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NewsVac: News from around the Web
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Strong passwords no panacea as SSH brute-force attacks rise
10 hours, 15 minutes ago
Thanks to the end-of-term for many colleges and some K12 schools, brute-force attacks against SSH servers surged sharply this past weekend, according to the SANS Internet Storm Center. The sudden jump in SSH attacks merits a re-examination of how such servers should be properly secured. Jim Owens and Jeanna Matthews of the Department of Computer Science at Clarkson University have published a paper on the methods that such attacks frequently employ and on the best ways to defeat them. -
Critical OpenSSL vulnerability in Debian and derivated distributions.
2 days, 17 hours ago
Debian and Ubuntu published fixed packages of the OpenSSL software and urge all users to install them in order to bypass a critical weakness in this software. -
The Rising Trend of Internet Counter-Intelligence
3 days, 8 hours ago
A growing and dangerous threat, called Internet counter-intelligence, is the use of sophisticated Web analytics to uncover corporate-user identities to analyze and track enterprise surfing habits. Doing so affords the perpetrator the ability to capture IP addresses and network identities. In many cases, exposing your IP address is as easy a visiting a website. -
How to: Asus Eee PC protection with privacy filters
4 days, 13 hours ago
This article will show you how to make your Asus Eee PC secure from prying eyes by using a privacy filter. 3M Privacy Filters help block the screen view from anyone viewing the computer from a side view. Their unique microlouver privacy technology allows just persons directly in front of the computer to see on screen data clearly. -
Sshpass: non-interactive SSH password authentication
1 week, 5 days ago
SSH’s (secure shell) most common authentication mode is called “interactive keyboard password authentication”, so called both because it is typically done via keyboard, and because OpenSSH takes active measures to make sure that the password is, indeed, typed interactively by the keyboard.Sometimes, however, it is necessary to fool SSH into accepting an interactive password non-interactively. This is where sshpass comes in ....
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Comprehensive study of wireless security in Las Vegas
2 weeks, 3 days ago
AirDefense unveiled results from its comprehensive study of the wireless airwaves at hundreds of Las Vegas retailers and hotels/casinos. AirDefense found the majority of retailers in Las Vegas using strong encryption protocols to protect data with 65 percent of the 640 Access Points discovered encrypted with WPA or WPA2. In stark contrast, 82 percent of the 1,557 APs discovered in Las Vegas hotels/casinos were using either no encryption or WEP, the weakest protocol for wireless data encryption. -
Study: 70 percent say Red Hat more secure than Windows
3 weeks ago
The Standish group recently completed an extensive study that examines factors influencing open-source adoption. Based on five years of research and analysis, the report provides intriguing insights into open-source adoption levels and the way that open source is reshaping the software industry. Individuals who participated in the Standish survey identified several key drivers for open source adoption, including lower costs, better security and reliability, and faster development speed. -
Stop hackers from launching cross-site scripting attacks
1 month, 1 week ago
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is one of the most common application-level attacks that hackers use to sneak into Web applications. Learn how hackers launch an attack, what damage it does, how to detect them, and how to prevent your Web site and your visitors from these invasions of privacy. -
Wikipedia-reading researchers break keyless entry algorithm
1 month, 1 week ago
"A team of German scientists say they have cracked the encryption of a device widely used in keyless entry systems that electronically secure cars, garages and office buildings. ... The algorithm was kept secret for most of the two decades it's been in use. That changed about 18 months ago, when an an entry on Wikipedia published the cipher. The research team almost immediately spotted weaknesses." -
LPI to offer security training with LPIC-3 certification
1 month, 1 week ago
There are Linux certifications, such as the RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer). There are security certifications, like the CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional). Now we have the first certification that combines Linux and security: the Linux Professional Institute's LPIC-3 with its new "Security" exam elective. -
CanSecWest: Countering Misinformation
1 month, 2 weeks ago
As you surely know by now, the CanSecWest conference was the stage for a contest, PWN to OWN. Three laptops were set up; laptops running Windows Vista, Ubuntu Linux, and Mac OS X. The goal was to hack the computer and read the contents of a file located on each of the machines, using a 0day code execution vulnerability. During the first day, you can only attack the machine over the network, without physical access. On the second day, user interaction comes into play (visiting a website, opening an email). On the third and final day, third-party applications are added to the mix. Each machine had the same cash prize on its head. As you all know, the Mac was hacked first, on day two. The user only had to visit a website, and the Mac was hacked. Vista got hacked on the third day using a security hole in Adobe's Flash, and the Ubuntu machine did not get hacked at all. -
Forensic watermarking of encrypted content
1 month, 2 weeks ago
Running Marks technology now enables traceable, stream-specific forensic watermarking of encrypted content. The new approach allows Running Marks to embed a unique serial number into individual customer video streams, without requiring providers or system operators to expose the high-value content in an unencrypted format. -
CanSecWest: Countering Misinformation
1 month, 2 weeks ago
As you surely know by now, the CanSecWest conference was the stage for a contest, PWN to OWN. Three laptops were set up; laptops running Windows Vista, Ubuntu Linux, and Mac OS X. The goal was to hack the computer and read the contents of a file located on each of the machines, using a 0day code execution vulnerability. During the first day, you can only attack the machine over the network, without physical access. On the second day, user interaction comes into play (visiting a website, opening an email). On the third and final day, third-party applications are added to the mix. Each machine had the same cash prize on its head. As you all know, the Mac was hacked first, on day two. The user only had to visit a website, and the Mac was hacked. Vista got hacked on the third day using a security hole in Adobe's Flash, and the Ubuntu machine did not get hacked at all. -
Vista hacked on 3rd day thru Adobe Flash. Linux Undefeated.
