News

• Ransomware crooks make millions from porn-shaming scams

  Ransomware is a growth industry that puts at least $5 million a year into criminals' coffers, according to Symantec.

• Cisco replaces collaboration group head again

  Cisco has named a former Symantec executive to head its struggling collaboration group, which saw three different leaders in less than a year.

• Hundreds of Google Play apps create spoofed messages in users' SMS inboxes, Symantec says

  About 200 Android applications currently hosted on Google Play create spoofed SMS messages on the devices they are installed on, according to security researchers from antivirus vendor Symantec.

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  What's up with the Anonymous hackfest?

  Hackers apparently linked to the hactivist group Anonymous today kept up a hacking spree to dump data they said they stole from Symantec, VMware, PayPal, Hyundai, and the U.S. Department of Energy and Transportation, among others.

• Hackers claim attacks against ImageShack, Symantec, other websites

  Different hacker groups claim to have breached servers belonging to ImageShack, Symantec, and other organizations.

• Spammers abuse .gov URL shortener service in work-at-home scams

  Spammers have found a way to abuse a URL shortener service destined for U.S. government social media activities in order to craft rogue .gov URLs for work-at-home scams.

• Altered Android application spreads a martyr's message

  A popular Android application for Muslim users has been curiously hacked to commemorate the memory of a Tunisian produce vendor whose suicide kicked off anti-government protests in the country a year ago.

• Adobe promises Reader zero-day patch on Friday

  Adobe today said it will release a patch Friday for an older version of the Reader PDF viewer to stymie attacks like those aimed at major defense contractors earlier this month.

• Industrial espionage gang sends malicious emails in security vendor's name

  A cybercrime gang that primarily targets companies from the chemical industry has launched a new series of attacks that involve malware-laden emails purporting to be from Symantec, the security vendor responsible for exposing its operation earlier this year.

• Security roundup: Lockheed Martin sounds alarm on Adobe Reader zero-day; Microsoft patchfest coming

  When Adobe last week issued an advisory about a dangerous zero-day attack based on an unpatched Adobe Reader vulnerability that was being exploited in the wild to try and seize control of both PCs and Macs, it credited Lockheed Martin for sounding the alarm about it.

• Symantec uncovers SMS product scam

  Smartphone users who are enticed to purchase an SMS product application called SMS Privato Spy are being advised by Symantec to steer clear as the app is fake and is simply another way for cyber criminals to make money.

• Wall Street Beat: Economy weighs on chip, PC sector

  After several days of gains, tech stocks dropped Thursday as markets declined on disappointing news from Europe, where government officials are meeting to try to solve the sovereign debt crisis afflicting several countries in the euro area.

• Symantec confirms Flash exploits targeted defense companies

  Security researchers at Symantec today confirmed that exploits of an unpatched Adobe Reader vulnerability targeted defense contractors, among other businesses.

• Lawmaker proposes cyberthreat sharing organization

  A proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives would set up a new semi-independent organization allowing the U.S. government and private companies to share information about cyberthreats, but some critics questioned whether the group would be too removed from congressional scrutiny.

• Symantec says spam levels fall to lowest in three years

  Global spam fell to the lowest level in three years in a sign that spammers may be getting a better rate of return by hitting social-media websites instead, according to the latest figures on Tuesday from Symantec.