Archive for July, 2009
by FireHost Evangelist on July 30th, 2009
The news is out. Kevin Mitnick has selected us to be his secure hosting provider.
His website has been successfully compromised and defaced by blackhat hackers four times in the past. Mitnick recognizes that his high-profile and the nature of his security consulting business make protecting his websites a challenge, but he feels confident in our ability to lockdown his server and provide custom, secure hosting solutions tailored to his needs.
“I’ve made it clear to every hosting company that’s ever approached me that protecting my sites from hackers is an extraordinary job. FireHost is the only secure hosting company able to show me that they actually do have the goods to get the job done,” said Kevin Mitnick. “I feel confident with this decision and hope I won’t ever again have to deal with my sites being attacked in such a way.”
Our CEO and founder, Chris Drake goes on to say, “There are two kinds of hackers in the world, the egomaniacs that deface high profile people like Kevin Mitnick and the malicious hackers who go after confidential data en masse. FireHost is the only secure hosting company that’s protecting companies from both and Mitnick recognizes this. We know we have a challenge in front of us, but feel very confident in our ability to offer the best protection available.”
Tags: blackhat hackers, Kevin Mitnick Hacked, Secure Web Hosting
Posted in: FireHost News | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 29th, 2009
The latest upgrade for WordPress addresses an important XSS vulnerability in the open source application, so don’t delay installing it. Upgrading to WordPress 2.8.2 is easy.
WordPress users can get the latest version (which was released about a week ago) three ways:
- Download it here to manually upgrade.
- Initiate the upgrade automatically by clicking the Upgrade link under the Tools menu in your blog’s admin. (v 2.7 or later)
- Host your website with FireHost, and let us take care of the upgrade for you.
We’re glad to see WordPress take action to help prevent hackers from compromising websites built on the their great platform. Kudos to the WordPress team for helping keep everyone safe.
Tags: Wordpress Hosting, XSS
Posted in: Technology | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 27th, 2009
FireHost is a proud sponsor of the DrupalCamp Conference in Dallas, August 1-2.
DrupalCamp’s mission is to bring Drupal users and developers of all levels together to discuss and connect with other Drupal enthusiasts.
A variety of topics will be covered by great Drupal experts attending the conference:
FireHost will be speaking about Drupal’s vulnerabilities and offer suggestions on how to secure your Drupal installation at the closing presentation, so make sure you stick around for the whole event. You can view the full event schedule here.
Registration is only $30, so reserve your spot at drupalcampdallas.org today.
Tags: drupal camp, drupal conference, Drupal Hosting
Posted in: FireHost News | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 24th, 2009
Data compiled by Secure Enterprise 2.0 indicates that businesses who incorporate Web 2.0 functionality like social networks, wikis, and blogs are the most popular targets for hackers.
In fact, websites that incorporate these features accounted for 21% of hacking incidents reported in the first quarter of 2009. The top threats to “socially enabled” websites are SQL Injections (21% of attacks), Authentication Abuse (18%), and Cross Site Request Forgery – CSRF (8%). You may download a full copy of Secure Enterprise’s report here.
“Businesses often use open source applications like Community Server, WordPress, and Drupal to integrate social features into their websites. Every enterprise deserves the ability to keep content fresh by using blogs and forums. It’s great for marketing and user retention. We help facilitate these mediums by addressing vulnerabilities in open source software all the way from module installation to hosting,” encourages FireHost CEO, Chris Drake.
FireHost CTO, Kevin Wall explains why a holistic approach to site development and hosting is important. (more…)
Tags: protect open source applications, SQL Injections, Website Security, WordPress Plugins
Posted in: Security | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 21st, 2009
There are four million British identities for sale according to a weekend story from the UK’s Times Online. The compromised data contains highly sensitive, personal financial information like credit card details, bank account numbers, and PIN’s, and it’s all available to the highest bidder.
You may be wondering how such a large bounty of confidential information was collected, and what organization is responsible for the massive data breach. The startling answer is that no one is directly responsible for the leak; it appears everyday email users like you divulged their digits to these hackers.
“Most of the personal data has been gathered as a result of phishing. Unsuspecting victims hand over the information by e-mail to people posing as reputable sources such as banks or online stores. Other data has been stolen after criminals infect a person’s personal computer with viruses and then raid it for information,” the story states.
(more…)
Tags: cybercrime, Hosted Exchange, Identity Theft, Phishing, Spam Protection
Posted in: Security | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 17th, 2009
In an interview with SC Magazine, Symantec’s CEO and President Enrique Salem discussed the new security threats facing companies doing business on the internet. When asked about the top security threats, he responded with three.
“In 2009, we see three key trends that could impact IT security – a continued explosion of new malware variants, advanced web threats, and an uptick in threats related to social networking sites.” Mr. Salem reinforced that “cybercriminals are more sophisticated and driven than ever, and they operate in an increasingly profitable underground economy that makes it easy for them to not only buy and sell stolen information such as credit card data or even identities.”
Data from Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network indicates we have reached the point where there are more malicious programs created than legitimate programs every day, and that cyber attackers leverage vulnerabilities fueled by application code. Hackers compromise specific (often open source) websites, and then use them as a means for launching other attacks across the internet. (more…)
Tags: cybercrime, Hackers, protect open source applications, Secure Web Hosting, Security Threats, Website Vulnerabilities
Posted in: Security | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 14th, 2009
The US Department of Homeland Security is turning to hackers to help the 16-person advisory council (HSAC) obtain alternative viewpoints on cybercrime.
An article on FoxNews.com revealed the most recent committee member to be Jeff Moss, aka Dark Tangent. Mr. Moss is widely recognized as founder of the DefCon and Black Hat hackers’ conferences. He has worked in information security for accounting giant Ernst & Young and presently works as an independent cybersecurity consultant for a variety of corporations.
Mr. Moss looks forward to bringing “a skeptical outsider’s view” to the HSAC, but admits he was surprised by President Obama’s invitation to join the council stating, “I always figured that because of my associations in the past that I would be kind of out of the running for anything like this.”
(more…)
Tags: cybercrime, Prevent Hackers, Secure Web Hosting
Posted in: Security | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 10th, 2009
A recent article in BusinessWeek.com exposed the top 20 countries from which cybercrime originates. The United States topped the list with 23% share of malicious computer activity while China and Germany sit in second and third rank respectively.
Each of the twenty hacker activity hubs named in the report was evaluated based on the following criteria:
(more…)
Tags: cybercrime, Secure Web Hosting, Website Protection
Posted in: Security | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 7th, 2009
Have you ever wondered what hackers really stand to gain by stealing your confidential information? This article published by FoxNews.com helps shed some light on the economy of private information.
While the national economy suffers, the one run by identity thieves in the dark corners of the Internet isn’t hurting. In fact, demand and prices for stolen credit cards, Social Security numbers and other private information remain stable. The supply of confidential data is steady too, thanks to the way the recession has inspired new scams targeting people who are worried about work and their finances.
(more…)
Tags: Phishing, Secure Web Hosting, Spam Protection
Posted in: Security | No Comments »
