Security

Webroot Software, a provider of anti-spyware software and other security technologies for consumers and enterprises, announced today that it has secured a US$108 million investment from a syndicate of top venture capital firms to be used largely to expand its enterprise business and its internationa...

In a reminder of a lingering threat to the growth of online commerce, a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says identity theft -- such as phishing over the Internet -- continued to be the most prevalent form of consumer fraud reported to authorities last year. In fact, complaints ste...

Six months ago, enterprise IT managers had few, if any, choices for anti-spyware products that were not free or consumer grade offerings. Today, the enterprise landscape is drawing considerable attention from Internet security firms and software makers looking to tap into the anti-spyware marketplac...

A week after Cisco posted a notice on its Web site warning users that routers connected to its IP telephony gear could be vulnerable to denial of dervice (DoS) attacks, the company has issued a patch to solve a DoS vulnerability that could be exploited to crash a company's phone network. Cisco Inter...

Using e-mail for personal and business correspondence has become as commonplace today as the VCR and the office water cooler. All three items are often taken for granted. Consumers have come to expect certain constants when it comes to computing: antivirus and firewall software are must-have securit...

Security researchers say a newly discovered flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser could enable a remote attacker to download malicious content to a computer without triggering the warnings that usually accompany such downloads. The lack of warning could enable an attacker to use special...

A hacker broke into wireless carrier T-Mobile's server systems network over at least seven months and read e-mails and personal computer files of the U.S. Secret Service, along with hundreds of other customers, the government has announced. Security experts said this is the first of what is expected...

In their search for ways around anti-spam legislation, some spammers are using unregistered domains to distribute unwanted messages, a tactic experts say is putting additional strain on servers at Internet service providers and on corporate networks. Illegal commercial spammers, wary of being tracke...

The much-hyped CAN-SPAM Act -- the first major stab at legislation in the U.S. aimed at cutting down the flood of unwanted commercial e-mail messages -- is seen largely failing to live up to its promise during its first year. The Act, which took effect at the start of 2004, was meant to curtail spam...

Dutch authorities have announced that country's first fines against spammers, including one person and two companies who sent unsolicited e-mails and mobile telephone text messages. This marks the first action against spammers since the Netherlands government agreed in May to officially ban unsolici...

Variants of the Santy worm have started to appear that use Google -- which is credited with moving quickly to thwart the original attack -- and other search engines to spread, and then infect and deface Web bulletin boards. The original Santy appeared just before Christmas and was meant to use Googl...

Industry leaders in technology, banking, financial services and online auctioneering have joined forces with international law enforcement agencies to form Digital PhishNet, to tackle criminals "phishing" for online identity theft victims. The Digital PhishNet initiative creates a single, unified li...

Cisco Systems today announced plans to buy privately held Protego Networks, part of a year-long acquisition spree aimed at rounding out Cisco's network security offerings. Cisco said it would pay US$65 million in cash for Protego, which was founded in 2002 by two former Cisco executives and makes se...

Move over all you unsolicited ads for Vicodin and Viagra. Make way senders of ads for phony Rolex watches and new mortgages. You are about to share in-box space with something much more ethereal. Spiritual spam is on the rise. Managed e-mail and Internet security firm MessageLabs has spotted an emer...

Merger mania found its way back into the software space today, with security firm Symantec saying it would pay US$13.5 billion to acquire Veritas Software. The deal creates the fourth-largest software firm in the world and with Veritas' storage software and Symantec's strength in security, creates a...