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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2013%2F3%2F17%2Fnation%2F20130317162220&sec=nation PETALING JAYA: Waging cyber war, even if done in the name of Malaysia, is still a crime. National Security Council (NSC) secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab (pic) said that Malaysia outlawed cyber attacks and that anyone caught doing so, would be punished. "In Malaysia, cyber hacking is a criminal offense against the laws of the country, irrespective of whether the it has been committed by citizens or by foreigners," he said. Mohamed was referring to the three-day cyber war between Malaysian and Filipino hackers from Mac 1 to 4. Malaysian hackers first attacked Filipino Government and private websites, hours after after Sulu gunmen and security forces clashed outside Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu. Filipino hackers responded in kind, and up to two hundred websites belonging to both countries were defaced before a "ceasefire" was called. Mohamed said 36 local private websites were defaced, though he was mum about how many Government ones were affected. He said that NSC alerted "critical agencies" as soon as the attacks started. "None of these critical websites suffered any major problem," he said, adding that Government sites were in the past, vulnerable to attacks. Mohamed added that it was not easy to pinpoint the attacks, though he confirmed that neither Government was involved. "We understand that the Philippine side suffered a bigger problem compared to the Malaysian side," he said. Mohamed said that it was up to the Attorney-General to take action against hackers, adding that locals could be tracked "eventually", if not immediately. "Tracking attackers from the Philippine side would require close cooperation with the authorities there," he said. Hackers can be charged under Section 4 of the Computer Crimes Act 1997, which carries a fine of not more than RM150,000, a jail term of not more than 10 years or both. "Whe

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-27/pune/38068982_1_cyber-criminals-symantec-social-media PUNE: An invitation to a Bollywood Holi party in your inbox may entice you, but there are chances that the slightest carelessness you show in responding to such an email will drain the colour from your face. Cyber goons may be exploiting your festive mood through such 'offers' to rob you of your personal information and money, say experts. Antivirus software and internet security solutions developer Symantec has warned that fake emails and social networking feeds that offer free passes for Bollywood parties or share celebrity updates are likely to proliferate around festive times. "It is that time of the year when social media witnesses a spike in malicious activities; cyber criminals won't miss the opportunity to scam you or steal your personal information," a statement from Symantec has said. Ritesh Chopra, the firm's country sales manager, has said in the release that a user should be careful when clicking on links or responding to notifications and abide by social media etiquettes, which go a long way in securing personal information and reputation online. Chopra said one should keep social media settings private, so that only selected friends can find you and post or respond on your profile. "Using tools such as Safe Web to scan news feeds on Facebook and identify URLs containing security risks such as phishing sites, malicious downloads and links to unsafe internet sites will help," he said. The note said people should be responsible when socialising offline as well, as the risk existed even when users of digital devices are offline. During Holi parties and get-togethers, when everyone is in a playful mood, mobile devices can easily be lost or stolen, putting personal identity and privacy at stake, the statement added. "It is important to set a password to lock the keypad of the device and to make sure mobile security software is up-to-date, Chop

AN Abney Associates News Flash Phishing sites, which masquerade as genuine websites to steal users' personal information, are on the rise in Hong Kong, Microsoft warned on Thursday. Some 6.23 phishing sites were found per 1,000 hosts in the fourth quarter last year, up from 6.01 in the third quarter, according to Microsoft's latest Security Intelligence Report. However, the number of malware infections remained low in the same period. Every 1,000 computers had 2.2 malware infections on average, the report found. Tim Rains, director of product management in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, said the rise could be because Hong Kong is a financial centre and phishing sites masquerade as banking websites to steal information. "The fact that we have a low malware infection rate in Hong Kong, but slightly elevated level of phishing is actually interesting," he said. He said the reason could be that the attackers were using a smaller number of compromised systems in Hong Kong to do more phishing than other attacks. Roy Ko Wai-tak, manager of Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre, said websites of small and medium enterprises were often hijacked by attackers to build phishing sites - which pose as big corporations - because of poor cyber security. Rains also said the most common malware is called keygen, which comes with key generators that produce serial numbers required to run piracy software. Ko said it showed that Hong Kong people still continue to use piracy software. The report, which also found that 2.5 out of 10 computers on average did not have up-to-date antivirus software in the city, was based on data from over 600 million computers worldwide using Microsoft's products. The number of Hong Kong computers was unknown at the time of going to press. AN Abney Associates News Flash READ MORE: http://mariahabney.weebly.com/ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz5ub4_online-attempts-to-steal-personal-information-on-the-rise-i

Source: http://www.zimbio.com/Abney+Associates/articles/dYcAZaBvCTo/Secure+Computer+Seven+Steps+Abney+Associates While handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets provide new ways for us to leverage technology, computers are often still the primary tool we use for our professional and personal lives. As a result, your computer, whether at work or at home, still remains a primary target for cyber criminals. By following these simple steps, you can help secure your computer and protect it against most known attacks. 1. STARTING SECURE The first step to a secure computer is starting with a computer you can trust. If you purchased a new computer directly from a well-known vendor, then you should be able trust it and the pre-installed software. If you have purchased a used computer, then do not trust it. The used computer may have been accidentally (or intentionally) infected by the previous owner. Trying to secure a computer that is already infected does no good. The first step you should take after acquiring a used computer is reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating system (be sure to ask someone you trust for help if you are not sure how to do this). 2. UPDATING The next step is updating your computer. Cyber attackers are always identifying new weaknesses in computers and their applications. When computer and software vendors learn about these new vulnerabilities, they develop and release fixes, called updates or patches, to fix the problem. When you purchase a new computer or reinstall the operating system, your computer is most likely already out of date. As such, the first step you want to take is connect to the Internet and update your computer's operating system. Related Articles: http://atheenalie.deviantart.com/art/Reviews-by-Abney-and-Associates-Code-85258081704-371377544 ht

Source: http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/u-s-agency-kills-hardware-over-routine-malware-warning/147365 The U.S. Economic Development Administration destroyed $170,000 in computers, keyboards, printers and mice over a routine malware infection. A lack of funding prevented the agency from throwing out its remaining $3 million in IT inventory An almost farcical series of miscommunications led to the destruction of $170,000 worth of IT gear by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration over a routine malware warning, and it was only a lack of budget that stopped the agency from throwing out another $3 million in hardware. The comedy of errors not only points up a lack of communication between agencies, but also a fundamental misunderstanding of technology. RELATED CONTENT Phising, E-mail en Internet oplichting: http://www.wattpad.com/12260034-abney-and-associates-hong-kong-shares-trim-strong#.UdrHpvlgdhw The upcoming cyber-security threat cycle: http://abneyandassociates.tumblr.com/ The timeline of the fiasco runs something like this: * In December 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (those guys who told the entire North American population to disable Java on its computers) warns the Commerce Department of a potential compromise of its systems. * The Commerce Department identifies the potentially compromised computers as belonging to the Economic Development Administration. Its warning to the EDA names accidentally names 146 systems as being compromised, when in fact, the number is only two. * A follow-up warning tells the EDA that only two systems are compromised, but in classic CYA fashion, does not clearly point out that the first warning was erroneous. * The EDA treats the follow-up as a confirmation of the first warning and proceeds on the understanding that 146 systems are compromised. The EDA commissions a forensic analysis of the two systems identified by Commerce and confirms that they are infected with malware. * Comm