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Preparing for the Inevitable Data Breach: Discussion | SecurityWeek.Com

Preparing for the Inevitable Data Breach: Discussion | SecurityWeek.Com.

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There are new clues in the target breach, check this story out

Well, the news just keeps coming in. This time, Brian gives us some more information on the target breach. Feel free to check out the article here. I need to read it all the way through, somehow it stopped in the middle, but what I’ve read so far indicates that there was nothing we could do. It was out of our control, and anything someone who knows more about credit card systems and how they work could say. It sounds like this was a sophistocated piece of software. Unfortunately, Steve and others indicate that this will continue. In a related note, SN440 which is available through Twit has a few minute segment dealing with the breach and Brian’s reporting of this story. He took from one of the articles. XP is going to be phased out in April, businesses really need to think about upgrading their platforms if possible. Check this out.

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comments on this week

hi all.
firstly, yeah its good the i spy stuff is over.
However I can’t help wandering what will happen when its reversed.
The big companies are working together to get rid of bad guys, but its also known the companies are working to spy on the users for copywrite stuff to get our data, use it and sell it.
On the post on relationships I firmly believe that all the stuff like this should be kept offline.
The net is not a private place as we all know.
I don’t post even names of my family online for the most part.
and I don’t put all my anger online either.
It can bite you in the ass.
Even email can be used in court, and that would mean your twitter, facebooks, blogs etc.
So posting anything online could get you into deep trouble.
Even if you forgot what it was.
on another note winamp is finally moving over and maybe we will get more stuff for this who knows

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Spy I in the news, again

I believe I’ve posted articles on this blog about the Spy I trojan which did quite a lot of damage in the banking industry. I wasn’t going to really say anything after seeing one article, but this morning, i saw another one.

Yesterday Brian Krebs posted an article about how the leader of the project was arrested and braught back to Atlanta in the United States. Feds to Charge Alleged SpyEye Trojan Author is the name of the article. It talks about Microsofts involvement in the project, how they were able to help take down some servers, which eventually crippled this bad apple in to history.

This morning, Trend Micro posted in their security intellegance blog a story which I’ve not read all the way through yet. It talks about their involvement, and goes in to more detail on how this operation worked and how they had a hand in things. > Eyeing SpyEye is the name of this article.

Congradulations to both Microsoft and Trend Micro on doing what they could to take a bite out of this very dangerous piece of technology. It won’t stop the bad actors, but it is a start. I think technology companies need to work together, and share information, so that the bad guys can be arrested for the stuff that can harm us. This is a good example of how this can work. Great job guys, keep up the great work.

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South Koreans seethe, sue as credit card details swiped | Reuters

South Koreans seethe, sue as credit card details swiped | Reuters.

This must be one of the biggest thefts I’ve ever seen looking for tech news. 105 million confirmed credit card and other details taken in a three month period. Target might have that beat, at 110 million, but still, this article seems to be a confirmed 105, where target is an unconfirmed 110. Wow.

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What to post online when it comes to relationship issues

I saw this question on facebook. I’m putting this on my personal blog and this blog. This blog, only because it is technology related. I’m curious on what people think. My thoughts are below the question, and the person who posted this to facebook is not named here.

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I saw this on facebook. The person who posted this is not named here, but there is a discussion going on and I thought I’d post the question out here for people to see and possibly comment on.

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Controversial question for the week.

Do you feel it is inappropriate to put fights/disagreements/issues that you and your significant other have in a public venue, such as Facebook? I personally think it is not a good thing to do because any matters, unless of a severe or threatening nature, should be kept between you and that person. Getting too many people involved in your relationships can get things messy. . Discuss.

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My two cents. I mentioned in the discussion that I wanted to post something, but I couldn’t do such a thing because doing so may hurt my reputation. While what I wanted to post wasn’t relationship related: I said: it was a work related thing which could be a problem. Most comments within the 15 so far mention that nothing should be mentioned publically. I did mention once you post something, even though you have your profile private, anyone can do with what you wrote and make it public.

Facebook for example, is is bad on changing ones settings for everything to be public. This can turn bad, if you went off on your boss for some reason or another. People have gotten fired for such activity, so people should be careful. Your thoughts are welcome.

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Michaels Stores Is Investigating Data Breach – NYTimes.com

Michaels Stores Is Investigating Data Breach – NYTimes.com.

Oh boy. Some target and neiman marcus updates in this update, but nothing new on Michaels. It is the same as it was yesterday. This according to the article, will be the third such breach against a retailer. It reminds us that a possible 6 others are effected that haven’t said anything yet. Check this article out.