1 month, 2 weeks ago
After Mac was hacked in 2 minutes at the CanSecWest Conference, it was now the time for Vista to get hacked on the 3rd day. Vista's security was compromised through the popular 3rd party software, Adobe Flash. -
Apple is loser in three-way hacking contest
1 month, 2 weeks ago
An Apple Mac was the first victim in a hacker shoot-out to determine which operating system is the most secure. - More News
Linux.com : Security
Security Alert: Debian OpenSSL flaw affects many systems
Well-known security researcher H. D. Moore, creator of the MetaSploit Project, has posted his findings on the recently discovered Debian-packaged OpenSSL bug. Moore documents the cause of the bug and explains how easily attackers can create every possible key the flawed OpenSSL implementation can generate.
Protecting directory trees with gpgdir
gpgdir uses GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) to encrypt and decrypt files or a directory tree. You could accomplish the same objective by tarring the filesystem up and then encrypting the tar.gz file with GnuPG, but then you would still have to shred or wipe every file in the original directory tree. With gpgdir the whole tree is encrypted in one command.
Baker College wins National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition
Baker College of Flint, Mich., defeated defending champion Texas A&M University and four other regional winners from across the country to capture the third annual National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, which concluded in San Antonio, Texas, over the weekend. Texas A&M finished a close second, and the University of Louisville took third. Also competing for the championship were the Community College of Baltimore County, Mount San Antonio College of Los Angeles County, and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Ubuntu machine uncracked in Pwn to Own contest
At this year's CanSecWest conference, would-be crackers could try their skills on three separate laptops: One running OS X, one running Ubuntu, and one running Vista. At the end of the three-day security conference in Vancouver, Canada, last week, both the Mac OS X Leopard and Vista machines had been cracked, leaving only the Ubuntu box uncompromised.
Encrypt volumes through a cross-platform GUI with TrueCrypt 5.0
Last month the TrueCrypt Foundation released TrueCrypt 5.0, which finally introduces a Linux GUI for the cross-platform encryption application. TrueCrypt 5.0's numerous other enhancements include a Mac OS X port, XTS operation mode, the ability to encrypt a system partition or drive under Windows, and the addition of the SHA-512 hash algorithm.
Protecting filesystems and swap space with Cryptmount
Cryptmount allows you to encrypt both your filesystems and swap space. An encrypted filesystem can be stored on a block device like a normal filesystem -- for example, using /dev/sda2 -- or inside a normal file in another filesystem. This later method is especially handy when you would like to work with an encrypted filesystem without changing your partition tables or working with the Logical Volume Manager (LVM). Cryptmount can also encrypt your swap space so that information from an encrypted filesystem is not inadvertently made less secure by the Linux kernel swapping a process out to disk.
In latest release, Nmap looks better than ever
December's release of Nmap 4.50 marked the popular port-scanning tool's tenth anniversary. The 4.50 release includes Zenmap, a cross-platform GUI front end for Nmap which includes a command creation wizard, a scripting engine, and a host of other improvements. Zenmap makes it easier than ever to use Nmap.
Efficient rsyncrypto hides remote sync data
The rsync utility is smart enough to send only enough bytes of a changed file to a remote system to enable the remote file to become identical to the local file. When that information is sensitive, using rsync over SSH protects files while in transit.To protect the files when they are on the server you might first encrypt them with GPG. But the manner in which GPG encrypts slightly changed files foils rsync's efficiency.rsyncrypto allows you to encrypt your files while still allowing you to leverage the speed of rsync.
