security « Raja Jasti’s Blog - Renaissance Thinking

November 16, 2009

Securing Ecommerce using mobile

Filed under: Internet, Mobile, Technology, Trends — Tags: security — Raja @ 4:13 pm

Here is an interesting use of sms alerts. Mastercard wants use mobile phones to authenitcate online transactions.

In the face of mounting threats from hackers, MasterCard will use mobile phones to improve security for online transactions, the company said on Monday

The added layer of security comes from a one-time password that the user is asked to enter when approving a transaction. The password is either sent via an SMS (Short Message Service) or created by an application that runs on a smartphone or a phone that supports Java.

The goal is to improve users’ protection against phishing and man in the middle attacks, which are growing problems in the e-banking and e-commerce world, according to MasterCard. There is no fool-proof way to protect against these attacks, but the fact that the new passwords can be used only once limits the potential damage they could inflict, according to Jan Lundequist, senior business leader and head of chip product management at MasterCard.

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April 8, 2009

Spies penentrate US electricity grid

Filed under: general — Tags: security — Raja @ 9:22 am

Cyberspace helps people do good. But it also helps bad guys. WSJ reports a major security breach of US electricity grid by cyberspies.

[Robert Moran monitors an electric grid in Dallas. Such infrastructure grids across the country are vulnerable to cyberattacks.]

WASHINGTON — Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.

The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven’t sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.

“The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid,” said a senior intelligence official. “So have the Russians.”

The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn’t target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. “There are intrusions, and they are growing,” the former official said, referring to electrical systems. “There were a lot last year.”

Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet.

Authorities investigating the intrusions have found software tools left behind that could be used to destroy infrastructure components, the senior intelligence official said. He added, “If we go to war with them, they will try to turn them on.”

Officials said water, sewage and other infrastructure systems also were at risk.

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