BlackBerry BB10 fails government security test | SC Magazine

The UK government has rejected the BB10 software, calling it not secure enough for essential work.

According to a report by the Guardian, the operating system on the new Z10device has been rejected after BlackBerry version 7.1 was cleared by the UK's Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG) for classifications up to ‘Restricted' – two levels below ‘Secret'. A survey by Trend Micro deemed that the BlackBerry 7.0 was named most secure mobile OS for enterprises.

However tests on BB10 and the BlackBerry Balance software have failed the same security requirements and BlackBerry could not offer a date when revised software would be submitted.

A BlackBerry statement said: “We have a long-established relationship with CESG and we remain the only mobile solution approved for use at 'Restricted' when configured in accordance with CESG guidelines. This level of approval only comes following a process which is rigorous and absolutely necessary given the highly confidential nature of the communications being transmitted.

South Korea Television and Banks Hacked; Fingers Pointed at North Korea | HORforSecurity

Several broadcasters and banks in South Korea were hacked in one of the country’s largest cyber-attacks, and fingers are once again pointed at neighbors to the north, according to The Guardian.

The computer networks of KBS, MBC and YTN, and those of the Shinhan and Nonghyup banks were targeted in a simultaneous cyber-attack, which is still under investigation. While television networks were not seriously affected by the breach, ATMs and mobile banking in the South are still recovering.

Speculations are rising that North Korea could be responsible for the attack, with hacking collective “WhoisTeam” in “charge” of the assault. The group claimed this was only the beginning of a “movement,” and showed images of skulls on computer screens they managed to control.

South Korean organizations under cyber attack | Help Net Security

A suspected cyber attack has paralyzed computer networks at three broadcasting organisations and two banks in South Korea. The organizations' networks had been "partially or entirely crippled", with some banking services including ATM machines also affected.

The cause of the problems remains unknown, and South Korean authorities are "now trying to determine the cause of the network paralysis". While no government-related computer networks had been affected, officials stated it was not yet known whether North Korea was involved, but "We do not rule out the possibility of North Korea being involved," said South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok.

Copy from : http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=14624

Installing Windows Server 2008 Using Flash Drive

Windows 2008 comes only on DVD and today you’d think every computer has a DVD drive by default, unfortunately most servers are ordered without them and that causes a problem obviously. Your choices would be to break the DVD into CD-ROMs (not fun) install over the network (a little more work than I wanted to do) or find another means to get it up. My solution, USB Thumb drive

Since Vista and Windows 2008 share the same code base, I figured someone must have found a way to boot vista off a thumb drive so I looked and found just that. Kurt Shintaku has a how-to on how to install Windows Vista from a high speed USB 2.0 Flash Drive.

Before you begin though, if your thumbdrive has U3 installed on it, you’ll probably want to remove that (I did just to be certain), here’s instructions on how to do that:http://www.u3.com/uninstall/


Using Kurt’s instructions this is all it took:
Format the thumb drive  from a DOS prompt execute:

• diskpart 
• list disk 
• select disk 1 (assuming disk 1 was your thumb drive in the above list disk command) 
• clean 
• create partition primary 
• select partition 1 
• active 
• format fs=fat32 
• assign 
• exit 

Copy the Win2008 install files

xcopy d:\*.* /s/e/f e:\ (assumes your dvd is drive D: and your thumb drive is drive E:\, adjust accordingly)

That’s all it took other than verifying the server BIOS was set to boot off of the USB device. But hey, don’t stop there! Check out the Windows Cloud Servers at www.appliedi.net and get your own Windows 2008 Server in the cloud in just 30 minutes, no USB device required!

5 Ways to Make Your Browser More Secure | eSecurity Planet

Think installing antivirus software is all you need to do to protect data while surfing the Web? Don't kid yourself -- and use these five ways to make browsing sessions more secure.  

While installing antivirus software is a good start to safe Internet browsing, it's only a start. There is much more you can do to help protect yourself when browsing the Web than merely installing antivirus.

Here I’ll share a couple ways. In this article you’ll discover extra security features in Firefox and Chrome, sandboxing to secure any browser, third-party DNS service for content filtering, and VPNs for securing your browsing while on Wi-Fi hotspots and other public networks.

Android apps 'leak' personal details | BBC News Technology

Better tools are needed to help developers
secure data, say researchers

Millions of people are using Android apps that can be tricked into revealing personal data, research indicates.

Scientists tested 13,500 Android apps and found almost 8% failed to protect bank account and social media logins.
These apps failed to implement standard scrambling systems, allowing "man-in-the-middle" attacks to reveal data that passes back and forth when devices communicate with websites.