Security Wire Weekly

In this SearchSecurity podcast recorded at the 2013 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit, Gregg Kreizman, research vice president at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc., sits down with Assistant Site Editor Brandan Blevins and explains how evolving corporate identity standards are affecting the IT security landscape. [0:37] SAML, OAuth 2.0 and OpenID [1:55] Online Secure Transaction Protocol [3:07] Trusted Platform Module [3:43] Biometric methods [5:23] The end of single-factor password systems [6:54] 2013 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report and enterprise authentication issues [8:44] Mobility and IAM [11:34] Federated Web authentication [13:30] No. 1 enterprise authentication issue

A spate of high profile data breaches throughout 2012 hold important lessons. Lapses in basic security measures and stolen account credentials played a significant role in most of the breaches. The SearchSecurity editorial team discusses what can be done to bolster the security of corporate systems.

Software security expert Gary McGraw explains that investing in destructive cyberweapons could have dangerous consequences. He is advocating for a proactive defense approach to cybersecurity.

Ali Mesdaq a security researcher at FireEye Inc. explains why malicious file attachments are still a highly successful attack vector for cybercriminals. Automated attack toolkits, spambots and targeted attackers typically use the old standby technique because it works. FireEye has found a spike in malicious email attachments in 2012. Social engineering is at the heart of most attacks.

Security expert Nick Lewis analyzes Flame malware, plus gives tips for dealing with Flame’s most unique function: its use of fraudulent certificates.

In this Hot Type podcast, author Neal McCarthy offers real-world examples that enterprises can use to form an information security incident response plan.

Ellen Giblin an attorney at Ashcroft Law and Gant Redmon, the general counsel for Co3 Systems discuss the litigator’s role in incident response. The legal team should be contacted as soon as a security or privacy incident is detected because it shifts the burden and liability over to the attorney, according to Giblin. Learn where the company’s legal team fits into your incident response plan.

The Aurora attackers, which surfaced in 2009 targeting Google and dozens of other firms are improving their techniques and showing impressive skills, according to new research from Symantec. The group is a threat to U.S. defense contractors and their partners, including manufacturers and parts suppliers. Eric Chien, senior technical director for Symantec Security Response explains that the group behind the campaign are using a number of zero-day exploits and a new drive-by attack technique.

In light of recent failures by the signature-based model, expert Char Sample discusses anomaly-based monitoring technology and the potential it holds for enterprise security.

The recent CloudFlare hack showed how poor user account security and password recovery can be compromised. Learn how to avoid a similar incident.

Adam O’Donnell of Sourcefire talks about the future of antimalware. Malware analysis tools are improving, but enterprises need to invest in forensics teams to better understand emerging threats. Antivirus vendors face the daunting challenge of adapting mobile platforms, O’Donnell says. Mobile will draw more cybercrime when attackers find it a worthwhile investment, he said.

In the wake of the Stuxnet malware being documented as the most significant example of a nation-state cyberattack to date, expert Nick Lewis discusses how enterprises concerned with surviving cyberwar can begin making preparations.

The SearchSecurity editorial team preview some of the mobile sessions at the 2012 Black Hat Briefings in Las Vegas. Researchers will be picking apart all the major mobile platforms, NFC payment technology, and uncovering weaknesses in cellular architectures. Apple will speaking publicly for the first time about its security processes. //

Security expert Trey Ford talks about the upcoming the Black Hat security conference. Ford is general manager of Black Hat 2012.

Flame was designed as a monolithic framework to enable people to carry out attacks without having deep knowledge of software coding or the way malware works, said Joe Stewart, director of malware research at Dell Secureworks. //