UPDATED 08:18 EDT / AUGUST 17 2013

Weekly Security Review: Funding and Privacy

Cybersecurity was a major focal point this week. Cyvera received funding for its zero-day attack prevention technology, hackers found a way to compromise legitimate apps, and Edward Snowden leaked new details about the NSA’s domestic snooping operation. In related news, Consumer Watchdog released a document in which Google openly admits to violating email users’ privacy.

On Tuesday, Cyvera announced that it has closed a $11 million funding round by Battery Ventures. Private investors Prof. Ehud Weinstein and Dr. Ofir Shalvi also participated in the round.

Cyvera’s flagship solution is an anti-malware platform called Targeted Remote Attack Prevention System (TRAPS). The offering consists of a centralized management dashboard that enables admins to block attack routes and create honey pots, and a sophisticated sandbox environment that facilitates post-prevention study and threat analysis.

Zero-day exploits give both enterprises and consumers plenty reason for concern. Palo Alto Networks recently discovered that hackers are setting up fake ad networks in an effort to trick developers into embedding malicious code in their apps. Wade Williamson, a senior security analyst with the firm, explained that these ad networks act as “crude botnets” that use infected devices to commit toll fraud.

A day after we reported Palo Alto Networks’ discovery, the Washington Post published classified documents that shed new light on the NSA’s domestic spying program. The papers, which include an internal audit, show that the spy agency overstepped legal boundaries on thousands of occasions in the last five years.

Like the NSA, Google is operating on the edge of the law. In a 39-page motion published by Consumer Watchdog, the search giant stated that “people who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if their communications are processed by the recipient’s ECS [electronic communication service] provider in the course of delivery.”


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