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Memo From IT Department Q1, 2012 |
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Network Source One is sending this quarterly newsletter brief, 'Memo from IT Department', to our contacts. It contains short tidbits of current information from the world of I.T. that we hope you find useful. If you do not want to receive this information from us, please use the safe unsubscribe link below to have your e-mail address removed from our newsletter list. Thank you for your consideration. |
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Microsoft & Partners disrupt CyberCrime | |
It has been widely reported that CyberCrime is now bigger than the illegal drug business. Being so lucrative, it has attracted and developed very sophisticated criminal enterprises operating around the world. In its most complex effort to disrupt botnets to date, Microsoft Corp., in collaboration with the financial services industry - including the Financial Services - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association - as well as Kyrus Tech Inc., announced it has successfully executed a coordinated global action against some of the most notorious cybercrime operations that fuel online fraud and identity theft. With this legal and technical action, a number of the most harmful botnets using the Zeus family of malware worldwide have been disrupted in an unprecedented, proactive cross-industry action against this cybercriminal organization.
Through an extensive and collaborative investigation into the Zeus threat, Microsoft and its banking, finance and technical partners discovered that once a computer is infected with Zeus, the malware can monitor a victim's online activity and automatically start keylogging, or recording a person's every keystroke, when a person types in the name of a financial institution or ecommerce site. With this information, cybercriminals can steal personal information that can be used for identity theft or to fraudulently make purchases or access other private accounts. In fact, since 2007, Microsoft has detected more than 13 million suspected infections of the Zeus malware worldwide, including approximately 3 million computers in the United States alone.
Read the rest of the article by clicking here.
To see a video illustration of how a 'botnets' infects your computer, click here. |
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Free iPad3...and other Social Media Scams | |
 Cybercriminals anticipate and respond to buzz-worthy events with social engineering schemes that target you, not just your system.
Major news like natural disasters or highly anticipated events always catch people's attention. Celebrity news, scandals, controversies and even deaths-real or faked-drive people to their social media connections for the latest information.
And in a matter of minutes cybercriminals are laying their traps.
What you'll see: Social media posts with links to hard-to-resist videos or photos, or too-good-to-be-true offers.
What you won't see: The malicious code that infects your system, hijacks your account, or tricks you into giving up personal information.
To learn more about Socially Engineered Threats, check out this e-guide presented by Trend Micro. |
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MACs Need Protection Too! |
 The mass appeal of Apple products is undeniable. Every product or software release is often anticipated and greeted with much fanfare. Its latest release, the OS X Mountain Lion, is no exception. Although the software has yet to be released, there have already been articles written about its features.
One of the more-touted features of Mountain Lion is Gatekeeper, a whitelisting approach that helps keep users from downloading bad apps. This feature restricts whether applications can run based solely on where they were downloaded from. Gatekeeper is planned to have 3 levels - only allows apps from the app store, only allow from apps store or signed by trusted developers, or no restrictions. While the feature is well-intentioned, it will only be a matter of time when cybercriminals find ways to bypass or use this feature to their advantage.
The inclusion of such a security feature might be come as a surprise to some users as they might still believe that Macs are not at risk when it comes to malware. In fact, Trend Micro recently detected new MAC malware that disguises itself as an image file. It drops another malicious file capable of executing commands that involve getting information from the infected system.
While the number of Mac malware isn't as high as those for Windows, this doesn't mean that Mac malware should be taken lightly. Like its Windows counterparts, Mac malware can do serious damage to an infected system.
To see a list of the most noteable malware targeting MACs since 2006, follow this link. |
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NSO Security Recommendations | |
 As threats to your network and information become increasingly more complex and malicious, it has become critically important to have a comprehensive and layered protection strategy.
NSO recommends the following security protection for all organizations:
1. A properly configured Firewall
2. Current Anti-Virus Software
3. A strong E-Mail Security/Anti-Spam Solution
4. A highly effective Web/Internet Filtering Solution
5. Critical updates applied to your software as they become available.
Network Source One offers Remote Update Management and Monitoring of your network for a small monthly fee. We can help ensure your software and security systems are up to date. We also can detect problems that develop or pro-actively identify issues that may cause trouble.
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If you have any suggestions for news or information that we can present in an upcoming newsletter 'memo', please let us know!
Thank you.
Your IT Team
Network Source One, Inc.
(248) 536-1001 |
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