12-Feb-10 News - Destop PCs are still vulnerable to 'Aurora' Chinese hacker attacks - 12-Feb-2010 - Generational Dynamics

Operation Aurora, the name for the coordinated cyber attack on Google and 30 other corporations in January, is now found to be a much larger attack than previously thought, and is still ongoing, according to Dark Reading.

Security experts at forensics firms are getting closer to identifying the specific individuals responsible for the Aurora attack. They've found no direct evidence implicating the Chinese government, but the attack code contains trails pointing to Chinese hackers.

Protect your computer from the Aurora attack

Corporations are updating their employees' computers to block the Aurora attack, and are strongly urging their employees to update their home computers. This is important because employees frequently infect their office computers with viruses they've brought from their home computers.

"Employees who own and use Microsoft Windows operating systems at home (2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7), and have one or more versions of a Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser installed on their computer(s) are advised to take the steps listed below to protect themselves, and to protect Departmental systems and information.

Read the Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-002 (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-002.mspx) for additional information, recommended actions, and how to download and install the update.

Ensure that Microsoft Windows updates are enabled for automatic download and installation.
- For Microsoft Windows XP see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294871
- For Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 see http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/windows-update.aspx
Visit the Microsoft Windows Update site (http://update.microsoft.com) to verify installation of the patch by clicking on the menu item on the left side of the page labeled “Review your update history”. The patch listed in the Microsoft Security Bulletin (above) should be in the list of previously applied patches.

If the patch is still not installed, manually download and install the “Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (978207)” appropriate for your operating system and version of Internet Explorer from the Microsoft Download Center (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/default.aspx).

Employees are also advised to review other software on their personal computer(s) and perform security related updates as recommended by the vendor in order to minimize potential exposure to a compromise via avenues other than Internet Explorer."

This stuff is worth paying attention to, because if someone attacks your home computer, you could lose your bank account, or worse.

Attack software packages battle each other for control of your computer

Zeus is an attack spyware program that's been available for several years, though newer versions have been getting more dangerous. It installs itself on your computer when you visit a web site, usually a game or porn site, set up to infect as many computers as possible. Hundreds of thousands of computers around the world are infected with Zeus.

Now a new attack software package called SpyEye is just getting started. If you'd like to become a criminal and hack other people's computers, then you can purchase a SpyEye development kit for $500.

But SpyEye has a new twist, according to Dark Reading. SpyEye contains a module called "Kill Zeus," whose apparent purpose is to delete Zeus from an infected system, so that SpyEye has the computer all to itself.

Germany blocks EU from a bailout of Greece

Typical of the Pollyannish headlines that came out early on Thursday was this from the NY Times: "Europe Commits to Action on Greek Debt."

The statement issued by the Europeans said, "Euro area member states will take determined and co-ordinated action, if needed, to safeguard financial stability in the euro area as a whole. The Greek government has not requested any financial support."

But no details were provided; in particular, there was no word where the money would come from.

This announcement of a non-bailout was enough to boost the serotonin levels of loony investors into pushing the Dow Industrials up over 100 points, well above the 10000 level again.

However, other reports indicate that there are deep divisions among European leaders whether Greece should be bailed out at all.

The Guardian reports that the leader of the opposition is German chancellor Angela Merkel. One senior EU diplomat is quoted as saying, "Germany is stepping totally on the brakes on financial assistance, on legal grounds, on constitutional grounds and on principle." Another senior diplomat said of the Germans: "They're not waving their checkbooks."

According to Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of The Telegraph, there is talk of a "coalition of the willing," countries acting outside the EU Treaty structure to help Greece.

It's not surprising that Germany is very reluctant to participate in a bailout. For one thing, as the wealthiest country in the eurozone, Germany would end up supplying most of the bailout money. And for another thing, Germans have a very strong national memory of the hyperinflation that occurred in the early 1920s, when it took a barrel of money to buy a loaf of bread. They're well aware that a bailout of Greece would lead to demands of similar treatment from Portugal and Spain, and things could very quickly get out of control.

In fact, there's a feeling in the air that things are already spinning out of control. Even if the Greece situation can somehow be quiesced, other countries are very close to similar or even greater crises. It's just a matter of time.

Dubai may be selling off the Queen Elizabeth 2

At that time, it was decided that Abu Dhabi would bail out Dubai, and the crisis would end.

Unfortunately, it hasn't ended yet. Dubai is being forced to sell off many of its assets, in order to make its debt payments.

CNN Money reports that one of the assets on the table is the Queen Elizabeth 2 (or QE2) ocean liner, once the largest and grandest passenger ship in the world. Dubai purchased it in 2007 for $100 million, planning to turn it into a floating hotel.

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Times Online reports that Yemen authorities and the Houthi (Shia Muslim) rebels have agreed to the ceasefire that we described last week. From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, this ceasefire is part of the political dance that leads to a full-scale generational crisis war.

Vice President Biden recently told Larry King on CNN: "I am very optimistic about -- about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration." This is really the limit. If we'd listened to Biden when he was in the Senate, then not only would we have left Iraq in chaos, but our troops would be embroiled in the middle of a bloody civil war in Sudan. (See "Senator Joe Biden wants to move troops from Iraq to Darfur civil war.")

A double suicide bombing near Peshawar in northwest Pakistan killed 15 people, and wounded 24 others, according to Pakistan's Daily Times. It's the third attack in the last 24 hours.

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 12-Feb-2010
12-Feb-10 News - Destop PCs are still vulnerable to 'Aurora' Chinese hacker attacks

'Operation Aurora' attack goes far beyond Google

Protect your computer from the Aurora attack

Attack software packages battle each other for control of your computer

Germany blocks EU from a bailout of Greece

Dubai may be selling off the Queen Elizabeth 2

Additional Links

Web Log Pages

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 12-Feb-2010 12-Feb-10 News - Destop PCs are still vulnerable to 'Aurora' Chinese hacker attacks

'Operation Aurora' attack goes far beyond Google

Protect your computer from the Aurora attack

Attack software packages battle each other for control of your computer

Germany blocks EU from a bailout of Greece

Dubai may be selling off the Queen Elizabeth 2

Additional Links

Web Log Pages

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 12-Feb-2010
12-Feb-10 News - Destop PCs are still vulnerable to 'Aurora' Chinese hacker attacks