Governments are not standing to the side anymore

We have seen for the past couple years the cyber wasteland become something that is not dominated by young ambitious hackers anymore. The age of the Wild West is over and the big boys want a piece of the action. With so many infrastructures connected to the web these days it is only natural for more powerful and interested concerns to take their skills to the web. We are seeing the beginnings of true cyber war and it is something that is not going to be stop anytime soon.
In the past, what we have seen mostly is governments stay behind the scenes and do defense when it comes to the cyber war. If the government did go on the offensive it would be in secret only discovered when some security firm would get lucky and find some code that would hint to government influence. But these days it is not like that anymore. Everyone knows that the governments of the world are going all out when it comes to cyber war.
And the worst part about it is that when it comes to regular civilians, they do not know what is going on behind the scenes until it affects them directly. They are only witness to the aftermath of the cyber destruction that happens on the web and they barely understand then what is going on. All they can tell you is that their ATM card does not work anymore or that someone with a Chinese name has used their credit card without them knowing about it.

You can take a look at the government of Georgia to see a modern day cyber war in action. It is a small government that had been the victim of a serious cyber attack a few years ago by hackers from Russia. Now they are on the proactive side of things and they are setting up traps for hackers who might try to attack them again. They have learned the lessons of the past and they hope to not be the victims of such an attack again.

When it comes to a cyber war, it really does not matter what the size of your country is. All that really matters is that you have computer talent and the resources to give them what they need. When it comes to the computer, you need people who really know systems and are creative at what they do.

They cannot just be your average black hat hacker who takes other people attacks and try to use them for themselves. No, these people have to be the ones who create the attacks and they have to be on the government payrolls.

The countries which have a larger population have an advantage that they have more people to choose from. But there are only a few geniuses in the world and they do not have to be necessarily born in a large country. They can come from anywhere and that would allow a small country to be able to shock the world.

When it comes to cyber security and the governments from around the world you can bet that no one is standing on the side line anymore. And you can bet that the attacks that we see governments do are not just going to be against other government facilities. The average person is going to feel that affects as well. So be on the lookout from threats on all sides and know that it is just not coming from your ordinary black hat hacker.

Google Chrome blocks access to Twitpic for Malware risk

Suddenly today Google Chrome start detecting Twitpic.com as malware threat. Twitpic is one of the most popular website for Sharing photos and videos on Twitter. Twitpic denies and said that there is no malware on the website and is trying to contact Google.
We also notice that, Twitter profiles and pages with Twitpic URL in tweets are also blocked curretly by Chrome. Many people also complaining about this on Google Help forum.

An official statement from Twitpic via tweet,"Working to fix the google chrome malware notice when visiting Twitpic.com as this is not true or the case, trying to contact google".

Google's Safe Browsing Diagnostic page for twitpic.com saying, "Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this web site may harm your computer. Of the 12029 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 0 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2012-12-30, and suspicious content was never found on this site within the past 90 days."

Also Google report said,"No, this site has not hosted malicious software over the past 90 days. In some cases, third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites, which would cause us to show the warning message."

There are no further information yet available, we will update you soon !

Chinese Hackers exploiting Internet Explorer Zero day vulnerability for Cyber Espionage

Web site for the Council on Foreign Relations was compromised and recently hit by a drive-by attack that was detected earlier this week. Hacker are suspected to be from China , who are exploiting a zero day  Internet Explorer vulnerability for Cyber Espionage attack against one of American most elite foreign policy web groups.

According to Fireeye researchers, a malicious content on the website was hosted by hackers, that is exploiting Internet Explorer version 8.0 (fully patched version) to hack windows systems of visitors. "We have chosen not to release the technical details of this exploit, as Microsoft is still investigating the vulnerability at this time."

Mobile phone services suspended in Pakistan over terror threat

KARANCHI: Mobile phones suddenly fell silent across Pakistan's commercial hub of Karachi following intelligence reports about terrorists planning to trigger remote-controlled explosions, the fourth such disruption to the cellular services in the bustling city this year.

