F-Secure profit rises, cost cuts offset weak corporate spending (Reuters)
Reuters, 4/26/2013
Finnish security software maker F-Secure reported a 9 percent rise in operating profit as cost cuts helped make up for weak sales of its content cloud services to business clients.
AP Twitter Hack: Lessons Learned (InformationWeek)
InformationWeek, 4/25/2013
"The username is an issue," said Sean Sullivan, security advisor at F-Secure Labs, speaking by phone. "Consider your online banking. My bank issued me a unique customer number and I don't share that with anybody. So both the username and the password are secret. But with social media/networking sites, half of the secrecy is gone."
Apple’s App Store is the biggest security innovation in the last 10 years, says F-secure (The Inquirer)
The Inquirer, 4/25/2013
"[It's a] highly visible, very big target, and there's not been a single case of malware in that time," Hypponen said. "Six years and not a single case, that's a massive success story and it's no coincidence, it's a job well done by Apple."
Infosec 2013: Cyber threats unlikely to disappear, says security researcher (Computer Weekly)
Computer Weekly, 4/24/2013
Despite the past decade being the best so far for cyber defenses, cyber security will still be a major concern in ten years’ time, according to Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at security firm F-Secure.
Infosecurity Europe 2013: Hall of Fame Shlomo Kramer & Mikko Hypponen (Infosec Professional)
Infosec Professional, 4/23/2013
Mikko Hypponen is the Chief Research Officer of F-Secure in Finland. He has been working with computer security for over 20 years and has fought the biggest virus outbreaks in the net. He's also a columnist for the New York Times, Wired, CNN and BBC. His TED Talk on computer security has been seen by over a million people and has been translated to over 35 languages. Mr. Hypponen sits in the advisory boards of the ISF and the Lifeboat foundation.
F-Secure, McAfee, Symantec Apps Ace Mobile Antivirus Test (PCmag.com)
PC Mag, 4/22/2013
F-Secure, McAfee, Symantec, and Trend Micro received 6.0 points for protection, the highest rating, because they literally detected 100 percent. The other seven products didn't quite detect everything, but did well enough that their scores rounded to 100 percent.
87% of Corporate Computers Lack Critical Software Updates, F-Secure Warns(Softpedia)
Softpedia, 4/18/2013
Security solutions provider F-Secure warns that 87% of the corporate computers they’ve gathered data from lack critical software updates. This represents a serious threat to business security, especially now, when large organizations are often targeted by cyberattacks.
Hacking lessons learned: how to cover your digital ass (VentureBeat)
VentureBeat, 4/11/2013
We’ve all heard of Mat Honan, the Wired reporter who had his digital life destroyed by hackers last year. F-Secure, a Finnish security company, created an infographic about his experience and provide tips on how to avoid making the same mistakes he did.
Five Best Anti-Virus Applications (Opposing Views)
Opposing Views, 4/10/2013
F-Secure was given best-of-show by PCWorld and AV-Test (for protection). It ranked in the top 10 packages reviewed by AV-Comparatives and was given excellent usability scores by AV-Test. It scored well for file detection, anti-phishing and in the real-world tests. It didn't perform as well as other programs at detecting malware. F-Secure adds five to six seconds to start up and shutdown times, as well as extending the time it takes to install other programs. Other anti-virus programs don't affect performance so heavily.
The Importance of Security in Mobile Platforms (DZone)
DZone, 4/10/2013
We completed the review of the analysis of the major security companies with data provided by security firm F-Secure that has always been at the forefront of the study of computer threats. According to Mikko Hypponen, the mobile threat landscape continues to be focused on two platforms, Android, which accounted for 79% of all new malware variants identified in 2012 and Symbian, with 19% of the remaining new variants.
AV-Test issues first Windows 8 antivirus solution ratings (NetworkWorld)
NetworkWorld, 4/8/2013
F-Secure, G Data, Bitdefender, Kaspersky, BullGuard and Trend Micro were all ranked with the top score of six regarding protection against brand new and widespread malware infections. Protection against 0-day attacks were up across the board, with the average score going from 92% in the previous test for Windows 7 to 95% for Windows 8. Below are the top 10 home user virus scanners based on protection.
