News (18)

Vista security to be 'obliterated' at Black Hat

An IBM X-Force security researcher has promised to exploit massive holes in Windows Vista's defences at the upcoming Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. Read more »

Is whitelisting the new blacklisting?

The IT security industry has come to a frank realisation that the current approach to preventing malware is simply not working. Is whitelisting, which is the reverse of our current approach, the answer? Read more »

Rootkit threatens Cisco routers

Cisco and the security community are debating the reality of rootkits attacking the Cisco's Internetwork Operating System (IOS) after a researcher presented a proof of concept attack, which threatens Cisco routers and voice over IP phones. Read more »

Microsoft admits Vista UAC prompts 'need work'

Scott Charney, head of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing division, admitted this week that Windows Vista's User Account Control (UAC) prompts are not intuitive and confuse users. Read more »

Web banking: It's time to write down your password

Banks should stop forcing customers to create long, alphanumeric passwords because they can't protect against today's threats, according to AT&T computing researcher William Cheswick Read more »

Hacked? Don't blame China, blame Denmark

Forget pointing the finger at China when government systems and defence contractors are compromised — it's the dirty work of Danish hackers, says Finnish security researcher, Mikko Hyppönen. Read more »

Antivirus is 'completely wasted money': Cisco CSO

Companies are wasting money on security processes — such as applying patches and using antivirus software — which just don't work, according to Cisco's chief security officer John Stewart. Read more »

That isn't lovely code, it's an ugly monkey

It is possible to develop secure code but only if vendors use a robust software development process and aren't afraid to call a monkey when they see a monkey, according to the retired chief scientist of the National Security Agency (NSA). Read more »

Has Windows Vista's UAC feature failed Microsoft?

Experts agree that Microsoft's Windows Vista is relatively well-protected but its security features — such as User Account Control (UAC) — have been highlighted by security experts as one reason why the operating system is far less popular than its predecessor, Windows XP. Read more »

Microsoft: Defence in depth is not enough

Defence in depth is simply not enough to create a secure computing environment, according to Microsoft's vice president of its Trustworthy Computing group, Scott Charney. Read more »

Video (33)

Three passwords are enough

Bill Cheswick, a security expert from AT&T Research, explains why most people don't need more than three passwords. Read more »

AusCERT 2008: Behind the scenes

ZDNet.com.au's Matt Oxley takes you behind the scenes at Australia's largest security conference. Find out why Microsoft's head of product security was afraid of being arrested, watch delegates swing at sheep on the driving range and discover who thinks security is like being chased by a bear — or is it a dog? Read more »

Tinfoil Time -- Club Builder

What does an ex-NSA scientist think about code reviews? Can Bill Gates predict the future? Will Windows 7 save Vista? All the answers in this week's Club Builder! Read more »

Is whitelisting the new blacklisting?

The IT security industry has come to a frank realisation that the current approach to preventing malware is simply not working. Is whitelisting, which is the reverse of our current approach, the answer? Read more »

Charney: 9/11 attacks made security an asset

Until 9/11 security was simply a cost, says the VP of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group – the stock exchange being knocked out suddenly changed this. Read more »

Charney: Customers the biggest hole in Microsoft's security

Microsoft customers need to better authenticate applications they install on their PCs, so the next challenge for Microsoft is to figure out how to provide that information, according to Scott Charney, the VP of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. Read more »

Charney: App vendors are the weakest security link

Microsoft now builds security into products such as Vista but attackers have shifted their focus to applications so software vendors are the weakest link, says the VP of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. Read more »

Vista UAC prompts unexpected, not intuitive: Microsoft

Scott Charney, who heads up Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing division, admitted this week that Windows Vista's User Account Control (UAC) prompts are unexpected and not intuitive. Read more »

Russian criminals prefer Australian banks

Russian cyber-crooks prefer targeting Australian banks because we have fewer brands relative to the population, which means social engineering attacks require less customisation, according to Kimberly Zenz, a specialist in criminal activity originating in the former Soviet Union. Read more »

Microsoft looks to hardware for protection

Scott Charney, VP of the Trustworthy Computing Group, talks about some "fundamental engineering changes" that have to happen to properly secure software -- including binding Windows and other apps with PC hardware. Read more »

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  • Staff Crying, mooning and leaving

    In this week's roundup we see that continuous whining can get results, Linux users get 64-bit Flash and Moonlight previews, the latest in the Yahoo/Microsoft relationship and Senator Conroy ducks and weave in Senate Question Time. Read more »

    -- posted by Staff

  • Brendon Chase Sun eye Web developers with Netbeans 6.5

    Despite the recent employment axe hitting Sun the company has pushed out a new release of its Netbeans open source IDE with an eye to appeal more to Web developers. Read more »

    -- posted by Brendon Chase

  • Renai LeMay BarCamp buzz: Let the hacking continue

    Attending last weekend's BarCamp in Sydney, it was hard to escape the conclusion that a certain "dot-com bust" flavour had seeped into the kool aid previously being drunk by Australia's web 2.0 and early stage start-up sector. Read more »

    -- posted by Renai LeMay

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