Stories by Michael Crawford

Identity fraudsters cut from database

An Australian organization has developed an algorithm designed solely to detect identity fraud, or people who change their given names to commit fraud following a study into credit risk.

New Trojan shows return of script kiddies

Local security firms have confirmed the presence of an online Trojan construction kit designed solely to update variants of itself and grab sensitive passwords and user details from infected users.

Microsoft Staffers Debate "Worst Jobs In Science" Nomination

Working in the Microsoft Security Response Centre (MSRC) has been voted number six out of the ten worst jobs in science in 2007, however Microsoft staffers reckon there is nowhere else they can find an opportunity like the ones they meet every day

Westpac retrofit ATM to cut fraud

Australian bank Westpac has rolled out more than 1000 specialized ATM machines designed to eliminate ATM fraud.

National CERT needs war room staff

Australia's national computer emergency response team (AusCERT) is to employ two security analysts this year and see no difficulties in securing top-grade security researchers and professionals.

Political forum to debate ICT

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) will host a political forum featuring speakers from both sides of NSW politics to debate the future of ICT.

Phishing education for banking customers useless

User education for online banking customers on how to avoid phishing scams has been likened to nailing jelly to a wall as this form of commonsense defense has failed to work time and time again.

Cybertrust launch mentor program

Security firm Cybertrust today launched a graduate recruitment program for university leavers which involves assigning them a senior security engineer as mentor for the length of the course.

Banking industry's m-commerce plans threatened by mobile malware

Research and consulting firm TowerGroup predicts 2007 will be the year malicious code developed for identity fraud will target mobile banking via smartphones, PDAs and any other devices capable of running a connected Internet browser.

Access Card needs key management

The second request for tender (RFT) for the Australian Access Card was released yesterday for a contractor to implement both the card and key management system.

OS vulnerabilities drop in 2006

Internet Security Systems (ISS) and MessageLabs released a synopsys of 2006 security trends yesterday, with both companies revealing a marked increase in spam throughout the year.

Symantec CTO confirms Altiris integration

Rob Clyde, Symantec vice president of technology, believes the purchase of Altiris will enable the combined company to make better in-roads into winning business from small to medium enterprise firms.

SurfControl announce AP sales VP

Security company SurfControl has appointed David Lenz as vice president of sales.

Trojan code outnumbers Windows flaws

The 2006 Sophos Internet Threat Report released last week discovered a seismic online shift towards using Web-based threats as a way to spread malicious code and dupe users into downloading it.

Windows Live OneCare: proof is in the pudding

The Windows Live OneCare release slated for Australia on January 30 has met a lukewarm response from potentially competing security tool vendors and academics alike.