Android Apps found to be Distributing Malware

A new variation of an Android malware identified by Symantec engineers has infected around one to five million downloads — "the highest distribution of any malware identified so far this year."

The combined total downloads of those apps could be as high as five million. You can see the malicious apps above. Reported by Symantec official blog, Symantec has identified 13 apps on the Android Market that are all hiding Android.Counterclank, a Trojan horse that steals information. This malware could also download more files and even display ads on the device.

Per symantec, "The combined download figures of all the malicious apps indicate that Android.Counterclank has the highest distribution of any malware identified so far this year."

eIQnetworks Webinar on How to Address Advanced Persistent Threats without Increasing Budgets or Personnel

eIQnetworks’ Unified Situational Awareness Platform Provides Comprehensive Approach to Dealing with Increasingly Complex Cyber and Insider Threats.

Acton, Mass. – Jan. 25, 2012 – eIQnetworks®, Inc., the only global provider of a unified situational awareness solution, today published a webinar entitled, “Proactive Threat Discovery and Risk Mitigation Demands Situational Awareness,” featuring leading analyst firm, Gartner. John Pescatore, vice president and research fellow in Gartner Research and John Linkous, vice president, chief security and compliance officer at eIQnetworks, discuss why unified situational awareness is critical to detecting and mitigating today’s advanced threats including advanced persistent threats (APTs) and WikiLeaks-style insider threats.
“To effectively and efficiently deal with both advanced targeted threats and changing business demands, enterprises need to proactively evolve their security controls and monitoring,” commented John Pescatore, vice president in Gartner Research. “Security programs need to move from reactively monitoring log events to developing situational awareness that supports rapid reaction and threat analysis along with continuous monitoring of security status.”

“We believe eIQnetworks’ SecureVue® is the only solution that delivers on all the capabilities that Gartner outlined for situational awareness in its most recent research note on the topic [“Delivering Situational Awareness” - ID# G00214313],” commented John Linkous, eIQnetworks’ vice president, chief security and compliance officer. “This is because SecureVue has been designed to deliver a more proactive approach by cross-correlating all security, threat and compliance data into one platform, rather than the limited security data analysis used by SIEM and SIEM Plus vendors that results in data gaps. The outcome is a single console, yielding a real-time, unified view of the entire enterprise’s security, risk and compliance posture.”  To view the webinar, “Proactive Threat Discovery and Risk Mitigation Demands Situational Awareness,” visit: http://www.eiqnetworks.com/resources/gartnerandeiqnetworks_webinar.php. 

For more information on situational awareness, visit: http://www.eiqnetworks.com/solutions/situational_awareness.php. 

About eIQnetworks: eIQnetworks is the only global provider of a unified situational awareness solution, serving the largest enterprises around the world including government, financial, telecommunications, retail, pharmaceutical and healthcare. The company’s unified situational awareness platform, SecureVue®, delivers an accurate, timely and coherent view of the threat, compliance and risk posture via a single console. SecureVue provides real-time continuous security monitoring, compliance automation, configuration auditing and forensic analysis, all in a single solution. Vital to the protection of an organization’s infrastructure, SecureVue helps global enterprises proactively protect against cyber attacks, advanced persistent threats (APTs), data breaches and policy violations, so they can respond to incidents and implement security best practices. eIQnetworks is a privately held company headquartered in Acton, Mass.

Hacking Group hit US security firm Stratfor

An internet hacking group is claiming to have stolen a wealth of emails and credit-card information about clients of US-based security company Stratfor.

The group, Anonymous, says the company's clients include the US defence department, army, air force, law enforcement agencies, top security contractors and technology firms such as Apple and Microsoft.
The activists say they were able to obtain the information because the company did not encrypt it.

In an email to its members, Stratfor said it was suspending its email and servers, and was working closely with law enforcement to identify those responsible.

It also said the disclosure was "merely a list of some of the members that have purchased our publications and does not comprise a list of individuals or entities that have a relationship with Stratfor".

Anonymous has been involved in scores of hacking exploits, including the recent defacing of a website of Syria's Ministry of Defence to protest against a bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters. Last year, it launched retaliatory attacks on companies perceived to be enemies of the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/94713/hackers-hit-us-security-firm

Origins of Computer Viruses and Protecting your PC from them

Here's an interesting read on Electric ego about history of computer viruses and some tips to protect your computer from being infected from them. Computer viruses as we are all aware notorious for giving your a headache. They have the magical powers to snatch your peace of mind and hamper your productivity! After all, they attack where it hurts most.

Turning on your computer to discover that it has been infected with a virus can be just as frustrating and upsetting as waking up to the realization that you've become really sick overnight. Computer viruses operate in much the same way as a biological virus in that they thrive on being passed from computer to computer. In other words, if you have an infected computer you're likely to pass on that infection to all of your friends' computers in the same way that you'd also pass the common cold onto them. Unlike a biological virus, however, your computer can infect the computer of a friend who isn't even in the same country as you. Virus protection software is getting more advanced each day but it is still important for users to take precautions, especially with their e-mails.

Computer viruses trace their origins back to the end of the 1980s. At that time, home computers were starting to become very popular and it was common to see them in businesses and on college campuses. During these early days of home computing the computers were manufactured and shipped in the most bare bones way possible; operating systems didn't even come pre-loaded and were instead accessed by utilizing a boot up floppy disc. Although the majority of today's younger generation wouldn't even be able to recognize a floppy disc, there was a time period during which they were the most important aspect of everyone's home computer system; both the operating systems and the programs that were developed, many of which were the precursors to today's modern PC games, were very small and a large amount of them could be stored on a single floppy disc.

The fact that new data could easily be written to floppy discs opened the door for programmers who had the desire to unleash chaos; they simply created a virus script and then hid it on a floppy disc before passing that disc on to someone else. It was common practice for discs to be passed around and copied which allowed the viruses to spread quickly. As is the nature of a virus, most people had no idea that they had obtained one until it was far too late to stop the damage. Early usage of the internet consisted primarily of bulletin boards. They provided users all over the world with access to a multitude of different programs and were seen by many as one of the best aspects of home computers.

Read more here:- http://electricego.crinz.com/642/history-and-origins-of-computer-viruses-and-how-to-protect-your-computer-from-them

Interesting Read: Most famous computer viruses and worms ever

Computer virus protection tips: Tips to fight off viruses

Social Networking danger signs to your Internet Security this Holiday Season

Holiday season is the season for sharing, but when it comes to social networking, some people may share too much about their whereabouts and the gifts they’ll give.

Facebook and Twitter are increasingly becoming a standard part of our everyday lives, but Internet safety experts say some people put too much information in cyberspace. Cyber criminals are always on the watch for people sharing too much information in their profiles. This holiday season also, they're looking for ways to compromise your internet security.

Long Island resident Howard Bernstein, for example, told Carlin he checks Facebook more often this time of year, happy to see festive photos and what his friends are up to.

“Cyber-savvy criminals are very savvy during Christmas time, and they’re looking for things like that,” said Hemanshu Nigam, Internet security expert. “Instead of casing the neighborhood, they’re casing the online neighborhood.”

Just like you lock the doors to your home, secure your social networking profiles also. Not everyone on your list of friends needs to know you’re going out of town – and that your home will be empty for days.

If you’re searching for online deals on sites like Twitter and Facebook, be wary of clicking on links. Even if forwarded by a friend, take a second look. It could appear to be the deal of the season, but scammers can create pages that look just like the real thing – and you won’t get what you bargained for.

Also if you plan to give to charities this holiday season, beware of anyone who asks for money on social media sites. Most reputable charities do not solicit donations online or over the phone.

Read more here.