Adobe software may have been exploited in cyber attack
January 14, 2010
Source: IANS

SHANGHAI/BEIJING: An attack on Google and at least 20 other companies, that originated from China, seems to have exploited a vulnerability in the
popular Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader software, possibly to steal proprietary codes.

Google said on Tuesday that it would review the feasibility of its business operations in China, after a cyber attack originating from China resulted in the loss of intellectual property.

Also on Wednesday, Adobe Systems said its computer network systems had been attacked but no sensitive information was stolen. The attackers may have been trying to exploit security vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader, which is widely used to create and read documents.

Cyber security firm iDefense released a note on Wednesday about Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader's vulnerabilities.

The vulnerability in Adobe's two products could allow an attacker to inject a code into the computer once a PDF file was opened, iDefense said in a "coordinated public" disclosure statement. It did not specifically refer to the Google attacks.

Adobe, which released a critical patch for this problem on Tuesday, was not immediately available for comment.

Anti-virus software maker McAfee said in its "2010 Threat Predictions" report last month that Adobe software would become increasing targeted by cyber criminals, as its products are the most widely used applications globally.

"Based on the current trends, we expect that in 2010 Adobe product exploitation is likely to surpass that of Microsoft Office applications in the number of desktop PCs being attacked," McAfee said in a statement.

Technology-focused website Wired.com quoted iDefense as saying the attack on Google and other corporations intended to steal the companies' source codes. Journalists, dissidents and other activists in China have often been the target of "phishing attacks," in which an email that appears to be from a known sender contains an attachment with a virus or other malicious software.

In September, a coordinated cyberattack on the Chinese assistants of foreign news agencies contained malware that also exploited an Adobe Acrobat vulnerability.

Google said part of the attack's purpose was to access Gmail accounts of human rights activists, adding that many activists seem to have been separately targeted with attacks designed to gain access to their accounts.

Separately, Microsoft said its email service was not hacked. "We have no indication that any of our mail properties have been compromised," a Microsoft spokesman told Reuters. 

Global tech industry to bounce in 2010
January 14, 2010
Source: REUTERS

HOUSTON: After a tough 2009, the global technology industry will recover drastically as global spending on IT hardware and software is bound to
bounce back strongly in 2010, says a study.

According to the technology research firm Forrester, "downturn" of 2008 and 2009 is "unofficially over" and the worldwide spending will jump 8.1 per cent to more than USD 1.6 trillion, following a decline of 8.9 per cent last year.

The strongest growth is expected to be in Europe with a spending rise of 11.2 per cent. Countries in western and central Europe will receive an additional boost from the dollar's decline against the euro.

However, if measurements are made in local currency, the US is forecast to see the strongest tech growth, with an expected 6.6 per cent increase to USD 568 billion after a decline of 8.2 per cent last year.

Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels says the tech recovery will outstrip the overall economic recovery of the US, with technology spending growing at over twice the rate of GDP.

"All the pieces are in place for a 2010 tech spending rebound. In the US, the tech recovery will be much stronger than the overall economic recovery, with technology spending growing at more than twice the rate of gross domestic product this year," Bartels said.

Google's Gmail adds security after China hacking
January 14, 2010
SOURCE: ET AGENCIES

MOUNTAIN VIEW: Google is tightening the security of its free e-mail service to combat computer hackers like the ones that recently targeted it With the shift, Gmail accounts will automatically be set in an ``https'' mode, meaning contents of e-mail will be scrambled so they're less likely to leak out to unauthorized users. Before, only the log-in data was encrypted.

Google hadn't been using this more secure format as Gmail's default setting because it can be slower than the unprotected mode.

The shift to the more secure setting began late Tuesday, just a few hours after Google announced Chinese hackers had pried into the e-mail accounts of human rights activists. Google is now considering pulling out of China and shutting down its search engine there because of the attacks.