F-Secure rebuilds free Online Scanner (Help Net Security)
Help Net Security, 4/4/2013
“Cyberspace is a jungle,” says Kimmo Kasslin, Director, Security Research at F-Secure Labs. “Sites that are usually trustworthy are being compromised with malware, and users can be silently infected without any overt action – simply by landing on a malicious or compromised website. That’s why it’s always a good idea to run a quick scan – even if you have another security software installed.”
F-Secure & Kaspersky April Fools' Security: From huge hack to malware written by aliens (NetworkWorld)
NetworkWorld, 4/1/2013
F-Secure claimed a hacker group named "Obvious" took credit for the hack and uploaded a 1.9 GB file to The Pirate Bay that contains over 3 million user names and the one password. "To avoid problems like this in the future, we are recommending users to change their password everywhere to 'password1,' which is obviously more secure."
How to Avoid Dangerous or Malicious Smartphone Apps (MoneyWatch)
MoneyWatch, 3/28/2013
Especially if you have an Android device, strongly consider running anti-virus software. Excellent choices include Kaspersky Mobile Security and F-Secure Mobile Security.
Spear Phishes Used to Infect South Korean Corporate Networks (SC Magazine)
SC Magazine, 3/25/2013
Sean Sullivan, security adviser at Finnish security firm F-Secure, told SCMagazine.com on Monday that the spurious emails included HTML-based attachments. “These were samples data-mined by analysts last week,” Sullivan said, adding that it is unknown, however, based on the samples, which organizations were targeted. In a Monday blog post, Broderick Aquilino, a researcher at F-Secure, explained how attackers hid the real extension that victims were opening.
Rising cyber-nationalism leads to amplified cyber-mistrust(Networkworld)
Networkworld, 3/19/13
Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, the security firm based in Finland, said his company has seen an uptick in inquiries from customers that are related to national origin of security software. He would only say that most of these inquiries related to national origin of software came mainly from customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
Beware Infrared X-Ray: Latest Android Malware Spams Victim's Contacts (CRN)
CRN, 3/18/13
F-Secure warned that malware authors are developing more sophisticated attack techniques for mobile devices, using encryption and randomization or hiding malicious code in image files. Malware also was discovered on bootleg copies of the Angry Bird game, the firm said.
Apple Updates 21 Bugs in OS X Mountain Lion (PC Magazine)
PC Magazine, 3/17/13
Sean Sullivan, a security researcher with F-Secure noted that Apple has the "Open 'safe' files after downloading" command enabled by default in the new update. "Safe" files include pictures, PDF files, movies, sounds, documents, and archives.
Apple OS X Update Fixes 21 Vulnerabilities (Informationweek)
Informationweek, 3/15/13
F-Secure security researcher Sean Sullivan noted in a blog post that Apple patched security issues related to some of the ostensibly "safe" file types that are opened by default when downloaded by the company's Safari browser. He recommends unchecking the checkbox that confirms this default setting.
Apple Takes 3 Shots at Android (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool, 3/14/13
A week ago, Schiller also tweeted another jab at Android: "Be safe out there." He shared a link (opens PDF) to a third-party research report from security specialist F-Secure that outlined mobile threats in the fourth quarter. The report showed a precipitous rise in Android malware, which had nearly doubled sequentially from the third quarter. F-Secure concluded, "Android malware has been strengthening its position in the mobile threat scene."
Spin control: Apple goes on offense against Android (CNET)
CNET, 3/14/13
Schiller started the trash talking last week with a random tweet urging people to "Be safe out there" with a link to a report from F-Secure focusing on Android mobile security threats.
Apple’s Phil Schiller bashes Android yet again (AndroidCommunity)
AndroidCommunity, 3/14/13
Apple exec Phil Schiller has once again gone on the offensive in terms of Android. We saw the out of the ordinary tweet from him back on March 7. With that message he telling people to “be safe out there” and while those four words alone could have meant anything — he also linked to an F-Secure report that touched on Android and malware.
