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MCAFEE releases Security Journal 2011 (PR)

Mcafee has released its 2011 edition Security Journal which outlines the “Quantum Leap” in Security, Data, and Privacy Concerns, or so the company claims anyway.

As security experts, we need to be leaders in understanding what the next-generation threats are,Technologies are more interconnected than ever before, and that has led to new types of security threats and data and privacy concerns. As new platforms gain traction and visibility at the attacker level, now is the time to examine these threats and inform organizations and individuals on how they can protect themselves.”

-Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs.

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MCAFEE LABS EXAMINES THREAT LANDSCAPE IN LATEST EDITION

OF THE “SECURITY JOURNAL”

McAfee and Security Industry Thought Leaders Outline the “Quantum Leap” in Security, Data, and Privacy Concerns

India, November 17,2011 – McAfee today announced the 2011 edition of McAfee Security Journal, a publication designed to inform security executives and technical personnel on cutting-edge topics to help them make better-informed security decisions. The Journal, now in its seventh edition, comprises in-depth articles from McAfee Labs researchers and security thought leaders. It examines the future of information security as it pertains to interconnected technologies, recent acts of cyberespionage, the rise in hacktivism, and increasingly sophisticated malware such as Stuxnet and Duqu.

“As security experts, we need to be leaders in understanding what the next-generation threats are,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs. “Technologies are more interconnected than ever before, and that has led to new types of security threats and data and privacy concerns. As new platforms gain traction and visibility at the attacker level, now is the time to examine these threats and inform organizations and individuals on how they can protect themselves.”

This edition of the Journal, “Security beyond the Desktop,” is based on articles compiled by international experts who issue an urgent “call to arms” to the security industry. No longer is a defensive posture sufficient to protect the ubiquitous devices and data of today’s digital world. Instead of defensive methods being installed on computers, in networks, and in the cloud, there is an urgent need to “step back,” to take a broader look at security, and to take preemptive measures. The report’s authors say now is the time to avoid enemy attacks altogether by taking a more inclusive stance, looking both inside and outside the network.

The report details the following highlights on the evolution of cyberthreats and the need for a more inclusive security strategy:

The human link: There is an ever-widening disparity between the sophistication of a network and the people who use them. Cybercriminals often use social engineering toolkits to exploit unsuspecting employees when direct attacks on an organization’s defenses fail. Educating employees on secure practices is not enough; organizations need to install the proper framework to empower and encourage employees to use these secure practices.

Mobile is everywhere: Mobile attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated every year. Instead of rendering the device unusable, hackers are now finding ways to steal sensitive personal data to exploit. Additionally, hackers are broadening their target range to include other, more uncommon mobile systems, such as the GPS system in a car.

Cloud-based apps are on the rise: The popularity of cloud-based applications has made them an attractive target for hackers and other cybercriminals. However, the cloud is also a highly efficient way to scale security and protection for a business. Leveraged correctly, the cloud both helps reduce your security costs and can actually increase your overall security posture and protection.

Data is king: Whether stored on a smartphone, in the cloud, or on a network, data is what cybercriminals seek. Taking the proper precautions to secure this often ubiquitous data is a crucial step for many organizations.

Learn from previous mistakes: History is a great teacher for those who take the time to study it. Analytics help identify patterns, vulnerabilities, and even motives. Understanding any of these concepts can help prevent attacks in the future.

Experts in the report are McAfee Labs researchers, as well as Chris Roberts, founder and Chief Geek of One World Labs, Jayson Street, author of Dissecting the Hack, andDavid Kennedy, creator of The Social Engineering Toolkit. All these experts agree that the recommendations laid out in the report are preliminary, and these are just the first steps that need to be taken industry wide.

For a full copy of the McAfee Security Journal: Security Beyond the Desktop, please visit www.mcafee.com

About McAfee

McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), is the world’s largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. McAfee is relentlessly focused on constantly finding new ways to keep our customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com

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November 24, 2011

McAfee Shares Vision for Bringing Mobile Devices into the Security Infrastructure (PR)

McAfee has developed a three sided plan to ensure the future of mobile devices in the corporate environment. This plan was developed to help users secure their devices as the mobile malware market has seen an exponential growth in the last quarter. Read the Press Release for more details.

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McAfee, today shared its vision for securing mobile devices in corporate environments. The three-pronged approach for protecting mobile devices, mobile data, and mobile applications, is designed to help businesses and consumers manage their devices securely, as the threat environment quickly evolves.

Attacks on smartphones are becoming more common, and according to McAfee Labs, new malware targeting Android devices jumped 76 percent in the last quarter. The need to secure mobile devices from attacks has never been more important. IT security operations that were once smooth-running have recently come under intense pressure to adopt new technologies and fully support completely new platforms, operating systems, and architectures. McAfee is developing products and strategies to allow businesses to bring these consumer devices securely into the IT infrastructure.

