Biometric data becomes the encryption key in Fujitsu system

Fujitsu says it has developed software that uses biometric data directly as the basis for encryption and decryption of data, simplifying and strengthening security systems that rely on biometrics such as fingerprints, retina scans and palm vein scans.Current security systems that rely on encryption require the management of encryption keys, which are stored on secure smartcards or directly on PCs. Biometric scans can be used as a way of authenticating the user and providing access to those encryption keys in order to decrypt data.Fujitsu's system uses elements extracted from the biometric scan itself as a part of a procedure to encrypt the data, making the biometric scan an integral part of the encryption system and removing the need for encryption keys.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Trust and Change

People want to be able to engage, comment and opt out but frequently can’t. Life is not “Field of Dreams” – just because we can build it, doesn’t mean people want it. If a customer can’t see the link between a new innovated product and their problem then the brand has a problem too. Innovation doesn’t start and stop with the “what is the new product?” but instead needs the foundational support of “how” and “why” too. Trust is an essential ingredient to innovation. -via technobabble

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Sony BMG Rootkit Scandal: 10 Years Later

Ben Edelman/Wikipedia A warning pops up on computer screen about Sony BMG rootkit on music CD Hackers really have had their way with Sony over the past year, taking down its Playstation Network last Christmas Day and creating an international incident by exposing confidential data from Sony Pictures Entertainment in response to The Interview comedy about a planned assassination on North Korea’s leader. Some say all this is karmic payback for what’s become known as a seminal moment in malware history: Sony BMG sneaking rootkits into music CDs 10 years ago in the name of digital rights management.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A short history of Sony hacks

Target on its backThe giant Japanese electronics company dazzled us with its Walkman and Discman in the late 70s/early 80s, as well as with its TVs, cameras and game consoles over the years. But things took a bad turn in 2005…(SEE ALSO: Sony BMG Rootkit Scandal: 10 Years Later)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Walmart exec predicts holiday shopping season ‘anarchy’ due to chip credit cards

Just what we don’t need…‘anarchy’ during the holiday shopping season. But a top payment executive at Walmart claimed that is what could happen due to the timing of forcing merchants to have chip-an-pin credit card payment terminals.U.S. banks replaced hundreds of millions of credit and debit cards that rely on magnetic strips, which store data, with new cards that contain a small gold EMV microchip; the new cards are hyped as being much more secure, even though the cards have been hacked through man-in-the-middle attacks. French scientists also discovered how criminals altered stolen credit cards that were supposed to be protected by a security chip and a PIN code the crooks didn’t know.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

US copyright law exemption allows good-faith car, medical device hacking

The U.S. Copyright Office has given security researchers reason to hope that they'll be able to search for flaws in car systems and medical devices without the threat of legal action.On Tuesday, the Librarian of Congress, who makes final rulings on exemptions to copyright rules, granted several exceptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits the circumvention of the technological methods that are used to protect copyright works. The U.S. Copyright Office is a department of the Library of Congress.The exemptions allow for "good-faith security research" to be performed on computer programs that run on lawfully acquired cars, tractors and other motorized land vehicles; medical devices designed to be implanted in patients and their accompanying personal monitoring systems and other devices that are designed to be used by consumers, including voting machines.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

US says it’s ok to hack cars and medical devices (sometimes)

The U.S. Copyright Office has given security researchers reason to hope that they'll be able to search for flaws in car systems and medical devices without the threat of legal action. On Tuesday, the Librarian of Congress, who makes final rulings on exemptions to copyright rules, granted several exceptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits the circumvention of the technological methods that are used to protect copyright works. The U.S. Copyright Office is a department of the Library of Congress. The exemptions allow for "good-faith security research" to be performed on computer programs that run on lawfully acquired cars, tractors and other motorized land vehicles; medical devices designed to be implanted in patients and their accompanying personal monitoring systems and other devices that are designed to be used by consumers, including voting machines.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Five Lessons from Ten Years of IT Failures

IEEE Spectrum has a wonderful article series on Lessons From a Decade of IT Failures. It’s not your typical series in that there are very cool interactive graphs and charts based on data collected from past project failures. They are really fun to play with and I can only imagine how much work it took to put them together.

The overall takeaway of the series is:

Even given the limitations of the data, the lessons we draw from them indicate that IT project failures and operational issues are occurring more regularly and with bigger consequences. This isn’t surprising as IT in all its various forms now permeates every aspect of global society. It is easy to forget that Facebook launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Apple’s iPhone in 2007, or that there has been three new versions of Microsoft Windows released since 2005. IT systems are definitely getting more complex and larger (in terms of data captured, stored and manipulated), which means not only are they increasing difficult and costly to develop, but they’re also harder to maintain.

Here are the specific lessons:

First look: Microsoft Azure Active Directory Domain Services puts it all in the cloud

On Oct. 14, Microsoft announced the preview release of Azure Active Directory Domain Services or, as I like to call it, a domain in a cloud.Next up, you will need to either create a new virtual network or select an existing virtual network. This network has to be in the U.S. or Asia Azure regions. (These are the only geographic locales that the preview supports; of course, this feature will likely be available globally when the code comes out of the preview phase).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

6 tips for your security awareness training

Keep a sharp eye out forImage by ThinkstockSecurity experts remind us that awareness is an ongoing effort. Here are some best practices for keeping your organization educated and aware year-round.Get the C-Suite involvedImage by ThinkstockTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Split between EU privacy watchdogs on Safe Harbor worries business lobby

German data protection authorities' decision to break ranks with their counterparts in other European Union countries and block alternatives to Safe Harbor has business lobbyists worried.The striking down of the Safe Harbor data sharing agreement by the European Union's highest court on Oct. 6 left a legal vacuum that European Commission officials immediately sought to fill with a reminder of the legal alternatives available and promises of coordinated action by national privacy regulators, who responded with their own reassurances on Oct. 16.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

InteliSecure building a high-end security-services boutique

Data-loss-prevention provider InteliSecure is taking in new money, new employees and an entire U.K. security company in an effort to establish itself as a high-end security boutique.The company has raised $22 million in equity financing and a $6 million debt financing in order to buy Pentura – a U.K. managed security service provider – as well as expand its operations globally and hire additional hard-to-find security personnel. CEO Rob Eggebrecht Its premiere service, protecting data by identifying the most critical assets, configuring the infrastructure to enforce security policies and managing it, is highly customized, says CEO Rob Eggebrecht.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

CISA legislation would lift liability for businesses sharing cyber threat information

A bill that encourages businesses to share threat intelligence with each other and the government is closer to becoming a law than it has been for years now that it offers businesses near immunity from liability if the data they share is stolen and causes harm, but such sharing is still fraught with problems. Nathan Taylor The proposed Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) proposal doesn’t force anyone to participate in sharing, but it creates incentives for businesses to do so willingly, says Nathan Taylor, a partner in the law firm Morrison & Foerster, who is following the bill as it wends its way through Congress.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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