Skip navigation

Security UPDATE--2007 Through the Looking Glass--January 3, 2007

PLEASE VISIT OUR SPONSORS, WHO BRING YOU SECURITY UPDATE FOR FREE:

Clean Up Your Company's Email Act: Using Filters to Block Threats

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/stbernard/cleanup/?code=SECTop1220

Discover Atempo's leading PC backup solution.

http://www.atempo.com/products/liveBackup/keyFeatures.asp

Making the Case for E-mail Archiving and Litigation Readiness

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/Symantec/retention/?code=SECHot1220

CONTENTS

===========================================

IN FOCUS: 2007 Through the Looking Glass

NEWS AND FEATURES

- Opera Software Teams Up to Provide Anti-Fraud Protection

- Check Point on Track to Buy NFR Security

- Antispam Solutions for Business

- Recent Security Vulnerabilities

GIVE AND TAKE

- Security Matters Blog: Need Rainbow Tables?

- FAQ: Vista's Administrator Account

- Share Your Security Tips

PRODUCTS

- Environmental Monitoring Goes Wireless

- Wanted: Your Reviews of Products

RESOURCES AND EVENTS

FEATURED WHITE PAPER

ANNOUNCEMENTS

=== SPONSOR: St. Bernard Software

====================

Clean Up Your Company's Email Act: Using Filters to Block Threats

Do you want to block unwanted or undesirable email? Download this free whitepaper to learn how to manage the content of information crossing your network.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/stbernard/cleanup/?code=SECTop1220

=== IN FOCUS: 2007 Through the Looking Glass

===

by Mark Joseph Edwards, News Editor, mark at ntsecurity / net

It's 2007 now, so let's take a peek at what the year ahead might hold in store for the world in terms of information security.

First on the list is the most obvious item, Windows Vista. Microsoft calls Vista its most secure OS to date. That's probably true given the insecurity of previous Windows OSs. But while Vista does seem more secure than previous versions of Windows, it hasn't yet become the primary target of the blackest of the black hats. But that's about to change.

Recently a vulnerability in Windows was discovered that affects Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista. The vulnerability is located in the Client-Server Runtime Subsystem (CSRSS) and lets someone elevate his or her privileges to the level of Administrator.

For the most part, the news stories and technical reports I've read present this vulnerability as a minor problem, apparently because in order to exploit it, a user must already be authenticated to the system. So the thinking is that unless someone can be tricked into running it, there isn't much risk. But that thinking is shortsighted.

What most of the news stories overlook is the fact that in the business world, a significant number of intrusions are perpetrated by people inside a company (e.g., users who can readily authenticate to a system). Seen in that light, this vulnerability--and any other vulnerability that lets someone elevate privileges--is indeed serious.

We're probably going to see more vulnerabilities of a similar caliber (or worse) affecting Vista. I think we'll see a lot of Vista vulnerabilities, with most of them discovered via exploits snagged from the wilds of the Internet--exploits either in active circulation or for sale on sites around the world. Look for this trend to naturally pick up momentum in the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Right along with Vista exploits will be increased exploitation of RSS and Atom feeds, along with exploits of multimedia content, particularly because Vista includes ample support for these technologies. Web sites will be silently cracked, their content will be replaced, and their feeds will be hijacked, and site operators won't discover the tampering until users complain or until they're publicly embarrassed by the media. Similarly, I think we'll also see a significant increase in exploits launched via popular sites such as YouTube, MySpace, and popular network-enabled games.

Another important trend will probably be a much stronger push for digital identities and various protection mechanisms against identity theft. As for the latter issue, user education will probably remain low on the list of remedies even though it's the best solution available. Watch for many more news stories about huge personal data breaches in 2007.

