ClearSky Cyberdefense Forum

The batteries’ chips are shipped with default passwords, such that anyone who discovers that password and learns to control the chips’ firmware can potentially hijack them to do anything the hacker wants. That includes permanently ruining batteries at will, and may enable nastier tricks like implanting them with hidden malware that infects the computer no matter how many times software is reinstalled or even potentially causing the batteries to heat up, catch fire or explode. “These batteries just aren’t designed with the idea that people will mess with them,” Miller says. “What I’m showing is that it’s possible to use them to do something really bad.”

Link

According to the alleged member, who uses the name “Commander X,” the “hacktivist” group still has access to NATO servers and is currently “downloading databases.” What’s more, the person said that the group plans to release all the documents it has collected, even though a Twitter account related to the organization says such a release would be “irresponsible.”

Link

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (www.us-cert.gov) announced on Friday it has published a Technical Security Alert in response to the increasing number of high-profile incidents, which have impacted both government and privatesector computer networks.

The report comes just weeks after LulzSec ended its 50-day hacking spree, launching attacks against the websites of many organizations, including PBS, Fox and the CIA.

Link to the article

Link to US-CERT document

Computer specialists have spent several weeks piecing together information about the attack, which the IMF disclosed on June 8. Internal IMF e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News suggest fund officials completed an inventory of stolen documents by the middle of July, and drafted an “operational impact assessment.” The results have not been made public.

Link

The attackers exploited an undisclosed bug in the server, and then rigged it with a malicious payload that planted an Adobe Flash zero-day exploit on victims’ machines. Johnson declined to elaborate on the Flash bug and exploit.

To the Article

The arrests of 21 individuals Tuesday connected with the Anonymous group and other computer hackers suggest that the suite of digital tools that hackers use to obscure their identities is not foolproof and can be cracked with significant sleuthing.

Link

Google Inc. has detected a “large number” of Windows-based computers infected with a specific type of malicious software, and the company behind the world’s largest search engine is warning Web users they might be affected.

Link to the article

Link to google post

As New Zealand investigates whether or not the security of the police national computer has been compromised, the Pentagon is still grappling with the fallout from a 2008 cyber-attack labelled the most significant breach of United States military networks to date.

According to news agency Reuters, new versions of the malware blamed for the attack are still roiling networks.

Link to the story

link to NZ cyber security strategy(PDF)

NEW DELHI: With terrorists increasingly resorting to hacking and using internet for communications, India and the U.S. inked an agreement to promote increased collaboration in cyber security.

Link

Supporters of the hacktivist collective Anonymous have announced plans for a new social network after their Google+ accounts were shut down. 

link