Security Webinar – McAfee: Exploiting the Cloud and Virtual Machines

McAfee is hosting an interesting looking webinar tomorrow at 2pm EST.

Hacking Exposed Live — Exploiting the Cloud and Virtual Machines

Subject (From host’s site):

During this live webcast, you’ll see exactly how hackers are exploiting cloud computing and virtual machines to harm businesses. We’ll demonstrate the use of commonly available tools they use and how they use them. We’ll reproduce real-world hacks using the same approaches that the hackers used and demonstrate what you can do to prevent them from being used against you.

From the e-mail notification, McAfee will be showing one of the latest hacking techniques used to attack the cloud and VM’s.

Check it out!

Backtrack 5 Released!

Sorry all, I have been out of town for a bit, and in the meantime Backtrack 5 has been released!

Downloading now, check it out!

Zeus Botnet Source Code Leaked to Internet

The source code for one of the worst botnets has been leaked to the internet according to eWeek. Zues or ZBot as it is also called is a trojan virus that steals banking credentials.

Formerly the botnet was for sale on the underground for about $5,000. But according to the article, the source code is now available freely:

The complete source code for the Zeus malware kit is being freely distributed as a ZIP file on several underground forums, Peter Kruse, a security researcher with Danish security firm CSIS, wrote on the company blog on May 9. Kruse downloaded the ZIP file, compiled the code and confirmed it worked “like a charm.”

Not only can the source code be compiled and ran by just about anybody, specific parts of the virus could be copied out and used in a completely different malware program.

For more information, see eWeek.

Bin Laden Raid and the May 15th Facebook Intifada

The data recovered from Bin Laden’s hideout has yielded a sizable amount of data to be analyzed. And being analyzed it is, according to Govenment Computer News, an alphabet soup list of government agencies is combing through the data:

Teams from 10 agencies are combining to sift through the sizable stash of data recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound, as intelligence experts look to get a handle on the former al-Qaeda leader and learn mnore about the group’s plans, according to a top Defense Department official.

According to the article, this is the largest collection of intel ever collected from a senior level terrorist:

“This collection represents the most significant amount of intelligence ever collected from a senior terrorist. It includes digital, audio and video files of varying sizes, printed materials, computer equipment, recording devices and handwritten documents.”

As the news about Bin Laden was celebrated throughout the world, many supporters vowed revenge. But could the raid and death of Bin Laden affect May 15th?

If you haven’t heard, numerous reports have gone out about the 3rd Third Palestinian Intifada (dubbed the “FaceBook Intifada” for its origin on FaceBook) to reportedly begin on May 15th:

Dr. Zakaria al-Agha, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said Monday that a joint Fatah-Hamas committee for marking “the 63rd Nakba Day” had been formed, and that negotiations were under way with “all of the nationalist and Islamic forces” in order to carry out a joint, central action on the day. The plans reportedly include mass marches toward Israel from all of the countries surrounding it, by Arabs and foreign sympathizers.

Also, an approximately 15 ship flotilla will be arriving from Turkey to the Gaza strip about the same time. According to Reuters:

The Free Gaza Movement, a pro-Palestinian activist umbrella group, has said that a flotilla expected in late May would comprise 15 ships with international passengers including Europeans and Americans.

Both physical protests are geared against Israel, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility that radical hacker groups may also step up online hacktivism attacks at the same time. Most likely just denial of service attacks and simple web defacements.

And with the cries for revenge coming out of radical groups for the death of Bin Laden, hacktivism attacks could possibly target American targets as well.

What is the significance of May 15th? Israel’s Independence Day.