Europeans Step Up Fight Against Spam

Posted on by admini

Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner in charge of new media and information society, also announced that “anti-spam enforcement authorities” in 13 EU countries agreed to cooperate in investigating complaints against spammers. “Enforcement authorities in member states must be able to deal effectively with spam from other EU countries,” Reding said in a statement.

The deal reached among the 13 national agencies in charge of combatting unsolicited e-mails is voluntary but “establishes a common procedure for handling cross-border complaints on spam” and closes loopholes “exploited by spammers and data thieves,” the Commission said.

EU laws requiring companies to get consent before sending e-mail, tracking personal data on Web sites or pinpointing callers’ locations via satellite-linked mobile phones have been in place since 2003, though some in the 25-nation bloc were slow to enact legislation against spammers.

The majority of unsolicited e-mails to Europeans originates from outside the EU. About 80 percent of all e-mails sent last year were unsolicited commercial bulk e-mail, according to U.S.-based e-mail filtering company MessageLabs, and the vast majority of those e-mails originated in the United States, where for a year national anti-spam laws have been in effect.

http://www.messagingpipeline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=59301595

Read more

Check Point tool to keep an eye on networks

Posted on by admini

The software then automatically correlates and analyzes the information in real time and produces a consolidated report for the information security manager.

The release will mark Check Point’s entry into the nascent market for products that help administrators monitor network events, such as log-ins, and be able to respond quickly to perceived security threats.

Analysts noted it’s a market that has only recently gained significant customer attention in the past year or two. “They’re just a little late to the game, but not too late,” said Steve Hunt, a security industry analyst. Burton said Eventia Analyzer has a bank of 70 predefined problems that make it easier to detect security shortfalls, meaning managers have less need to customize the system. It enables information security managers to follow its recommendations, or can automatically take steps to resolve any problem, he said.

Security event management is a relatively small market that’s expected to grow to roughly $300,000 this year, analyst Hunt said. And while the industry is expected to generate steady growth, no large growth spikes are anticipated, he added. “Security event management products are just one piece of the problem that customers are trying to resolve,” he said. “A security manager has to buy eight other products to go along with it, from asset management technology to patch management technology to policy configuration management.” The security event management industry will likely see its growth come from a consolidation of all related products into one integrated offering, Hunt predicted.

Eventia Analyzer software licenses are expected to cost $1,000 per device. It is scheduled to begin shipping in March.

On Monday, Check Point also plans to announce an upgrade to its Integrity PC firewall software. Version 6.0 will feature a subscription service to control which applications can access the network from a PC, said Rich Weiss, Check Point’s director of end-point marketing. Integrity 6.0 will also feature server-clustering technology and intrusion-prevention services at the PC level to block attacks, Weiss said.

Security holds its spot among the top IT initiatives at number three, increasingly paying more attention to spyware.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5564185.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=zdnet

Read more

CSC wins $762 million Navy contract

Posted on by admini

The contract, which has a three-year base period and four three-year options, has an estimated value of $762 million if all options are exercised.

The contract was awarded to CSC’s DynCorp Technical Services, a unit that is not being divested under a previously announced Dec. 12, 2004 agreement to sell selected DynCorp business units.

Under the contract, CSC’s Federal Sector business unit will support AUTEC through services that include the scheduling and conduct of test programs; operation of range instrumentation and test support systems; and performance of all base operations functions. Work will be performed at locations including Andros Island, the Bahamas, West Palm Beach and Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Yorktown, Va.

AUTEC is a major range and test facility base that provides both deep and shallow water test and training environments for the US Navy.

CSC will subcontract portions of the contract to KIRA, Inc. for Bahamian base operations support, and Gulfstream International Airlines for airline service.

http://news.zdnet.com/2110-9589_22-5563616.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=zdnet

Read more

Microsoft to confide security woes to governments

Posted on by admini

Under the Security Cooperation Program, Microsoft will advise participating government agencies on network security issues in an effort to try to anticipate or mitigate security lapses, said Gerri Elliott, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s worldwide public-sector unit. Giving a government agency advance notice of security problems for free derives from the role government agencies play, Elliot said.

Government agencies, however, have also been some of the most active in promoting open source software, both as a way to cut costs and promote local companies. In Europe, the local government of Vienna is moving forward with a voluntary open source program aimed at cutting software acquisition costs. Although announcements by governments to embrace open source software have grabbed headlines and have given the open source movement momentum, some have stalled.

http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/international/stories/116434.html

Read more

Spammers ‘tricking ISPs’ into sending junk mail

Posted on by admini

Previously, these zombie PCs have been used as mail servers to send spam emails directly to recipients. “The Trojan is able to order proxies to send spam upstream to the ISP,” said Steve Linford, director of SpamHaus. Reports suggest that ISPs in the US have already been hit.

Linford predicts that ISPs will see a growth in the volume of bulk mail they send and receive over the next two months, with spam levels rising from75 percent of all email to around 95 percent within a year.

Linford said that ISPs need to act fast to take control of the problem.

“This ups the ante in the need for filters,” said Mark Sunner, chief technology officer for MessageLabs.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39186364,00.htm

Read more

Joint venture to exploit Rolls-Royce security IP

Posted on by admini

Loughborough-based electronics manufacturer Datalink Electronics is setting a joint venture with Rolls-Royce and private investors to develop an signature verification device.

Sign Assured is being set up to develop, manufacture and market the signature verification device using intellectual property from Rolls-Royce and Datalink’s research, development and manufacturing resources. Datalink has a 25 per cent stake in Sign Assured alongside Rolls-Royce and private investors Charlie Ding and Professor David Auckland, both from Manchester University and Tony Endfield, managing director of housewares company Rayware.

Signature verification could be used is systems for employees to clock on and off as it removes the ability of a colleague to clock someone else in. Building security is another area of application and financial institutions may use the system when dealing with internal transfers.

The technology could eventually be used to supplement chip and PIN security for credit and debit cards.

Eric Luckwell, managing director of Datalink and director of Sign Assured, said, This is an exciting development for Datalink as it sees us potentially having our own product range. Growing competition in the global manufacturing services market makes this diversification necessary. Professor Auckland and Charlie Ding will be chairman and managing director of Sign Assured respectively.

The device arose from technology developed by Rolls-Royce to measure acoustic emissions from aircraft engines. When people sign their names they write with different amounts of pressure and speed, resulting in an acoustic signature that is as distinctive as a traditional signature but much more difficult to replicate. The new device will listen to how people sign their name and store this information in a database. Current verification systems are image-based, with inherent higher costs.

Paul Harris, corporate development manager at Rolls-Royce, said “The technology has already undergone extensive testing and development”.

http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=59300908

Read more