Symantec Releases Results of October Intelligence Report

Symantec recently released the results of its October intelligence report. The report found that spammers have established a genuine URL shortening service that is publicly available and will generate real shortened links. This was all found in spam emails.

About 92 percent of the spam emails contained the URLs and the use…

Heidi Klum Tops McAfee’s Most Dangerous List in Cyberspace

A search for Heidi Klum could land users with a malware-ridden computer according to McAfee research.

For the fifth consecutive year, McAfee researched popular culture’s most famous people revealing the riskiest celebrities on the Web. The McAfee Most Dangerous Celebrities study found movie stars and models to be more dangerous while singers and sports stars are among the safest….

Symantec Announces August 2011 Symantec Intelligence Report

Symantec yesterday announced the results of the August 2011 Symantec Intelligence Report revealing that spammers are seeking to benefit from fluctuations in a turbulent financial market. 

The report combines results from the Symantec.cloud MessageLabs Intelligence Report and the Symantec State of Spam & Phishing Report. 

According to Symantec, the turbulent market drives “pump-and-dump” stock scams. Spammers cause an artificial rise…

New Email Hoax Targets FBI Officials

The Internet Crime Complaint Center announced today that officials and high ranking members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are being targeted by a new spam attack that uses specific names of members and divisions within the agency to trick recipients into opening emails.

According to IC3, the email alerts the recipient that two “trunk boxes” containing large sums of money were intercepted at an international airport…

Jay Leno Tops List of Most Dangerous Hollywood Celebrities in Cyberspace

What do Jay Leno, Madonna and Cameron Diaz have in common, besides celebrity? According to new research, they are the most frequently spammed-about personalities.

Analysis of 25 million spam messages by Internet security solutions provider BitDefender revealed that cyber crooks most commonly use Jay Leno, Madonna and Cameron Diaz to spread spam. Barack Obama and Stephen King also make the dubious honor of placing in the top 10.

Other celebrities…

Washington Post Jobs Site Hacked

Hackers last week broke into The Washington Post’s jobs site and gained access to nearly 1.3 million user IDs and email addresses, the news organization revealed yesterday.

Although the hackers were able to access to certain user information on Washington Post Jobs, passwords and personal information such as resumes or contact information were not compromised, according to an email the news organization sent to its users.

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Cisco: Cyber Crime Not as Profitable Anymore

Cyber crime is not the cash cow it once was, according to Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) whose recent research examined the cyber underground.

Speaking yesterday at a press event at in San Bruno, Calif., security researcher Pat Peterson said last year saw a turning point in the fight against mass scams and criminal profits from these illicit activities are expected to continue dropping, according to Computerworld….

Spammers Use New Technique for Bait-and-Switch Ploy

Spammers are now establishing their own fake URL-shortening services to perform URL redirection, which has led to an increase in spam by 2.9 percentage points this month, according to new research.

The Symantec May 2011 MessageLabs Intelligence Report reveals that in a bait-and-switch ruse, scammers supply legitimate shortened URLs in spam messages that direct unwitting…

State Department Event Highlights Cyber Risks for Kids

The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security today hosted “Get Schooled, Kids and Cyber Security” to raise awareness about cybersecurity and children by discussing risks, mitigation strategies and safety tips.

Speakers included Enough is Enough President and CEO Donna Rice Hughes; National Center…

Report: Email-borne Malware Surges 400% after Rustock Takedown

Malware delivered via email grew by 400 percent in the last week of March 2011, with the spike detected two weeks after the takedown of the Rustock botnet, according to a quarterly report by Commtouch.

The Internet Threats Trend Report, which covers spam, phishing, malware and web …