vulnerabilities Archives

Tag: vulnerabilities

Surprise: Branding a Bug is just as Hard as Branding Anything Else!

November 26, 2014 Paul Roberts

ZDNet’s @violetblue has a nice piece on the new fad for naming vulnerabilities – seen most recently with the OpenSSL Heartbleed vulnerability and the “Shellshock” vulnerability in Linux’s common BASH utility. As Blue notes, the desire to “brand” bugs “changes the way we talk about security” – in part by giving complex, technical flaws down a common referent. But does giving a bug a logo make it frivolous? As she notes: the penchant for naming vulnerabilities may stem not from a desire to trivialize them – but a very practical response to the need to keep track of so many security holes in software. Regardless, Heartbleed – and the marketing by the firm Codenomicon that surrounde it – was the bug that launched a thousand ships, including Shellshock, Sandworm, and more. Read more coverage of Heartbleed here. But, as with . As security research and incident response are becoming more lucrative, expect the masonry […]

Regin Espionage Tool Active since 2008 | Symantec Connect

November 24, 2014 Paul Roberts

Symantec on Sunday published research describing a new family of malware that it claims has been circulating, quietly, for close to six years. (Gulp!) According to a post on Symantec’s Security Response blog, Regin infections have been observed as far back as 2008, but the malware went quiet after about 2011, only to resurface in 2013 in attacks on a wide range of targets including private and public entities and research institutes. Symantec also observed the malware used in attacks on telecommunications firms and say it appears the malware was being used “to gain access to calls being routed through their infrastructure.” In a separate research paper, Symantec describes the malware, dubbed “Backdoor.Regin” as a multi-staged threat that uses encrypted components – installed in a series of stages – to escape detection. The key the malware’s stealth is compartmentalization, Symantec found: “each individual stage provides little information on the complete package. Only by acquiring all five stages is it possible […]

Report: DHS and FBI Briefing Grid Operators on Sophisticated Cyber Attacks

November 20, 2014 Paul Roberts

A spate of reports in recent days has put the media’s attention back on the security of the energy sector and critical infrastructure more broadly. Notably: this CNN report that cites NSA director Admiral Mike Rogers telling the audience at a power grid security conference in San Antonio, Texas in October that “power… is one of the segments that concerns me the most.” What’s changed? For one: the uptick in ICS-specific malware like BlackEnergy. A spate of attacks based on that malware and others have targeted critical infrastructure players in recent months. According to a confidential memo obtained by CNN, the FBI and DHS are now traveling the country to warn utilities and other critical infrastructure owners about targeted attacks on industrial control systems. Some of those attacks are exploiting previously unknown (or “zero day”) vulnerabilities in ICS systems, CNN reported. The U.S. Government has been warning about the threat of cyber attacks on […]

Strategies for Securing Agile Development: An Online Conversation

November 19, 2014 Paul Roberts

There’s no question that agile development methods, which emphasize collaboration and shorter, iterative development cycles, are ascendant. Many factors contribute to agile’s growing popularity, from constrained budgets to increased user demands for features and accountability. Though traditionally associated with small and nimble software and services startups, agile methodology has been embraced by organizations across industry verticals – many (like John Deere) whose name doesn’t scream “app store” or “Silicon Valley Startup.” But if agile is here to stay, a nagging question is how to pivot to agile’s fast-paced and iterative release schedules without skimping on important areas like code security. After all, the conventional wisdom is that security slows things down: imposing time- and labor intensive code audits and testing on the otherwise results-driven development cycle. Fortunately, agile and secure development aren’t mutually exclusive. Tomorrow (Thursday), the Security Ledger and Veracode will collaborate on a Hangout and discussion of how to build, automate and deliver secure software using the agile […]

Microsoft Issues Critical, Emergency Patch: MS14-068

November 18, 2014 Paul Roberts

Microsoft on Tuesday released a critical security patch outside of its normal, monthly software update cycle to fix what it described as a serious, privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC). If left unpatched, the security hole could allow an attacker to impersonate any user on a domain, including domain administrators. They could use that access to install programs; view, change or delete data; or create new accounts on any domain-joined system, Microsoft said. The security hole affects a wide range of Windows versions and is rated Critical for all supported editions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft said. Kerberos is an encryption technology that is the default authentication method for Windows systems, starting with Windows 2000. The Kerberos Key Distribution Center is a standard network service for issuing temporary session keys to users and computers […]