Stories by Ellen Messmer

Heartbleed was a headache, but far from fatal

It's been a month since the Heartbleed Bug set off a stampede to patch software in everything from network gear to security software as it quickly became evident that vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL encryption code had been very widely deployed.

Check Point: 'Unknown malware' hits enterprise nets 53 times a day

Companies were getting hit on average with "unknown malware" around 53 times a day in 2013, according to Check Point's annual analysis of threat data collected from about a thousand enterprise customers. Check Point defines 'unknown malware" as malicious code that exploits a known vulnerability or weakness, but can't be detected at the time of its discovery by up-to-date anti-virus or intrusion-prevention systems.

IBM: Security threat prevention isn't 'dead' yet!

There's been much discussion in the security industry that preventing malware-based infiltrations into the enterprise is nigh on impossible, and the new security mantra should be "rapid detection is the new prevention." On that, IBM begs to differ.

Symantec partners to fend off zero-day attacks

Symantec has announced its Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) effort for new products and managed security services to support enterprise customers in fending off targeted zero-day attacks in particular.

Data breaches 9% more costly in 2013 than year before

It cost U.S. companies hit by data breaches last year an average of $5.4 million to cope with the after-effects – up 9% from the year before, according to the ninth annual Ponemon Institute study published Monday.

DeRodes steps into breach as Target's new CIO

Target has named veteran IT executive Bob DeRodes as its CIO and is tasking him with taking the $73 billion retailer in a new technology direction following the mammoth data breach that it disclosed late last year. The breach resulted in information being stolen from 70 million payment card users and prompted the resignation of CIO Beth Jacob.

Israeli start-up, working with GE, out to detect Stuxnet-like attacks

The Stuxnet malware known to have stealthily targeted Iranian nuclear facilities a few years ago was a wake-up call about how vulnerable critical industrial systems can be to cyberattack. Now, an Israeli start-up, with help from General Electric, is testing security technology that would detect Stuxnet-like attacks on critical infrastructure systems used for power production.

Heartbleed Bug hits at heart of many Cisco, Juniper products

The Heartbleed Bug, a flaw in OpenSSL that would let attackers eavesdrop on Web, e-mail and some VPN communications, is a vulnerability that can be found not just in servers using it but also in network gear from Cisco and Juniper Networks. Both vendors say there's still a lot they are investigating about how Heartbleed impacts their products, and to expect updated advisories on a rolling basis.

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