Tuesday, August 31, 2004

TaoSecurity Richard Bejtlich's Blog Post on Fascinating .gov and .mil Docs

TaoSecurity Fascinating .gov and .mil Docs

Perhaps 'fascinating' is too strong a word, but I've come across several intriguing government reports and documents which security professionals might find interesting. First, the CERT/CC and the Secret Service released a joint report titled Insider Threat Study. It's based on '23 incidents carried out by 26 insiders in the banking and finance sector between 1996 and 2002. Organizations affected by insider activity in this sector include credit unions, banks, investment firms, credit bureaus, and other companies whose activities fall within this sector. Of the 23 incidents, 15 involved fraud, four involved theft of intellectual property, and four involved sabotage to the information system/network.' One of the incidents, mentioned in the beginning of the report, was the case prosecuted by the DoJ on behalf of UBS."

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A great find by Richard Bejtlich. Documents for security pro's and CXO's who want to know more about real exploit incidents, prosecution, threats, and security posturing.

United States Secret Service: National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC)

United States Secret Service: National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC): "National Threat Assessment Center - Insider Threat Study

In August 2004, the U.S. Secret Service and Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute's CERT� Coordination Center (CERT/CC) announced the findings of the first Insider Threat Study report, a collaborative effort to better understand insider activities affecting information systems and data in critical infrastructure sectors."

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Even if you are not in the banking and finance industry, this is a revealing article on the who's, how's and why's of insiders and cybercrime.

Stay secure! -Bryan

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WinAmp flayed by skins attack | The Register

WinAmp flayed by skins attack | The Register

Take a widely used media player, find a hole and exploit it...this exploit is going around in the wild, so if you have Winamp installed on your system, read this article and download the new, safe version of Winamp here: http://www.winamp.com/player.

Stay safe! -Bryan

Monday, August 16, 2004

Microsoft SQL Server FAQ How Windows XP Service Pack 2 SP2 Affects SQL Server and MSDE

Microsoft SQL Server FAQ How Windows XP Service Pack 2 SP2 Affects SQL Server and MSDE

Microsoft Windows XP SP2 Screenshots

Microsoft Windows XP SP2 Screenshots Updated Aug. 2004

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You have to see the new SP2 for Windows XP screenshots....and look in the right side of the screen for other SP2 resources.

...click the link above for that page

Secunia - Multiple Browsers Frame Injection Vulnerability Test

Multiple Browsers Frame Injection Vulnerability Test to see if your browser is vulnerable to the Multiple Browsers Frame Injection Vulnerability.

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Take a 6 year old vulnerability and add some malicious intent to grab your identity...and cash.

Test your Browser at this page from Secunia. Click the link above to go to the test page.

Sasser kid blamed for viral plague - The Register

By John Leyden
Published Friday 30th July 2004 10:26 GMT
A staggering 70 per cent of viral activity in the first half of this year can be linked to just one German teenager, according to anti-virus firm Sophos.

Sven Jaschan, 18, the self-confessed author of the NetSky and Sasser worms is blamed by Sophos for the vast majority of viral reports it recorded during the first six months of 2004. Just two of Jaschan's viruses - the infamous Sasser worm and NetSky-P - account for almost 50 per cent of all virus activity seen by Sophos up until the end of June. Counting Jaschan's other released variants of the NetSky worm, the total figure comes to over 70 per cent.

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One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. What would happen if there was a more concerted effort put to attacking the masses of unpatched systems out there? We are lucky that this kid did not have more malicious motives.

...click link above for the full article

McAfee, Inc.

McAfee, Inc.: "McAfee Inc. To Acquire Foundstone, Inc. For $86 Million In Cash Combined Companies To Offer Market's First Dynamic Risk Management and Mitigation Solutions SANTA CLARA, Calif., August 16, 2004 McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE), the leading provider of intrusion prevention solutions, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Foundstone, Inc., the leader in vulnerability management, for $86 million in cash, less various adjustments. Together the companies will offer organizations and government agencies the market's first comprehensive solution to help protect IT infrastructure and optimize business availability in a dynamic risk environment."

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Big news in the security industry today....and some telling numbers regarding the expected growth of the computer security industry:

"According to industry research firm IDC, the vulnerability assessment and management (VA&M) and intrusion detection market is expected to experience increasing growth over the next few years, reaching $1.6 billion by 2008. The most significant growth is expected during the next three years."

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Click the link above for more info.

Bay Area Free Wi-Fi Wireless Hotspots

Bay Area Free Wi-Fi Wireless Hotspots

Never pay for wi-fi access again!
The San Francisco Bay Area is full of free wi-fi locations so why pay for them? Skip Starbucks and other paid access locations and support local businesses and your community for free. Stop into your local free hotspot, buy a mocha, and let them know how much you appreciate the free wi-fi!

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Not security news....although without a personal firewall and vpn encryption, you may be calling me to de-0wn your system from some hacker-punk...now that would be security news! Remember that all WiFi users who share the same WEP Key can snoop each others data very easily! VPN, antivirus and personal firewall use is a must when using wireless hot-spots, so that you leverage the security systems in place at your corporate network.

...click link above for more detail

IrishEyes: AirPort JustePort Crack

IrishEyes: AirPort JustePort Crack

August 12, 2004
AirPort JustePort Crack
GVSV -- Jon Johansen, author of DeCSS, has discovered the public key that the AirPort Express uses to allow software to play audio through it and posted it to So Sue Me. The public key for AirPort Express is out in the open (see below but no need to check Jon's blog because it's withering under the load). Until Apple "patch[es]" it, anyone could encrypt data using it and get Apple's device to play the music.

He's also released the source code to a JustePort, a small Windows command-line tool. His crack clears the DRM bridles around iTunes because other applications could now broadcast music to your home stereo wirelessly by using Express, rather than just iTunes 4.6. Andrew Orlowski says, "For users on Linux machines, or with WMA or OGG format files, this could be a boon, as iTunes supports neither format out of the box."

....see link above for more

netTracers Security News and Views Blog is now online!

Welcome to the netTracers Security blog site! This forum will provide a simple way for me to keep you up to date on the latest security issues that affect your data security. Come by often, as this will be updated constantly.

Cheers,
- Bryan K. Watson
- Proprietor of netTracers Security Consulting
- http://www.nettracers.com