashby Jones and Ian Sherr discuss on digits.