Yearly Archives: 2012

Exploit Released for Zero-Day in Internet Explorer

September 17, 2012

A working exploit that takes advantage of a previously unknown critical security hole in Internet Explorer has been published online. Experts say the vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild, and that it appears to be connected to the same group of Chinese hackers responsible for unleashing a pair of Java zero-day exploits late last month.

Microsoft Disrupts ‘Nitol’ Botnet in Piracy Sweep

September 13, 2012

Microsoft said Thursday that it convinced a U.S. federal court to grant it control over a botnet believed to be closely linked to counterfeit versions Windows that were sold in various computer stores across China. The legal victory also highlights a Chinese Internet service that experts say has long been associated with targeted, espionage attacks against U.S. and European corporations.

Donkey Express: Mules Take Over the Mail

September 10, 2012

This blog has featured several stories on reshipping scams, which recruit willing or unwitting U.S. citizens (“mules”) to reship abroad pricey items that are paid for with stolen credit cards. Today’s post highlights a critical component of this scheme: the black-market sale of international shipping labels fraudulently purchased from the U.S. Postal Service.

A Handy Way to Foil ATM Skimmer Scams

September 5, 2012

I spent several hours this past week watching video footage from hidden cameras that skimmer thieves placed at ATMs to surreptitiously record customers entering their PINs. I was surprised to see that out of the dozens of customers that used these cash machines, only one bothered to take the simple security precaution of covering his hand when entering his 4-digit code.

Security Fix for Critical Java Flaw Released

August 30, 2012

Oracle has issued an urgent update to close a dangerous security hole in its Java software that attackers have been using to deploy malicious software. The patch comes amid revelations that Oracle was notified in April about this vulnerability and a number other other potentially unpatched Java flaws.

Researchers: Java Zero-Day Leveraged Two Flaws

August 29, 2012

New analysis of a zero-day Java exploit that surfaced last week indicates that it takes advantage of not one but two previously unknown vulnerabilities in the widely-used software. The latest figures suggest that more than a billion users may be vulnerable to attack.