Apple Marketing Chief Slams Android, Samsung's New Galaxy Smartphone (Forbes)
Forbes, 3/13/13
This isn’t the first time that Schiller has commented on Android. In a tweet last week, he encouraged users to “be safe out there” and pointed them to a “Mobile Threat Report” by F-Secure Labs that says the rise in popularity of Google’s mobile software has led to a rise in Android malware. Android accounted for 79 percent of mobile threats in 2012. Apple’s iOS threat share: 0.7 percent, according to the report.
Apple’s getting catty on eve of Samsung’s Galaxy S IV launch (VentureBeat)
VentureBeat, 3/13/2013
This kind of cattiness is also out of character for Apple, which has generally been quiet about competition. Attitudes seem to be changing, however, as this is not the first time the marketing executive has gone on the offense when it comes to Android. After security firm F-Secure released a report saying 79 percent of mobile malware is on Android phones, Schiller tweeted, “Be safe out there” with a link to the report.
Nope, Not Even the iOS Family is Safe from Malware (Bright Side of News)
Bright Side of News, 3/12/13
When it comes to the security matters on mobile devices, usually the heavy load of criticism amplified by the mass media goes in the direction of one platform of today's mobile world. Yes, an overly familiar - Google's Android is mostly alone on the platter, at least according to statistics from F-Secure Labs. They state that 79% of all mobile malware throughout the 2012 ended up on Google's mobile platform.
iOS user security threatened by malicious profiles, researchers contend (FierceMobileContent)
FierceMobileContent, 3/12/13
Just last week, Apple Senior President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller took a potshot at Google following a report that Android is to blame for 79 percent of all mobile malware threats identified last year. "Be safe out there" Schiller tweeted, linking to an F-Secure study reporting a significant jump in Android malware between 2011 and 2012.
Google Play Becoming a Haven for Malware Developers (The Droid Guy)
The Droid Guy, 3/12/13
The online Trojan is one of the most deceitful malware that circulates today in any Android device. This intends to steal passwords in any virtual accounts for the purpose of transferring money from the target. According to the F-Secure, the Eurograbber became known in Europe as it stole over $US47 million from the European Investors. Moreover, an unwanted subscription can also be encountered when the shady SMS-sending practices get to your device.
KPN extends F-Secure agreement for three years (Telecom Paper)
Telecom Paper, 3/12/13
Dutch operator KPN has extended its partnership with security software provider F-Secure for three years. The new agreement offers a service pack for SMEs, including real-time security for PCS, smartphones, tablets and servers. KPN offers the security services as part of its hosted Software Online range, available on a vendor-neutral basis. A management portal has been added to the Internet Security package, allowing the customer a central point to manage all PCs and servers. In the future, smartphone and tablet management will also be added.
Android accounts for 79% of mobile malware and iOS 0.7%, according to repot by F-Secure (Android On Top)
Android On Top, 3/11/13
F-Secure, a security firm, has released their Mobile Threat Report for Q4 2012 and the trend is not surprising: Android has a bullseye on its back.
Defining the qualities of cyber warfare (SC Magazine)
SC Magazine, 3/11/13
F-Secure Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen reportedly noted at the recent DLD13 conference in Munich that hackers have morphed from the “happy teen hacker” type that is just hacking for fun to those who engage in it with a motive and for a proverbial kill. “Hackers now are either criminals out to make money, activists out to protest or governments engaged in targeting their own citizens or attacking other governments, whether for espionage or cyber warfare,” he said, according to The Guardian.
Phishers Cast Longlines to Hook More Victims (TechNewsWorld)
TechNewsWorld, 3/11/13
A number of surveys released last week painted a grim picture of web and mobile apps, as well as data breach notification compliance among small businesses. A report from F-Secure did nothing to change the reputation of Google's Android operating system as a magnet for bad apps. The Finnish-based security firm reported that 79 percent of all mobile malware in 2012 could be found on the platform. That was a jump from 2011 when 66.7 percent of all mobile malware was found on Android.
