John Lister

A white hat hacker has demonstrated an ingenious way of intercepting cellphone calls. The homemade do-it-yourself (DIY) kit uses $1,500 worth of equipment to help impersonate a cellphone relay tower. Chris Paget demonstrated the technique on phones ... belonging to audience members at the DEF CON security conference in Las Vegas. He said it involved a flaw in the GSM cellphone technology used by AT ... (view more)

A change to copyright laws mean cellphone owners can now legally "jailbreak" their phones. Jailbreaking, as it is often referred to, is the practice which involves modifying a device (such as an iPhone) to run any software, regardless of ... manufacturer restrictions. The decision affects the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a legislation that has made it illegal to bypass any electronic restrictions designed to protect copyright. The act was most prominently cited in a case involving software which allowed users to copy digitally protected DVDs. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF ... (view more)

Dell has agreed to replace computer equipment that shipped with a data-stealing virus. The company is hoping to deal with the issue before any users suffer at the hand of criminals. Unlike most hacking attempts, which rely on accessing a victim's ... machine through an Internet connection, this incident brought up the possibility of whether or not malicious software was in fact being physically installed on machines at the factory. The issue only involves replacement parts for servers, however. These replacement parts are for computers that are primarily used to host websites and, in business ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled an updated edition of its free security software, dubbed Microsoft Security Essentials. The new edition of Security Essentials is currently in beta edition and offers several new features. Debuting in September 2009, Microsoft ... Security Essentials replaces Windows Live OneCare which was based on a paid subscription model. At the time, OneCare was seen as a potential threat to the commercial cyber security market. (Source: pcworld.com ) Although there's no evidence yet of a significant effect on sales of premium security products, most reviews of Microsoft Security ... (view more)

Two security researchers say they've managed to prove a long-standing theory about how hackers breach online security. It involves taking advantage of a split-second quirk in the verification of online processing. The exploit could affect millions ... of online users, as it involves two login schemes which have been widely adopted by large corporate sites. (Source: computerworld.com ) Timing Attack is Key to Exploit The technique in question is known as a timing attack. It works on the basis that some password-protected systems will automatically reject an incorrect password as soon as it finds a ... (view more)

After a lengthy dispute, Facebook has agreed to include a "panic button" for children to report threatening behavior. However, critics suggest that the voluntary scheme doesn't go far enough for child safety campaigners. Demands for the button came ... from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in the United Kingdom. The group has produced a clickable button which can be added to Internet Explorer: clicking the button takes the user straight to a page where they can report unsuitable material or inappropriate behavior CEOP estimates an average of four youngsters who click the ... (view more)

A security researcher says hackers could take control of millions of routers. Craig Heffner, of security firm Seismic, says half of the models he tested were vulnerable to a recently discovered hack. Routers, which allow an Internet connection to be ... shared among multiple computers, are extremely common -- especially for those of us who use high-speed Internet. Even if you own only one computer and don't share your connection with others in your household or office, chances are you're using a router of some kind. In short, the router acts as a gateway to the Internet and directs traffic back ... (view more)

It's often argued that restaurants are the most likely place for people to suffer credit card fraud. But a new report claims hotels are actually the most at-risk locations. The restaurant theory is based on the fact that people are more likely to ... hand over cards and let them out of their sight as they are taken away for processing. But security firm Trustwave believes the real danger isn't dishonest staff or venues, but rather criminals attempting to intercept data transmissions. 38% Of Fraud Cases Involved Hotels Trustwave recently evaluated credit card hacking reports for 2009 and found ... (view more)

Internet troublemakers, whether malicious or mischievous, often try to capitalize on interest in celebrities. That's the case with singer Justin Bieber, who has been the victim of at least three online hacker campaigns. The first incident took place ... when hackers discovered a recent flaw in YouTube's site design which allowed for a cross-site scripting attack . That's a potentially serious measure that allows a hacker to put their own malicious programming code into somebody else's website. In this case, the hackers were able to post code in the comments section and have that code run ... (view more)

An Australian supermarket chain has admitted it has found viruses on its self-service photo kiosks. The company is now working on adding anti-virus software to the machines. The incident involves Big W outlets, part of the Woolworths chain. It has ... 1,800 kiosks that allow users to print their own photographs direct from a digital source. One customer, who unfortunately for the chain writes a blog about computer security, found that after using a kiosk his USB stick was infected with a Trojan horse. The Trojan soon after prepared to attack his computer by disabling antivirus programs, and ... (view more)