Privacy, Security Archive

Following Vnunet's "Linux hacks hit all-time high" article a few days back, mi2g once again copped criticism from the wider IT security community. Nonetheless, the original data upon which their report was based illustrates that concerns about Open Source security complacency may have some merit.

Microsoft is expanding its security business unit with a group that will establish new software development processes and create tools for its programmers so that future Microsoft products will have fewer security flaws, a Microsoft executive said.

Microsoft faces a possible investigation and significant fines for a security lapse that could have exposed the personal information of millions of consumers.

An interesting Palladium editorial is at Linux-mag, going through the pros and cons of the technology.

A key code for installing Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 has leaked onto the Internet, a loss that could lead to widespread piracy of the OS. In the meantime, the battle for "Trustworthy Computing" is still on.

Columnist Tim Mullen from SecurityFocus wrote an interesting editorial about how the media are overeacting on some thought exploits/holes found on Windows 2k/XP, while in his opinion, other platforms/apps are also as vulnerable but they don't get as agressive reporting: "This kind of thing damages overall security. It clouds the issue, and rains on the wrong parade. The media should give its readers all the information-- not slant it in an effort to make Microsoft look like the bad guy every time."

"Wireless networks are replacing wired networks very rapidly. More and more people want to stay connected on the road. What this transition brings is - more security problems. While wired networks have been around for ages and have had the time to make good security defences, wireless networks and new in comparison and still have a long way to go. This book aims to give you the knowledge you need to bring maximum security to your network, by teaching you how that security can and will be broken." Read the review at Help Net Security.

Red Hat and Mandrake are cutting support for older versions of their Linux distributions... The results will be a security nightmare for the Internet, says Jon Lasser.

Computer security experts said on Thursday the recent "SQL Slammer" worm, the worst in more than a year, is evidence that Microsoft Corp.'s year-old security push is not working.

The company plans to update its Smartphone 2002 operating system to fix flaws that make it possible to send rogue software programs to a specific model of phone that uses the OS.

"Could we be constantly tracked through our clothes, shoes or even our cash in the future? I'm not talking about having a microchip surgically implanted beneath your skin, which is what Applied Digital Systems of Palm Beach, Fla., would like to do. Nor am I talking about John Poindexter's creepy Total Information Awareness spy-veillance system, which I wrote about last week. Instead, in the future, we could be tracked because we'll be wearing, eating and carrying objects that are carefully designed to do so." Read the interesting editorial at ZDNews.

TechTV published a look at security issues in the past year, and they found that worms, viruses, spam, and other security scourges are on the rise, and are affecting common computer users as well as big data centers: If 2001 was the year of corporate headaches, 2002 saw average PC users under attack.

Nicholas writes: "There's an interesting interview over at LinuxWorld about U.S. government and open-source security. Robert McMillan of LinuxWorld.com talks to Marc Sachs of the White House Cyberspace Security Office about the role of open-source software in the US government."

This is old news, but still, everyone should be aware of it. And on a theoretical basis, the co-creator of UNIX, Ken Thompson wrote a paper on which he explains that it is possible to add a backdoor to a closed source compiler and when you first compile any other compiler (e.g. GCC), any concequent compiles from this new compiler, would include the backdoor by default. Pessimistic thought of the day: nothing is safe. Neither Windows or Unix. I wonder how "safe" the Security-Enhanced Linux from NSA is. It might secure you from others, but does it secure you from NSA itself? ;P Update: More info here (Ms reply on the issue) and here.