Information Security Management - News You Can Use

Greetings!

Today I was reading an article on computerworld.com that talked about an online "crowdsourcing game" that helps diagnose infectious diseases such as malaria.

This game is designed to let players help doctors all over the world speed the process of distinguishing malaria-infected red blood cells from healthy ones. Researchers are hoping that the users of this game can help areas like sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria accounts for 20% of all childhood deaths. This disease, however, affects 210 million people annually worldwide, and accounts for almost 40% of all hospitalizations throughout Africa.

(Photo Courtesy of Computerworld)

The "crowdsourcing game" (shown above) is free to play, and works off of the assumption that large groups of non-experts can be trained to recognize microscopic images of infectious disease cells with the accuracy of trained pathologists.  The game was created by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the Applied Science and David Geffen School of Medicine, and can be played on any computer device ranging from cell phones to personal computers, and can be played anywhere around the world.

Computerworld reported that "the idea of this game is to use crowds to collectively get a better pathologic analysis of microscopic images, which could be applicable to various telemedicine solutions." Before playing the game, each player is given a brief online tutorial and an explanation of what malaria-infected red blood cells typically look like using sample images (shown below). Then the player goes through the game and is shown multiple digital frames of red blood cell images. The player can use a tool that looks like a syringe that will kill the infected cells one-by-one and use another tool that collects the remaining cells that are healthy in the frame.

(Photo Courtesy of Computerworld)

Typically, malaria is diagnosed by a trained pathologist through a conventional light microscope, and this time-consuming process can overwhelm researchers. The new "crowdsourcing game" is a platform that could be adapted for a variety of other biomedical and environmental tasks.

How impressive!

Until next time...

Bye for now,

Laurie

Information Security Management - News You Can Use

The Newest Technology Trend for the Ladies... the iPhone-carrying Bra!

(photo credit: Joeybra)

I was reading an article today about  this new bra that can carry an iPhone, which was named the JoeyBra, as in baby kangaroo because it has pouches, and created by two entrepreneurial business students at the University of Washington who saw potential growth in the pocketed bra market, as reported in the news. Here is how they described this product on their website http://www.joeybra.com:

JoeyBra was created for women who are constantly on the go and struggle to find a place to put they ID, keys, or phones. From the two female student's own personal experience, they know that women hate taking their purses to dances, bars, or dance clubs. Leaving these items at home can pose a safety risk, but with JoeyBra women will never have to worry losing or damaging their valuables again.

The college juniors claim that the bra with pockets can hold an iPhone, along with an ID, credit cards, and even keys, regardless of your bust size. How great is that!

What's next-- jockey shorts with a pocket for the guys?

Until next time...

Bye for now,

Laurie

Information Security Management - News You Can Use

Watch out for the FBI!

I was just reading today that the World Wide Web could vanish for a lot of people this July, according to the FBI. If your computer is infected with the DNSChanger virus, you better take care of it; otherwise you may lose your internet connection if you don't take the necessary steps to diagnose and disinfect your computer.

This problem is related to malware and it is called DNSChanger. It was discovered back in 2007 and it has infected millions of computers worldwide. In simple terms, when you type a Web address into your browser, your computer contacts DNS (Domain Name System) servers to find out the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address of the site you are trying to reach, and then takes you there. DNSChanger messed with an infected machine's settings and directed it to rogue servers set up by a crime ring-- servers that handed out addresses to whatever sites the ring chose. These crooks were international cyberbandits that hijacked millions of computers.

Late last year, the FBI disrupted this operation and seized the rogue servers. However, since so many infected computers relied on those servers to reach the Internet, the agent opted not to shut them down and instead convert them to legitimate DNS machines. Running these machines costs the government money; therefore, they are being switched off in July. If your computer is infected with DNSChanger, then you will loose your access the the Web.

To learn more about DNSChanger and to find out if your computer is infected, you can visit the FBI's website at http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/20ll/november/malware_110911.

Also, always remember to install anti-virus software on your computer as a safety precaution.

Until next time...

Bye for now,

Laurie

Information Security Management - News You Can Use

You may want to change that password... a pet's name, the month,  or a favorite movie just isn't enough!

