[IS&T Security-FYI] SFYI Newsletter, May 2, 2011

[Monique Yeaton]

In this issue:

1. Bin Laden Death Used to Spread Viruses
2. Google Addresses Flaws in Chrome
3. Is Your Data Safe in the Cloud?

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1. Bin Laden Death Used to Spread Viruses
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Online specialists are warning that the death of Osama Bin Laden, like other major news events such as the tsunami in Japan, is being used to spread computer viruses and other malware, hidden behind links that pretend to contain information or photos about the attack.

"Users should be cautious of spam containing links to photos, videos and other information that sounds remarkably interesting on Bin Laden's death. Users also need to be cautious of Tweets and Facebook posts, as cybercriminals gear up to attract unsuspecting traffic to spread malware," wrote Mike Lennon in Security Week.

Read the story in the news: <http://www.securityweek.com/cybercriminals-using-osama-bin-ladens-death-spread-malware>


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2. Google Addresses Flaws in Chrome
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Google has updated its Chrome browser, bringing the stable build of Chrome to version 11 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The update addresses 27 vulnerabilities. None of the vulnerabilities received a critical rating; 18 were rated high severity. Since last summer, Google has been releasing new versions of Chrome approximately every 6 weeks. If you are using Chrome, your updates will automatically occur behind the scenes.

IS&T does not currently support the Chrome browser, but it can be downloaded for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux from Google's website.


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3. Is Your Data Safe in the Cloud?
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A recent news item illustrates that data loss is one of the risks you may take when storing data in the "cloud." Cloud storage, such as the service provided by Amazon.com, is one way to store business data in a more cost-effective and efficient manner, rather than having each business use large data centers that require cooling, physical space, and other resources to maintain. 

Cloud computing is the term used for the provision of computer resources via a computer network, such as applications, databases, file services, email, etc. The online email service by Google, Gmail, is an example of cloud computing. 

Amazon's huge EC2 cloud service apparently crashed and permanently destroyed some of their clients' data last week. Amazon has yet to fully explain what happened when its mission-critical and supposedly bomb-proof systems crashed. But what is clear is that a fail-safe measure, such as shifting the data access from one center to another if a crash occurs, was not in place, as expected. 

Read the story in the news: <http://www.informationweek.com/news/cloud-computing/infrastructure/229402385>
and <http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/28/6549775-amazons-cloud-crash-destroyed-many-customers-data>

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Monique Yeaton
IT Security Awareness Consultant
Information Services & Technology, MIT
http://ist.mit.edu/security