IT SECURITY
RECURRING THREAT: Macro-Enabled Malware Making A Comeback. Malware that uses macros as part of its infection method has been around for more than a decade, and was one of the first major techniques to drive changes at software vendors such as Microsoft. The tactic has been making a comeback of late, and Microsoft is seeing a major spike in the volume of malware using macros since the beginning of the year. Read more [THREATPOST.COM]
ADVICE: How Much Security Software Do You Really Need? The Internet is teeming with malware that can infect your computer, and it’s important to use security software to protect yourself. To evaluate these products, Consumer Reports visited 75 dangerous websites in a secure testing environment. We also infected our test computers, which were running Windows 8.1, with more than 100 pieces of malware. Read more
[FOXNEWS.COM]
ANDROID NEWS: Fandroids, Take Your Phone’s Antivirus And Burn It. Adrian Ludwig, lead engineer for Android security, explained that Google is now scanning for malware so often and has become so adept at spotting malware that less than 1 per cent of Android devices has a malware problem. Read more
[THEREGISTER.COM]
FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT
FLORIDA: Legislature Approves Online Voter Registration. Legislators in Florida approved a bill recently authorizing the creation of a statewide system that allows citizens to register to vote online, but whether the bill is destined to become law remains in question. Read more
[STATESCOOP.COM]
REFORM ROLL-BACKS: Getting Tech to ‘Show Up’. Rolling back reforms sure won’t attract innovative players to the government market. According to the US CTO, the more tech experts from Silicon Valley join the government, the more the government is likely to begin adopting smarter, more contemporary IT and technology practices. Read more
[GOVEXEC.COM]
STATE EXECS TALK TECH: How Do We Adopt New Technology? Painfully. In theory, all sorts of great technology is coming online for state government use: Unmanned aerial vehicles for agricultural surveys and building inspections. iBeacons for museums and other tourism centers. Even 3D printing for state labs and cryptocurrencies for online payments. Read more
[GCN.COM]
HOMELAND SECURITY ALERT: Nepal Earthquake Disaster Email Scams. US-CERT would like to warn users of potential email scams regarding the earthquake in Nepal. The scam emails may contain links or attachments that may direct users to phishing or malware infected websites. Phishing emails and websites requesting donations for fraudulent charitable organizations commonly appear after these types of natural disasters. Read more
[US-CERT.GOV]
NEW BATTLEGROUND: Mobile-First Will Not Be Enough. The global mobile revolution is still in its early stages! There will be nearly 3.5 billion individual smartphone users among more than 5 billion individual mobile subscribers by 2019, Forrester forecasts. Mobile will clearly be the new battleground where you must win, serve and retain your customers globally. Read more
[INFORMATION-MANAGEMENT.COM]
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