NEWS - December 24, 2012

Mozilla on Friday backtracked from a decision to suspend all work on a 64-bit version of Firefox for Windows, acknowledging that user criticism had changed its mind.

"After I announced my decision to disable 64-bit Windows nightlies, there was significant negative feedback," admitted Benjamin Smedberg, a contributor to the open-source browser, in a message to a Mozilla planning discussion group. "After reviewing that feedback, and consulting with Release Engineering, I believe that we can keep a set of users happy by making a modification to the original plan."

In November, after months of debate, Mozilla suspended development of 64-bit (x64) Firefox for Windows, citing add-on incompatibilities, problems deciphering crash reports, and a low priority for the project.

At the time, Smedberg said that Mozilla had already decided not to ship an x64 Windows Firefox in the first half of 2013, and perhaps not at all during the year.

Continued : http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9234997/Mozilla_compromises_on_x64_Firefox_after_user_backlash

" A hacker said he has acquired more than 3 million Verizon customer records -- but leaks only 10 percent of them, after the phone and broadband giant fails to fix a security flaw. Verizon disagrees."

Updated on December 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET: Verizon spokesperson Alberto Canal told ZDNet in an emailed statement: "We have examined the posted data and we have confirmed that it is not Verizon Wireless customer data. Our systems have not been hacked."

The hacker said in a later tweet the data likely belongs to Verizon FiOS fiber customers, rather than Verizon Wireless cellular customers. We've updated the post to reflect these changes. We've put in more questions to Verizon and will update again once we hear back.

A hacker has posted around 300,000 database entries of Verizon customers to the Web, after exploiting a vulnerability in the cellular giant's network.

The hacker, going by the name @TibitXimer on Twitter, told ZDNet earlier this evening that the hack was carried out earlier this year on July 12, which allowed him to gain root access to the server holding the customer data. Tibit gained access to a server with little difficulty after working with another hacker to identify the security flaw.

Continued : http://www.zdnet.com/hacker-verizon-duel-over-customer-record-claims-7000009151/

Related:
After hacker disappears from Twitter, Verizon reveals customer data was leaked by a marketing firm
After claiming Verizon attack, hacker and the spoils disappear

The world didn't end with the Mayan calendar. But it still might be a good idea for those in the information security business to be wary of this time of year.

Jeffrey Carr, an author on cyberwarfare and founder and CEO of Taia Global, noted in a post on Infosec Island this week that he has noticed a major breach or act of cyber warfare that kicks off the New Year—every year since 2009.

Carr calls it "The January Effect," a well-established term in the investment world that refers to an expected price rise in securities after the first of the year. The effect, he said, is viewed as an opportunity for the bad guys.

He listed four major events as evidence:

Continued : http://www.pcworld.com/article/2023252/security-experts-warn-of-january-effect-cyberattacks.html