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Security Researchers Uncover Spring Framework Vulnerability

9/4/2008

Software frameworks are enjoying enormous popularity these days among a range of developers. It's popularity well earned; frameworks provide powerful tools for building more flexible and less error-prone applications. They generally enhance developer productivity with out-of-the-box functionality. And they can free developers to focus on features instead of common coding tasks.

Malware Dramatically Increasing; Almost All Users Have Clicked on Malicious Links

9/2/2008

Web security services firm ScanSafe reported that the total number of Web-based malware blocks has increased by 87 percent in July 2008 compared to the previous month. Specifically, the first two weeks in July have shown an extraordinarily high volume of malware blocks. ScanSafe sells online security services, which scan Web requests from its customers and blocks malicious content.

BitLocker Password Exploit Is 'Very Unlikely,' Sisk Says

8/29/2008

Redmond responded Tuesday to an independent security vendor's discovery of a hard-drive encryption vulnerability affecting Microsoft's BitLocker function, Intel/HP's BIOS and several other products and programs.

California Community Colleges Partner with Waterfall Mobile on Statewide Emergency Notification Coverage

8/28/2008

The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC) has awarded a statewide emergency alert notification contract to Waterfall Mobile. The contract establishes Waterfall's AlertU as an approved technology through the official non-profit foundation for the California Community College (CCC) system office. Through this partnership, individual colleges may directly implement emergency communication services, eliminating lengthy technology evaluation and RFP processes.

King's College and ASU Add e2Campus for Improved Emergency Notifications

8/28/2008

King's College and Arizona State University have switched to Omnilert's e2Campus for emergency notification. Omnilert also has introduced a new program called the ENS Conversion Service that allows schools to bulk upload data from their previous emergency notification system into e2Campus at no charge.

Bio-Key Launches Emergency Alert Platforms for Schools

8/26/2008

Bio-Key International has announced the release of two new emergency alert and management solutions for the education market. MobileSRO is designed specifically for the K-12 environment, while MobileCampus caters to higher education and other campus-based organizations.

Polytechnic Institute of NYU Deploys Array Networks Equipment for Access Control

8/26/2008

Polytechnic Institute of New York University has selected an Array Networks SPX3000, a universal access controller that combines virtual private network (VPN) and network access control (NAC) functionality. The device will provide identity-based customized portals for 5,000 users to access their individual information.

Check Point Launches Security Line for Virtual Applications

8/26/2008

Check Point Software Technologies announced VPN-1 Virtual Edition (VE), which delivers security for virtual applications.

Red Hat Hacked, Company Issues Security Advisory

8/25/2008

In a sign that hackers have no problem taking advantage of open source solutions, Linux-based product distributor Red Hat issued a "critical" security advisory Friday, saying that its servers had been compromised.

UrlScan 3.0 Aims To Block SQL Injection Attacks

8/25/2008

Microsoft has released an improved security filter for its Internet Information Services (IIS) Web server that is designed to help thwart SQL injection attacks. The free application, called UrlScan 3.0 (Release-to-Web version), is an add-on tool to IIS that provides real-time verification of HTTP server requests, potentially blocking malicious code.

Corralling Identity Management

8/22/2008

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston recently reconstituted its IT organization to include a new team focused solely on identity management. In the course of its work the team may end up becoming a model for how identity management can help deliver business value beyond standard IT duties, such as adding new users to the network.

Vulnerability Management Needed for Security, Study Says

8/22/2008

Organizations can avoid attacks and minimize security cost overruns by practicing IT vulnerability management, according to a July study published by the Aberdeen Group. The study presents solutions for IT pros, helping them prioritize their patch management strategies for operating systems, applications, and network security frameworks.

U Illinois Implements New StorMagic SAN in 15 Minutes

8/19/2008

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has chosen the StorMagic SM Series, an iSCSI-based storage area network (SAN) designed for small and medium organizations. The new implementation allows the 40,000-user university to manage and protect its data while preparing for future growth.

