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Reports have surfaced that liquified natural gas (LNG) producer RasGas , based in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, has been struck by an unidentified virus, this time shutting down its website and email servers. The malware, however, did not affect the company's operational computers that control the production and delivery of gas, an official of the Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas company. The attack reportedly began Aug. 27. The RasGas website was still unavailable on Thursday, three days after the attack. For the second time in two weeks a virus outbreak has been reported at an energy company in that region. Earlier this week the Saudi Aramco oil company confirmed that its network was hit by a virus two weeks ago, shutting down 30,000 workstations. Neither company identified the virus, but in at least one of the cases it is believed to be malware known as "Shamoon." A joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, RasGas exports about 36.3 million tons of liq

Oracle has released a new patch which kills off a vulnerability in Java 7 that was being exploited by malware developers. " Due to the high severity of these vulnerabilities, Oracle recommends that customers apply this Security Alert as soon as possible ," Eric Maurice, the company's director of software security assurance. The out-of-band Security Alert CVE-2012-4681 includes fixes for "three distinct but related vulnerabilities and one security-in-depth issue" affecting Java running within the browser. Users with vulnerable versions of Java installed can have malware silently planted on their systems just by browsing to a hacked or malicious website unknowingly.Java is a free programming language widely used to enable every day programs and website elements to function, including some games, apps and chat, as well as enterprise apps. The attacks using this vulnerability so far have been Windows-based, the exploit was demonstrated on other platforms supported by Java

Super Low RPO with Continuous Data Protection: Dial Back to Just Seconds Before an Attack Zerto , a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, can help you detect and recover from ransomware in near real-time. This solution leverages continuous data protection (CDP) to ensure all workloads have the lowest recovery point objective (RPO) possible. The most valuable thing about CDP is that it does not use snapshots, agents, or any other periodic data protection methodology. Zerto has no impact on production workloads and can achieve RPOs in the region of 5-15 seconds across thousands of virtual machines simultaneously. For example, the environment in the image below has nearly 1,000 VMs being protected with an average RPO of just six seconds! Application-Centric Protection: Group Your VMs to Gain Application-Level Control   You can protect your VMs with the Zerto application-centric approach using Virtual Protection Groups (VPGs). This logical grouping of VMs ensures that your whole applica

Russian anti-virus company Doctor Web reported about the first cross-platform backdoor to run under Linux and Mac OS X identified as " BackDoor.Wirenet.1 ". This malicious program designed to steals passwords entered by the user in Opera, Firefox, Chrome, and Chromium, and passwords stored by such applications as Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, and Pidgin. BackDoor.Wirenet.1 is the first-ever Trojan that can simultaneously work on these operating systems. BackDoor.Wirenet.1 is still under investigation. At launch BackDoor.Wirenet.1 creates a copy in the user's home directory. To interact with the command server located at 212.7.208.65, the malware uses a special encryption algorithm Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). BackDoor.

FireEye's Malware Intelligence Lab is making the claim that there is a new zero day vulnerability in the wild that affects the latest version of Java.Researcher. Atif Mushtaq wrote on the company's blog that he spotted the initial exploit on a domain that pointed to an IP address in China. The vulnerability allows computers to be infected by simply visiting a specially crafted web page, and the malware served in the current attacks contacts a C&C server in Singapore. Researchers from heise Security have also created a PoC page using information that is publicly available. A separate post published on Monday by researchers Andre M. DiMino and Mila Parkour said the number of attacks, which appear to install the Poison Ivy Remote Access Trojan, were low. But they went on to note that the typical delay in issuing Java patches, combined with the circulation of exploit code, meant it was only a matter of time until the vulnerability is exploited more widely by other attackers.

Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, has resumed operating its main internal computer networks after a virus infected about 30,000 of its workstations in mid-August. Immediately after the Aug. 15 attack, the company announced it had cut off its electronic systems from outside access to prevent further attacks. Saudi Aramco said the virus "originated from external sources" and that its investigation into the matter was ongoing. There was no mention of whether this was related to this month's Shamoon attacks. " The disruption was suspected to be the result of a virus that had infected personal workstations without affecting the primary components of the network, " Saudi Aramco said over Facebook . " We would like to emphasize and assure our stakeholders, customers and partners that our core businesses of oil and gas exploration, production and distribution from the wellhead to the distribution network were unaffected and are functioning as reliably as ever

Security researchers have revealed the existence of an advanced persistent threat that has been making the rounds since April 2011.  Backdoor.Hikit  is a dangerous backdoor Trojan that will damage infected system and files. Usually, Backdoor. Hikit will open backdoor to allow remote attackers to connect to the infected system and carry out harmful activities, such as stealing information or destroying files and programs. It is really stubborn those antiviruses often fail to delete it for good, for it runs secretly and automatically when Windows boots without your knowledge or consent and can disguise it as fake system files or processes. Besides, many other threats, such as adware, redirecting virus, Trojan variants from family, such as Trojan Horse Generic 27.PN, BackDoor.Hupigon5.CJMY, Trojan.Zeroaccess.C, Trojan:win64/Sirefef.E and so on, which is really a threat to system and data security. According to experts from security firm Symantec , it all starts with the unknown dropper

Many malware and viruses can be identified by detection software because of known bits of malicious code. But what if there was a virus compiled from little bits of programs you already had installed? That's just what two security researchers are looking into. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus is a classic story in which a doctor creates life through technology in the form of a creature assembled from the parts of dead men. While this biological idea exists only in fiction, researchers have recently used it to craft a very ingenious piece of malware. Vishwath Mohan and Kevin Hamlen at the University of Texas at Dallas are interested in how malware disguises itself in order to propagate more widely. In Windows Explorer alone, Frankenstein found nearly 90,000 gadgets in just over 40 seconds, which means that malware created by the system would have a huge number of possible variations, work quickly, and be very difficult to detect. Frankenstein follows pre-written blueprints

NetWeirdRC is a commercial backdoor tool targeting Mac OS X 10.6 and later, as well as Windows, Linux and Solaris, according to Intego . The product is sold for US$60 in the malware world, relatively cheap in comparison to the OSX/Crisis malware that was being sold for €200,000 ($240,000). It's a commercial remote access tool, that after installation, calls home to the IP address 212.7.208.65 on port 4141 and awaits instructions. Then it carries out functions including installing files, gathering system information, stealing browser passwords and grabbing screen shots. In addition, it said, the malware can " harvest stored and encrypted usernames and passwords from Opera, Firefox, SeaMonkey, and Thunderbird browsers and mail clients ." It's able to infect Apple OS X (versions 10.6 and newer), Linux, Solaris, and Windows systems.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued an alert warning that hackers could exploit code in Siemens-owned technology to attack power plants and other national critical infrastructure. Justin W. Clarke, an expert in securing industrial control systems, disclosed at a conference in Los Angeles on Friday that he had figured out a way to spy on traffic moving through networking equipment manufactured by Siemens' RuggedCom division. RuggedCom, a Canadian subsidiary of Siemens that sells networking equipment for use in harsh environments such as areas with extreme weather, said it was investigating Clarke's findings, but declined to elaborate. Clarke said that the discovery of the flaw is disturbing because hackers who can spy on communications of infrastructure operators could gain credentials to access computer systems that control power plants and other critical systems. According to security researcher Justin W. Clarke, Rugged OS contains the same private key used

Websense ThreatSeeker Network intercepted a malware campaign targeting BlackBerry customers. These fake emails state that the recipient has successfully created a BlackBerry ID. According to Security Labs , those users who are targeted receive an email with the subject line " Your BlackBerry ID has been created ." The email encourages users to follow instructions in the attached file on how to " enjoy the full benefits " of their ID. The malware comes attached to an email that is an exact copy of the email you receive when creating a new BlackBerry ID. It teases you by asking you to download an attachment that allows you to fully appreciate the BlackBerry user experience. Those who open the attached .zip file will drop a handful of executable files that will modify the system registry to start malware programs upon the machine's next startup.