“Mobile device adoption is exploding, and unfortunately, so are the threats targeting mobile platforms. If McAfee’s historical experience analyzing threats on numerous platforms is any indication, we believe that the emerging mobile malware we are seeing today is just the beginning,” said John Dasher, senior director, mobile security for McAfee. “It’s a whole new world, and a challenge for IT to craft security policies that make sense while updating their infrastructure. At McAfee, we’re working hard to create new technology to help enterprises address the challenge of securely incorporating these new mobile platforms into their environment.”

New Endpoints, New Challenges

Traditional endpoints relied mostly on email and web for application framework. Mobile has a whole new freedom in custom applications. But each new application – either public or private – introduces new threats and risks to corporate IT. Today, challenges include the consumerization of IT, mobile platform diversity that includes iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone, and an explosion of applications. Additionally, most Android-based devices have a slightly different implementation of the OS making software development and support that much harder.

McAfee is unique in being able to bring mobile devices into the security infrastructure. With a broad portfolio of security technologies including anti-malware, data loss prevention, application security, web protection, and more, McAfee has the technology needed to securely welcome these new endpoints. McAfee® ePolicy Orchestrator® security management software, which covers more than 30 million endpoints today, and McAfee Global Threat Intelligence, support and work across these integrations.

McAfee’s Three-Pronged Approach to Mobile Security

Protecting Mobile Devices — With data and device protection for today’s most popular mobile devices, McAfee provides a complete security solution that embraces mobile device diversity. To meet this challenge, McAfee offers the following:

Anti-malware protection from the growing number of threats targeted at mobile devices through McAfee® VirusScan® Mobile software.
Web protection that alerts mobile devices users when they are accessing malicious sites, such as phishing sites is offered through McAfee SiteAdvisor technology.

Protecting Mobile Data — Protecting sensitive corporate data is a requirement. McAfee can ensure that only those devices with encryption access the corporate network and data. McAfee offers

Data protection when using the McAfee EMM product, including the prevention of data leakage from Jailbroken and Rooted devices.
Anti-theft and loss features allow for remote backup, lock and wipe to make sure that sensitive data does not get into the wrong hands.
Additional data protection technologies are under development including the separation of business and personal data.

Protecting Mobile Apps – Beyond traditional email and web, mobile apps are readily available and proliferating by the millions. McAfee sees this as potentially the biggest threat vector of the future.

McAfee has released in beta McAfee® App Alert™ software to inform users how apps access their personal data.
McAfee is expanding the scope of its Global Threat Intelligence to include mobile app reputation services to identify apps that are malicious or put privacy at risk.
McAfee also has app-scanning technologies that have been successfully deployed in app stores, adding a crucial layer of application security that helps vendors provide customers a safe app experience.

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September 29, 2011

McAfee Report Shows Significant Growths in Mobile Malware (PR)

Today, Mcafee released a report which showed that the number of Malware targeted Android devices has skyrocketed in this quarter to 76%, which makes it the most attacked mobile OS. Read the Press release for more information.

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McAfee today released the McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2011, showing that the amount of malware targeted at Android devices jumped 76 percent since last quarter, to become the most attacked mobile operating system. 2011 has also resulted in the busiest ever first half-year in malware history, including a first-ever appearance of Mac fake AV and a significant uptick in rootkits, suggesting that McAfee’s comprehensive malware “zoo” collection will reach a record 75 million samples by the year’s end.

“Overall attacks are becoming more stealth and more sophisticated, suggesting that we could see attacks that remain unnoticed for longer periods of time. High-profile hacktivist groups have also changed the landscape by drawing a line between attacks for personal gain and attacks meant to send a message.”

“This year we’ve seen record-breaking numbers of malware, especially on mobile devices, where the uptick is in direct correlation to popularity,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs. “Overall attacks are becoming more stealth and more sophisticated, suggesting that we could see attacks that remain unnoticed for longer periods of time. High-profile hacktivist groups have also changed the landscape by drawing a line between attacks for personal gain and attacks meant to send a message.”

The report also details specific activity shaping the way cybercriminals operate, such as cybercrime “pricebooks” that determine the going rate for large email address lists, and acts of hacktivism and cyberwar.

2011 On Track to Reach Record “Malware Zoo”

With an approximate 12 million unique samples for the first half of 2011, a 22 percent increase over 2010, this has been the busiest first half-year in malware history. With the addition of Q2’s numbers, the grand total of total malware samples in McAfee’s database has reached approximately 65 million, and McAfee researchers estimate that this “Malware Zoo” will reach at least 75 million samples by the year’s end.

