On Tuesday, Mozilla released version 9 of its Firefox browser with fixes for a number of memory safety bugs in the browser engine; then, 24 hours later, it released 9.0.1 to fix a bug that caused Mac, Linux, and Windows users’ browsers to crash.
Anonymous claims responsibility for takedown of Egyptian government sites
The hacktivist group Anonymous claimed this week that it took down a dozen Egyptian government websites using distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in retaliation for the government’s treatment of protestors.
$16 million class-action lawsuit filed over UCLA Health System data breach
A $16 million class-action lawsuit has been filed against the UCLA Health System for a data breach that compromised personal information of more than 16,000 patients.
Multi-factor biometrics to change the security landscape, IBM predicts
Multi-factor biometric authentication is one of the five innovations that are likely to change the tech landscape within five years, according to IBM’s 5 in 5 annual list of innovations.
Twitter says Whisper Systems’ encryption software will no longer be a secret
Microblogging service Twitter has decided to open source some of Whisper Systems’ software, including the TextSecure text-messaging encryption for Android devices, on Github.
Chinese group hacks into US Chamber of Commerce networks
A Chinese group allegedly hacked into the US Chamber of Commerce networks last year and gained access to information on its three million members.
Hackerazzi use Lady Gaga’s Twitter account to scam her ‘little monsters’
Hackers broke into pop star Lady Gaga’s Twitter account and broadcasted a link to a scam offer for free iPad 2s to her 17 million fans, whom she calls “little monsters.”
Feds indict 55 people in New York cybercrime ring
The Manhattan District Attorney has indicted 55 individuals for operating a $2 million organized cybercrime ring that relied on corrupt employees at companies and institutions to steal personal information of victims.
APTs expected to grow in volume and sophistication, warns Fidelis chief
Nation-state-sponsored advanced persistent threats (APTs) are only going to increase in volume and sophistication over the next few years, and the US needs to take the offense in countering these threats, argues Peter George, president and chief execut…
Wisegate launches micro-community for privacy and compliance professionals
Wisegate, a newly formed social networking site for information security professionals, has added a privacy and compliance micro-community for senior-level privacy and compliance professionals.