The Windows version of Crisis , a piece of malware discovered in July, is capable of infecting VMware virtual machine images, Windows Mobile devices and removable USB drives, according to researchers from antivirus vendor Symantec.The installer was actually a Java archive (JAR) file which had been digitally signed by VeriSign. Crisis is distributed via social engineering attacks that trick users into running a malicious Java applet. The applet identifies the user's OS, Windows or Mac OS X and executes the corresponding installer. " The threat uses three methods to spread itself: one is to copy itself and an autorun.inf file to a removable disk drive, another is to sneak onto a VMware virtual machine, and the final method is to drop modules onto a Windows Mobile device ," Symantec explained in a blog post . Malware authors are putting significant efforts into making sure that new variants of their Trojan programs are not detected by antivirus products when they are released. Also

The amount of malware crafted and aimed at Android devices is ever-increasing. With Android being the most popular platform for smartphones and tablets around the world, Android users have become the low-hanging fruit when it comes to writing malware by the nefarious users. A new Android threat has affected 500,000 devices in China so far. Analysts at TrustGo Security Labs have discovered the Trojan!SMSZombie.A. It is a complex and sophisticated malware that exploits a vulnerability in the China Mobile SMS Payment System to fund unauthorised payments, steal bank card numbers and receipt information regarding money transfers. The trojan is difficult to detect, and even more difficult to remove.  SMSZombieA was first discovered on August 8, and the malware is embedded in several wallpaper apps. The wallpaper apps are noted to use provocative titles and nude images to encourage users to download. The trojan installs itself on a device after its user has downloaded and installed the app

It is now possible to hack the human brain ? YES ! This was explained researchers at the Usenix Conference on Security, held from 8 to 10 August in Washington State. Using a commercial off-the-shelf brain-computer interface, the researchers have shown that it's possible to hack your brain, forcing you to reveal information that you'd rather keep secret. In a study of 28 subjects wearing brain-machine interface devices built by companies like Neurosky and Emotiv and marketed to consumers for gaming and attention exercises, the researchers found they were able to extract hints directly from the electrical signals of the test subjects' brains that partially revealed private information like the location of their homes, faces they recognized and even their credit card PINs. Brain-computer interface or BCIs are generally used in a medical setting with very expensive equipment, but in the last few years cheaper, commercial offerings have emerged. For $200-300, you can buy an Emotive or Ne

Malware researchers have uncovered an attack targeting an organization in the energy industry that attempts to wreak havoc by permanently wiping data from an infected computer's hard drive and rendering the machine unusable. Symantec would not name the victimized firm, and so far has seen the attack only in this one organization. W32.Disttrack is a new threat that is being used in specific targeted attacks against at least one organization in the energy sector. It is a destructive malware that corrupts files on a compromised computer and overwrites the MBR (Master Boot Record) in an effort to render a computer unusable. W32.Disttrack consists of several components: Dropper—the main component and source of the original infection. It drops a number of other modules. Wiper—this module is responsible for the destructive functionality of the threat. Reporter—this module is responsible for reporting infection information back to the attacker. " Ten years ago we used to see pur

FireEye Security experts are analyzing a targeted trojan that leverages emailed PDF files to gain access to systems and deliver its payload to specified networks in the aerospace, chemical, defense and tech industries. " We have seen different versions of this malware arriving as an exe inside a zipped file or as a PDF attachment. In this particular sample, the exe once executed opens up a PDF file called "Health Insurance and Welfare Policy." In addition to opening up a PDF file, the initial exe also drops another executable called ABODE32.exe (notice the typo) in the temp directory ." The malware also uses JavaScript to assess which version of Adobe Reader is currently running on the host machine, and then executes attacks based on known vulnerabilities in the discovered version. Once the trojan has infected its host machine, it communicates with its command and control server, the user agent string and URI of which are hard-coded into MyAgent's binary. FireEye

