Microsoft to address critical vulnerability in Office Web Components

Microsoft will issue five critical security bulletins in its August Patch Tuesday release next week, including one that affects Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft ISA Server and Microsoft BizTalk Server, and another for both Windows and the Windows Client for Mac.

In its advance noticeissued Thursday, Microsoft said that the critical bulletin affecting Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft ISA Server and Microsoft BizTalk Server addresses a vulnerability in Microsoft Office Web Components, first raised in security advisory 973472. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. When using Internet Explorer, remote code execution is possible and may not require any user intervention.

Read more at below link:

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid14_gci1363924,00.html?track=sy160

Denial-of-Service Attack Strands Twitter Users

A distributed denial-of-service attack took Twitter offline for several hours, preventing millions of users from tweeting. Security experts said the Twitter attack came through botnets via Sweden and Europe. While usershad withdrawal pangs, businesses got pinched and experts said Twitter needs more protection from DDoS attacks.

Say it isn't so! The Twitter bird's beak was closed Thursday as Twitter fought a distributed denial-of-service attack that shut it down for several hours. 

With the mini-blogging site down from 9 a.m. Eastern time until noon, its millions of members were unable to tweet by Web and by mobile phone. A tweet test brought an error message that the "network request failed."

Read more at below link: 

http://www.enterprise-security-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=012000EWBOGO

How can you handle risks that come with social networking?

Social networking — whether it be Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter or something else — is fast becoming a way of life for millions of people to share information about themselves for personal or business reasons. But it comes with huge risks that range from identity theft to malware infections to the potential for letting reckless remarks damage corporate and personal reputations.

I found an intresting article on "networkworld" website which talks about social networking sites and risks related to it. click on the below link to read the full article.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/042709-burning-security-social-networking.html

Chinese Hackers Crack Windows 7 Activation Codes

The pirated version even tricks the computer and Microsoft's servers into believing it is a genuine copy, allowing it to avoid Microsoft's validation safeguards. The report said that the copied software was hacked via a disc stolen from Chinese computer maker Lenovo, but that the pirated version would work just as well on Dell and HP computers too. 

Chinese hackers have cracked the activation codes for Windows 7, less than a month after Microsoft Relevant Products/Services released the first copies of the new operating system to computer makers, technology news site CNET reported Thursday.

The crack will allow fully functional, copied versions of the Ultimate Version of Windows 7 to be distributed over file-sharing sites even before the operating system is released to the public in October. 
Read More about this at: http://www.enterprise-security-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=00200059ERIC

PCI group releases wireless security guide

Merchants who need help in securing their wireless networks to comply with the PCI Data Security Standard now have a step-by-step guide.

The PCI Security Standards Council on Thursday released the wireless security guide, which was developed by its special interest group (SIG) on wireless technologies. The 28-page PCI DSS Wireless Guideline analyzes applicable PCI DSS requirements and provides recommendations for implementation.

Click the below link to download wireless security guide:

https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/PCI_DSS_Wireless_Guidelines.pdf

Source: techtarget

Maturing cybercriminal economy buoyed by business savvy hackers

Buying and renting tools used by cybercriminals to conduct attacks and steal credentials is becoming much easier for the average person. "For Rent" signs hang on botnets, automated hacking toolkits are sold at bargain prices, and the data reaped by the criminal activity is sold and traded in online forums on a daily basis.

Researchers at networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. are warning of the increasingly sophisticated cybercriminal underground economy and how it could be attractive to those having trouble finding work or facing layoffs in a troubled global economy. Meanwhile, cybercriminals are borrowing some of the best strategies from legitimate companies and forming partnerships with one another to help make their illegal activities more lucrative, according to Cisco.

Read more about this info at:

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid14_gci1361752,00.html?track=sy160

Mozilla warns of critical Firefox JavaScript vulnerability

Mozilla warned Tuesday that a critical flaw in its new Firefox 3.5 browser could be used to execute malicious code. 

The vulnerability is in Firefox 3.5's Just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compiler, Mozilla reported on its security blog. The flaw, which was disclosed Monday, can be exploited by an attacker who dupes a user into viewing a webpage with the malicious code, according to Mozilla. 

Danish vulnerability clearinghouse Secunia rated the vulnerability highly critical in its security advisory. 

Mozilla is working on a fix for the flaw, but said it can be mitigated by disabling JIT in the JavaScript engine and provided instructions in its blog post. "Note that disabling the JIT will result in decreased JavaScript performance and is only recommended as a temporary security measure," the organization noted.