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Sources: Card Breach at Michaels Stores

Well, here is another potential breach being reported. This time, Sources: Card Breach at Michaels Stores is the article, and I know of both stores here in Los Angeles mentioned in the article. I believe we have both. Trend Micro wasn’t kidding when they said we’d have a breach or two per month. As a side note, there is a target notice in this article, so between the 40 million and the 70 million, we could be looking at 110 million people effected by Target alone. Nemon Marcus (spelling not sure of) is reported in this article at 1.1 million people. These are big numbers, and if the same thing happened to them as we learned at Target, its going to be a long year. This, my friends, will not be looking good any time soon. Guess I’ll have to get out my podcasting equipment, because it is going to be a long one dealing with these breaches as fast as they come in. Its bad enough that we have the threats of virus and other types of melicious activity, but now, we have the credit and debit card worries on top of it. Luckily, I don’t shop at too many places. I do need to keep my guard up though more than ever. Thoughts on how you protect yourself for others to learn about would be good. What practices do you take to make sure you are OK? Knowing what we do about the Target breach, do you think the steps you took would protect you from that, or are we playing a cat and mouse game? I’m curious on your thoughts. The comment boards await you.

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Feds Infiltrate, Bust Counterfeit Card Shop

This is how you do this. Great job, Feds. The article I’m referring to is entitled: Feds Infiltrate, Bust Counterfeit Card Shop and I’ve seen coverage of this type of thing. You’re always going to get caught somehow, so if you are not smart, you’ll be found out and delbt with cvia the law. The difference now is that it is being done online, so investigating such things becomes more difficult, but it can be done, thanks to this update from Brian. I’m surprised that the ISP didn’t know who this guy was, although I don’t blame them for not knowing if they don’t have the records. Too bad for this guy, Amazon knew, as he must have used then for something, which got him in trouble. Comments are welcome.

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GW Micro Announces Window-Eyes Certification Now Available

Jan-21-2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fort Wayne, Indiana (January 21, 2014) – GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) is proud to announce the Window-Eyes Certification Program. The Window-Eyes Certification Program is a professional certification that enables individuals to test their Window-Eyes knowledge and become certified, which will demonstrate competency and proficiency in the product.

Recently, GW Micro announced a partnership with Microsoft to provide users of Microsoft Office 2010 or later a free license of Window-Eyes. “We have had a large demand for a certification program for Window-Eyes,” said Jeremy Curry, Director of Training for GW Micro. “With the advent of a no-cost screen reader solution and as the assistive technology industry expands, GW Micro is meeting demand and growing with the industry.”

The Window-Eyes Certification Program will be immediately recognized by some state agencies for people who are blind or visually impaired. Curry believes that private corporations, as well as local, state, and federal government agencies will take advantage of the Window-Eyes Certification Program as accessibility testing for websites, documents, and other electronic communication is becoming a larger part of mainstream culture. “In many government agencies, there are laws that dictate digital content must be accessible, and this is one way that GW Micro can help ensure there are knowledgeable individuals certified in Window-Eyes able to provide their product expertise to organizations that need it.”

GW Micro will be expanding their training and certification program later this year to continue to meet a strong demand. For information on Window-Eyes available for free for users of Microsoft Office, please visit www.windoweyesforoffice.com. To learn more about the Window-Eyes Certification Program, please visit http://www.gwmicro.com/WECertified.

GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) has been a trusted pioneer in the adaptive technology industry since 1990, and continues to lead with innovative, customer driven solutions.

Contact:

Jeremy Curry

(260) 489-3671

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PCI-DSS 3.0: Three Things to Know to Ensure Compliance, Security and Business Agility | SecurityWeek.Com

PCI-DSS 3.0: Three Things to Know to Ensure Compliance, Security and Business Agility | SecurityWeek.Com.

I think this a great article to read if you are interested in the credit card stuff. Lots of interesting ideas, and I agree with the security needing to be a shared responsibility a time coming. Lets see how it works going forward,. Will it protect us from massive breaches like the Target and others? I am not sure, but maybe it could somewhat help in some way, but Target had its own set of issues. We’ll just have to see.

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A Closer Look at the Target Malware, Part II

A Closer Look at the Target Malware, Part II is a 2nd part of what is looking like a series of updates on what is being learned about what happened to Target. In a way, I feel bad for us, as there is nothing we can do. It is looking like from the comments, that things we didn’t know were possible are possible. For example, it talks about the fact that malware was installed at the cash register level of the credit card processing system. Without knowledge of how all this works, I can’t really comment much except to say that from what I’m reading, there is no real way to protect consumers from this type of an attack. It looks to be very sophistocated.