Celebrity advice on keeping your Linux desktop secure
One of the main reasons people move from Windows to Linux is the promise of greater security from malware on the Internet. Everyone knows you need to add extra security to try to keep a Windows desktop safe, but what do you have to do to accomplish the same thing on Linux? To answer that question, we asked a number of well-known Linux kernel hackers and a security expert for their thoughts on the matter.
Mystery infestation strikes Linux/Apache Web sites
According to a press release issued earlier this month by Finjan, a security research firm, compromised Web servers are infecting thousands of visitors daily with malware that turns their Windows machines into unwitting bots to do the bidding of an as yet unidentified criminal organization. Security firms ScanSafe and SecureWorks have since added their own takes on the situation, though with varying estimates on the number of sites affected. All reports thus far say the compromised servers are running Linux and Apache.
Securing Linux laptops
Laptop and notebooks are being stolen at an ever-increasing rate. In 2004, Safeware Insurance which sells computer insurance, estimated 600,000 laptop and notebooks a year were being stolen. In 2006 an estimated 750,000 were being swiped, according to Absolute Software a company that makes computer tracking products -- and does not support Linux. LoJack For Laptops, another computer tracing company -- which also does not support Linux -- says FBI statistics show 2 million laptop and notebook computers were stolen in the US in a recent year. While the figures may not agree in detail, they all show that laptop and notebook theft is a major problem -- and if you're not careful, your Linux laptop might be next.
Build secure Web applications with OWASP
Developing secure applications has always been a difficult task. Software that manages critical functions once serviced only users on internal networks; today, applications run on Web servers accessible to users anywhere in the world. Not only have the scope and magnitude of Web applications increased, but so has the complexity of securing them. The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) comes to the rescue of Web application architects with tools, frameworks, and guidelines to improve security in applications.
PacketProtector turns SOHO router into security powerhouse
PacketProtector is an embedded Linux distribution based on OpenWRT, the first popular distribution designed to run on a number of wireless routers commonly found in SOHO settings. Like X-Wrt, which we reviewed earlier this year, PacketProtector extends OpenWrt by offering additional functionality to enhance network security right out of the box.
iptables as a replacement for commercial enterprise firewalls
With IT budgets getting tighter, managers need to trim costs. Service contracts are expensive for any technology; firewalls are no exception. Netfilter, the project that provides the packet filtering program iptables, is a free firewall alternative. While it lacks the service contract of commercial solutions and a pretty interfaces to make firewall modification easy, it has solid performance, performs effectively at firewalling, and allows for add-on functionality to enhance its reporting and response functions.
Top FOSS security vulnerabilities
Palamida, the San Francisco company that helps companies to audit their use of open source software, has released a list of what it calls "the top five most overlooked open source vulnerabilities." To this list, Palamida has added an additional five vulnerabilities exclusively for Linux.com.
Linux distro or network traffic cop? It's both!
IPCop is a specialized Linux distribution whose sole purpose is to safeguard the computers and networks it is installed on. The distro proudly claims, "The Bad Packets Stop Here!" I recently installed IPCop 1.4.16 on my SOHO LAN, and found that it accomplishes what it sets out to do.
Ten Firefox extensions to keep your browsing private and secure
Most people lock their doors and windows, use a paper shredder to protect themselves from identity theft, and install antivirus software on their computers. Yet they routinely surf the Internet without giving a second thought to whether their browser is secure and their personal information safe. Unfortunately, it's easy for someone with nefarious intentions to use a Web site to glean data from -- or introduce spyware to -- your computer. Even worse, sometimes all you have to do is randomly click on a site to have your data probed in a most unwelcome way.
An interview with ToorCon founder David "h1kari" Hulton (video)
When I attended my first ToorCon this month, I spoke with David "h1kari" Hulton, founder and chairman of the event, to learn more about its history and intent.
Secure remote access to your desktop
Accessing your home server safely can be problematic, especially if you don't have a fixed IP address, but with Linux, DynDNS, PAM, and NX Free you can create a safe remote access path to your machine.
Digital security with GnuPG plugins
The GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) allows you to encrypt, decrypt, sign, and verify communications and data, as well as create and manage the keys needed for these tasks. It is a full, open source implementation of the OpenPGP Standard (RFC2440) and is integrated into many Linux applications ranging from clipboard applets to instant messaging clients. These applications make it easy to use GnuPG for digital security in the GNOME desktop environment.