Google Android Devices Alone Accounted For 96% Of All Mobile Malware In Q4 2012: [Report] (Daze Info)
Daze Info, 3/8/13
According to a recent report from security specialists F-Secure, Google Android devices accounted for 79% of all mobile malware in 2012, rose from 66.7% a year ago. However, Google’s mobile juggernaut accounted for just 11.25% of malware back in 2010. More importantly, F-secure reported that Android alone accounted for 96% of all mobile malware in Q4 2012, up from 49% in the previous quarter.
F-Secure Developing Secure Dropbox Alternative (Channelomics)
Channelomics, 3/8/13
Count F-Secure Corp. among the many software companies trying to cash in on the cloud computing and BYOD trend. The Finish security software company is developing a cloud-based file-sharing and backup service that will enable consumers to securely move business documents between personal devices and corporate resources.
'Be safe out there' is brilliant marketing (Betanews)
Betanews, 3/8/2013
That tweet and link to F-Secure report on mobile malware spread across the InterWebs, and I'm still reading about it today. The security firm's study might otherwise have gotten little notice if not for Schiller's tweet, which shows that even 140 characters is sometimes too much to have impact. You can do so much more with less.
Android Malware Problem Should Not Be Ignored, Researchers Say (Computerworld)
Computerworld, 3/8/13
The statistics shared by Ferguson come one day after security firm F-Secure released a report saying that Android malware accounted for 96% of new mobile threats discovered during the fourth quarter of 2012 and 79% of all mobile threats discovered during 2012.
F-Secure: 8 out of 10 Mobile Malware Targets Android (MaximumPC)
MaximumPC, 3/8/13
F-Secure detected 301 total new threat families and variants in 2012, most of which took aim at Android. If you're rocking an Android device, you should especially be suspicious of fraudulent SMS messages, which is where F-Secure noticed a large share of the Android threats in Q4.
Apple marketing chief uses rare Twitter post to take shot at Android security issues (Apple Insider)
Apple Insider, 3/7/13
Schiller took to Twitter on Thursday for just the 172nd time since opening his account in 2008, linking to F-Secure's Mobile Threat Report Q4 2012. Aside from providing the link, Schiller said only "Be safe out there."
Android accounts for most mobile malware, says F-Secure (ZDnet)
ZDnet, 3/7/13
"As old Symbian handsets continue to be replaced by those with other operating systems, especially Android, Symbian malware dies off and will probably go extinct in 2013," said F-Secure security advisor Sean Sullivan. "The numbers are starkly reversed from 2010, when Symbian malware accounted for 62 percent of threats and Android just 11 percent."
Obama tags EPA, OMB and DoE heads, DHS 3.0 has cybersecurity as a top priority and more (CTOVision)
CTOVision, 3/5/13
A Different Way to Fight Malware – A top malware researcher, Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure, believes that we are not focusing enough on how to recover from malware infections. F-Secure’s new product, Antibot, looks to change the way that defense acts.
A Different Way to Fight Malware (Enterprise Efficiency)
Enterprise Efficiency, 3/4/13
So F-Secure has created a new cloud-based product, Antibot (now in beta), which aims to change that approach. As Hypponen confesses, the truth is, at some point, malware is going to get through your defenses. Hopefully, it won't be anything serious. Hopefully, it won't be something that requires you to issue breach notifications.
'Tis the season for tax scammers -- and now, 'long-lining' phishers (CSO)
CSO, 3/4/13
While tax scammers are recycling old material, they appear to be changing their proclivities, according to Don Jackson, a senior security researcher with Dell F-Secure in Atlanta, Ga. "The big difference this year is we're not seeing as many exploits," he said. "They're not using vulnerabilities in browser software as much as they have in the past. What we're seeing is more social engineering attacks.
This Week in Cybercrime: Stuxnet Two Years Older Than Previously Believed (Mafia Today)
Mafia Today, 3/2/13
The exploits these bits of malware pulled off without attracting attention were “nothing short of amazing,” Mikko H. Hypponen, chief research officer for F-Secure, a security firm in Helsinki, Finland, told IEEE Spectrum. Furthermore, says Hypponen, “You need a supercomputer and loads of scientists to do this.”
