WatchGuard Wire

Security Alerts and Advice

Medicare cards may lead to identity theft - June 25, 2008

A New York Times article says that the Social Security Administration is trying to have its identifying number removed from Medicare cards, to help prevent identity theft. But Medicare is resisting the change -- apparently because of the expense required.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.Medicare

Sweden enacts far-reaching surveillance law - June 24, 2008

Sweden has passed a law that gives its military the power to intercept all e-mail and telephone traffic that crosses its border. Intended to prevent terrorist attacks, the action has been harshly criticized as an infringement upon civil liberties.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.swechelon

Four vulnerabilities in Safari for Windows; does anyone care - June 19, 2008

Apple just released an update for the Windows version of Safari to fix four security vulnerabilities, most of which pose serious risks. As critical as these flaws are, I'm not overly concerned about them.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.SafariPC

It's not easy being green...but getting easier - June 19, 2008

"Going green" is on many people's minds these days -- but conservation habits at home do not seem to survive the commute to the workplace. A U.S. Department of Energy report states that up to two-thirds of the electricity consumed by a PC is wasted.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.greenIT

Verizon Risk Team boils 500 cases into one outstanding report - June 17, 2008

Anyone in IT gets bombarded with "free offers" of reports, white papers, articles, webinars, forecasts, and more. Few are worth the time it takes to download them. But here's one report that is essential reading for IT admins.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.databreach

Router-based rootkit shows some old attacks are new again - June 12, 2008

In late May, the Full-Disclosure list was aflame with controversy over a presentation given at EuSecWest, where a researcher explained how to install a rootkit on Cisco routers. But attacks on routers are nothing new.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.securouter

Good cops win a round as another botmaster is convicted - June 11, 2008

Various news sources are reporting today that the teen-aged hacker who attacked CastleCops -- the web site which helps catch spammers, phishers, and malware authors -- has been convicted.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.botmastr

Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer receive a June tune-up - June 10, 2008

Today, Microsoft released seven security bulletins, fixing a total of ten vulnerabilities in Windows and Internet Explorer (IE). Microsoft rates three of the seven bulletins as Critical, so you'll want to apply those patches as soon as possible.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.MS.June08.sum

Microsoft's June checkup includes seven patches; three rated as critical - June 9, 2008

Microsoft's Advance Notification says they intend to patch six vulnerabilities in various components that ship with Windows, plus one Internet Explorer patch that fixes a remote code execution flaw.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.MS.June08.notify

The Comcast hack: An oldie but a goodie - June 6, 2008

As you may know, Comcast's web site was redirected for several hours last week. Many commentators have waxed, almost wistfully, on the "nostalgic" qualities of this attack.
http://www.watchguard.com/RSS/showarticle.aspx?pack=RSS.Comcast.hack