Security News and Updates for this Week

Let’s catch up on some important news and updates related to IT security.

Guess What’s New on the Platter of Chinese Hackers? – U.S. Weapon Designs
Looks like Chinese hackers are leaving no stone unturned; reportedly, they hacked their way into the designs of more than 2 dozen weapons of the United States. No identification of the hackers have yet been established. The designs that were compromised include data regarding combat aircraft and ships, and missile defences as well. A senior official said, such data equals 25 years of research and development that the Chinese government would require to invest for its combat abilities.

Thanks to Motorola, You Can Now Become Your Own Password!
Motorola, the company that launched the first hand-held mobile phone, is working on a new project that can be perceived as no less than a “science fiction” by many. The company is planning to come up with an electronic tattoo and an ingestible pill (approved by the Food and Drug Administration) that can make a person’s body to transmit passwords, and unlock their computer, cell phone, car, etc. Read the complete report here.

Indian Government Shows Interest in Home-Grown Security Solutions
The National Security Council recently hosted a meeting that was attended by officials from top security firms of the country. The officials expressed their concern about leaving the safe-keeping of the country’s critical information in the hands of foreign-made security software. According to them, India should become self-sufficient in terms of protecting its own assets, and for that home-grown security solutions must be given more preference. Seems like, it’s about time Indian-made security firms showed what they have up their sleeve.

Malware Can Be Activated by Light and Sound
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have come up with a study that shows that, smartphones infected with malware can be “controlled” by an attacker, simply by the means of light, sound or vibrations. It may sound unrealistic, but because of the rich variety of sensors built in today’s mobile phones, such malware attacks are possible. For instance, an attacker could use the music from a speaker to instruct the malware in your phone to carry out malicious activities.

Skpe and IM Users Be Wary of the Liftoh Trojan
If you are into Skype or other Instant Messaging services, then hold your horses before clicking on shortened URLs that you may receive as a message. Be wary of such URLs even if they appear to have come from a fellow Skyper. Reportedly, users in Latin America, who clicked on these URLs, got redirected to a malicious website and their systems got compromised by a new Trojan called Liftoh.

Rajiv Singha