Sue Marquette Poremba

The number of reported data breaches has already surpassed last year's total, according to a report from Identity Theft Resource Center. Google's hosted applications are always a favourite for spammers, and now Google Sites, a free hosting service, is moving to centre stage. Hackers are using SQL injection attacks to infect websites with updates on the Olympics. After the recent worm outbreak on Facebook and MySpace, the social networking sites and security experts are working to prevent future attacks. Recent arrests in the hacking of nine U.S. retailers and Countrywide Home Loans is just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come, according to experts in the security industry. Researchers have discovered a new trojan designed to steal information from large banking institutions. 24 Romanians believed to be part of an organised cybercrime ring were arrested during the past week. A major job site is the latest phishing attack target. According to a McAfee Avert Labs blog, Monster.com was made to seem the source of phishing emails.
College researchers in the US have developed free, open-source software that can track the location of a lost or stolen laptop. A new spam attack falsely alerts users to download a Microsoft patch in an attempt to install malicious malware. VoIPshield Laboratories has alerted companies that market voice over IP systems of new security vulnerabilities. Expect more malware, unwelcome email, and social engineering threats this season. A government laptop used by Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez may have been breached during a visit to Bejing last December. The Asprox botnet, initially exclusively used for phishing scams, is now an SQL injection vector for website attacks. A new website is designed to create a social network for white-hat hackers. The site, House of Hackers, went live on Monday and already has 500 members. Visa Risk Manager will address fraud losses and help issuers approve a greater number of legitimate credit and debit transactions.