Security news updates from the week gone by

Bangalore biggest target of cyber crimes in 2012
The cyber criminal cell at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has reported that out of all Indian cities, Bangalore faced the most number of cyber crimes in 2012. Close to 400 reported incidents have been witnessed till the end of November in the state of Karnataka. Udupi and Mysore are next in line as far as cyber crime is concerned.

Potential flaw in Internet Explorer allows attackers to track mouse movements
Microsoft has been alerted about a potential flaw in Internet Explorer that allows an attacker to track mouse movements with the help of malicious ads. This could let an attacker see every action a cursor carries out even when the browser application is not running. No Microsoft patch to fix this flaw is known about as yet. Microsoft has taken the high road and blamed the flaw on “competition between analytics companies” and also claimed that other browsers are equally at risk.

Anonymous breaches BSNL website for ‘freedom of speech’
Hacktivist group Anonymous is not too pleased with Section 66A of India’s IT Act. They feel that it places limitations on freedom of speech and expression. As a result, they breached the website of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), India’s largest fixed lines telecom operator and demanded the withdrawal of this legislation. The BSNL website was hacked into and some passwords and databases were revealed as a sign of protest.

Facebook and FBI takedown $850 million botnet
Facebook and privacy concerns seem to go well together. So the social network has attempted to reverse popular opinion by helping the FBI take down a botnet crime ring. This accounts for one of the biggest cyber crime takedowns as the botnet was worth around $850 million and infected around 11 million machines worldwide. It is still unclear how Facebook aided this haul but credit to them.

Android 4.2 in-built scanner still in nascent stages
Android released an in-built scanner with version 4.2 (Jelly Bean). But some researchers have found that the malware detection rate of this scanner is a flimsy 15%. This serves as a reminder to Android owners that third-party software like Quick Heal Mobile Security is essential for devices to enjoy the best protection.

Rahul Thadani