Recent Posts

Research Exposes Attacks on Military, Diplomats, Executives

Researchers from Blue Coat Systems said on Wednesday that they have identified an online attack framework that is being used in highly targeted attacks on executives in industries like oil, finance and engineering as well as military officers, diplomats and government officials. The attacks are designed to steal sensitive information and Blue Coat, in a report, said that the attackers went to extreme lengths to cover their tracks: routing all communications between the hackers and the compromised systems they controlled through a “convoluted network of router proxies and rented hosts” in countries like South Korea. The framework, dubbed “Inception” is global in scope, but appears to have started out targeting individuals in Russia. Attacks spread via phishing e-mail messages that contained malicious attachments, including key logging tools and remote access Trojan horse programs, BlueCoat said. The company has released a full report on the incident, which can be found here. (PDF) [Read more Security Ledger coverage […]

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BitDefender Finds Phone to Smart Watch Communications easy to Snoop

Researchers from the security firm BitDefender have found that it is possible to snoop on wireless communications sent between smart watches and Android devices to which they are paired. The researchers, led by Liviu Arsene, captured and analyzed raw traffic between the Nexus 4 Android device running Android L Developer Preview and the Samsung Gear Live smart watch. The traffic was captured on the Android device before it was transmitted to the associated smart watch using a baseband co-processor that it standard on most Android devices. According to BitDefender, the wireless traffic is secured using a six digit PIN code. That leaves the device vulnerable to computer-enabled “brute force” attacks that can try the million possible six digit codes in short order. BitDefender noted that the problem exposed wasn’t limited to smart watches. Using baseband co-processors on Android devices to handle encryption is “not a fool-proof security mechanism,” Arsene wrote. Attackers might also be […]

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IT meets OT as Belden buys TripWire for $710m

In a move that heralded the growing convergence of information security and IT operations, Belden, a maker of industrial networking equipment, said it is acquiring Tripwire, an IT security services firm for $710 in cash. The announcement, on Tuesday, underscores the degree to which traditional IT security focused on securing enterprise networks is becoming part and parcel of the services that industrial firms wish to offer to their customers in heavy industries and critical infrastructure. [Read more Security Ledger reporting on Internet of Things and IT-OT convergence.] In a published statement, Belden said that, together, the companies will “work to deliver the next generation of cybersecurity solutions that can be deployed across enterprise, industrial, and broadcast markets.” John Stroup, President and CEO of Belden, said TripWire will extend his company’s capabilities. The two companies had previously worked together to improve critical infrastructure cybersecurity in manufacturing organizations, tailoring cyber security solutions for specific customer […]

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Security Ledger Talks Car Hacking on NPR’s AirTalk

Just a note to our readers that you can listen to a great conversation on hacking automobiles on Airtalk, a National Public Radio call-in talk show that airs on WPCC, Pasadena, California. Interestingly: the other expert guest on the show was none other than Chris Valasek of IOActive, one of the most recognized researchers on security vulnerabilities in modern automobiles. [Read more Security Ledger coverage of Chris Valasek’s research here.] Chris and I spoke with host Larry Mantle about the current state of affairs with regard to car hacking: what is possible (theoretically), what is practical and what are car makers doing about it. Check out our conversation via KPCC’s web site: The next frontier for computer hackers: Your car | AirTalk | 89.3 KPCC.

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Big Data, Security Drive Dell In Post-PC Future

If you consider how the Internet of Things is transforming the technology industry, one of the most interesting and thought-provoking areas to pay attention to is what we might consider technology “majors” – firms like HP and IBM and Cisco that made their mark (and their hundreds of billions) serving the needs of an earlier generation of technology consumers. How these established technology firms are pivoting to address the myriad challenges posed by the “Internet of Things” tells us a lot about how the IoT market is likely to shake out for consumers and – more pressingly- the enterprise.

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