How organisations get hacked
Verizon, the US carrier, has release a report that goes into painful detail of they have determined to be the top 15 threats to data along with examples of real-world breaches. Notwithstanding the fact that report originated in the US, I'm sure there are very useful lessons for security managers here in New Zealand.
The report details what types of attacks are prevalent, successful and how they work. For instance, while application-based attacks are often overlooked, SQL-injection attacks accounted for 18 per cent of all breaches, and were involved in 79 per cent of lost records. That's a huge amount of risk your techies might want to focus on.
The top threats organisations suffered, in order, include keyloggers and spyware, backdoor or command/control malware, SQL injection, abuse of system access privileges, and unauthorised access of default credentials. Some of the attacks with the least impact (but not no impact) in the report include phishing, brute-force hacking attacks, and physical theft of a data container.
One of the most eye-opening findings in the report is that the vast majority of breaches stem from external sources, rather than from insiders. Verizon's data found 73 per cent of all breach sources originated externally, while 18 per cent where from insiders. This flies in the face of the common belief that insiders as the biggest threat.
Check it out at: VERIZONBUSINESS.COM
Women know more about gadgets?
According to a survey of 3,000 Britons published earlier this month, women are now more confident with household gadgetry than men. Forty-eight per cent of women say they can easily tune a television or install a computer. It's a show of technological know-how that seems to have bruised a few egos: 85 per cent of men confess that they are no longer the most competent member of the household.
Still, the traffic isn't all one-way. The survey, for Wickes Kitchens and Bathrooms, found that while their wives are busy twiddling with the digi-box, the men have moved into the kitchen. They now spend seven hours and six minutes a week hovering near the refrigerator, which is 14 minutes more than their other halves.
Check it out at: TELEGRAPH.CO.UK
Mobiles don't fry brains
According to Danish scientists, there has been no substantial change in the number of adult brain tumours since mobile phone usage sharply increased in the mid-1990s. The Danish Cancer Society looked at the rates of brain tumours among 20 to 79 year olds from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and found that trends in cancer rates had not altered from the period before mobiles were introduced. But they also say longer follow-up studies are needed.
The research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Check it out at: NEWS.BBC.CO.UK
Want to make a mobile call under water?
The Alpha UWCP Underwater Cell Phone System lets you gab away on a cell phone while you're scuba diving. The $US1,790 ($NZ2,500) kit features a full face mask with a 40 metre cable that connects to a buoy, which transmits the cell signal.
Gee, what a relief to know that modern technology has got all the telecommunications bases covered, even if they're covered by six metres of water.
Check it out at: INVENTORSPOT.COM
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8 minutes 22 seconds
That's how long the average Briton will wait before losing his or her rag, according to a British survey by Talk Talk, a broadband service provider. The "point of impatience", as Talk Talk calls it, arrives after 3 minutes 38 seconds if you're waiting for a website to load, 5 minutes 4 seconds if you're holding on the phone, and 5 minutes 6 seconds if you're watching the kettle as it fails to boil.
It's 8 minutes 38 seconds if you're waiting to be served in a restaurant, 10 minutes 1 second if you're waiting for friends to show up, 10 minutes 43 seconds if you're waiting at home for a tradesman, and 13 minutes 16 seconds if you're waiting for a reply to a voicemail or text.
And, what happens beyond this "point of impatience"? Thirty seven per cent cancel a service, 35 per cent demand to speak to the manager, 27 per cent start shouting, 26 per cent slam the phone down, 14 per cent walk out, and 3 per cent throw something across the room.
Check it out at: GUARDIAN.CO.UK
Indian farmers use mobiles to turn on pumps
Instead of walking for miles, Indian farmers are now able to operate their irrigation pumps using their mobile phones. The new service launched by Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), a telecom company in India, allows farmers to operate their irrigation pumps remotely using a SMS-capable cellphone. The alternative until now has been for the farmers to walk miles to the pumps, often at night because the electricity supply is a bit more reliable then. Sometimes however, after walking for hours, they arrive to find out that the electricity is out.
Under the service, farmers buy a Tata Indicom mobile connection and a mobile modem that will be attached to the starter of the pump. After registration, the farmer is provided with a unique code number. Using the mobile handset, the farmer can remotely switch on and switch off the pump set with the assigned code. The farmer can also check the on/off status as well as the availability of power.
Check it out at: BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM
Face recognition door lock
A Chinese company is selling online a door lock that uses facial recognition for entry. According to the site, the lock uses night vision cameras and 3D tech to recognize faces in a fraction of a second. It will store up to 500 faces, and businesses can use it to record exactly who is coming and going and at what times. Consequently, it also doubles as a time-keeping system.
Check it out at: CHINAVASION.COM
Turkey to give all citizens email
Turkish officials have begun working on two Internet projects: a Turkish search engine that aims to address Muslim sensitivities and government-controlled e-mail accounts for all 70 million Turkish citizens. Like many governments, the Turkish government would prefer its netizens used a Turkish search engine that eliminates info the leaders might find offensive. That could range from politically sensitive topics to porn.
But the real coup for Internet surveillance would be the government-issued e-mail accounts. Known as "the Anaposta," the project would provide 10-gigabyte e-mail accounts to all citizens from birth, and even put the e-mail address on citizen identity cards. That would supposedly allow Turkish citizens to avoid "foreign networks" such as Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail…and allow the government to monitor who is communicating with whom.
Check it out at: FOREIGNPOLICY.COM
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