cybersecurity

As the CEO of security vendor AVG, J.R. Smith oversees a lineup of antivirus products used by 110 million customers around the world. And while those people may be relatively secure from the latest malware threats, Smith feels a greater effort is needed to reach out to the many who aren't protected.

A lot of computer users think they're protected with antivirus software but actually aren't, believes Smith, while others just don't seem to take security seriously enough, assuming that their banks and other companies they do business with will protect them.

Beyond just basic … Read more

Nearly half of those who work in critical infrastructure systems worldwide expect their company to be targeted by a computer attack over the next year, a new survey has found.

About one-third of the respondents say their company is "extremely" prepared to deal with it, according to the survey (PDF) released today by security company Symantec.

Another 36 percent to 41 percent (depending on the type of attack) say their company is "somewhat" prepared to deal with attacks that range from attempted theft and modification or destruction of data to shutting down computer networks and manipulating … Read more

Symantec says it has a new method for combatting malware, one that taps into a wider repository of information on potentially malicious code.

The security vendor today announced its new Ubiquity product, which combines data analyzed from the PCs of Symantec customers with Symantec's own Global Intelligence Network to combat new and mutating types of threats.

First featured in Symantec's Norton 2011 security product lineup and in its Hosted Endpoint Protection, Ubiquity is now gearing up for a rollout across a wider range of enterprise products in the coming year, starting with Symantec Web Gateway, the company said.… Read more

Botnets are now responsible for sending 95 percent of all spam, up from 84 percent in April, and almost half of that spam comes from a single botnet, Rustock.

Rustock sent 41 percent of the world's botnet spam in August, up from 32 percent in April. This is despite the network actually shrinking in size from 2.5 million to 1.3 million bots over the same period, security company Symantec said on Tuesday. This means Rustock is currently responsible for 39 percent of all the world's spam e-mails.

"Overall, the total amount of spam in circulation … Read more

Cameron Diaz fans, look out. The actress has made McAfee's list as the most dangerous celebrity to search for in cyberspace.

Released Thursday, McAfee's fourth annual Most Dangerous Celebrities report tracked the top performers, models, and other celebrities that cybercriminals use to trick people into hitting malicious Web sites. Search for a hot photo or the latest gossip on your favorite star, and you could find your PC infected with a payload of malware instead.

In grabbing this "award," Diaz bumped last year's riskiest celebrity, Jessica Biel, to the No. 3 spot.

Being No. 1 … Read more

The U.S. is leaving its energy infrastructure open to cyberattacks by not performing basic security measures, such as regular patching and secure coding practices, according to a report prepared by the Department of Energy.

Researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory tested 24 industrial control systems (ICSs) between 2003 and 2009 and published the results in a report completed in May and publicly released last month. (Click for PDF.) Steven Aftergood, secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists, blogged about the report on Monday.

The report comes on the heels of a discovery of malware written specifically for systems … Read more

The Perfect Citizen project is purely a research-and-engineering effort, not an attempt to monitor companies against cyberattack, the National Security Agency said Thursday.

The NSA issued a brief explanation of the new project in response to a Wall Street Journal story that described Perfect Citizen as a government system designed to monitor vital agencies and private utilities against potential cyberthreats. The project would establish a series of sensors installed throughout various computer networks that would raise an alarm in case of a pending cyberattack, according to the Journal.

But in an e-mail statement attributed to NSA spokeswoman Judith Emmel, the … Read more

The National Security Agency is reportedly launching a program to monitor for cyberattacks against government agencies and private companies responsible for key services such as electricity, nuclear power, and transportation, according to a story in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.

The program, known as "Perfect Citizen," is already triggering mixed reactions, says the Journal. Some in industry and government see it as an attempt by the NSA to intrude into domestic matters, while others believe it's a much-needed step in fighting the threat of cyberattacks.

Perfect Citizen would establish a series of sensors across various computer networks … Read more

The White House is hoping to come up with a comprehensive strategy to better protect people in cyberspace and is asking the public for help.

Releasing a draft of the potential new National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (PDF) last Friday, the government is aiming to set up a system that would let people voluntarily create trusted identities to use in online transactions.

The goal, as described in a blog post by White House cybersecurity chief Howard Schmidt, is to secure and protect transactions in cyberspace through use of a special ID--a smart card or digital certificate--that would prove … Read more