Trending Security News In August we started posting the Weekly Roundup to share trending security news from many viewpoints. Week by week the flow of news provides insights into the ever growing challenges faced in the global efforts to secure cyberspace, as well as the progress made and security guidance as well as new and emerging security issues. As 2011 gives way to 2012, here’s a look back at the security news stories that caught our eye. Wishing you a Happy New Year! From Weekly...

  Trending Security News Several stories this week in security focused on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Wall Street Journal ran a story on China Hackers Hit U.S. Chamber of Commerce ; Network World’s coverage focused on Chinese hack on U.S. Chamber went undetected for 6 months ; while The Washington Post wrote that China hack of Chamber of Commerce highlights ‘spear-phishing’ dangers . The breach caught the attention of Congress, with Hillicon Valley reporting Chairman Rogers: Economic spying...

Trending Security News The big news this week centered on how Iran managed to electronically intercept a U.S. spy drone (analysts suggest use of GPS spoofing), and cause it to land safely within the country. The Christian Science Monitor, in its article Exclusive: Iran hijacked US drone, says Iranian engineer ,quoted an Iranian engineer who said the country’s electronic warfare specialists were able to cut off communications links of the American bat-wing RQ-170 Sentinel and cause it to land safely...

In a recent post, called The Curious Case of Qatar , I discuss how Qatar has the highest regional infection rate that we have ever reported. Prior to this the Republic of Korea had the highest malware infection rate in the world; back in July of this year I wrote about how the threat landscape in Korea was one of the most active in the world . More current data shows the malware infection rate in Korea has improved markedly. In the second quarter of 2011 the malware infection rate in Korea was observed...

In part one of this two-part series, I focused on how drive-by download attacks work. These attacks can be complicated because they can use multiple levels of redirection enabling components of an attack to be hosted on compromised systems in different parts of the world. Despite the relative sophistication of these attacks, there are many things you can do to protect the systems you manage from being compromised by this type of attack. In this article I share some of the things you can do to protect...

Trending Security News In our industry, we frequently talk about security concerns for applications and games, but this week television star Alec Baldwin brought a different twist to the discussion of “security concerns” when he wouldn’t stop playing a game on his phone quickly enough for the airline and was booted off the plane. In our celebrity obsessed culture, the incident went international, with The Guardian reporting Alec Baldwin removed from plane for playing with his phone . Of course the...

My last blog post focused on Java exploits and the need to keep all software up to date. Since writing that article I have received some questions from customers asking for more details on how attackers are using such vulnerabilities to compromise systems. Subsequently, this two-part blog post is dedicated to the topic of drive-by download attacks – a popular tactic among attackers for taking advantage of software that has not been kept up to date. For these articles, I’m drawing on the data and...

As we’ve reported on this blog in the past, Microsoft is actively involved in the global fight against botnets. Our involvement spans technical, legal and ecosystem engagement actions. A major component of the ecosystem is government, and in the United States, the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) concerning Models to Advance Voluntary Corporate Customer Notification to Consumers Regarding the Illicit Use of Computer Equipment by Botnets...

Trending Security News Carrier IQ, and its diagnostic software that is embedded in millions of smartphones worldwide, dominated the security news this week with all the drama of a fast-paced television show. The story began when researcher Trevor Eckhart announced he had discovered the software on his phone and that it appeared to be logging keystrokes and other activity. Wired carried a 17-minute video of Eckhart demonstrating what he had found, headlined Researcher’s Video Shows Secret...