Butler U Deploys Virtual Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway

8/18/2008

Butler University said it has deployed the Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway-Virtual Edition as a hybrid solution with the Messaging Security Gateway appliance to address anti-spam and anti-virus protection. The school has actually used the Messaging Security Gateway hardware appliance since 2004 to defend against inbound messaging threats such as spam, viruses, and denial-of-service attacks.

Wayne State Deploys Q1 Labs QRadar to Manage and Secure Network

8/15/2008

Wayne State University (WSU) has chosen Q1 Labs' QRadar to analyze, visualize, and assess their networks, all while adhering to specific compliance regulations. WSU is a research university with 33,000 graduate and undergraduate students.

U New Hampshire Consolidates Backup and Recovery Environments

8/14/2008

The University of New Hampshire will deploy a new backup solution integrating a Sepaton virtual tape library (VTL) and DeltaStor software for data deduplication. The migration is part of a consolidation effort combining two separate backup and recovery environments into one disk-based storage infrastructure.

KU Medical Center Installs Real-time Beacon System

8/13/2008

The University of Kansas Medical Center has installed a new system from Alertus Technologies that notifies students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus in the case of an emergency. The primary communication tools in the new system are wall-mounted "beacons," which function as a way for the KU Medical Center Police Department to communicate with the campus in real time. The units are located in every classroom and on every floor in university buildings. If activated, the beacons display flashing red lights and sound sirens, and directions are given on the units' text boards.

Virginia Tech Tries 'Compliance Sheriff' To Improve Web Site Accessibility

8/13/2008

Virginia Tech has selected HiSoftware's Compliance Sheriff to address management of its Web site accessibility. Compliance Sheriff is a browser-based service that crawls a Web site and compares pages against a user-defined set of criteria. The tool will compare the school's site against world-wide accessibility guidelines such as the federally-defined Section 508, which addresses how technology should be designed to enable its use by people with physical impairments, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0/2.0, from the World Wide Web Consortium, which address Web content and mobile Web applications.

Promethean, Simtrol Use Activeboard To Manage Classroom Devices

8/12/2008

Promethean and Simtrol have announced an exclusive partnership that will integrate device management software from Simtrol with Promethean's Activeclassroom technology. The partnership will give classroom teachers the ability to control a variety of separate devices from a single interface on Promethean's Activeboard, doing away with the need for multiple remote controls.

Microsoft, BearingPoint Team Up To Provide Risk-Based Compliance Solution

8/11/2008

Microsoft has teamed up with BearingPoint to create the BearingPoint Enterprise Governance, Risk, and Compliance (EGRC) solution. The platform is built on Microsoft technology and capitalizes on the companies' long-standing relationship.

A Cheapskate's Guide to Free Security Software

8/8/2008

Free is an attractive price. Read which packages were deemed "most useful" by a handful of experts.

Collaboration Key to Security, Microsoft Says

8/8/2008

Microsoft ratcheted up its PR and client communications efforts to demonstrate that it's serious about security. On Monday, in time for this week's Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft's Security Response Center (MSRC) launched a new ecosystem strategy team blog outlining its more collaborative approach to software security issues.

IBM Unveils New Software Designed To Streamline eDiscovery

8/7/2008

IBM has announced the release of new Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software specifically designed to meet the needs of clients dealing with complex legal discovery requirements. The eDiscovery solutions expand on IBM's ECM platform and are intended to give organizations greater control of digitally stored documents in an effort to reduce costs and streamline the discovery process involved in litigation.

Security Woes Up, as PHP and OSS Make the List

8/7/2008

Software vulnerabilities are up this year, especially Web browser-based ones, according to a new report from IBM Internet Security Systems. The X-Force 2008 Mid-Year Trend Statistics Report, released in late July, defined the problem broadly. A vulnerability is anything that results "in a weakening or breakdown of the confidentiality, integrity, or accessibility of the computing system."

Apple Reacts to Spoof Threats, Issues DNS Hotfix

8/4/2008

Apple took action Friday to address the infamous Domain Name System (DNS) problem. And none too soon.