The decision to suspend mobile phone services was taken as there were intelligence reports that terrorists planned to carry out widespread target killings and trigger off remote-controlled explosives, sources in Sindh province's Home Ministry said

The move, which came suddenly, was aimed at "countering these terrorist threats although we realise it causes great inconvenience to the people," a source said.

The decision to suspend mobile and cellular services from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm caught the people by surprise and caused them great problems.

"I don't understand this strategy of the government. What guarantee is there terrorists will not attempt to carry out their threats after 6.30 pm," Kashif, a Karachi resident, said.

This is the fourth time this year that the government has suspended mobile phone services in Pakistan's financial hub.

There is also talk about suspending the services for a while in Peshawar city due to terrorist threats.

Network operators said they were informed about the suspension at 9.00 am.

Suspending cellular services in light of terrorism threats on important days like Eid and Ashura has become a norm. However service suspension on such days comes with prior notice.

Accenture opens innovation centre at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

NEW DELHI: Consulting and technology services major Accenture has opened an innovation center at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai. The innovation center will focus on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software at the management institutes Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering (MPSTME).

In a release, Shantiprakash Motwani, vice president, Accenture said, "This initiative will strengthen our partnership with NMIMS University and will give an edge to the students."

The centre has already trained a batch of 32 students from computer and IT engineering departments of the institute in Oracle ERP Business Suite. The five-day training was conducted over a period of 50 hours and included several advanced topics giving an exposure to the Business Suite.

Rajan Saxena, vice chancellor, NMIMS University said, "Industry and academia have long shared a mutually beneficial relationship. This tie-up with Accenture is another step in our commitment to build durable and long-lasting relationships with the corporate world."

Sharad Mhaiskar, Dean, MPSTME, stressed on the agility with which the initiative was put in place. "It has been our endeavor to focus on skill sets and knowledge that prepare students for the industry and this association is a step towards this endeavor. We need to equip students with things that are current, relevant, industry-oriented and applicable immediately after they hop on to the corporate bandwagon."
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/telecom/Mobile-phone-services-suspended-in-Pakistan-over-terror-threat/articleshow/17806468.cms

IRAN: US is the source of Cyber Terrorism

Who’s really responsible for a recent series of cyberattacks on American banks? A few days back US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran is responsible for cyberattacks launched against Saudi Aramco and RasGas and US banks. While Panetta did not directly link Iran to the Persian Gulf attacks, he later noted that Iran has "undertaken a concerted effort to use cyberspace to its advantage."

Today, Iran’s defense minister said, The United States is the source of cyber terrorism. "and intends to pave the way for increasing its activities in relation to cyber terrorism through diverting attention and leveling accusation,” Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi.

The Iranian defense minister also said that the Zionist regime is another “blatant example of cyber terrorism.”

Addressing a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday, Jalali said his organization aims to harness and reduce threats against Iran, "so, threats determine the direction of our movement". Over the past few years Iran had been the target of numerous cyber attacks, which had been carried out to disrupt the country's industrial systems, but Iranian experts had been able to successfully monitor and counter the threats.

Hackers break into International Atomic Energy Agency Servers

The UN nuclear watchdog has acknowledged one of its former computer servers had been hacked. The stolen information was contained in a statement by a group with an Iranian-sounding name calling for an inquiry into Israel's nuclear activities. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is investigating Iran's nuclear program.

A group called Parastoo Farsi for the swallow bird and a common Iranian girl’s name claimed responsibility for posting the names on its website two days ago. The group had been known to be critical of Israel's undeclared nuclear weapons program.

“The IAEA deeply regrets this publication of information stolen from an old server that was shut down some time ago,” agency spokesperson said and agency experts had been working to eliminate any “possible vulnerability” in it even before it was hacked.

Israel and the United States accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability, a charge Tehran denies, and says the Islamic state is the main proliferation threat.

It is commonly believed that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, though it has never confirmed, nor denied the fact. Tehran has strongly denied any allegations, insisting that its nuclear program is peaceful.