Android Nabs Top Spot for Most Mobile Malware

With the vast amount of personal and business data now found on user’s mobile phones, mobile malware is steadily increasing, often mimicking the same code as PC-based threats. In the second quarter of 2011, Android OS-based malware surpassed Symbian OS for the most popular target for mobile malware developers. While Symbian OS and Java ME remain the most targeted to date, the rapid rise in Android malware in Q2 indicates that the platform could become an increasing target for cybercriminals – affecting everything from calendar apps, to comedy apps to SMS messages to a fake Angry Birds updates.

Fake Anti-Virus for Apple, Rootkits and Stealth Malware Reach New Terrain

There are more Mac users than ever before, and as organizations increasingly adopt Macs for business use, Apple now has become more a target for malware authors. Though historically the Apple platform has been unaffected by fake anti-virus (fake AV) software, activity in Q2 indicates that it is now being affected. Although this type of fake AV is the first of its kind, McAfee Labs does expect fake AV in general will drop off over time.

Another malware category that is demonstrating recent steady growth is stealth malware. The tactic of hiding malware in a rootkit is used by cybercriminals to make malware stealthier and more persistent, and has seen this type of attack gain in prominence over the past year, with high-profile attacks such as Stuxnet. Stealth malware has increased more rapidly in the last six months than in any previous period, up almost 38 percent over 2010.

Acts of Hacktivism and Cyberwar Make Their Mark

Acts of hacktivism, primarily from the groups Anonymous and LulzSec, were among some of the most prominent cyber news generators for Q2. The report details hacktivist activity from Q2, with at least 20 global attacks reported in Q2 alone, and with the majority allegedly at the hands of LulzSec. The report also outlines acts of cyberwar that occurred in Q2, including attacks on United States’ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and an attack on South Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

Email “Black Market” for Spammers

Though spam is still at historic low levels, due in part to the Rustock takedown, McAfee Labs still expects to see a sharp rise in activity over the coming months. A common method for cybercriminals to increase their volume of spam activity is to purchase a bulk list of emails in order to flood as much spam as possible to a widespread group of people. Whether it’s a botnet or a rental service, prices vary for such enterprises, often by location. For instance, in the United States, the going rate for 1 million emails is $25, whereas in England 1.5 million emails are worth $100.

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August 24, 2011

McAfee Family Protection Software Launched in India (PR)

McAfee has launched its Family Protection Software in India. This software is not only an antivirus tool but it also provides content filters to protect children from the hazards of the Internet. It is designed to provide parents with an insight into the digital lives of their children. Read the Press Release for more information.

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McAfee announced the launch of McAfee® Family Protection, a parental control program that protects children of all ages from online risks while allowing them the freedom to safely explore the Internet.

“Online concerns for tweens and teens are not what they were two years ago” said Venkat Krishnapur, Senior Director, McAfee India. “The threat landscape has changed dramatically – especially in the context of how children of various ages in urban India use the internet and how they are exposed to various forms of threats online. McAfee Family Protection is a powerful tool that helps parents get better insight to the digital lifestyles of their children. Parents can choose to block categories of sites, filter out only a handful of sites, or block nothing at all and simply review online activity reports. Its innovative features such as online activity reports, age appropriate settings and YouTube, games and website blocking and so on gives Indian parents a powerful tool to ensure their kids stay safe when using the Internet.”

Use of the Internet by Indian children and new parenting challenges:

McAfee commissioned Synovate, to conduct a comprehensive research titled ‘How safe are Indian kids online?’ across 10 cities- New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ludhiana, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Cochin, covering 500 children and 496 parents. Following are key highlights of the revelations from this survey:

62% of all polled kids have shared personal information online.
58% kids share their home addresses on the internet.
39% of all polled kids do not tell their parents about these online activities
12% of all polled kids had been victims of some kind of cyber threat

“These findings are extremely relevant from the perspective of Indian parents. As the internet evolves into a new platform for self expression and social interaction, children are indiscriminately indulging in information exchange leading to an increasing rate of cyber exploits. The introduction of technologies like McAfee Family Protection is a step in the right direction as it enables us parents to understand, handhold and mould our children’s online persona and behavior”, said Anindita Mishra- McAfee Cybermum India.

