We often see movies where "hackers" penetrate networks that run transport, military or other critical functions. TheRegister is reporting on 14 year old teenager that managed to control the tram system in Lodz, Poland. When he inadvertently derailed 4 trams, 12 people were injured, but fortunately nobody was killed. Although this was not done through a network, this kind of attack is possible through networks and obviously a big concern for nations concerned about terrorist attacks.

Vnunet.com has an interesting article including an interview in mp3 format with a senior architect at MessageLabs. We constantly are referring to how the malware industry is driven by money instead of fame these days. I encourage you to read through this article to get a good idea of the depth and seriousness of this "Shadow Economy".

Heise Security is reporting on an article in a German magazine about the effectiveness of various antivirus software packages. The tests they ran show that antivirus packages are not as effective as last year, with many packages allowing 50% more viruses to slip through.
All this is attributed to the funding that is behind the malware writers these days. The funding allows them to write malware that can avoid detection by various means. We at Nclose believe this trend will continue and require organizations to be more proactive with their security measures.

The latest type of phishing attack, dubbed "vishing" for "voice phishing", involves an email with a telephone number. The email states that the users credit card has been cancelled and they should phone the number to re-activate the card. When the number is dialed a voice prompt instructs the person to enter their credit card number on the keypad which allows it to be recorded by the scammers. It seems these scammers are ingenious and always come up with innovative ways to steal personal information. More information on this attack here.

The Register is reporting that another data centre robbery has taken place. The data centre was operated be Verizon and early estimates are of 14 million rand in losses. These attacks are becoming more lucrative for robbers as there is a concentration of hardware in a small area. Organisations will soon realise that the physical security measures that they implemented need to be managed correctly in order to be effective.