Microsoft releases botnet hunting tool to law enforcement.
From Network World:
Botnet fighters have another tool in their arsenal, thanks to Microsoft.
The software vendor is giving law enforcers access to a special tool that keeps tabs on botnets, using data compiled from the 450 million computer users who have installed the Malicious Software Removal tool that ships with Windows.
Although Microsoft is reluctant to give out details on its botnet buster — the company said that even revealing its name could give cyber criminals a clue on how to thwart it — company executives discussed it at a closed door conference held for law enforcement professionals Monday. The tool includes data and software that helps law enforcers get a better picture of the data being provided by Microsoft’s users, said Tim Cranton, associate general counsel with Microsoft’s World Wide Internet Safety Programs. “I think of it … as botnet intelligence,” he said.
Read on for the full article.
BBC News has an interesting piece dealing with criminals targeting mobile device users.
From BBC:
“There’s a real transition from online in to the mobile space,” said Simeon Coney, head of business development at Adaptive Mobile, which helps operators keep an eye on the malicious traffic flowing across their networks.
In the PC world malicious programs started with viruses designed to be a nuisance but now they have evolved into software designed solely to help their creators make money.
There is no doubt that hi-tech criminals have cottoned on to the fact that making malicious programs, be they trojans or viruses, can be a very profitable business.
That evolutionary process took, said Mr Coney, about 15 years.
I would wager that the time to ramp up on mobile devices will be far shorter.
From ZDNet UK:
Mozilla chief executive John Lilly has hit out at Apple, accusing the company of doing a disservice to Windows users everywhere by including its Safari browser as a default add-on installation in the latest iTunes update, likening the practice to the way malware is distributed.
In a recent blog post, the head of the foundation behind the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client attacked Apple for including the option to install the browser as a pre-selected default, saying it compromises the security of all users and the entire web.
“Apple has made it incredibly easy — the default, even — for users to install ride-along software that they didn’t ask for and maybe didn’t want. This is wrong, and borders on malware distribution practices,” said Lilly in the post.
“It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that’s bad not just for Apple but for the security of the whole web.”
Yesterday’s Safari Vulnaerabilities.
