Security Topic Center

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Google asks to make surveillance orders public, cites First Amendment

Google has asked the court overseeing terrorism-related surveillance programs at the U.S. National Security Agency to allow the company to publish information on the number of surveillance requests it receives.
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Expanded '2-person rule' could help plug NSA leaks

The National Security Agency is creating new processes aimed at making it harder for systems administrators to misuse privileged access to agency systems, NSA officials told the U.S. House Intelligence Committee Tuesday.

Source code for Carberp financial malware is for sale at bargain price

The source code for the Carberp banking Trojan program is being offered for sale on the underground market at a very affordable price, which could result in additional Carberp-based financial malware being developed in the future, according to researchers from Russian cybercrime investigations firm Group-IB.

Google Glass raises international privacy concerns

The Canadian privacy commissioner and 36 other data protection authorities on Tuesday raised privacy concerns about Google Glass in an open letter to CEO Larry Page.

Swedish court OKs Pirate Bay co-founder Svartholm Warg's extradition to Denmark

The Swedish Nacka District Court has ruled that Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg may be extradited to Denmark to face hacking charges, the court confirmed Tuesday.

Yahoo discloses user data requests from U.S. law enforcement agencies

Yahoo has received between 12,000 to 13,000 requests for user data from law enforcement agencies in the U.S. between Dec. 1 and May 31 this year, the company said Monday.

U.K. spy agency reportedly snooped on delegates at G20 meetings in '09

British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) reportedly intercepted the electronic communications of foreign politicians during G20 meetings that took place in London in 2009.

NSA can access data without court approval, leaker says

Analysts at the U.S. National Security Agency can gain access to the content of U.S. targets' phone calls and email messages without court orders, NSA leaker Edward Snowden said, contradicting denials from U.S. government sources.

European trust in US compromised, says EU data protection head

Europe's top privacy watchdog and the Digital Agenda commissioner both said Monday that more transparency and trust is needed between the European Union and the United States following the Prism scandal.

Oklahoma data centers are ready for tornadoes

The threat of tornadoes in Oklahoma is real, but the data centers in that state are ready. Insider (registration required)

U.S. officials claim surveillance programs helped stop 50 terrorist plots

U.S. law enforcement agencies have disrupted more than 50 terrorist plots in the U.S. and other countries with the help of controversial surveillance efforts at the U.S. National Security Agency, government officials said Tuesday.

Prism doesn't have CIOs in a panic -- yet

Revelations over the U.S. National Security Agency's Prism surveillance program have much of the general public in uproar, but in terms of the controversy's impact to enterprise IT, some CIOs have measured, albeit watchful, reactions.

Shootout results: Best security tools for small business

If you run a small business, you have a lot of choices to protect your network. You can buy a consumer-grade router for less than $50, you can spend more than $4,000 for an enterprise firewall, or you can select something in between.

Cisco impresses with first crack at next-gen firewall

When we tested next-generation firewalls last May, at least one important security vendor wasn't there: Cisco, because they weren't ready to be tested. Now that the ASA CX next-generation firewall has had a year to mature, we put the product through its paces, using the same methodology as our last NGFW test.

Lying, prying and spying: Is the NSA worth it?

Is the NSA defending their intellectual property with more success than they protect our country?

IT will have a love-hate relationship with iOS 7, OS X Mavericks and iCloud

Consumers and business users alike will find things to love about OS X Mavericks and iOS 7, says columnist Ryan Faas. But for enterprise IT pros, this week's announcements are a mixed bag.

How to avoid Big Brother's gaze

Deciding on the level of encryption you should be using requires careful consideration.

US government collects Verizon customers' phone metadata ... So what?

A top secret NSA program to collect ALL Verizon customers' call data isn't at all surprising

3 reasons why criminals exploit social networks (and tips to avoid getting scammed)

The popularity and influence of social media continues to increase at lightning speed, and recent events bear evidence to the impact -- both positive and negative --this medium presents. As the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing unfolded, millions of people turned to social media for information, and government officials and law enforcement used it to keep the public informed and solicit their help.

Security Manager's Journal: Our network infrastructure has fallen far out of date

The network team is on board with plan to update the devices to current versions, but who will do the work?