Apple To Fix iPhone Security Flaw

Unauthorized users may be able to exploit a security flaw in the Apple iPhone to gain access to iPhone users’ private correspondence and contact information, even if those iPhones are locked.

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Drawing the line between privacy and security in surveillance

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Not a single day passes in Turkey these days without an official claiming that he or she is being watched or that his or her phone conversations are being monitored. Similar allegations came up during the ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a criminal network whose members are accused of having tried to manipulate the country from behind the scenes through assassinations and provocations for their ultimate purpose of overthrowing the government. The prosecutors have found evidence leading them to believe that the gang had an intricate system using state-of-the art technology to monitor phone conversations and track individuals.

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Traditional Eavesdropping

Computer surveillance is by far the primary method of monitoring employee activity. However, employers are still using traditional methods such as eavesdropping on phone calls, storing and reviewing voice mail and video-recording employees on the job, according to the American Management Association (AMA).

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Kerkorian makes rare public appearance at trial

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Christensen is accused of hiring Anthony Pellicano, the former private detective to the stars, to illegally wiretap Kerkorian’s ex-wife, former tennis pro Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, during a closely watched 2002 child support dispute with Kerkorian.

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Reformed Hacker Looks Back

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What are some of the myths about Kevin Mitnick that just aren’t true?

I never wiretapped the FBI, though I did wiretap an informant who was working with the FBI and chasing me for the bureau. Some other myths: that I hacked into the National Security Agency, that I hacked into NORAD.

And some things you did do?

Well, I compromised all the phone companies, essentially. Even when I was a kid I had the capability to disrupt the telephone systems for entire states.

I hacked into the systems of all the major software companies at the time: Digital Equipment, Sun Microsystems, IBM (nyse: IBM – news – people ), Silicon Graphics (nasdaq: SGIC – news – people ). Also most of the companies that made cellular phones at the time, like Nokia (nyse: NOK – news – people ), Motorola, Fujitsu.

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Phishing scam targets MobileMe users

An e-mail purporting to be from Apple alerting users to a billing problem is, in fact, a phishing scam that’s targeting users of Apple’s online service, Macworld has learned.

The e-mail, forwarded to Macworld by a reader, looks like an official communication from Apple regarding MobileMe, the company’s subscription service that provides users with a personal e-mail address, Web hosting, file sharing capabilities, and online data synchronization between Macs, iPhones, and other devices. The e-mail states: “We were unable to process your most recent payment. Did you recently change your bank, phone number or credit card?” Users are then invited to click on a link to enter that information—but that link opens a Web page in your browser that does not appear to be affiliated with Apple or MobileMe (the other links in the e-mail do point to pages on Apple’s official Web site).

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Researcher reveals critical Java bugs in Nokia phones

August 11, 2008 (Computerworld) A pair of critical vulnerabilities in Sun Microsystems Inc.‘s Java technology for mobile devices could be used by hackers to surreptitiously make calls, record conversations and access information on Nokia Series 40 cell phones, a Polish researcher said today.

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A era da grampolândia (Portuguese)

O assunto ganhou uma dimensão estarrecedora nas declarações de dois ministros. Tarso Genro, da Justiça: “Temos que nos acostumar ao seguinte: falar ao telefone com a presunção de que alguém está escutando”. José Múcio Monteiro, das Relações Institucionais: “Meu celular virou uma rádio comunitária”, e acrescentou: “Mas é só ser responsável e não dizer coisas que gerem dupla interpretação.” (Ricardo Noblat, O Globo, 28/7/2008, pág. 2). E Noblat: “O maior perigo não está no grampo – e sim, no tradutor dele”.

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De olho em nós (Portuguese)

Nos últimos anos o Brasil vem demonstrando uma excessiva tolerância diante das violações à liberdade e à privacidade das pessoas em no-me do combate à corrupção. A espionagem clandestina, uma praga histórica no país, está deixando de ser uma atividade de bandidos para transformar-se em rotina institucional que não poupa ninguém – nem o presidente da República. Há um ano, uma reportagem de VEJA revelou a atmosfera de preocupação que envolvia os ministros do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) – alguns deles convictos de que eram alvo de escutas ilegais patrocinadas pela polícia com o propósito de intimidação. Partindo de onde partiu, a simples suspeita, por si só, já seria de uma monumental gravidade. Agora, descobre-se que as desconfianças não eram produto de paranóia. O gabinete do presidente do STF, Gilmar Mendes, foi alvo de um monitoramento criminoso. Um documento reservado obtido com exclusividade por VEJA mostra que espiões, instalados do lado de fora do tribunal, usaram equipamentos para tentar interceptar as conversas do ministro e de seus assessores dentro da mais alta corte de Justiça do país. Que tenham tentado já é um evento sem precedentes e de conseqüências funestas se não for esclarecido – e contido. Caso tenham conseguido realmente ouvir as conversas dos ministros, está-se diante de um grave e inaceitável ataque à democracia.

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Pack Encryption If Traveling Overseas

BY DONNA HOWELL

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY

Posted 8/4/2008

Running risk could be a big event at the Beijing Olympics.

Visitors going to China could easily have their data stolen, copied during a customs check or spirited away by cyberspies, security researchers warn. And fans back home need to beware of bogus Olympics Web sites and offers.

China has been a hotbed for online attacks. The arrival of the Olympics on Friday, with an expected 500,000 foreign visitors, provides a particularly rich target environment. But international travelers in general face increasing — sometimes surprising — dangers to data safety elsewhere too, tech industry figures say.

“Before they go, they’ve got to ask whether they need as much electronics as they usually carry with them,” said Phil Dunkelberger, chief executive of encryption firm PGP Corp. “Most companies today are stripping down traveling computers to a bare minimum. And a cell phone — do I need one, or can I pick one up over there? Maybe you just need a single-use cell phone.”

Dunkelberger says a friend recently went to China and powered up a new Palm (PALM) Treo smart phone that was soon badly infected.

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