infiltrate

The march of the botnets

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Botnets, networks of hundreds or even thousands of infected machines, aren't going away anytime soon. They can be used to wreak real havoc, including spamming and theft of financial and identity-related data, but they are capable of much more. They are on the brink of a technological leap to more resilient architectures and more sophisticated encryption that includes peer-to-peer networks that will make it much harder to track, monitor and disable them. With a P2P botnet, there is no centralized point for command and control. Each node in the network acts as both client and server, eliminating the central chokepoint. Individual nodes can be knocked offline, but the gaps in the network will be closed without the loss affecting the botnet's operation or the attacker's control. One of the most efficient ways for enterprises to address the bot problem is to blacklist malicious sites and hosts and block access to them. Botnet watchers are also seeing a trend toward stronger encryption, which is used by attackers to ensure that bots added to the network are in fact legitimate, as opposed to being nodes belonging to researchers working to infiltrate a botnet and block it or take it down.

Read more about the threat of botnets:
- read the article at eWeek

ALSO: read this on how trojans bolster botnet powers

Don't discount physical security

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Data security gets all the headlines--hackers find a way to infiltrate a major retailer, stealing personal information, for example. But without old-fashioned physical security--yes, we're talking about locks and security guards here--companies could be in the same compromising position. Without good physical security, thieves can enter the premises and steal hard drives or tapes with sensitive information on them. One problem is that in many companies, information security and physical security teams are entirely separated, with different reporting structures and unrelated budgets. Also, centralized device management is next to impossible with physical security, since some physical controls, such as door locks, electronic devices, such as sensors or surveillance cameras, and standalone technologies have their own control mechanisms. But physical security devices based on IP technologies are becoming available, intelligent vision systems that record, store and distribute digital video images from surveillance systems over any communications network. This enables multiple network users to monitor banks of images from multiple cameras at distributed locations in real time. It's time for holistic risk management.

To learn about the benefits of holistic risk management:
- read the article at IT-Director.com

Tapping into the world of social networking

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 19:01:39 -0500

Social networking--like the MySpace account your kids insist on getting or the Friendster account your friend talked you into signing up for--is beginning to infiltrate the workspace. While you don't have to worry that your employees will beg you for a Facebook account, you should be aware that social networking--a system that expands the number of contacts by making connections through a common interface--will eventually come to your organization in one form or another. Since it's inevitable, consider it a valuable marketing tool. Social networking can be used to share important information with co-workers and that content becomes a permanent record that can be useful for other projects. Here is just one example: say your IT manager is spearheading a campaign for Linux within your company. If that manager becomes part of a social networking community, he or she can use the knowledge gained to further the goals of the company.

Learn why social networking will infiltrate the enterprise and how to benefit:
- read the article at Optimize

Hackers aiming at new target

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:01:38 -0500

Keeping the enterprise secure often means trying to stay one step ahead of the latest phishing, spamming and virus attacks. And if the words of a security vendor CEO ring true, it's only going to get harder in the future. Symantec's Chief Executive Officer, John Thompson, says that hackers and malcontents are now shifting away from attacking machines and systems and are trying to infiltrate actual business transactions. The new attacks are not only more targeted--the goal is now to create fiscal damage, says Thompson.

For more on how hackers are changing their strategy:
- read the news at NetworkWorld

Related Article:
Hackers have a target strategy. Report

Microsoft considers early patch release for IE flaw

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Microsoft may break its longstanding monthly Patch Tuesday to respond to a critical danger to IE that lets hackers infiltrate and command a PC. The code and approach that lets a hacker take over a PC has been released into the public and already has spawned two exploits serious enough that Microsoft is considering releasing a patch as quickly as possible and not waiting until it's next patch day--April 11.

For more on the IE exploits:
- read this New York Times article