I was just reading an article in ITworld Today that weak passwords are still the downfall of enterprise security. You may have read about a recent data breach that exposed Social Security numbers fo more than 255,000 people in Utah-- an incident that was a result of weak and default passwords. The breach, involved a Medicaid server at the Utah Department of Health, and resulted from a configuration errror at the authentication layer of the server hosting the compromised data, according to state IT officials.

Many security analysts believe that the breached server was using a default administrative password or an easily guessable one, and attackers took advantage of the error and were able to bypass the perimeter-netowork-application-level security controls that IT administrators had put in place to protect the data on the server.

These mistakes are surprisingly common and could easily be avoided by putting in passwords that are not easy to figure out.

Verizon released a report last month that showed that attacks exploiting weak passwords are still endemic in the retail and hospitality industries. Attackers can still go to a vendor's site, get a client list and click on those clients that have a default or guessable username-password combination. It was also reported by Verizon that "these are relatively easy attacks that require little in-depth knowledge or creativity."

People who use the same password for multiple accounts is also a huge issue. So... next time you are adding or changing a password...you may want to think twice about the password that you choose.

Until next time...

Bye for now,

Laurie

Information Security Management - News You Can Use

What is this world coming to?  Is it full of double standards?

I just read in the news this week, as reported by the Chinese state-run news agency, Xinhua, that a 17-year-old boy in China received 22,000 yuan (nearly $3,500) for his kidney so he could buy a new Apple iPhone and iPad. Five people were charged for taking the teen's kidney, in return for offering him cash so that he could buy these products.

The 17-year-old boy now suffers from renal deficiency. That is the price he paid for wanting the latest and greatest of today's technology products. The boy was from one of the poorest areas of China, Anhui, the city that actually makes the iPhone and iPad. However, most of the residents in this city cannot afford to purchase either of these high technology products.

This alleged crime was discovered after the boy's mother found him using these Apple products, and he admitted to selling his kidney to purchase them.

What does this all mean?  It means that the poor people are exposed to these high technology products and work very hard to keep up with the production demand; however, they can't even afford to buy these hard earned products because they have no money. Is this a double standard or what?

Until next time...

Bye for now,

Laurie

Voting on the Internet -- Is it Safe?

With the November presidential election coming up, there is a lot of controversy over whether voting on the Internet is safe. The main issue is the cyberattacks. I read an article in CNET News that 33 states now permit some form of Internet ballot casting. However, a senior cybersecurity adviser at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned today that online voting programs will make the country's election process vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The 33 states that allow completed ballots to  be sent via the Web, is typically through e-mail and e-fax. The people that mainly vote  using this cyber-feature are people in the military and those living overseas. The debate about whether to go forward with online voting has become a huge issue now that the 2012 election season is here.

Some computer security experts say that Internet ballot casting is years away, while others push for online voting so that all Unites States citizens  are able to choose a candidate no matter where they are in the world.

One common concern is that the individual ballots would be tampered with if online voting is completely opened up.

This focus on Internet voting comes at a time when the U.S. government is increasingly trying to strengthen  its cybersecurity, so there is a lot of controversy.

What are your thoughts-- do you think that Internet Ballot Casting should be allowed?

Until next time...

Bye for now,

Laurie

Information Security Management - News You Can Use

Did you ever regret posting things about yourself on Facebook that you realized may come back to haunt you?

Yesterday I found an article and it was a message from Facebook saying "Don't reveal your password to snooping employers." I always thought that employers had the right to look up any personal information on their employees, including Facebook and most social networking sites. Facebook advises their account users to "just say no" if an employer ever requests access to an employee's Facebook account.

As a result of this statement made by Facebook, there were  growing number of complaints from employers. To make their position very clear, Facebook published a post yesterday, entitled "Protecting Your Passwords and Your Privacy," communicating that they undermine both the security and the privacy of their user's and their user's friends. Facebook mentions that employers could face legal issues as a result of their "snooping." That is why Facebook has certain guidelines that protects user's private information and communications.

Erin Egan, Chief Privacy Officer of Policy for Facebook continued to address this issue and referenced Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to remind user's that they are protected by Facebook under the Right of Privacy Act.

What's your opinion? Do you think employers have a right to snoop? Do they have a right to ask for your password to access your account? Has social networking gotten out of hand?

Until next time...

Bye for now,

Laurie