Tag: cyber security

Corporate Governance and International Policy expert Sophia Bekele shares her view on the future of online Security in Africa

Source: CIO East Africa The AU’s Convention on the Establishment of a Credible Legal Framework for Cyber Security in Africa (AUCC) has been the focus of debate recently. DotConnectAfrica was among the first organizations to comment and highlight several issues on the draft legislation In view of this and to further shed light on online security issues in Africa, CIO East Africa editor Mike Ouma sought the views of Ms Sophia Bekele, an international policy advisor on ICT and internet issues. Below are excerpts: As regards the state of online…

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Why did Target take so long to report data security breach?

Staff Writer

The Target data breach affecting 40 million of the retailer’s credit and debit cards stems back to Nov. 27, two days before Black Friday. So why are we just hearing about it now, three weeks later? Blame protocol.  Although it might seem like ages to affected consumers, in the scheme of data breaches, even three weeks is a pretty quick time frame to spot a breach and notify customers, said Will Pelgrin, president and chief executive of the Center for Internet Security. “No matter how quickly an entity notifies you,…

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Fridge sends spam emails as attack hits smart gadgets

Staff Writer

A fridge has been discovered sending out spam after a web attack managed to compromise smart gadgets. The fridge was one of more than 100,000 devices used to take part in the spam campaign. Uncovered by security firm Proofpoint the attack compromised computers, home routers, media PCs and smart TV sets. The attack is believed to be one of the first to exploit the lax security on devices that are part of the “internet of things”. Poor protection The spam attack took place between 23 December 2013 and 6 January…

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300 UK domains pilfered, massive security lapse blamed

Exclusive What appears to be a glaringly obvious security hole has been blamed for the snatching of 300 domains hosted by one web-hosting firm last year, The Reg has discovered. A source told El Reg that anyone with a hosting package from 123-Reg, and hence an account control panel, simply had to change the final section of the URL manually (to, for example, /someoneelseswebsite.co.uk) to be able to gain access to another site’s emails, name servers and billing.  With access to the admin panel, would-be domain thieves just had to…

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Cyber Security Becoming Top Threat To United States

Cyber Security is at the top of the threat meter, according to President Obama, and several Chief Executive Officers. Last week’s testimony before the Senate by a high level security official revealed that cyber criminals and attacks actually post a greater threat the the security and stability of the nation than terrorism threats. Also last week, a White House high level meeting took place with President Obama and C.E.O’s to discuss various modern threats. adapted from bangordailynews

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