The first professional Trojan malware targets the Macintosh OSX

Common knowledge and wisdom says that the Mac is much more secure than the Windows operating systems. Many pundits have stated that there has never been a major virus outbreak on the Macintosh. The reality is that no software and no operating system is truly secure. As the number of Macs increases, eventually the Mac will become a target. Hang on my Mac friends – this will be a wild ride for you too.

 

As one of my favorite authors William Gibson states: “The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet.”

 

-DT

 

November 01, 2007 (Computerworld) -- A Trojan horse targeting Macs -- among the rarest of security events -- has been spotted on numerous pornographic Web sites, researchers said Wednesday.

First reported by Mac security software maker Intego of Austin, Tex. and later confirmed by Sunbelt Software, McAfee Inc., and the SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center, "OSX.RSPlug.a" changes the Mac's DNS (Domain Name System) settings to redirect users to alternate or spoofed sites.

"The whole Trojan is relatively simple and works almost exactly the same as its brother for Windows," said Bojan Zdrnja, an analyst at Internet Storm Center (ISC) in a warning posted early Thursday. The DNSChanger exploit is well-known to Windows Trojan watchers.

"The bad guys are taking Mac seriously now," Zdrnja added. "This is a professional attempt at attacking Mac systems, and they could have been much more damaging."

 

Link for full article: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9044998

 

 

FBI says Al Qaeda May Strike U.S. Shopping Malls in LA, Chicago

Those pesky buggers are up to it again. This time the FBI reports in a recently declassified warning that AQ may strike US Shopping malls over the holidays. ABC News broke the story. Sure hope this report is not accurate.

 

-DT

Exclusive: FBI: Al Qaeda May Strike U.S. Shopping Malls in LA, Chicago

 

The FBI is warning that al Qaeda may be preparing a series of holiday attacks on U.S. shopping malls in Los Angeles and Chicago, according to an intelligence report distributed to law enforcement authorities across the country this morning.

The alert said al Qaeda "hoped to disrupt the U.S. economy and has been planning the attack for the past two years."

Law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com that the FBI received the information in late September and declassified it yesterday for wide distribution. 

The alert, like similar FBI and Department of Homeland Security terror alerts issued over the past five years at holiday times, raised questions about the credibility of the information.

Link to ABC News Story: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/11/exclusive-fbi-a.html

 

 

 

 

Suitcases Unlikely To Exist

Bad kitty! How many times to I have to tell you not to eat the uranium? This is an interesting article about how to deny the existence of something that doesn’t exist.

 

-DT

 

Nov 12, 2007 WASHINGTON --Members of Congress have warned about the dangers of suitcase nuclear weapons. Hollywood has made television shows and movies about them. Even the Federal Emergency Management Agency has alerted Americans to a threat -- information the White House includes on its Web site.

 

But government experts and intelligence officials say such a threat gets vastly more attention than it deserves. These officials said a true suitcase nuke would be highly complex to produce, require significant upkeep and cost a small fortune.

 

Counterproliferation authorities do not completely rule out the possibility that these portable devices once existed. But they do not think the threat remains.

 

"The suitcase nuke is an exciting topic that really lends itself to movies," said Vahid Majidi, the assistant director of the FBI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. "No one has been able to truly identify the existence of these devices."

 

Majidi and other government officials say the real threat is from a terrorist who does not care about the size of his nuclear detonation and is willing to improvise, using a less deadly and sophisticated device assembled from stolen or black-market nuclear material.

 

[…] The Homeland Security Department is planning to spend more than $1 billion on radiation detectors at ports of entry. But government auditors found that the devices cannot distinguish between benign radiation sources, such as kitty litter, and potentially dangerous ones, including highly enriched uranium.

 

 

Link to the story in the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/11/12/suitcase_nuclear_bomb_unlikely_to_exist/

 

 

 

Bomb Parts Get Through Security

Saw this today on Reuters News.

 

-DT

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Undercover government investigators were able to pass through U.S. airport security carrying liquids and other materials that could be used to make explosive devices, exposing vulnerabilities in the screening process, said a congressional report released on Wednesday.

 

The tests "clearly demonstrated that a terrorist using these devices could cause severe damage to an airplane and threaten the safety of passengers," said the report by the General Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

 

Investigators found instructions on the Internet for creating the devices and purchased the components over the Internet and from a local store for less than $150, the report said.

 

Full Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1424604120071115

 

 

[TAG:THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM]

On This Day in 1972

 

On Nov. 14, 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 1,000 for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16.  Today it is trading at 13,329.61.

 

-DT

 

It's Comtastic!!!

Here is an actual conversation I had with Comcast earlier today via their "chat" feature. We are doing a house remodel, and need to quickly move the comcast box mounted on the outside of the house so the electrical systems can be upgraded.

Live Chat

Problem: Having electrical work done on my house. Need to move my outside cable box 3 inches to the right. Needs to be done before FRIDAY

user doug_ has entered room
Doug (Wed Nov 14 10:51:10 CST 2007)
>Having electrical work done on my house. Need to move my outside cable box 3 inches to the right. Needs to be done before FRIDAY

analyst Chantelle has entered room
Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 10:51:12 CST 2007)
>Hello doug_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Chantelle. Please give me one moment to review your information.

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 10:51:52 CST 2007)
>I'd be happy to help you with that.

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 10:51:52 CST 2007)
>One minute please.

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 10:53:21 CST 2007)
>I am sorry Doug that is a special request, I can enter this for you. But there is no way it will be completed by friday. Most special requests take between 3-6weeks to be completed.

doug_(Wed Nov 14 09:54:37 CST 2007)
>ok, then i will call for service next week when the electrical contractors rip it off the wall :-)

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 10:55:45 CST 2007)
>You can definitely do that, I will advise you that if that does occur, there may be a service fee applied.

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 10:57:17 CST 2007)
>Is there anything else I can help you with?

doug_(Wed Nov 14 09:57:58 CST 2007)
>sure. what is the number for service restore when it goes out?

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 11:00:43 CST 2007)
>1-800-Comcast

doug_(Wed Nov 14 10:01:17 CST 2007)
>ok, thanks

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 11:01:25 CST 2007)
>Your Welcome!

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 11:01:26 CST 2007)
>Is there anything else I can help you with?

doug_(Wed Nov 14 10:01:33 CST 2007)
>nope, thanks

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 11:01:44 CST 2007)
>Thank you for contacting Comcast, Have a good day!

Chantelle (Wed Nov 14 11:01:47 CST 2007)
>Analyst has closed chat and left the room

analyst Chantelle has left room