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A First Look at the Target Intrusion, Malware

A First Look at the Target Intrusion, Malware is a first look on how bad this compromise of Targets processing credit cards ended up being. I’m sure we’ll learn more, and Bryan here has a nice article about it. My prior thoughts on this subject still stand. I wonder how we can protect ourselves from something like this? Would a chip based card help? Check out Bryan’s blog, and let me know what you think.

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Security Updates for Windows, Java, Flash & Reader

Security Updates for Windows, Java, Flash & Reader is a post on Bryan Kreb’s blog which talks about the latest security issues you need to know about. Very detailed too. Thought people should see this, even though Shaun posted a short note earlier in the day. Take care.

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GW Micro Announces Global Window-Eyes Initiative for users of Microsoft

Jan-14-2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fort Wayne, Indiana (January 14, 2014) – GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) is proud to make a revolutionary announcement. GW Micro and Microsoft Corp. have partnered to make Window-Eyes available to users of Microsoft Office at no cost. Window-Eyes is a screen reader that enables people who are blind, visually impaired, or print disabled to have full access to Windows PCs and makes the computer accessible via speech and/or Braille.

To better deliver Window-Eyes to the people who need it most, GW Micro and Microsoft have collaborated on this global initiative, available in over 15 languages, to enable anyone using Microsoft Office 2010 or later to also use Window-Eyes for free. Access to technology is critical to people who are blind or visually impaired in order to have the same opportunity to compete in the workplace. As such, this initiative between GW Micro and Microsoft has the potential to reduce barriers for millions of people who are blind or visually impaired around the world.

As the population ages, technologies like Window-Eyes will become more and more important as the number of people with age-related macular degeneration and other retinal degenerative diseases increases. “This significant change in the way we are doing business reflects the changing perception of accessibility and also technology in general. Rather than wait for the world to change, Microsoft and GW Micro are leading the way,” said Dan Weirich, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for GW Micro. Weirich believes this technology can help millions of people gain access to their PC, and that providing it free of charge will open a whole new world of assistive technology to many people.

In light of the rapidly changing face of technology and specifically, the changing face of assistive technology, the combined efforts of GW Micro and Microsoft have the goal of providing accessibility to people who are blind and visually impaired for the long term.

Microsoft continues to take accessibility seriously. “By partnering with GW Micro in this endeavor we are demonstrating Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to provide all of our customers with the technology and tools to help each person be productive in both their work and personal lives.” said Rob Sinclair, Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft.

Eligible customers, using Microsoft Office 2010 or higher, will be able to download a full version of Window-Eyes starting today at www.WindowEyesForOffice.com. The website provides download instructions as well as additional details about this offer.

GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) has been a trusted pioneer in the adaptive technology industry since 1990, and continues to lead with innovative, customer driven solutions.

Contact:

Dan Weirich, VP of Sales and Marketing

(260) 489-3671

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windows update notification

Hi.
this is to tell all that windows updates are out for office, and windows.
Also ntp time servers have a dos issue but there is an update for that.
adobe acrobat 11.06, flash 12.3 are out to.
laters for now

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I’m a little worried about our credit card safety

I’m a little worried about those of us with credit cards. The Latest breach is dealing with a well known merchant who I haven’t heard being advertised in awhile. Thanks to Krebs on Security Hackers Steal Card Data from Neiman Marcus where Neiman Marcus is I believe a well known furniture store. I’ve seen reports of two others who were possibly breached. On a related note, an article indicated that malware was responsible for the breach at Target, and upwards of 70 million people have been effected. Since I was home sick today, Twit’s Tech News Today was not able to confirm if it was 70 million, 110 million, or what, but this is big. I’m worried about that, because we can’t really protect ourselves from this type of attack. If malware is installed where the data must be non-encrypted because of the approval process portion of the transaction, anything experts may suggest won’t work. The latest from Krebs on Target is this article entitled Target: Names, Emails, Phone Numbers on Up To 70 Million Customers Stolen so be as careful as you can is all I can say.

I wonder why the credit card industry hasn’t changed the way credit cards are given? I hear Europe has adopted different types of cards where you don’t have a strip, but I really don’t know what kinds of cards are out there. I’d be interested in hearing from someone who has used a different type of card and their experience. Please contact me through my web site or go to the about page on the blog and contact me that way. There has to be an answer to the uprise of breaches as these. I do hope we learn more soon. Leave your thoughts, and please no bashing.

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Target Confirms Point-of-Sale Malware Was Used in Attack | SecurityWeek.Com

Target Confirms Point-of-Sale Malware Was Used in Attack | SecurityWeek.Com.

This is an update to the target breach. Its always good to wait to see what kind of things may come up. I don’t know exactly how we can protect from malware installed on to payment systems except for antivirus software, but I wonder what kinds of software could be used in an environment like that? More will be known I’m sure.

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