State Department workers ignored passport data access warnings   21 Mar 2008 13:00 GMT
The federal contract workers who viewed the passport records of the three leading presidential candidates didn't break through any technical controls. But they did breach the internal trust that balances security and access to data.

Source: Computerworld

FAQ: The Obama breach; What exactly is a passport record?   21 Mar 2008 13:00 GMT
The passport files accessed improperly by State Department contract workers looking into Sen. Barack Obama's records include an extensive array of data, according to publicly available information on the system.

Source: Computerworld

News to know: Windows 7; FCC; Census IT; HDMI; MacBook mystery; Fave Windows programs   21 Mar 2008 09:52 GMT
Notable headlines: Ed Bott: Your turn: Readers choose their 10 favorite Windows programs Gallery (right) Mary Jo Foley: Why Windows 7 might go to pieces Michael Krigsman: Billion-dollar IT failure at Census Bureau George Ou: HDMI survival guide...
Source: ZDNet

Apple's week of patching: Camera compatibility flaw patched   20 Mar 2008 19:43 GMT
Apple on Friday shipped a security update for Aperture 2, iPhoto 7.1.2 with iLife Support 8.2. Here's what Apple had to say in an advisory about CVE-2008-0987: Viewing a maliciously crafted image may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution Description: ...
Source: ZDNet

White House taps Wiki entrepreneur to fight cyberattacks   20 Mar 2008 18:42 GMT
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Rod A. Beckstrom has been tapped to join the Bush Administration to help secure federal networks against attack, the Post reported today. Beckstrom most recently founded Twiki.net, an enterprise Wiki support company, and previously created CATS Software and Mergent Systems. He's also coauthor of a...
Source: ZDNet

25 environmental threats in our future   20 Mar 2008 18:07 GMT
Environmental scientists and policy makers have done some deep brainstorming sessions about our future, according to this article in New Scientist. 35 representatives from organizations involved in environmental policy, academia, scientific journalism in the UK have used what they call 'horizon scanning.' They've established a list of 25 future novel...
Source: ZDNet

Microsoft inches toward public beta of 'Stirling' security suite   20 Mar 2008 16:59 GMT
It's been a while since Microsoft has shared information on "Stirling," the all-in-one security suite the company is assembling. Microsoft is planning to release a public beta of Stirling -- the suite of Forefront client, server and edge security products, wrapped in a unified management and reporting...
Source: ZDNet

Microsoft acquires rootkit specialist Komoku; DoD now a customer   20 Mar 2008 16:56 GMT
Microsoft on Thursday acquired Komoku, which provides rootkit detection software, for an undisclosed sum. Komoku's technology will be added to Microsoft's enterprise-focused Forefront and Windows Live OneCare security software. Komoku counts the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense as customers and gives Microsoft's anti-malware...
Source: ZDNet

Apple plugs Airport Extreme Base Station firmware flaw   20 Mar 2008 14:48 GMT
Apple has patched a denial of service vulnerability in its Airport Extreme Base Station firmware. In an advisory Wednesday Apple said firmware version 7.3.1 patches a vulnerability where a "maliciously crafted AFP request may lead to a denial of service." Here's the description for...
Source: ZDNet

Hannaford hit by class-action lawsuits in wake of data breach disclosure   20 Mar 2008 13:00 GMT
Just days after Hannaford Bros. disclosed that intruders had stolen 4.2 million payment card numbers from its systems, the grocer has already been hit by two class-action lawsuits.

Source: Computerworld