From ComputerWorld

Nations that want to disrupt their enemies' banking, media and government resources don't need their own technical skills;  they can simply order botnet attack services from cybercriminals.

That's a point made in McAfee's new report "Virtually Here: The Age of Cyber Warfare," which draws from the opinions of about 20 experts, including William Crowell, former deputy director of the U.S. National Security Agency.

U.S. cyber war policy needs new focus, experts say

It's frustrating to be a consumer these days, especially knowing that your personal information could be exposed anytime there's a major data breach. Two new Senate bills aim to improve notification to customers when their information is exposed to thieves and, despite their shortfalls, experts  are  still holding out hope.

From Computer World

Inadvertent disclosure forces vendors to speed effort to produce a fix

IDG News Service - Software makers around the world are scrambling to fix a serious bug in the technology used to transfer information securely on the Internet.

From DarkReading:

New technology 'patches' the operating system kernel, protects it from rootkits

Researchers at North Carolina State University and Microsoft Research have come up with a way to combat rootkits by using the machine's own hardware-based memory protection: the so-called HookSafe tool basically protects the operating system kernel from rootkits.

Third correction traced to October's massive Patch Tuesday

By Gregg Keizer
November 3, 2009 11:47 AM ET

Microsoft yesterday re-patched Internet Explorer, the third time it's been forced to repair one of the updates from its largest-ever bug fix, which was delivered on Oct. 13.

Phony LinkedIn invitation from 'Bill Gates' lands in smartphone inboxes

Oct 28, 2009 | 04:59 PM
By Kelly Jackson Higgins


Three of the most popular smartphones -- iPhone, BlackBerry, and Palm Pre -- fell victim to a recent spear-phishing experiment that sent users a phony LinkedIn invitation from "Bill Gates," according to the security expert who conducted the research.

Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) says ISPs, bad guys at a draw when it comes to spam, malicious email

Oct 26, 2009 | 09:37 PM
By Kelly Jackson Higgins


MESSAGING ANTI-ABUSE WORKING GROUP (MAAWG) GENERAL MEETING -- PHILADELPHIA -- Internet service providers reported a slight dip in email abuse in the second quarter of this year, according to data revealed today by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) at its general meeting here.

Experts express consternation over early vulnerabilities, UAC configuration issues

Oct 22, 2009 | 05:02 PM
By Tim Wilson


The global launch of Microsoft's next-generation Windows 7 operating system today was greeted with fanfare -- and some grumbling from security professionals who worry the new OS already has too many holes.

From Economic Times:

The Communist regime in China with the help of a elite hacker community is building its cyber warfare capabilities and appears to be using a long-term computer attack campaign to collect US intelligence.