Latest Mobile and Wireless Security News

Vistorm provides IT security support to Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
posted on 27/11/2006

Vistorm has announced an ongoing technical project management, consultancy and support contract with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. Through working with Vistorm, the Trust's remote and nomadic workers will now benefit from improved speed, security and performance when accessing the hospital's services to retrieve vital information, due to the implementation of a new Citrix Client Access Gateway and Advanced Access Server solution. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust was formed in April 2001 and is one of Europe's largest mental health and learning disability Trusts. The Trust manages services from community settings through acute wards and low, medium and high secure units, including Wathwood Hospital in Rotherham, Arnold Lodge in Leicester and Rampton Hospital near Retford. The Trust employs 6,500 staff and has more than 130 remote WAN connected sites. Steve Wilkes, systems manager with Nottinghamshire Healthcare, explained: "We already had a well utilised Citrix Far... [more]

Is the hacking community running out of fresh ideas?
posted on 23/11/2006

According to a new report by Kaspersky Lab, the hacking community has run out of fresh ideas when it comes to creating new malware. Malware Evolution: July – September 2006 states that while the hacking community is developing ‘proof of concept’ code for new platforms, it is unlikely that it will translate in to malware capable of causing substantial and lasting damage. Says Alex Gostev, Senior Virus Analyst at Kaspersky Lab and author of the report: “The overwhelming trends throughout 2006 indicate that the well of truly new ideas has run dry. Virus writers are feverishly trying to defend their creations against new protective technologies by creating proof of concept code for new platforms. However, these creations do not yet have a footing in reality: we are not seeing threats that would be able to cause millions and millions of pounds of damage, as Klez, Mydoom, Lovesan and Sasser did in the past.” The report states that the current malware landscape is characterised by a mixture ... [more]

Encryption would have protected the contents of the stolen Scotland Yard laptops
posted on 22/11/2006

Scotland Yard last night confirmed that three laptops, containing the payroll and pension details of over 15,000 Metropolitan Police officers, have been stolen from the offices of LogicaCMG, the firm responsible for the Met's pay and pension service. Jamie Cowper from PGP Corporation has made the following comments: "Only recently, Nationwide announced the theft of an employee's laptop, potentially exposing millions of customers; now, it's the Met Police. The Met has stated that 'the risk to staff members of fraudulent activity or identity theft is minimal' as a result of this incident, but hasn't clarified why it believes this. Was the information on these laptops comprehensively protected with encryption? Because if not, then this statement might well be premature." He added: "Even more worrying, if criminals are willing to steal laptops from the police, is any organisation safe from this type of data theft? It is clear that the risk of security breaches is only g... [more]

ArcSight Protects Swisscom Mobile Customers and Network from Viruses and Malware
posted on 22/11/2006

ArcSight, Inc. has announced that Swisscom Mobile, the leading mobile communications provider in Switzerland, has deployed ArcSight ESM to correlate and identify patterns within their wireless access infrastructure for the purposes of malware and virus detection. Chosen as part of Swisscom Mobile's programme to provide monitoring and filters for mobile malware countermeasures, this solution is based on ArcSight's capabilities in identifying varying usage and data patterns. "Mobile malware is becoming one of the largest single risks to mobile handsets, but our deployment of ArcSight ESM allows us to protect our customers and network," said Marcel Zumbühl, Head of Security, Swisscom Mobile. "The fact that we are among the first mobile operators with this type of solution to specifically target mobile malware reduces customer risk. The advanced event correlation provided by ArcSight ESM allows us to react in a timely fashion on new threats." Prior to pioneering this impl... [more]

The most common causes of IT security breaches and how companies can stop the burglars getting in
posted on 21/11/2006

Historically, the approach to enterprise security has been to make the fortress bigger and stronger: to install more products, and write more policies. Yet despite heightened security awareness and cutting-edge tools, 2006 was the worst year yet on record for corporate security breaches, continuing the year-on-year escalation of security risk. The problem is, attackers are as advanced as the defenders and the attacks don’t always come from the expected direction. The fact is that the biggest threat to an organization lies within its boundaries. In its 2006 survey, “Information Security Breaches,” the DTI and PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 32% of Information Security attacks originated from internal employees while 28% came from ex-employees and partners. Similarly, law enforcement experts in Europe and the US estimate that over 50% of breaches result from employees misusing access privileges, whether maliciously or unwittingly. So securing the enterprise isn’t just about... [more]

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