Botnet
Half of the Fortune 100 are infected?
Since its discovery in May of 2009 we’ve identified Mariposa activity in tens of thousands of unique corporate networks. Over 70 variants have been identified with varying degrees of security and purpose, including code injection into known processes, email address harvesting, and additional malware downloads. The purpose behind so [...]
While You Were Sleeping
Infected computers misbehave, sure, but have you ever wondered who’s running them? UC Santa Barbara managed a catch-and-release field analysis of the tech behind the compromising of a lot of our machines:
In a recent paper, the researchers describe how they “hijacked” the command-and-control system of botnet known as Torpig or Sinowal and held on [...]
The Dan Who Blackholed the World
Wired magazine has the story of Dan Kaminsky’s discovery of a gaping security flaw in the Internet’s DNS architecture:
Then last January, on a drizzly Sunday afternoon, he flopped down on his bed, flipped open his laptop, and started playing games with DNS. He used a software program called Scapy to fire random queries at the [...]
eHarmony Enters 20th Century
After years of blatantly discriminatory practices, same-sex relationships are on the table at eHarmony, one of the biggest online matching services:
Online US dating service eHarmony.com has agreed to set up a website for gays and lesbians seeking partners after being accused of discrimination by a gay man in New Jersey state.
Under the terms of a [...]
Sarah Palin Interview Generator!
Heh-heh. I love the Internet.
All You Need to Know
So the governorship of Alaska, as with that of most states, is largely ceremonial in many ways. It’s no secret, but don’t you dare suggest that a Republican running mate wasn’t a hands-on Commander-in-Chief of the state’s National Guard. Not unless you’re willing immediately to contradict yourself for a promotion:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has promoted [...]
Party Unity, My Ass
[For immediate release] I’ve had it with partisan politics, as have so many Americans these days. After much consideration and consultation with my cats and wife, I’ve decided to run. We had wanted to break the news here, but the sheer size of my organization probably guaranteed leaks, and once the media got hold of [...]
Virus in Spaaaaaaaaace!
Laptop computers taken to the International Space Station had been compromised by a well-known virus:
Space news website SpaceRef broke the story about the virus on the laptops that astronauts took to the ISS.
NASA told SpaceRef that no command or control systems of the ISS were at risk from the malicious program.
The laptops infected with the [...]
Pwnability
A security flaw that threatens the Internet’s DNS structure can be fixed, but bureaucracy stands in the way:
If the complicated politics of internet governance continue to get in the way of upgrading the security of the net’s core technology, the internet could turn into a carnival house of mirrors, where no URL or e-mail address [...]
Writers Strike Ending?
A tentative agreement has been approved by the WGA membership.
The action followed Sunday’s unanimous decision by the board and negotiating committee of the Writers Guild of America to bless a tentative contract reached with studios over the weekend. The guild’s 10,500 movie and TV writers are expected to ratify the new three-year agreement within 12 [...]
