N E W S N O T E S &
The Justice Institute of British Columbia has launched Canada’s first bachelor’s degree to combine security, emergency management and business fundamen- tals into one program. The online degree will be accessible to students across Canada, and will prepare qualified people for a career in both security and emergency management.
Axis Communications has officially opened a new Canadian office in Missis- sauga, Ont. Headed by Bob Moore, Canada, country manager, Axis’s Cana- dian headquarters includes an impres- sive training room.
In Canada, 91.7 per cent of e-mail sent in August was spam — up from 88.1 per cent — according to Symantec’s August 2010 Message- Labs Intelligence Report. Other find- ings include: the U.S. has the greatest number of bots, most notably Rustock, Storm and Asprox, and the most spammed industry sector was the au- tomotive industry.
According to a new study conducted by BitDefender, social network users do not verify or even care about the real iden- tity of the people they meet online or about the details they disclose while chatting with total strangers. The study revealed that 94 per cent of those asked to “friend” the test profile — an un- known, attractive young woman — ac- cepted the request without knowing who the requester really was.
AppRiver’s September 2010 spam re- port indicates spam volume in- creased by 20 per cent over August, but the number of viruses increased by more than 700 per cent. Image spam made up approximately 1.4 per cent of total spam traffic, while PDFs comprised most of the spam e-mail attachments.
IBM’s X-Force 2010 Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report documented 4,396 new vulnerabilities in the first half of 2010, a 36 per cent increase over the same time period last year. Web appli- cation vulnerabilities continued to be
6 SECURITY MATTERS • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
the leading threat, accounting for more than half of all public disclosures.
The average fraud perpetrator has no prior fraud charges or convictions, according to new research by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The offender is commonly between the age of 31-45, and more likely to be male than female.
A new study released from Norton re- veals that 65 per cent of global Internet users have fallen victim to cybercrimes, including computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft. The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact also examined the emotional im- pact of cybercrime, and shows that vic- tims’ strongest reactions are anger, annoyance, feelings of being cheated, and blame for being attacked. Three per cent don’t think it will happen to them, and nearly 80 per cent do not expect cy- bercriminals to be brought to justice.
Fortinet’s August 2010 Threat Land- scape report shows ransomware TotalSecurity experienced its biggest comeback since March. Ransomware is malware that locks out applications and data from a user’s PC and then demands ransom for restored access.
EMC has unveiled the RSA Solution for Cloud Security and Compliance, which helps companies manage security, risk and regulatory compliance of cloud in- frastructures. “Even with all the bene- fits cloud computing provides, CIOs will continue to be wary until there is a way to manage security and compli- ance with the same level of assurance that is available today with physical data centre environments,” says Jon Oltsik, principal analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group.
Intel Corporation has acquired McAfee for approximately $7.68 billion US. Both boards of directors have unani- mously approved the deal, which is ex- pected to close after McAfee shareholder approval, regulatory clear- ances and other customary conditions specified in the agreement.
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
HACKER COMMUNITY RALLYING AROUND SECURITY CONSULTANT ARRESTED DURING LAST JUNE’S G20 SUMMIT IN TORONTO
By Ian Harvey B
yron Sonne doesn’t look like the most dan- gerous of threats intercepted at the G20 Summit in Toronto last June. Yet the slight, balding 37-year-old computer security con- sultant remains in custody since June 22 and has become a cause célèbre in the hacker and geek groups, like HackLabTO and Toronto Area Security Klatch (TASK).
“As far as I know he’s the only one from the G20 still in jail,” says Jesse Hirsh, a Toronto- based syndicated Internet strategist and re- searcher with a weekly CBC radio column who is at the forefront of a network of Sonne supporters. That he’s a bail risk despite willing sureties and strong ties to the community stuns his sup- porters who see a different story. Sonne and common-law wife Kristen Peterson, 37, an artist, live in the affluent Toronto area of Forest Hill and were charged after a police raid on their home and cottage seized items, including a potato gun. She is free on $25,000 bail.
The most serious of those charges involve the allegation that Sonne attempted to make triace- tone triperoxide, a dangerously unstable explo- sive that can be made with household ingredients. The other charges relate to Sonne’s text and video postings of his “reconnaissance” missions around the G20 security zone. Ironically, Sonne talked publicly and posted his intentions to test the $1 billion security ring around the G20. Whether he was driven by ac- ademic curiosity as his supporters claim or bent on terror will be decided by the courts. Unfortu- nately, the standard ban on publication blocks further information being disseminated. That so many have rallied to Sonne’s cause is no mystery to Hirsh, who says they identify with his quixotic drive. Like them, Sonne is pas- sionate about security and finding ways to test — and even breach — it.
That groundswell of support is growing with a “Free Bryon” wiki (
www.freebyron.org) selling t- shirts to raise funds. “There’s a little romanti- cism there in that they identify with him, they know it could be them in jail,” says Hirsh. “When the full facts come out, I think he will be a social media hero.”
Ian Harvey is a freelance writer in T oronto, Ont.
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