Robert Lemos

How China and Others Are Altering Web Traffic

Google leveled new charges against China this week, claiming that the country has interfered with some citizens' access to the Internet giant's Gmail service, disguising the interference as technical glitches.

Security experts say that China is most likely using invisible intermediary servers, or "transparent proxies," to intercept and relay network messages while rapidly modifying the contents of those communications. This makes it possible to block e-mail messages while making it appear as if Gmail is malfunctioning.

Technology Review

Secure best practices no proof against Stuxnet

Companies infected by Stuxnet should not feel bad -- even systems secured to industry best practices had little chance to dodge the pernicious program, according to a recent report.

In the paper, "How Stuxnet Spreads - A Study of Infection Paths in Best Practice Systems," three researchers concluded that the worm's multitude of infection vectors and companies' need for interconnectivity between control systems makes it nearly impossible to defend against a well-constructed, multi-pronged attack such as Stuxnet.

CSO Online

Cyberwar: Is Offense the New Defense?

Eight months after it started spreading, the Conficker worm remains on hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of computer systems. While the furor over the worm has died down, worries over the capabilities of the sleeper botnet continue to concern cybersecurity experts.

The call to do something about the latent threat is growing louder. This week, two German researchers -- Felix Leder and Tillmann Werner, PhD students at the University of Bonn -- advocated attacking back at the botnet, before it's used for another purpose.

"Most counter measures nowadays are reactive, you wait for an attack to happen, and then you take the countermeasure," Werner said at the Conference on Cyber Warfare, an event held by the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallin. "We need something that will stop the attack in advance."

CSO Magazine