Latest security updates from the last week

Government plans for 5 lakh cyber warriors for e-defense
Having recognized the need for defense against extensive cyber attacks, the Indian Government has started an initiative to train 5 lakh ‘cyber warriors’ over the next 5 years. The training will include a centralized institute and access to extensive resources to achieve the same.

Flaw in 3G technology allows device tracking
Researchers from the University of Birmingham and the Technical University of Berlin have found a serious flaw in 3G networks that allows tracking of devices. This flaw is not restricted to a few devices only and can be used to exploit all devices that use 3G technology.

Microsoft publicly states that Windows XP is highly vulnerable to malware
We have previously highlighted that Windows XP is more vulnerable to malware than other Windows based operating systems and now Microsoft has confirmed the same in a security intelligence report. They have claimed that malware is twice as likely to affect XP than Vista or Windows 7. So maybe it is time to upgrade for people who are still using Windows XP.

HSBC online services taken down by DDoS attack
HSBC was hit by an extensive denial of service attack that brought down its servers all around the world. No customer data was breached during this attack but it did deny users access to various online services. A group affiliated to Anonymous have claimed responsibility for this attack.

Reverse phone number lookup flaw discovered on Facebook
It has recently been found that Facebook users who have submitted their phone numbers on the website are vulnerable to public searches over the social network. This implies that if a marketer gets a list of phone numbers he can run a simple search and devise a list of profiles. Moreover, this is yet another instance of user privacy being abused over Facebook.

Rahul Thadani