In the context of these newfound online threats, McAfee Family Protection offers a host of essential features to enable Indian families in monitoring their children’s online activities:

Age-Appropriate Settings – Settings are customized according to age-groups
Filtering for Music and Online Games –Parents can decide what rating of content children have access to. Types of filtering include:

Songs with explicit lyrics from iTunes
Access to online gaming sites
Viewing of objectionable videos on YouTube

Encrypted website blocking blocks teens from accessing proxy sites so they cannot try to bypass content filters
Program blocking enables parents to block any program, including file sharing networks which can lead to malware infections on PCs
Instant messaging monitoring enables parents to monitor and record complete instant message conversations to alert them of improper dialogue with strangers
Time limits help families manage the amount of time their children spend online: families are able to set the day and/or time for when their child can access the Internet
Email blocking pre-approves email accounts that a child is able to access and blocks emails from unknown sources
Instant email alerts can be sent to parents when access to objectionable material is attempted
Social network filtering records all social network postings that contain profanity and posts that include confidential information that has been predetermined by parents–such as a home address, phone, school name, etc

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July 28, 2011

Mcafee Mobile Security and WaveSecure for Android

McAfee has issued a Press Release regarding its Mobile Security and WaveSecure security softwares for smartphones and tablets on the Android Platform. Read the full PR for more information.

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McAfee today announced the it is extending its mobile device portfolio for consumers with McAfee Mobile Security and McAfee WaveSecure Tablet Edition. These mobile device offerings change the mobile security landscape by offering security safeguards that help consumers secure their mobile devices for personal use, commerce and work.

According to a mobile security report released last week by McAfee and Carnegie Mellon University titled, “Mobility and Security: Dazzling Opportunities, Profound Challenges,” respondents named their top three security concerns to be the loss of personal or work data through the accidental loss of a device, physical theft of the device, or loss of their data due to their device “crashing.” In addition, close to half of all respondents said they were using their smartphones both for personal use and work, demonstrating that consumers want more than just personal device security.

McAfee Mobile Security software, available for both smartphones and tablets, provides a comprehensive mobile security solution by combining three leading McAfee mobile security products: WaveSecure, VirusScan Mobile and SiteAdvisor® for Android. It is ideal for users who want protection for their data and privacy in the event of loss or theft, protection against the growing threats of viruses and spyware targeting mobile devices as well as protection from Web based threats, such as phishing sites that probe for personal and sensitive information.

With McAfee Mobile Security, consumers can now access the following features and functionality in a single download:

Back-up and restore data to help protect sensitive information and irreplaceable photos. Even if the device is missing, it can be backed up before it is wiped clean of information.
Protection against misuse (such as excessive phone charges) as well as safeguarding personal data with remote locking capabilities
An audible alarm to help users find the device or disrupt a thief, and or pop-up a notification with instructions for returning the device
Remotely remove data from a lost or stolen device via the McAfee Web portal, mobile Web portal or via a SMS message from a buddy device
24/7 real-time anti-malware protection against viruses, worms and spyware, Trojan horses and battery sapping malware
- Protection from malicious Web sites, phishing, identity theft, and credit card fraud when shopping online. SiteAdvisor software for Android provides color coded site ratings appear right next to the search results, allowing Android users to confidently browse and search the mobile Web.
- Management of mobile device protection allows consumers to quickly execute needed security tasks, backup, locate, wipe, etc. via the McAfee Web portal and simple device interface
- All backed by McAfee Labs with its 24/7 global presence and dedicated team of threat researchers

The WaveSecure Tablet Edition offers Android users with WiFi the ability to find their missing device with alarm and location tracking, prevent misuse with remote lock and wipe and preserve important memories and personal data with remote backup, even from a lost or misplaced device. Users can also trigger an audible alarm to help them find the device or disrupt a thief, and send a brief SMS message with instructions for returning it.

“With device growth eclipsing PCs, consumers need tools to not only protect their personal information, but also to provide safeguards for business data should they decide to use that device for work,” said Todd Gebhart, senior vice president and general manager of consumer, small business and mobile, McAfee. “It’s far too easy to leave a mobile device in a cab or at the airport, which can mean lost photos, contacts and other important content. Also, the threats to mobile devices are in many ways the same as in the online world. Beyond device lost or theft, users can be hacked, infected or phished on a mobile device just as easily as they can online.”

Availability and Pricing:

McAfee Mobile Security and WaveSecure software are available in the following languages; Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, English, French (European and Canadian), German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (European and Brazilian), Swedish, Spanish (European and Mexican) and Russian. McAfee Mobile Security software is available as an annual subscription of $29.99 USD per year from McAfee and the Android Market. McAfee WaveSecure software is available as an annual subscription of $19.99 USD from McAfee and the Android Market.

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July 12, 2011

Tag: mcafee

MCAFEE releases Security Journal 2011 (PR)

McAfee Shares Vision for Bringing Mobile Devices into the Security Infrastructure (PR)

McAfee Report Shows Significant Growths in Mobile Malware (PR)

McAfee Family Protection Software Launched in India (PR)

Mcafee Mobile Security and WaveSecure for Android