News

Google is about to start the first upgrade to its SSL certification system in recent memory, and will move to 2048-bit encryption keys by the end of 2013. The first tranche of changes is planned for August 1.…

The identities of more than 15,000 South Africans who reported crimes or provided tip-offs to the police have been exposed following an attack on a SAPS (South African Police Service) website.…

A New York detective allegedly hired hackers to spy on 19 fellow cops and at least 11 others - apparently in a bid to discover if any of them were sleeping with his ex.…

Intelligence files kept hidden for nearly 80 years have shown that the British government was bugging King Edward VIII's phones in the days leading up to his abdication.…

The infamous APT1 cyberespionage crew is diminished but not defeated following its public exposure three months ago.…

Security expert Raul Siles has warned that years after it was first identified, the Preferred Networks List (PNL) Wi-Fi bug remains unaddressed on many an iPhone, Android phone, and Windows or BlackBerry handset.…

Analysis  Why does Bitcoin work? Fraudsters should have left it in cinders years ago, and might have done, if it wasn’t for two things: spam and the Byzantine Empire.…

Provider Ticket Zone is continuing a joint investigation with Brentford Football Club after it emerged that card details used to buy tickets for the League One playoff final last weekend were subsequently used for fraudulent purchases.…

AUSCERT 2013  First the good news: for all the known vulnerabilities that exist in the SCADA world, exploiting them in a way that can actually “shut down a power plant” is harder than most people (particularly including media) realise.…

China is responsible up to 80 per cent of US intellectual property theft, which a government report has estimated accounts for $300bn in lost exports, roughly the equivalent of the current American trade balance with Asia.…

The US electricity grid is under near constant attack from malware and cyber-criminals, yet most utility companies implement only the barest minimum of security standards, according to a new report released by Congressmen Ed Markey (D-MA) and Henry Waxman (D-CA).…

Twitter has joined the growing number of companies offering two-factor authentication to prevent logins being stolen – a fate several high-profile users of its service have suffered recently.…

An investigation into a security slip that left the identity information for over 170,000 users of a US federal government program publicly available online has led to accusations of hacking and legal threats.…

Skyhigh Networks has trousered $20m from VC firms keen on the security company's tech for snooping on corporate networks and locking down banned apps.…

Web security outfit Blue Coat Systems is buying Big Data security, intelligence and analytics firm Solera Networks.…

Swiss software firm Vasco has bought Cambridge-based banking security specialist Cronto in a deal valued at up to £14.5m.…

Teenaged kids are handing out more private information on social media than ever before, with little thought for the consequences, a not-so-surprising survey has found.…

The Chinese hackers involved in the Operation Aurora attacks revealed by Google in 2010 may have accessed top secret information on US surveillance targets in the country including suspected foreign spies and terrorists, it has emerged.…

AusCERT 2013  One of the reasons we can't have nice things like a secure Internet is that vendors of consumer kit can't be bothered.…

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, the enclave of Cuban territory leased by the US government, has switched off its WiFi service and cut access to social networks for fear of attack by Anonymous.…