Experts discover major Internet flaw

LOS ANGELES, (UPI) --

U.S. security experts have discovered a major flaw in the design of the Internet's address system that affects virtually every corporate computer network.

The flaw in the Domain Name System could allow hackers to steer most people using corporate networks to malicious Web sites, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

So far, hackers haven't taken advantage of the flaw, and the security experts say every major software company affected is in the process of issuing patches to fix the problem.

The man who discovered the flaw, Dan Kaminsky of the Seattle-based security firm IOActive Inc., says he hopes the patches will be broad enough that hackers won't be able to reverse-engineer them.

"We got lucky in this particular bug, because it's a design flaw," says Kaminsky. "It shows up in everyone's network, but the fix is a design fix that doesn't point directly at what we're improving."

Kaminsky says it took only a couple of hours to find the flaw but fixing it will take several months.

Microsoft Unveils New Internet Explorer Security Features

Coming to IE8 is a set of cross-site scripting defenses to defeat hackers looking to steal cookies and browser history, logging keystrokes, stealing credentials, or just evading phishing filters.

By J. Nicholas Hoover InformationWeek

Internet Explorer's getting a little bit safer. Microsoft Wednesday unveiled significant new security features that will be in the next version of the company's Web browser, Internet Explorer 8, currently in public beta testing.

From Microsoft's standpoint, any improvement in security is a plus, and the company seems to be taking that to heart with Internet Explorer 8, which includes a slew of new or upgraded security features. In the past, Microsoft has been heavily criticized for its browser security, while its chief competitor, Mozilla Firefox, has been largely lauded.

One of the most important new features in IE8 is a set of cross-site scripting defenses to protect the browser against the most common type of these attacks, known as "reflection" attacks, wherein transmitted data is sent back to the attacker. During these attacks, hackers could be stealing cookies and browser history, logging keystrokes, stealing credentials, or just evading phishing filters.

Internet Explorer 8 will also have what Microsoft's calling the SmartScreen Filter, which has been previously announced, but is more than Microsoft originally let on. It's an upgraded version of the phishing filter found in Internet Explorer 7 with a twist. It now includes malware protection, a feature also found in the latest versions of Mozilla Firefox and Opera.

When users visit a site that's been reported by any one of a number of third-party data providers as a phishing or malware-laden site, they'll be greeted with a big red background and a warning. That's an upgrade over the anti-phishing user interface in Internet Explorer 7, which Microsoft tests found looked too much like a potentially less harmful page that just has security certificate errors.

The warning has options either to go to the user's home page or to "disregard and continue," though the first option is in much bigger text. Businesses will be able to set policy so that "disregard and continue" doesn't show up as an option. The anti-malware protection will also block suspicious downloads.

Several third-party data feeds will provide Internet Explorer with the information needed to block phishing and malware-laden Web sites. Microsoft gets data on reported phishing sites from seven providers, though it's not yet clear where it will get data on sites reported to contain malware.

Microsoft's already announced a number of security features for Internet Explorer 8. For example, the browser has a number of anti social engineering features. It will highlight domain names in the URL bar to help prevent URL spoofing, like when an e-mail tells the recipient to click on a site that's represented as a PayPal site, but is really a malicious one. There's also an additional anti-phishing feature, where a dialogue that catches certain site characteristics sets off a red flag even when the site isn't in IE's anti-phishing data feeds.

There are several new browser-based security features, including improvements to ActiveX dialogues and control. There are now several levels of security for ActiveX controls. With per user control, users can download and install a control and it will run whenever it wants. An opt in level allows users to decide whether the control should run each time it wants to. ActiveX kill bits can stop a control from loading at all, and per site control means a control can only be invoked by one particular Web site.

Data Execution Prevention helps mitigate many memory-related attacks, including buffer overruns, by blocking code execution from running in protected memory. Several other features, including cross domain request and cross domain messaging, are aimed at preventing attacks from taking place in mash-ups or any time two Web sites have to exchange information.

Cisco Ogles Russian Startups

More than a year after announcing its intention to invest in some Russian startups, Cisco Systems Inc. has revealed a few details about its plans and partners.

The IP giant has contributed the "anchor investment" for a $60 million venture capital fund that will be managed by Almaz Capital Partners.

We thought that meant Cisco was supplying some nautical equipment, but that's its way of saying it's not revealing exact amounts: "Cisco is a significant contributor to that $60 million," says a spokesman for the San Jose, Calif., behemoth.

Cisco's not the only "significant" investor, though: Its contribution is being matched by Moscow-based UFG Asset Management.

The fund is focused on "high-growth small and medium-sized companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors" in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

But that's not the limit of Cisco's ambitions in the region. "Cisco will pursue investment opportunities in technology-related start-ups in the region, both directly as well as indirectly through this regional venture fund."

And it's already made a direct investment, having taken a stake in Russian online retailer Ozon .
The move comes as operators in Russia and the CIS invest more and more of their capex budgets in state-of-the-art broadband fixed and mobile networks, a trend that's attracting other vendors too.