Hackers step up attacks on US utilities
Hacking attempts estimated to have almost doubled in the past year http://www.vnunet.com/articles/print/2200646 Robert Jaques, vnunet.com <http://www.vnunet.com/> 08 Oct 2007 Hack attacks targeting US utilities have almost doubled this year, a security firm warned today. Managed security services company SecureWorks <http://www.secureworks.com/> estimated that it blocked an average of 49 attacks per utility client every day from January to April 2007. But this increased to an average of 93 per day between May and September. "When researching these new statistics, we found that web browser attacks represented a large number of the attacks attempted against our clients, including our utility customers," said Wayne Haber, director of development at SecureWorks. "In 2007, we blocked significantly more browser attacks for our clients then we did during the pervious year, as many of the top Trojans are using websites and email links as infection vectors. Some of the most prominent malware using these tactics include the Gozi, Prg, Storm and BBB/IRS Trojans, according to SecureWorks. "Unfortunately, there are companies that do not employ an intrusion prevention solution and depend solely on antivirus software to protect them," Haber added. Utility providers can protect themselves and their employees more adequately by implementing strong internet usage policies for employees, and checking for software updates frequently. Companies should also educate employees on the latest social engineering tactics so that they are aware of the dangers and how to avoid them. SecureWorks 100 US utility providers as clients. (F)AIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. "Fair Use" legally eliminates the need to obtain permission or pay royalties for the use of previously copyrighted materials if the purposes of display include "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." Section 107 establishes four criteria for determining whether the use of a work in any particular case qualifies as a "fair use". A work used does not necessarily have to satisfy all four criteria to qualify as an instance of "fair use". Rather, "fair use" is determined by the overall extent to which the cited work does or does not substantially satisfy the criteria in their totality. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml THIS DOCUMENT MAY CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. COPYING AND DISSEMINATION IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