Five enterprise-ready antivirus systems (TechRepublic)
TechRepublic, 2/26/13
In this edition of Five Apps, we take a look at five enterprise grade antivirus systems that fall just under that handful of major players. These five systems are among the myriad of systems available. The only requirement is that there is a centralized management console to manage and control the client-side software…F-Secure Business Suite: Offering a similar set of features, F-Secure Business Suite allows administrators to find systems - either from AD or IP-based autodiscovery - and build and deploy packages to those systems. F-Secure boasts a small footprint on the endpoint while still offering browsing protection, anti-malware, rootkit detection, IPS, and email and web filtering. End users are also able to view statistics on their local system within the client software.
Apple Is Beta-Testing An Update That Kills Evasi0n Jailbreak (Forbes)
Forbes, 2/25/13
Security researchers have nonetheless pointed out that Evasi0n could give criminals or spies some nasty ideas. The tool uses five distinct bugs in iOS, all of which might be appropriated and combined with other techniques for malicious ends. And F-Secure researcher Mikko Hypponen points out that if a hacker used a Mac or Windows exploit to compromise a user’s PC, he or she could simply wait for the target to plug in an iPhone or iPad and use evasi0n to take over that device as well.
BT selects F-Secure’s personal cloud service (Telecom Lead)
Telecom Lead, 2/21/13
BT’s selection of F-Secure’s personal cloud service will enable BT Cloud to offer backup facilities to customers in the U.K.BT’s U.K. customers can now safely share photos, videos and files across their mobile, tablet or PC.F-Secure Personal Cloud Service offers device-agnostic user experience for PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets.
TDS Internet security partner reviewed as first-rate protection, usability (Pine and Lakes)
Pine and Lakes, 2/19/13
When tested in PCWorld’s real-world attack test, F-Secure Internet Security 2013 completely blocked 100 percent of attacks and 99 percent of known malware samples. In addition, the scanning speeds took second place in both “on-demand (manual) scan tests and on-access (automatic) scans.”
F-Secure unveils Antibot for network security (Telecompaper)
Telecompaper, 02/19/13
F-Secure has introduced Antibot, a new product that fights botnets by cleaning infected PCs and devices on operators' networks. F-Secure Antibot disinfects devices that are infected on a network by guiding the users through a self-cleaning processing, cutting out the need to call the operator helpdesk
Why Most Companies Won't Admit They Were Hacked (Mashable)
Mashable, 2/1/13
"Some companies that get hit like this never realize they were hit," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure in Helsinki, Finland. "Many of the companies that get hit are defense contractors. They'd rather not tell anyone they were hacked."
G Data InternetSecurity 2013 review (PC World)
PC World, 1/31/13
This indicates how well the product will successfully block brand new malware attacks when it encounters them in the wild. Of the nine security suites we tested, five completely blocked all attacks: G Data, F-Secure, Bitdefender, Norton, and Trend Micro.
Browsers Beat Security Software in Phishing Protection Test (PCmag.com)
PCmag.com, 1/30/13
What is the consequence of cyber warfare slowly becoming increasingly common? That was the basic question that guided the DLD keynotes of Eugene Kaspersky, the co-founder of security company Kaspersky Lab, and F-Secure‘s chief research officer Mikko Hypponen. Hypponen took a similar view. The “happy hacker” of the 80s and 90s, he said, is long gone. Instead, we now have to deal with criminals who try to make money from their malware and botnets, hacktivists who try to protest and governments attacking their own citizens and other governments for espionage and full-scale cyber warfare.
AVG Internet Security 2013 review (PC World)
PC World, 1/29/13
In our system cleanup test, AVG detected 100% of infections, but only disabled 90%, and only managed to completely clean up 60%. This isn't a great rate - F-Secure Internet Security 2013 managed to completely clean up 90% of malicious files - but it's also not the worst of the suites we tested.
Review: F-Secure Internet Security 2013: First-rate protection and usability has a small performance price (PC World)
PC World, 1/28/13
F-Secure Internet Security 2013 (about $73 for one year and one computer, as of 12/19/12) came in first in several of our malware detection, blocking, and removal tests. It successfully blocked attacks, detected and disabled infections, and proved adept at cleaning up all traces of malware, landing at the top of this year’s security suite roundup.
