Privacy and data protection

'Jesus,' 'welcome' join list of worst passwords

Despite the vulnerability presented by weak passwords, many Internet users continue to put their security at risk by using common words or number sequences that are easily guessable.

Unchanged from last year, the three most popular passwords for 2012 were "password," "123456," and "12345678," according to SplashData's annual "25 Worst Passwords of the Year" list. The list was compiled from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers.

But that isn't to say that our choices have stagnated; new entries to the list this year include "welcome,&… Read more

Hackers steal customer data from Barnes & Noble keypads

Hackers broke into keypads at more than 60 Barnes & Noble bookstores and made off with the credit card information for customers who shopped at the stores as recently as last month.

The company discovered the breach on September 14 but kept it quiet while the FBI attempted to track the hackers. Hackers broke into the point-of-sale terminals at 63 stores across the country, including locations in New York City, San Diego, Miami, and Chicago.

Since discovering the breach, the company has uninstalled all 7,000 point-of-sale terminals from its hundreds of stores for examination. Although only one terminal in … Read more

Anonymous: Anti-surveillance protest tomorrow

Anonymous is planning a global protest tomorrow.

In a campaign called Operation Big Brother, the Worldwide Day Of Protest Against Surveillance appears to be plotting action from citizens in over a dozen countries in an organized effort against government use of surveillance systems such as Europe's INDECT and America's Trapwire.

Using a Google Map to pull in and track protesters by location, Operation Big Brother is supposed to visibly demonstrate what's going on during the protest. Yet little is known about how it will be implemented other than the suggestion, "IRL protest (...) unofficial information and defacing.&… Read more

India is world leader in spam output

India has surpassed the U.S. and taken the lead as the greatest spam-sending country in the world. One out of every six junk messages that litter users' e-mail inboxes are coming from India, according to a new report from SophosLabs.

The security vendor's third-quarter "Dirty Dozen" report of spam-relaying countries found that India upped its percentage of global spam for the third quarter in a row and now accounts for more than 16 percent of all junk e-mails.

What is important to note, however, is that this spam doesn't necessarily come directly from India's … Read more

Kaspersky builds its own antimalware OS -- but not for you

The folks at Kaspersky Lab are aiming to create their own secure operating system, but this one would run on industrial systems rather than your average home PC.

In blog posted today, company CEO Eugene Kaspersky confirmed the rumors of a new OS, describing the background behind the effort and hinting at the development process.

Cyberattacks present a growing and challenging problem for industries maintaining systems that must be powered on all the time. If a virus affects a computer at most companies, that computer can be unplugged from the network so as not to infect other devices, Kaspersky said. … Read more

EU to Google: Your privacy policy needs to change

European data protection and privacy regulators have warned Google that its new privacy policy shows legal "irregularities" and may not be "in compliance" with European law.

Speaking at a press conference in Paris, representatives from the French data protection authority charged with the investigation, the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL), said that users were locked in to Google's new rules and must be given the choice to opt-out of the controversial privacy policy.

The regulators warned Google that the scope of its new privacy policy is "too … Read more

FBI warns users of mobile malware

As mobile malware increases at break-neck speed, the U.S. government wants to be sure users are aware of its dangers. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is a government task force that includes the FBI, issued a mobile malware warning on Friday.

"The IC3 has been made aware of various malware attacking Android operating systems for mobile devices," the warning said. "Some of the latest known versions of this type of malware are Loozfon and FinFisher."

The IC3 said that Loozfon lures its victims by sending them e-mails with links promising "a profitable … Read more

Newly IDed 'MiniFlame' malware targets individuals for attack

A new form of state-sponsored malware is making the rounds, this one apparently designed specifically to spy on its victims.

Dubbed "MiniFlame" by Kapersky Lab, but also known as SPE, the new malware variant is similar to the Flame virus that targeted computers in the Middle East this past summer. But MiniFlame is a cyber espionage program that can take over where Flame leaves off.

As described by Kaspersky:

First, Flame or Gauss are used to infect as many victims as possible to collect large quantities of information. After data is collected and reviewed, a potentially interesting victim … Read more

EU will tell Google to change privacy policy tomorrow, report says

The European Union, led by the French data protection commission, will take aim at Google's controversial privacy policy tomorrow, a new report claims.

France's CNIL will hold a press conference tomorrow to charge Google with violating EU law with this year's privacy policy change, the Guardian is reporting today, citing sources. Google's move, which effectively combined all of its privacy policies into one, violates EU law because it doesn't offer an opt-out to customers, the Guardian's sources say.

Google caught heat earlier this year for consolidating its many services under one privacy policy. In … Read more