Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Security

Submission + - Bioware / EA Hacked (cnn.com) 1

ShadowFoxx writes: I recently received an e-mail from EA saying my PII was stolen from one of their "10 year old " Servers. The contents of the mail was:

We recently learned that hackers gained unauthorized access to the decade-old BioWare server system supporting the Neverwinter Nights forums. We immediately took appropriate steps to protect our consumers’ data and launched a thorough ongoing evaluation of the breach. We have determined that no credit card data was compromised from the servers, nor did we ever have or store sensitive data like social security numbers. Our investigation shows that information such as user names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, mailing addresses, names, phone numbers, CD keys and birth dates from these forum accounts on the system may have been compromised, as well as other information (if any) that you may have associated with your EA Account. In an abundance of caution, we have changed your password to ensure account security.

We take the security of your information very seriously and regret any inconvenience this may have caused you. If your username, email address and/or password on your EA account are similar to those you use on other sites, we recommend changing the password at those sites as well. We advise all of our fans to always be aware of any suspicious emails or account activity and report any suspicious emails and account activity to Customer Support at 1-877-357-6007

More info on CNN

Submission + - EVE Online Customers demonstrate in central hub (justin.tv) 4

An anonymous reader writes: After the leaked internal newsletter of company CCP that postulated that there are plans to sell ingame items for real money customers are demonstrating in the game.
China

Submission + - 'Glorious Mission,' Chinese Video Game Targets U.S (wired.com)

ShadowFoxx writes: Its graphics are on par with Call of Duty, but Glorious Mission has a whole different perspective than what even the most experienced gamer might be used to.

It targets U.S. troops.

That's right, developed by China’s Giant Network Technology Co. and backed by the People's Liberation Army (P.L.A.) this first-person shooter paints U.S. soldiers as the enemy, according to WIred.

Media

Submission + - Netflix signed Deal with Mirimax (macdailynews.com)

ShadowFoxx writes: Netflix, Inc. and Miramax on Monday announced a multi-year agreement under which Netflix members in the U.S. will be able to instantly watch motion pictures from the Miramax film library. It is the first time Miramax titles have become available through a digital subscription service.

Beginning in June, Netflix members in the U.S. will be able to instantly watch several hundred Miramax movies, with dozens of titles being added on a rotating basis. The movies can be watched on multiple platforms, including TV, tablet, computer and mobile phones. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Intel

Submission + - Microsoft Making Multiple Versions of Win8 (bloomberg.com)

ShadowFoxx writes: Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) will make multiple versions of its next Windows operating system, with four that work on ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) technology, according to an Intel Corp. (INTC) executive.

The version designed for Intel chips will run older Windows programs, Renee James, head of Intel’s software business, said today in a presentation at the company’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters. The ARM versions won’t run older programs, she said. They will be tailored to mobile devices and tablet computers and there will also be a version for Intel chips to address that market.

Comment Poor Article (Score 1) 172

This was such a poorly written article I don't know where to begin. The sources are not properly quoted. The grammar and spelling is worse than my own ( which is amazing)... I don't think I can trust the journalistic integrity of the source article due to it's own neglegence.

Comment Google Cloud Computing (Score 1) 645

Pro: It seems google is setting its self up to potentially take a huge portion of the bussiness computing market. If this model is successful companies would not need as robust of an IT department and it drives hardware budget expenditures WAY down for enterprise solutions. Microsoft could be in trouble unless there are some "drastic" changes with windows 8 ( they assure us there are... namely supposely it can run on ARM archetecture which means it may be even more lightweight than chrome as it could even potentially run on your cellular device).
Con: Information Assurance and security. The ability for a company to manage thier own information and security is huge. There hasn't been a great proof of concept to show that google can do so more safely, or ensure that they themselves would not fall prey to attacks, or thier own users mishandling information. Also depending on the permission model (MAC[Mandatory Access Controls] /DAC[Discretionary/ etc...) it could be problematic handling shared resources depending on the overhead needed. If RSA can be hacked and PII stolen, Google can easily be. And a company with PII on thier information structure could find themselves with a lawsuit.

Comment Re:Of course you should... (Score 1) 396

To caviet... let me ask you if you think RSA ( the major cyber security company) runs all windows on thier servers? Yet they got pwned. They were socialy enginered... then the user installed a root kit on the system which allowed access to their servers... root kit = malware. Now thier NIDS ( network based intrusion detection) caught what was happening when it was in progress... but by the time they were able to respond the damage had been done and a lot of information access and ripped. Many of you are forgetting there are many forms of AV out there. You are all talking about signature based which relies on after 0 day signatures of known virii. These ARE helpful... but yes its after it's on your system. There are other types of AV , heuristics/behavior/anomily/signature based systems. AV doesn't hurt you unless your allowing it to take up to many resources which a good sys admin or user shouldn't allow to happen. If I'm running a Unix / Lunix / OS X / Windows server farm for a company I should definately do what I can to protect it. Network based intrusion detection systems, Host based ( NIDS HIDS) firewalls, DMZ's for incomming traffic ( demiliterized zones) Honeypots ( places set up to lure hackers so you can watch thier activity) you think all these concepts were developed for "windows only machines" ?

Comment Re:Last Resort (Score 1) 396

So your saying because it's less targeted, I shouldn't use it? That's like saying because I have a lower sperm cell count I don't have to use condems. By your reasoning I shouldn't have to use NIDS HIDS either if I'm running off of a linux server... oh wait most things run on the net off of a unix based system( I'm lumping OSX and Linux together as they are a branch off of unix). But you won't find 1 company that has ANY IT security NOT running these things. Your internet servers... not running windows... still using security... and thier security people would be fired if they weren't as they should be. Yes, less targeted because lower home user market share... but still targeted and thus still require protection for a smart user. Think of it like this. Soft targets are the targets that get hit. If you don't protect yourself... you stand a higher risk of being exploited. OSX, Linux, Unix, Windows all need 3rd party detection, signature, hueristics, anomoly/behavior based... it's all needed. I know YOUR specifically talking signature based but there are many forms of AV out there ( I just pointed them out). Sorry I'm a security guy by proffession and I think you as a user should be informed.

Comment Of course you should... (Score 1, Interesting) 396

As a system admin and Information Assurance officer I myself run windows, linux ( virtualized) , and OS X. I use 3rd party malware detection on all 3 systems that are signature based. They are very much needed. It's silly for average users to think that just because they are running OSX which is a less targeted operating system that they aren't targeted. In fact... safari the OSX default browser ( which I like just because it's GUI is intutive to me) is probably the least secure of all the major web browsers ( if you look at the stats at each pwn to own competetion it gets busted the fastest). There are known OSX exploits and many of the same things apply. Man in the middle attacks, SQL injections, sneak ack attacks, all forms of malware... still apply. Just because you are using a specific operating system don't get lulled into a false sense of security.
Desktops (Apple)

Submission + - Valve Switching to Skype Voice Codec for Steam (maclife.com)

ShadowFoxx writes: According to a press release sent to us by Valve, the company will be switching to the SILK voice codec for providing in-game chat and communication options to its customers. In keeping with its recent attitude towards the Mac gaming community, the upgraded service will be offered to Mac and PC gamers alike.

Slashdot Top Deals

Scientists will study your brain to learn more about your distant cousin, Man.

Working...