Review: Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2013: An all-around winner (PC World)
PC World, 1/28/13
Trend Micro’s user interface is relatively easy to understand, though it’s not as polished or attractive as AVG’s, F-Secure’s, or Norton’s. The main window has five tabs along the top: an Overview tab, and others for PC/Mobile, Privacy, Data, and Family. The Overview tab shows your protection status, along with some additional stats (such as how many threats have been stopped). This screen also has a scan button, a settings button, and a security-report button.
Review: Kaspersky Internet Security 2013: Good protection, advanced settings (minus the jargon) (PC World)
PC World, 1/28/13
In our system cleanup test, the Kaspersky software did an excellent job of detecting, disabling, and fully cleaning up infections. It detected and disabled all infections on our test PC, and fully cleaned up all traces of malware 80 percent of the time. Of the suites we tested, only two packages (Bitdefender and F-Secure) cleaned up more infections (90 percent), while three suites, including Kaspersky’s, cleaned up 80 percent.
Eugene Kaspersky, Mikko Hypponen Discuss the Internet, Cyber Warfare (Threat Post)
Threat Post, 1/25/13
In a video from this week's DLD Conference, F-Secure's Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen and Kaspersky Lab's CEO Eugene Kaspersky discuss increased paranoia surrounding cyber warfare, the dangers of the internet and the evolution of hacking throughout the years.
F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen on Cyber Warfare at Wired 2012 (Privacy PC)
Privacy PC, 1/22/13
Chief Research Officer at F-Secure and true computer security guru Mikko Hypponen outlines the state and scope of today’s cyber threatscape at Wired 2012 event.
Microsoft Rebuts Antivirus Test Failure (PC Magazine)
PC Magazine, 1/18/13
In December 2012," Blackbird continued, "we processed 20 million new potentially malicious files, and, using telemetry and customer impact to prioritize those files, added protection that blocked 4 million different malicious files on nearly 3 million computers. Those 4 million files could have been customer-impacting if we had not prioritized them appropriately." In other words, Microsoft fared poorly in this test due to their emphasis on prioritizing files that would actively impact their customers. It's an interesting point, but other vendors manage to protect their users and also earn top scores from AV-Test. Bitdefender, F-Secure, and Trend Micro all received 6 of 6 possible point in the protection test.
Red October malware discovered after years of stealing data in the wild (PC World)
PC World, 1/15/13
Even though Rocra's capabilities appear extensive, not everyone in the security field was impressed by Rocra's methods of attack. “It appears the exploits used were not advanced in any way,” the security firm F-Secure said on its company blog. “The attackers used old, well-known Word, Excel and Java exploits. So far, there is no sign of zero-day vulnerabilities being used.” A zero-day vulnerability refers to previously unknown exploits discovered in the wild.
See the RSA Spear-Hack in Action (PC Magazine)
PC Magazine, 1/8/2013
The Winners: As you can see, both Kaspersky and Bitdefender rated ADVANCED in one test and ADVANCED+ in all of the others. The AV-Comparatives team follows this rule in the event of a tie: "if there are two or more products with equal marks, the award goes to the product which has not previously received it." Since Kaspersky took the award last year, Bitdefender is this year's winner. Clearly Bitdefender is not the only product with excellent overall scores. AV-Comparatives identified several other "Top Rated" products: avast!, AVIRA, BullGuard, ESET, F-Secure, G DATA, and Kaspersky. Based on a scoring system assigning 15 points to ADVANCED+, 10 to ADVANCED, and 5 to STANDARD, each of these received at least 105 points. They didn't skip any tests, nor did they fail to achieve STANDARD in any tests.
See the RSA Spear-Hack in Action (San Jose Mercury News)
San Jose Mercury News, 1/7/2013
Mikko H. Hypponen, chief researcher at F-Secure, called Flame "a spectacular failure" for the anti-virus industry. "We really should have been able to do better," he wrote in an essay for Wired.com after Flame's discovery. "But we didn't. We were out of our league in our own game."