An informant working for the F.B.I. coordinated a 2012 campaign of hundreds of cyberattacks on foreign websites, including some operated by the governments of Iran, Syria, Brazil and Pakistan, according to documents and interviews with people involved in the attacks.. Exploiting a vulnerability in a popular web hosting software, the informant directed at least one hacker to extract vast amounts of data The link for this article located at NY Times is no longer available. . CIA asset orchestrated digital assaults against overseas governments, leveraging weaknesses in cloud infrastructure.. Cyberattack Campaigns, FBI Operatives, Web Hosting Exploits. . Alex
The annual Pwn2Own hacking challenge kicks off today, pitting security researchers against web browsers and mobile platforms. The HP TippingPoint sponsored event grows every year to include more platforms, though Linux isn't among them. . Pwn2Own will target IE, Firefox, Safari and Chrome all running on Windows 7. Windows XP isn't on the target list and neither is Linux, for different reasons. I spoke with Aaron Portnoy, Manager of the Security Research Team at HP TippingPoint the other day and asked him why Linux wasn't being included. Apparently the question is among the most common questions he is ever asked about Pwn2Own. "Linux is not an operating system that has widespread use with any one particular distribution, flavor or configuration," Portnoy said. "In general Linux is still a server-based operating system, people do use it on the desktop, but you can't go to BestBuy and buy Linux with a specific distro on it that everyone uses that has widespread market share. If we were to include Linux, we'd have even more controversy and we just don't want to deal it." The link for this article located at Internet News is no longer available. . Pwn2Own focuses on leading web browsers available on Windows, overlooking Linux due to its varied user base and infrequent usage.. Pwn2Own Challenge, Linux Exclusion, Security Research, Hacking Events, Exploit Analysis. . Alex
Owners of Apple products have a tendency to be complacent about security, but the results of this year's Pwn2Own contest suggest a little more wariness may be in order. "It's the fourth year they've run the contest, and every year someone's broken into Safari," noted Charlie Miller, the security analyst who won $10,000 and a MacBook Pro for hacking the browser in this year's event.. Three security experts tore into three Web browsers on Wednesday, the first day of the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, exposing flaws on a MacBook, iPhone and Windows PC, and winning cash and hardware in the process. Network security provider TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative organized its contest to enable Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and other companies to plug holes in their popular products and protect the data of their customers. "As a whole, most people seem to understand basic security, but there are still some gaping holes in today's most popular hardware and software computing platforms," Aaron Portnoy, security research team lead for TippingPoint, told TechNewsWorld. "The goal of this contest is to demonstrate how vulnerable these devices really are." The results of the contest will be reported to the manufacturers so they can create the appropriate patches, according to Portnoy. The link for this article located at Tech World is no longer available. . Cybersecurity analysts uncover significant flaws in leading web browsers at the Pwn2Own competition, impacting widely used gadgets.. browser Security, Apple Vulnerabilities, Web Exploitation, Pwn2Own Highlights. . Alex
Some are pranksters. Like the group known as "scriptx," which cracked into a Web site two weeks ago only to post a picture of a jolly fat man wearing nothing but a Santa hat and a smile. Some are Romeos. A . . . . Some are pranksters. Like the group known as "scriptx," which cracked into a Web site two weeks ago only to post a picture of a jolly fat man wearing nothing but a Santa hat and a smile. Some are Romeos. A guy with the online handle "psaux," for example, cracked into more than 100 Brazilian Web sites in January to tell his girlfriend, Kica, that he loves and wants her. These are the folks that computer criminal "MagicFX," the guy the FBI believes is Jerome Heckenkamp of Los Alamos, hung around with in the cyberworld. Hackers, crackers or script kiddies - they break into Web sites or play with the codes that run computers. Some are online good Samaritans who raid kiddie porn sites and destroy the offending pictures. Some are "hacktivists" who vandalize with pro-Kashmir, pro-Arab, pro-Israeli, pro-you-name-it messages. The link for this article located at Albuquerque Journal is no longer available. . In the vast digital landscape, unique individuals emerge: playful pranksters entertain with mischief, while hacker activists challenge norms for lasting change. Hacker Types, Cyber Activism, Web Exploits, Online Crimes. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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