Hacked GOP Site Infects Visitors with Malware
The now-infamous Storm Trojan horse is using new distribution methods to attack unsuspecting victims. Where it once used e-mail attachments or embedded links in spam, it has now turned to website exploits, recently infecting PC users through a Republican party website in Wisconsin, USA.

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Germany Arrests 10 in Global Internet Scam Raids
After an 18-month probe, German police have arrested 10 people in Russia, Ukraine, and Germany in connection with an international Internet scam that may have cost hundreds of thousands of Euros from victims. The accused used phishing techniques to lure bank customers into answering fake Ebay or Deutsche Telekom e-mails, and then installed a Trojan horse to record their personal data.

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Great Firewall of China More Like Chain-Link Fence
Researchers at the University of California at Davis and the University of New Mexico have proven that banned terms can slip through the government-imposed firewall for Internet surfing in China. Even with the occasional slip in security, most citizens still avoid searching for banned terms and concepts for fear that their Internet activity is being monitored by the Chinese government.

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Financially Motivated Malware Thrives
As malware becomes more

They are sleek, they are powerful, and they are a wish list standard.  Smartphones, like iPhone and BlackBerry, are creating a collective buzz that can be heard worldwide.

The hype is well deserved.  Mobile devices have matured and with their coming of age we now have capabilities that seemed far-fetched only a few years ago.  For employees and executives the world over, smartphones make corporate data and applications available anytime, anywhere.

But just as a smartphone is now capable of downloading data and applications wirelessly, so can it download viruses, spyware, even pornographic content, without a user’s consent.  The use of flash memory cards on some phones opens yet another door for malware to spread to these devices.

The threat is real and growing.  A recent PC World article reports that malware writers are ramping up their activity in the mobile arena, learning from proof-of-concept threats and fine-tuning the amount of user interaction required to propagate the damage.

According to SMobile Systems, a company that specializes in mobile security, there are over 400 wireless threats currently, and more are predicted to arise by year’s end.  The threats can take many forms.  Among the attacks are those that attempt to delete data, those that

“We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account.  To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.”

An e-mail communication that reads like this has probably appeared in your inbox recently.  Sounds official, doesn’t it?  Judging from the header on the e-mail, a trusted source has sent it – a government agency, your bank, your Internet service provider.

What will you do?

Anytime you receive an online request for personal information, you should treat it with a healthy dose of suspicion.  What appears to be a trusted source may, in fact, not be what it claims to be.  Chances are high that you have become a target of a highly individualized and persuasive attempt to steal your personal information for malicious purposes.  Phishing, as this type of attack is called, has become increasingly common.

A phishing attack can originate when personal data is stolen. Not much is required.  Bits of data can be simple enough, such as your e-mail address, telephone number and birthday. But those bits hold the potential for creating a profile of you that can be easily expanded through access to other sources of online information.

Resumes and CVs are a reservoir of

Engage with a social networking site such as MySpace or Facebook, and you will undoubtedly change the way you spend your time online. Every time you visit and interact, you will leave a trace behind.  You will expand your digital footprint. As you do this, you will acquire an online identity.Your digital profile will be born.

However unassuming or grand your digital profile is, however private or public, you can be certain of one thing:  Your nuggets of information can be turned against you by hackers with malicious motives.

The tables have turned.  2006 was the year that cyber criminals shifted their attention from e-mail to web traffic.  In that year, the ScanSafe Annual Global Threat Report noted an increase in spyware of 254 percent.  The motives shifted as well.  Over 65 percent of web virus attacks in 2006 aimed at gaining a financial benefit from unsuspecting users.  Displaying technical prowess or causing online chaos was no longer the main driving factor for attacks.

It is little wonder that social networking sites, with attention grabbing headlines that by turns praise and condemn the social changes they are helping bring about, are gaining the attention of hackers looking to spread their malware.

The so-called