Identity theft, spam, and malware will of course continue to grow into bigger problems than they already are. We probably won't see any significant dents made in those problems in 2007. Vendors don't seem to be keen on rooting out problems but instead prefer to sell Band-Aids, so to speak. Here's one good example: Remember Blue Security? That tiny company came up with a fantastic mechanism (called Blue Frog) to fight spam, and it was hugely successful! Unfortunately, the company caved in to retaliation from spammers, and not one of the most powerful companies in the industry has stepped up to take up where Blue Security left off. I seriously doubt that any of them will either. There appears to be little if any desire to disassemble the engines that drive product sales. Sad, but true.

Finally, botnets will become a much bigger problem in 2007, and I suspect that the problem will eventually lead to some very serious quakes on the Internet.

=== SPONSOR: Atempo

==================================

Discover Atempo's leading PC backup solution.

Stop losing valuable information stored on your employees' laptops! The financial impact of information loss and system failure can be very high and recovering data or a corrupted system is complicated and time consuming. In today's enterprise, the workforce is highly mobile, and business-critical information is most often stored on globe-trotting laptops. Atempo LiveBackup can put an end to your mobile data headaches. This automatic and continuous backup software keeps laptop data protected up to the moment of failure and empowers end-users to recover files by themselves.

http://www.atempo.com/products/liveBackup/keyFeatures.asp

=== SECURITY NEWS AND FEATURES

=======================

Opera Software Teams Up to Provide Anti-Fraud Protection

Opera Software announced the latest release of its popular Web browser, Opera 9.1, which includes a new Fraud Protection feature.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94725

Check Point on Track to Buy NFR Security

Security solution provider Check Point Technologies said it's made a deal to buy NFR Security for approximately $20 million. Established in 1996 by well-known security expert Marcus Ranum, NFR Security provides intrusion detection and prevention technologies.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94724

Antispam Solutions for Business

Many organizations are looking to replace their first-generation spam software solutions either with a spam-filtering appliance or by entrusting spam-filtering tasks to a hosted service. This Buyer's Guide can help you decide which solution is best for you.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94326

Recent Security Vulnerabilities

If you subscribe to this newsletter, you also receive Security Alerts, which inform you about recently discovered security vulnerabilities. You can also find information about these discoveries at

http://www.windowsitpro.com/departments/departmentid/752/752.html

=== SPONSOR: Symantec

================================

Making the Case for E-mail Archiving and Litigation Readiness

Are your messages easily accessible, yet secure, in the case of an e-discovery request? With the phenomenal email volume growth, and increasing costs when companies fail to comply, you can't afford to lose an email. Download this free whitepaper today and implement a strong email retention and management system today!

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/Symantec/retention/?code=SECHot1220

=== GIVE AND TAKE

====================================

SECURITY MATTERS BLOG: Need Rainbow Tables?

by Mark Joseph Edwards, http://www.windowsitpro.com/securitymatters

Rainbow tables help with the discovery of passwords by speeding up testing time. You could compute your own tables, buy precomputed tables, or download tables that are made available free to everyone. Learn more in this blog article.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94723

FAQ: Vista's Administrator Account

by John Savill, http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowsnt20002003faq

Q: Where is the Administrator account in Windows Vista?

Find the answer at

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94619

SHARE YOUR SECURITY TIPS AND GET $100

Share your security-related tips, comments, or problems and solutions in Security Pro VIP's Reader to Reader column. Email your contributions to [email protected]. If we print your submission, you'll get $100. We edit submissions for style, grammar, and length.

=== PRODUCTS

=========================================

by Renee Munshi, [email protected]

Environmental Monitoring Goes Wireless

AVTECH Software announced Room Alert 26W, part of the Room Alert hardware line for IT environment and facilities monitoring. The new model uses wireless technology for communications between sensors and the main Room Alert 26W unit. The secure, private protocol that the sensors use to send alerts to the main unit is ZigBee compatible and approved in North America, Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Rim. Room Alert 26W monitors physical conditions such as temperature, humidity, and power and can immediately alert IT staff to problems and/or log events. For more information, go to

http://www.avtech.com

WANTED: your reviews of products you've tested and used in production. Send your experiences and ratings of products to [email protected] and get a Best Buy gift certificate.

