“The Obama administration is proposing to scale back a long-standing ban on tracking how people use government Internet sites with “cookies” and other technologies, raising alarms among privacy groups.”
It’s the cyberspace equivalent of a private detective from a major retailer such as Sears or Walmart getting in a car and following you around for the rest of your life after you leave their store, watching and recording your every move by car, transit, bike or foot. Where you go, who you see, what you do, where and how you spend your money, what you buy.
A video discussing how tracking cookies work and what they mean for your Web privacy. From the Symantec Security Response blog:
Unveillance, a data leak intelligence firm, has been studying this botnet for several months and reports that there are affected individuals and corporations in at least 172 countries, including the United States, Russia, Brazil, China, Great Britain, India and Iran. The malicious software (malware) at the heart of this investigation is the Butterfly Bot Kit, also known as Palevo, Pilleuz or Rimecud. This is the same software that was used to infect the millions of computers in the Mariposa botnet. Based on intelligence gathered from its network of global sensors, Unveillance estimates that this botnet is larger than Mariposa.
What Makes It “Indestructible?”
Golovanov and Soumenkov summarize this nicely: “The malware writers extended the program functionality, changed the algorithm used to encrypt the communication protocol between bots and the botnet command and control servers, and attempted to ensure they had access to infected computers even in cases where the botnet control centers are shut down. The owners of TDL are essentially trying to create an ‘indestructible’ botnet that is protected against attacks, competitors, and antivirus companies.”
First things first: location, location, location. Once inside, TDL-4 takes up residence in the master boot record (MBR), which means it can run before the computer is actually booted up. The MBR is also rarely combed over by a standard anti-virus scanner, giving TDL added invisibility.
Then, TDL-4 does something else quite clever: it runs its own anti-virus program. The software contains code to remove around 20 of the most common malicious programs, wiping an infected machine clean of everyday malware that might draw a user’s attention or cause an administrator to take a closer look. It can then download whatever malicious software it wants to in the place of the deleted programs. This version of TDL-4 also has added modules, like one that “fraudulently manipulates advertising systems and search engines” and another that establishes proxy servers on infected machines, which can be used to facilitate and hide other malicious cyber actions.
But critical to TDL-4’s indestructibility is the way it communicates between bots. There are a few things at play here. First, and perhaps most central, is a clever algorithm that encrypts the communication protocol between bots and the botnet command. This makes it virtually pointless to monitor traffic between the command server and infected machines.
“States have an inherent right to self-defense that may be triggered by certain aggressive acts in cyberspace,” says the policy. Indeed, such aggressive acts might compel a country like the US to act even when the hacking is targeted at an allied country.”
Pentagon takes cyber-attacks as “acts of war” – PressTV
CBS 60 Minutes: Cyber War: Sabotaging the System 1/2
CBS 60 Minutes: Cyber War: Sabotaging the System 2/2
Cybersecurity matters to all of us – and it’s our shared responsibility to mitigate the threats in this space. You can take cybersecurity into your own hands with these tips for protecting yourself online:
Keep your security software and operating system up-to-date. At a minimum, your computer should have current anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a firewall to protect yourself from hackers and malicious software that can steal sensitive personal information. Hackers also take advantage of Web browsers and operating system software that do not have the latest security updates. Operating system companies issue security patches for flaws that they find in their systems, so it is important to set your operating system and web browser software to download and install security patches automatically.
Protect your personal information online. Millions of people become victims of identity theft each year. One way that cyber criminals convince computer users to divulge their confidential personal information is through fake “phishing” emails, which are often cleverly disguised to look like authentic emails. Be wary of clicking on links in emails that are unfamiliar and be very cautious about providing personal information online, such as your password, financial information, or social security number.
Know who you are dealing with. It is remarkably simple for online scammers to impersonate a legitimate business, so you need to know who you are dealing with. If you are thinking about shopping on an unfamiliar website, do some independent research before you buy. Similarly, before you download software, be sure that the software developer is trustworthy. Cyber criminals will often embed the capability to steal passwords and files into free software.
Learn what to do if something goes wrong. If your computer gets hacked, the effects may be obvious (e.g., deleted or corrupted files), or they may be subtle (e.g., slow computing performance). As a first step, you should scan your computer with updated anti-virus software. You may wish to get professional assistance through your computer’s manufacturer, computer retail store, or local computer technician. You can also alert the appropriate authorities by contacting your Internet Service Provider or the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can assist if you are subject to identity theft. You can also forward spam or phishing emails to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.
Who’s mission is to organize the web in a radically new and useful way tracking the world’s 24×7 media flows reporting of what’s transpired and projecting out what’s expected to come. Google Teams Up With CIA to Fund “Recorded Future” Who’s Primary Objective is in Monitoring Public, Blogs, News Outlets, Social Media, and Much More…
“U.S. spy agencies… have invested in a number of firms to help them better find that information. Visible Technologies crawls over half a million web 2.0 sites a day, scraping more than a million posts and conversations taking place on blogs, YouTube, Twitter and Amazon.” Read More>>>>
