A keylogger on the computer of the Carson, Calif., treasurer enabled online thieves to transfer nearly half a million dollars to other bank accounts, according to news reports.
The thieves made two transfers: The first on May 23 for $90,000 and the next for $358,000 on the following day, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. Carson Treasurer Karen Avilla noticed the transfers on May 24 and, with the help of the town's bank, froze all but $45,000 of the money. A computer forensics team from the bank found a Trojan horse on her city-issued laptop, according to a report in ComputerWorld.
"We're vigilant in checking our (bank) balances daily," she told ComputerWorld. "I think the only thing you can do (to keep your money safe) is look at it with your own two eyes."
Following legislation that requires companies and organizations to disclose data breaches, news of online thieves making off with people's data have become commonplace. The theft of funds from companies is far less likely to be reported. A massive breach of retail giant TJX Companies' processing systems led to the loss of information on at least 45.6 million credit and debit cards.
The U.S. Secret Service is currently tracking the path of the $45,000 missing from the accounts, media reports stated.
(securityfocus)
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Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Search engines reduce risky results, says report
The chance of encountering a questionable or malicious site among search results dropped to 4 percent in May, as most search engines continue to work to cull dubious sponsored links, stated a report published on Monday by SiteAdvisor, a subsidiary of security firm McAfee.
The report surveyed the SiteAdvisor ratings of the top-5 search engines, which represent 93 percent of all searches on the Internet, and found that those that linked to risky Web sites dropped to 4 percent of all results, compared to 5 percent a year earlier. Most of the improvement came from better vetting of the sponsored links that the search engines place in a prominent position for a fee. This year, 6.9 percent of such links were considered risky, down from 8.5 percent a year ago.
"These differences indicate search engines’ control over the sites they promote," the report stated. "Search engines can look the other way while dubious ads run rampant, but they can also set and enforce tough editorial policies to keep bad ads out."
SiteAdvisor regularly scans sites that account for the lion's share of all Web traffic, rating dangerous pages as 'red', questionable pages as 'yellow', and legitimate sites as 'green'. In March 2006, the company found that sites accounting for 5 percent of all Web traffic attempted to upload hostile programs to a visitor's computer, or acted in some other malicious way. Sites that accounted for another 2 percent of traffic received the company's yellow rating.
In the latest survey, America Online's search engine had the fewest risky search results at 2.9 percent, while Yahoo's search engine had the most at 5.4 percent
(securityfocus)
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The report surveyed the SiteAdvisor ratings of the top-5 search engines, which represent 93 percent of all searches on the Internet, and found that those that linked to risky Web sites dropped to 4 percent of all results, compared to 5 percent a year earlier. Most of the improvement came from better vetting of the sponsored links that the search engines place in a prominent position for a fee. This year, 6.9 percent of such links were considered risky, down from 8.5 percent a year ago.
"These differences indicate search engines’ control over the sites they promote," the report stated. "Search engines can look the other way while dubious ads run rampant, but they can also set and enforce tough editorial policies to keep bad ads out."
SiteAdvisor regularly scans sites that account for the lion's share of all Web traffic, rating dangerous pages as 'red', questionable pages as 'yellow', and legitimate sites as 'green'. In March 2006, the company found that sites accounting for 5 percent of all Web traffic attempted to upload hostile programs to a visitor's computer, or acted in some other malicious way. Sites that accounted for another 2 percent of traffic received the company's yellow rating.
In the latest survey, America Online's search engine had the fewest risky search results at 2.9 percent, while Yahoo's search engine had the most at 5.4 percent
(securityfocus)
Be Master In Google Yahoo Banking USA Indonesia Bojonegoro Nando007 NandoBJN NanangBJN Computer Hardware Software Download Free Laptop Desktop Science Technology High Insurance Email SMS MMS Handphone Nokia Siemen PC World
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