News from LINUXWORLD; DEFCON; BLACK HAT

Network World |

Latest Trade Show news

* NEWS FROM LINUXWORLD:

Fujitsu links biometrics with Novell’s eDirectory, 08/07/07: Fujitsu targets biometrics at replacing passwords, smart cards, other forms of user authentication.

Windows logon-scripting tool going open source, 08/06/07: Entrigue Systems, which develops the Windows logon-scripting tool Script Start, will unveil Tuesday that it is taking the software open source to allow users to more rapidly customize the code for their unique needs.

IBM, Novell strengthen desktop, server ties, 08/07/07: IBM and Novell are beefing up their existing partnership on two fronts with Linux distributor Novell increasing support for IBM's Notes desktop collaboration software and its open source WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (WAS CE).

EnterpriseDB releases PostgreSQL distribution, 08/07/07: EnterpriseDB has released a new distribution of the PostgreSQL open source database, hoping to expand the use of the software and compete better with MySQL AB.

Indian agency to deploy Linux in schools, 08/07/07: The Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu is deploying SUSE Linux Enterprise across 30,000 desktops and 1,880 servers in schools in southern India.

OSA debuts interoperability prototype, 08/07/07: The Open Solutions Alliance (OSA), a consortium of nonprofit vendors, made good on its April promise to deliver a prototype demonstrating interoperability between open source and proprietary business applications in time for LinuxWorld this week.

Mobile Linux group gets wider support, 08/07/07: A nonprofit organization formed by six of the biggest names in the cell phone business to promote the use of Linux of handsets has gotten wider industry support.

Lenovo and Dell sneak Linux on to new PCs, 08/07/07: Open source software has made further inroads into Microsoft's heartland this week as both Lenovo and Dell announced Linux-based PCs.

Lenovo to preload Linux on some Thinkpads, 08/07/07: Lenovo Group will begin shipping Thinkpad notebooks preloaded with Linux from Novell in the fourth quarter of this year, the companies announced Monday.

Open source going mainstream, 08/03/07: As more than 11,000 attendees prepare to converge on San Francisco for the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo next week, one industry analyst says customers are evaluating open-source software the same way they evaluate proprietary software: It has to be priced right and work well.

* NEWS FROM DEFCON:

Websense lures Web 2.0 attackers with HoneyJax, 08/05/07: Websense has developed a threat detection system designed to spot Web 2.0 attacks soon after they are launched.

Undercover TV producer booted from DefCon, 08/04/07: It's a story of betrayal worthy of an episode of Dateline NBC.

Hacking conference infiltrated by 'media mole', 08/03/07: Trust nobody.That's what organizers of the 15th annual DefCon hacking conference are telling attendees Friday, after being tipped off that the TV news program Dateline NBC has sent a producer with a hidden camera to investigate the show.

Simple hack can unlock most any office door, 08/05/07: Cut a couple of wires, insert a small, easy-to-make device between them, and you can walk right through all those supposedly card-protected locked office doors.

* NEWS FROM BLACK HAT:

Mozilla: 10 day patch guarantee 'not our policy', 08/06/07: Mozilla does not set security policy at late-night pajama parties. The open source browser maker was forced to issue a statement Monday, retracting a pledge attributed to the company's director of ecosystem development, Mike Schaver, to fix any critical security bugs in the browser within "Ten ****ing Days."

Mozilla says it can patch flaws in 10 days, 08/06/07: A Mozilla executive has vowed that his company can patch any critical vulnerability in its software within 10 days, a sign that Mozilla may intend to step up its efforts to improve security.

Data leak products have security risks, 08/03/07: Companies looking to clamp down on data leaks may be introducing a whole new set of security problems to their corporate networks, researchers from Matasano Security said at the Black Hat conference Thursday.

Black Hat: Networked systems are putty in the hands of a good hacker, 08/03/07: If Las Vegas is a place to expose all, then that notion worked for the security experts who spent two days here at the Black Hat Conference laying bare the security weaknesses of everything from VoIP, to rootkits, and cell phones.

Storm Worm's virulence may change tactics, 08/02/07: The swifly spiking onslaught of the Storm Worm may signal an upcoming change in how its creators intend to wield their weapon.

Mi crosoft seeks Black Hat tips on virtualization security, 08/02/07: Microsoft Wednesday for the first time laid out the underpinnings of the security capabilities it has built into its forthcoming Windows Server Virtualization technology, in hopes that researchers will help vet the software, which is expected to ship next year.

Questions swirl around virtual-machine rootkit detection, 08/02/07: Can rootkit malware that hides by mimicking a software-based virtual machine ever be detected? That was the topic of debate as security researchers presented their latest findings to packed audiences at the Black Hat Conference.

Researchers flag VoIP exploits at Black Hat, 08/02/07: Security consultancy iSec Partners yesterday detailed half a dozen ways to compromise VoIP-based phone systems based on the H.323 and Inter Asterisk eXchange protocols.

Q&A: Meet the Borat of hackers, 08/02/07: Ever hear of the nation of Hackistan? I hadn’t until I met the president of Hackistan, who happened to be manning a booth at the Black Hat conference here Wednesday. He showed me on a map how Hackistan borders North Sloberia, East Sloberia and the Alpha Zone. The prez was kind enough to grant an interview to explain the important international role his country now plays in identity theft, hacking networks and phishing.

Web browser attack skirts corporate, 08/01/07: A 10-year-old security problem has come back to haunt corporate IT, a security researcher told an audience at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Security update seeks out, erases modifications to iPhone, 08/01/07: A security update for Apple's iPhone does more than just fix critical flaws in the handset. It also looks for and wipes out any modifications that users make to the firmware on their phones, according to hackers looking to unlock the phone.

Researchers: Web apps over Wi-Fi puts data at risk, 08/01/07: Users who access Google's Gmail or the Facebook social-networking site over Wi-Fi could put their accounts at risk of being hijacked, according to research from Errata Security, a computer security company.

European project looks to manage online threats, 08/01/07: Researchers are looking for formal European Union sponsorship of a new project that would keep an eye on malicious software and computer attacks around the world.

* 2007 TRADE SHOWS:

Interop

New York, Oct. 22-26

Berlin, Germany, Nov. 6-8

Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO West 2007 here.

Los Angeles Convention Center: Sept. 10-12

itSMF USA – Fusion 07 Conference and Exposition

Charlotte, NC, Conference/Exposition: Sept. 16-19

Charlotte, NC, Post Conference Training: Sept. 20-22

VISION 2007 Embedded Linux Conference

Santa Clara, Calif.: October 8-10

Fall 2007 VON