Total Cost of 0wn3rsh1p

This whitepaper spoof was written a couple years ago. I tripped over it by accident, and was rewarded with health boosting laughter. Microsoft Windows: A lower Total Cost of 0wnership

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Verified by Visa (Veriphied Phishing?)

If you have used a Visa card to make a purchase online lately you may have encountered a relatively new program, Verified by Visa . I've encountered it twice. The system is an interesting attempt by Visa to reduce online fraud and identity theft. It's a noble effort, but the user experience is unsettling, and the security implications are not exactly crystal clear. Here's what happened to me, both times the Verified by Visa system was activated. I was redirected away from the domain at which I was shopping, to a URL which was: not the domain where I was shopping, not the domain of the bank that issued my card not visa.com I've been telling people for years that if anything like that happens to you, close your web browser immediately and do not under any circumstances enter any personal information into the form, because this is a sure sign of a man in the middle or phishing scam. (Never mind that all the best phishing scams now-a-days look like the actual dom...

Virus Vulnerability for RFID (Radio Frequency ID tags)?

The breeding ground for the computer virus will be expanding continually and rapidly over the next decade as appliances, automobiles, and all manner of other things become equipped with wireless networking and miniature computers. Cell phone and similar networks may enable worms to leap between devices over long distances and other networks over short distances. Researchers have recently demonstrated that RFID tags may be vulnerable next. Articles on the topic: RFID worm created in the lab [NewScientist.com] Viruses leap to smart radio tags [BBC.co.uk] RFID tags could carry computer viruses [SecurityFocus.com] The details for the curious: RFID Viruses and Worms The AntiVirus paradigm that we [the IT community and industry] have foisted upon PC users is already breaking down under the strain of too many virus variants and too many non-technical PC users. The paradigm probably won't work at all for cell phones and the paradigm is completely broken for the typical RFID devic...

Splunk acquires Phantom Cyber

I hope it doesn't come across as too cynical, the observation that most acquisitions in the tech domain fail to produce anything useful and often as not wind up killing a promising upstart technology, even if only by accident. I have hope for this one, though. Splunk strikes me as a likely exception. This acquisition of fresh ideas and talent might breathe new life into a solid, if somewhat staid, security company. Splunk’s data analytics gets a security boost with $350 million acquisition of Phantom Cyber

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