=== RESOURCES AND EVENTS

=============================

For more security-related resources, visit

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/securityresources

Are you an Oracle professional who has cross-platform responsibilities, or do you need to transfer your skill set to SQL Server? If so, register for free to attend the Cross Platform Data online event January 30 and 31 and February 1. In a seminar featuring SQL Server/Oracle experts Andrew Sisson from Scalability Experts and Douglas McDowell from Solid Quality Learning, you'll learn key concepts about SQL Server 2005, including how to deploy SQL Server's BI capabilities on Oracle, proof points demonstrating that SQL Server is enterprise-ready, and how to successfully deploy Oracle on the Windows platform.

http://events.unisfair.com/rt/sql/?code=0103emailannc

Find the buried treasure by uncovering the secrets to Web filtering. Complete this quiz correctly and you could be a winner!

http://popquiz.windowsitpro.com/stbernardtreasurehunt/

When your systems go down, your users' productivity grinds to a halt. User downtime is one of the fastest growing concerns among businesses. This free Web seminar teaches you how to keep your users continuously connected and your business up and running. View the on-demand Web seminar now!

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/seminars/neverfail/usercontinuity/?code=0103emailannc

Integrate fax services with business applications for major increases in ROI. Find out how fax technology can benefit your bottom line and improve business processes. Download the free ebook today!

http://www.windowsitlibrary.com/Ebooks/faxservers/Index.cfm?code=0103emailannc

Randy Franklin Smith outlines five evaluation points to consider when choosing your antispyware solution in this free podcast. Download it today!

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/podcasts/pctools/antispyware/?code=0103emailannc

=== FEATURED WHITE PAPER

=============================

Disaster recovery isn't just a theory for most businesses--it's a harsh business reality. Improve your own disaster recovery efforts today and learn from real-life disaster survivors. Make sure that your plan is ready before a disaster strikes--download this free white paper today!

http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepaper/neverfail/disaster/?code=0103featwp

=== ANNOUNCEMENTS

====================================

Special Invitation for VIP Access

Become a VIP subscriber and get continuous, inside access to ALL the content published in Windows IT Pro magazine, SQL Server Magazine, Exchange & Outlook Pro VIP, Scripting Pro VIP, and Security Pro VIP. Subscribe now and SAVE $100:

https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=1&promocode=eu2771uv

Ring in the New Year with Windows IT Pro

Don't miss Windows IT Pro magazine in 2007! As a subscriber, you'll have full access to must-have coverage relating to Windows Vista deployment, virtualization and disaster recovery, Active Directory enhancements, Office 2007 launch, SharePoint fundamentals, and much more. Order now and save 58% off the cover price:

https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=1&promocode=eu2071uw

===========================================================

Security UDPATE is brought to you by the Windows IT Pro Web site's Security page (first URL below) and Security Pro VIP (second URL below).

http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowssecurity

http://www.securityprovip.com

Subscribe to Security UPDATE at

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Email/Index.cfm?action=archive

Unsubscribe by clicking

http://list.windowsitpro.com/u?id=%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%%

Be sure to add [email protected] to your antispam software's list of allowed senders.

To contact us:

About Security UPDATE content -- [email protected]

About technical questions -- http://www.windowsitpro.com/forums

About your product news -- [email protected]

About your subscription -- [email protected]

About sponsoring Security UPDATE -- [email protected]

View the Windows IT Pro privacy policy at

http://www.windowsitpro.com/AboutUs/Index.cfm?action=privacy

Windows IT Pro, a division of Penton Media, Inc.

221 East 29th Street, Loveland, CO 80538

Attention: Customer Service Department

Copyright 2007, Penton Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

TAGS: Security
Hide comments

Comments

  • Allowed HTML tags: <em> <strong> <blockquote> <br> <p>

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Publish