PNNL joins with UW to form big data institute, Researchers find weakness in Microsoft’s Fix It

By RyanKamauff

Here are the top cyber news and stories of the day.

• PNNL joins with UW to form big data institute – The PNNL and the University of Washington are partnering to create the Northwest Institute for Advanced Computing. The institute aims to be a collaboration center for researchers to explore advanced computer system designs, accelerate data-driven scientific discovery and improve computational modeling and simulation. Via FedScoop, more here.
• Tom Ridge on DHS’s IT Security Role – This interview, with Tom Ridge (the first Homeland Security secretary), examines if it is a good idea to give DHS even more influence over federal IT decisions. Ridge believes that DHS is not up to the task of defending the entire federal IT infrastructure. Via Bank Info Security, more here.
• Holgate finding innovative ways to procure technology – ATFE CIO, Rick Holgate, has awarded a contract vehicle that pools numbers to find lowest prices. The contract is a partnership between agencies such as the ATFE, the US Marshals Service, the DEA and the FTC. ATFE is engaged in multiple such partnerships which enable the commoditization of IT and increase the purchasing power of CIOs. Via FedScoop, more here.
• Bogus U.S. Airways registration confirmation leads to info-stealing malware – There is a new spam campaign that pretends to be US Airways. It is a “booking confirmation” email, and leads to a compromised site. From there, they are open to the Blackhole exploit kit and infected with the Cridex Trojan. Via Net Security, more here.
• Researchers Bypass Microsoft IE Fix – The recent zero-day attack that hit Microsoft IE has been quite perplexing to the software giant. They have created a “workaround” to protect from the zero-day, yet researchers have found a “workaround” to that “workaround.” Researchers at Exodus intelligence found this weakness in Microsoft’s “Fix It.” This exploit affects IE versions 6, 7 and 8. Via ISS Source, more here.

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