There's a new family of malware that's using a complex set of capabilities to disable antimalware and listen in on sessions between users and some social networks. Bafruz is essentially a backdoor trojan that also is creating a peer-to-peer network of infected computers. Microsoft has announced that its Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool has recently been modified to detect two new malware families, Matsnu and Bafruz. The payload seems to start by terminating a long list of security processes listed in its code. It then displays a fake system alert that looks like that of any standard rogue AV attack. The device actually restarts in Safe Mode. Here, the malware can disable all the security products more easily, allowing it to perform its other tasks without being interrupted. " This may lead the user into believing all is well with their security product, while in the meantime, Bafruz is downloading additional components and malware onto the computer in the back

It sounds like an air traveler's nightmare, Researchers at Trusteer recently uncovered a variant of the Citadel Trojan targeting the virtual private network (VPN) credentials used by employees at a major airport.The firm would not disclose the name of the airport because the situation is being investigated by law enforcement. Many businesses use VPNs to provide outside workers with access to secure data. Incursions on these networks often involve advanced "Man in the Browser" malware such as the Citadel, Zeus, and SpyEye programs. The man-in-the-browser (MITB) assault first used form-grabbing malware, which steals data entered into web forms before it is passed over the internet, to steal the airport employees' VPN usernames and passwords, Amit Klein, Trusteer's chief technology officer, said in a blog post. "This was potentially very dangerous, but we don't know whether the attacker group was targeting the financial system of the airport for economic gain or if the attack wa

FinFisher , a software application used by law enforcement agencies for surveillance, appears to be far more widespred than originally thought.Sold by British company Gamma Internationl Gmbh, FinFisher secretly monitors computers by turning on webcams, recording everything the user types with a keylogger, and monitoring Skype calls. It can also bypass popular antivirus products, communicate covertly with remote servers, record emails, chats, and VOIP calls, and harvesting data from the hard drive.  On Wednesday, computer security company Rapid7 researcher Claudio Guarnieri shared new details of the workings of FinFisher, a piece of malware sold by UK contractor Gamma Group to government agencies. He found FinFisher servers at work in Australia, Czech Republic, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Estonia, Indonesia, Latvia, Mongolia, Qatar, and the United States. Rapid7 has published the IP addresses and communication "fingerprint" of the command and control servers it has disc

A new cyber surveillance virus has been found in the Middle East that can spy on banking transactions and steal login and passwords, according Kaspersky Lab , a leading computer security firm. After Stuxnet, Duqu, and Flame, this one seems to mainly spy on computer users in Lebanon. It's been dubbed Gauss (although Germanic-linguistic purists will no doubt be complaining that it should be written Gauß). Gauss is a complex cyber-espionage toolkit, highly modular and supports new functions which can be deployed remotely by the operators in the form of plugins. The currently known plugins perform the following functions: Intercept browser cookies and passwords. Harvest and send system configuration data to attackers. Infect USB sticks with a data stealing module. List the content of the system drives and folders Steal credentials for various banking systems in the Middle East. Hijack account information for social network, email and IM accounts. The researchers at Russia-based Ka

Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered five new samples of the ZeuS-in-the-Mobile (ZitMo) malware package, targeting Android and BlackBerry devices. Zitmo (Zeus in the mobile) is the name given to the mobile versions of Zeus, and it's been around for a couple of years already, mostly infecting Android phones. The Zitmo variant has reportedly been operating for at least two years targeting Android phones by masquerading as banking security application or security add-on. ZitMo gets hold of banking information by intercepting all text messages and passing them on to attackers' own devices. It gets onto devices inside malicious applications, which users are duped into downloading. In this case, the malicious app was posing as security software called 'Zertifikat'. Once installed, the packages forward all incoming SMS messages to one of two command and control numbers located in Sweden, with the aim of snaring secure codes and other data. Kaspersky found mobile users