Tag Archives: Red October

News, Politics, Government

Review: 'Doctor Who' Hunts for Red October in 'Cold War'

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By Carol Pinchefsky, Contributor

Egads, I disliked last week’s episode of Doctor Who, “The Rings of Akhaten.” There was an overlong musical number in an incomprehensible alien language. There was a planet-sized jack-o-lantern who shrivels under the power of infinite potential (seriously). There was a…nope, I can’t think of anything worse than a planet that sucks emotions. Fortunately, this week’s episode, “Cold War,” is markedly better. Although it’s not the best episode, it brings enough Who-ishness to blot out the pumpkin-faced planet from my mind.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2013/04/13/review-doctor-who-hunts-for-red-october-in-cold-war/

Computers

Kaspersky launches all-in-one security tool for SMBs

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Petr Merkulov explains Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business.

Companies have to manage security across a wide range of issues and threats. Operating systems and applications have to be patched and updated. Active monitoring needs to be in place to identify and block malware threats. Data needs to be protected to prevent exposure or compromise. Mobile devices and the  BYOD (bring your own device) trend represent a new frontier of concerns.

Kaspersky intends to simplify the process for all of the above issues. Its new Endpoint Security for Business merges all of these functions into one product so that small and midsize business IT managers can see and control every aspect of security from one console.

Kaspersky Lab has been at the forefront of research into sophisticated cyber espionage attacks like Flame, Gauss, and Red October—insidious attacks that have compromised and exploited targets for years. The Moscow-based antimalware and computer security company unveiled the new Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business at an analyst event last week in New York.

Part of the problem, particularly for SMBs, is that there are too many moving parts involved. “Complexity is the enemy of security,” said chief product officer Petr Merkulov.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Computers

Why you should care about cyber espionage

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Malware attacks have taken on new meaning over the last few years. Businesses and consumers are more or less used to the day-in and day-out of Trojans, phishing scams and such, but a new breed of much more complex and sophisticated threats has changed the game.

The Stuxnet and Duqu worms, as well as Flame, Gauss and Red October malware all appear to have been developed by nation states or well-organized terrorist groups. Each has had specific goals and precise targets. Unless you’re specifically in the crosshairs of one of these cyber espionage attacks, you have nothing to worry about, right? Not exactly.

Cyber espionage can have an impact
beyond its intended target.

There are three ways anyone will feel the consequences of cyber espionage or cyber warfare threats, even if they’re not the intended target.

1. Critical infrastructure

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Movies & TV

Die Hard Director Going to Jail

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Director John McTiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October) has run out of appeals in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping scandal and is expected to be going to prison soon as a result.

McTiernan had been sentenced in 2010 to a year in the slammer and a fine of $100,000 after pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI during the larger Pellicano investigation. The director had hired Pellicano, a Hollywood private detective, in 2002 to investigate producer Chuck Roven while McTiernan was working on Rollerball with Roven.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movies

Computers

Red October malware discovered after years of stealing data in the wild

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A shadowy group of hackers has siphoned intelligence data worldwide from diplomatic, government, and scientific research computer networks for more than five years, including targets in the United States, according to a report from Kaspersky Lab.

Kaspersky Lab began researching the malware attacks in October and dubbed them “Rocra,” short for “Red October.” Rocra uses a number of security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PDF documents types to infect PCs, smartphones, and computer networking equipment. On Tuesday researchers discovered the malware platform also uses Web-based Java exploits.

It’s not clear who is behind the attacks, but Rocra uses at least three publicly known exploits originally created by Chinese hackers. Rocra’s programming, however, appears to be from a separate group of Russian-speaking operatives, according to the report from Kaspersky Lab.

The attacks are ongoing and targeted at high-level institutions in what are known as spear-fishing attacks. Kaspersky estimates that the Red October attacks have likely obtained hundreds of terabytes of data in the time it has been operational, which could be as early as May 2007.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld