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	<title>Southwest Cyberport &#187; Warnings</title>
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	<link>http://www.swcp.com</link>
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		<title>The Hazards of Abandoning a Domain</title>
		<link>http://www.swcp.com/2012/abandoning-domain/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swcp.com/2012/abandoning-domain/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 22 Sep 2012 19:14:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jnelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online Tools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Your Online Presence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cybercrime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[domains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hackers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web sites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swcp.com/?p=1941</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It happens all the time: you click on a link and the website that comes up is not what you expected. If you&#8217;re lucky, the page is simply gone, but the site may look oddly similar and contain links for the subject you&#8217;re interested in, or it may be a trap bristling with malware and spam. In any case, you probably shrug and move on, pausing briefly to delete the bookmark if there is one, but you likely don&#8217;t spend much time wondering what happened. What happened is that the website owner quit. Maybe she or he died, or their lives and interests changed, or the company went broke. Possibly the owner just forgot to renew the domain registration. Whatever the cause, abandoned domains rarely just die quietly forgotten any more. Usually they are snapped up even if they are not high-traffic, popular sites, often by a domain registrar hoping to cash in on, but increasingly by people with worse intentions in mind. Not long ago, it was not uncommon for websites of churches, schools and government institutions that had lapsed to be grabbed up by Web porn purveyors. They may have done it more for the shock value rather than to make money, but in more recent times even more sinister characters have been doing much the same. Nowadays, an abandoned website may present an irresistible temptation to hackers and spammers to walk in and take over. However, unlike &#8230; <a href="http://www.swcp.com/2012/abandoning-domain/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<title>New Technology May Lead to Brain Hacking</title>
		<link>http://www.swcp.com/2012/brain-hacking/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swcp.com/2012/brain-hacking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:58:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jnelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interesting Items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BCI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cybercrime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neuroscience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[phishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swcp.com/?p=1909</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The world is becoming even more futuristic – and not necessarily in an entirely good way – with the recent developments in brain-computer interfaces (BCI). This technology involves using electrodes for a computer to read and interpret the electrical impulses generated by nerves firing. Ranging from electrodes actually implanted into the brain to simple skullcaps fitted with an array of attached electrodes, the potential uses are enormous. <a href="http://www.swcp.com/2012/brain-hacking/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>President Issues Cyberwar Warning</title>
		<link>http://www.swcp.com/2012/president-cyberwar-warning/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swcp.com/2012/president-cyberwar-warning/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:59:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jnelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cyberwar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hackers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stuxnet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swcp.com/?p=1881</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, serious cybersecurity concerns are quietly but steadily growing. And it was the President himself who has sounded the latest alarm. Several days ago, President Obama issued a warning in an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal. <a href="http://www.swcp.com/2012/president-cyberwar-warning/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Web Security Snapshot Has Some Surprises</title>
		<link>http://www.swcp.com/2012/web-security-surprises/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swcp.com/2012/web-security-surprises/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2012 21:29:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jnelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[antivirus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botnets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swcp.com/?p=1829</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Symantec, a major Net security company, has published a report on Internet security threats of 2011. It’s an interesting snapshot of trends and statistics that makes sobering reading, along with a few eyebrow-raising surprises. Here are some of its highlights: A dangerous new trend among criminals is using shortened URLs to distribute and disguise spam and phishing attacks. These links are conveniently provided by numerous websites to handily replace lengthy strings in addresses, but where they actually point to may be hard to guess. Users are advised to use preview tools to check them out before clicking. Social media sites, especially Facebook, have been cleverly used to spread links to infected sites by crooks taking advantage of people’s expectations and profiles. People using social networking sites are cautioned to be careful about what personal information they post, and when clicking on URLs in email or posted on social media sites even when they come from friends or trusted sources. Macs are not immune: the first Mac-based botnet occurred in 2009. New threats emerged in 2011, including Mac Defender, a fake antivirus program that installs itself without permission. Symantec claims to have identified 4,989 new computer vulnerabilities in just 2011. However, the number of new problems with popular browsers has decreased slightly, Google Chrome having the most dramatic reduction. The amount of spam is actually decreasing, from over 88% of all email in 2010 down to 68% by the end of &#8230; <a href="http://www.swcp.com/2012/web-security-surprises/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Flashback Trojan is a Warning to Mac Owners</title>
		<link>http://www.swcp.com/2012/flashback-macs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swcp.com/2012/flashback-macs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:34:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jnelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[app]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botnets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flashback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[passwords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trojan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swcp.com/?p=1809</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It finally happened: for the first time, Macintosh computers have been attacked by a trojan virus in a big way. Few viruses have ever targeted them before, and for decades Apple owners were told simply not to worry, that viruses were a Microsoft problem. Now the owners of over a half-million Mac OS X computers share the pain – and some of the vulnerability – that Windows users have long been familiar with. The malware is called Flashback, and was discovered not long ago by Kaspersky Labs, a leading Moscow-based software security firm. Flashback can hijack a Mac without even an administrative password, due to its exploit of a flaw in Java. Though discovered last September, Oracle, the company that makes Java, patched the hole back in February, but that didn’t solve the problem. It turns out Apple ships its own version of Java, and their patches weren’t issued until early April. (Obviously, the company has a learning curve about prompt and effective security responses in front of them.) By now there are a lot of infected Macintoshes – not really all that many by Windows standards, but it can still spoil your day if you have one. The virus masquerades as an installer for Adobe’s Flash, and it can install itself. All you have to do is visit an infected website with an unprotected computer. As of the latest reports, the trojan has created a botnet – a network &#8230; <a href="http://www.swcp.com/2012/flashback-macs/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>IRS helps enable online tax fraud</title>
		<link>http://www.swcp.com/2012/irs-helps-enable-online-tax-fraud/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swcp.com/2012/irs-helps-enable-online-tax-fraud/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:35:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jnelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cybercrime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[passwords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tax fraud]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WEP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wi-Fi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swcp.com/?p=1780</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your friends at the Internal Revenue Service are eager to get everyone to do their federal taxes online. But in their efforts to make everything quick and easy, they&#8217;ve wound up helping Internet tax scammers, too. And it&#8217;s not a phishing scheme or involves hacking, but is based on filing false online returns and collecting the refund. So this tax season, the government is warning people of the dangers. Identity thieves are very busy – last year, the IRS identified nearly a million fraudulent returns to the tune of $6.5 billion. Over half of these were related to identify theft, which is three times the amount of just three years before. And those are just the ones caught before any refunds had been issued. The IRS can&#8217;t, or won&#8217;t, even estimate how much money they&#8217;ve actually sent to scammers. Tax fraud has become an epidemic especially in areas like South Florida, with some gangs replacing drug sales and robberies with online crimes committed with iPads. Gangs even hold work parties to teach each other and commit hundreds of crimes in a single session. So many local officials are complaining about the lack of governmental concern and effective action. Working the fraud, authorities claim, is quite simple, and there are even written tutorials for thieves. The criminals first acquire victims&#8217; Social Security numbers and other personal information. Perhaps they buy the data from insiders with access to medical or financial records or &#8230; <a href="http://www.swcp.com/2012/irs-helps-enable-online-tax-fraud/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Online Data Storage Security</title>
		<link>http://www.swcp.com/2011/online-data-storage-security/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swcp.com/2011/online-data-storage-security/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:12:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jgentry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warnings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swcp.com/?p=83</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Security and convenience always seem to be at war with each other. Sometimes it&#8217;s difficult to understand why security folks are so draconian in their rules. It&#8217;s never for the day to day normal situations that those rules come into play, but for the failures that inevitably happen. The popular storage service Dropbox&#8216;s recent security problem is an example of how you need to think about possible security failures. On the surface Dropbox certainly looks pretty secure.  They transmit files securely over SSL, they encrypt your files for storage, and you must login with a username and password to get access. Looks pretty good. Here&#8217;s where the security can breakdown. The encryption key is stored at Dropbox. It&#8217;s linked to your account. It becomes available for use when you login. On June 19, Dropbox updated its site, and accidentally broke their password authentication so that any password worked. If I knew your Dropbox username, or guessed it, I could login to your Dropbox account by typing anything for the password. At that point, I could steal your documents, delete them, or replace them with falsified documents. I could even upload a virus and hope you would download it later and infect your computer. This high profile breakdown in security for a heavily used online data storage service underlines the importance of encrypting data that you store remotely, and you having control of the encryption key. Whether you use an online &#8230; <a href="http://www.swcp.com/2011/online-data-storage-security/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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