Oracle surprised many of its software developers and vendors with a major update of the Java programming language this week. Although scheduled as part of its monthly update, the patches tackled no less than 17 security problems.

If companies employ pen testers to check their security out – why not mobile phone vendors? Which is pretty much what Samsung have done with their new Galaxy S2 smartphone, by handing the unit over to a hardware hacking group for custom ROM development.

A Tokyo-based Symantec researcher claims to have discovered another batch of infected Google Android apps, subverted by what he calls the follow-up to the now-infamous DroidDream malware.

Kaspersky Lab claims to have discovered the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing resource hosting Brazilian banking malware and, whilst this is not unknown, it also claims that Amazon has not responded to its reports about the darkware.

The Guardian newspaper has made the interesting assertion that the FBI has used the threat of prison to create an army of informants amongst hackers, with one in four US hackers now recruited by the law enforcement agency.

A Tokyo-based Symantec researcher claims to have discovered another batch of infected Google Android apps, subverted by what he calls the follow-up to the now-infamous DroidDream malware.

China may be behind the hack of RSA’s SecurID database and defense contractors that depend on the SecureID token for secure remote access by employees, according to security analysts.

An advanced version of the Alureon (aka TDDS) rootkit worm is reported to have been enhanced by the addition of an in-worm DHCP server.

A new Android app – FaceNiff – has been released that is claimed to allow automated cookie interception over public-access WiFi connections.

Cyber safety is more about awareness than technology, but that message is not being communicated effectively, says James Lyne, director of technology strategy at Sophos.