Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3) Scam Alerts

This report, which is based upon information from law enforcement and complaints
submitted to the IC3, details recent cyber crime trends and new twists to previously-existing
cyber scams.

Social Network Misspelling Scam

During December 2010, the IC3 discovered misspellings of a social network site being
used as a social engineering ploy. Misspelling the domain name of this site would
redirect users to websites coded to look similar to the actual website. The website
users were redirected to answer three or four simple survey questions. Upon answering
those questions, users were offered a choice of three free gifts. Multiple brands
were observed as being offered as gifts, including gift cards to retail stores and
various brands of laptops.

After clicking on one of the gifts, users were further redirected to other websites
claiming to give free gifts for completing surveys. The surveys typically asked
for name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. A user could spend hours filling
out multiple surveys and never receive any of the gifts advertised.

Fake Online Receipt Generator Targets Unsuspecting Online Marketplace Merchant

A new scam aims to swindle online marketplace sellers by generating fake receipts.
This Receipt Generator is an executable file that has been circulating on hacking
forums recently. This is a particularly interesting scam - because it does not target
regular PC users, it targets the sellers on online marketplace websites. This is
what the would-be social engineer sees when running the program:

The social engineer can fill in a variety of information, including item name, price,
and the date the order was taken. Additionally, it allows them to choose between
the .com, .co.uk, .fr, and .ca marketplace portals. When they hit "Generate," an
HTML file is created in the program folder which looks like this:

The program produces what appears to be a genuine marketplace receipt and a copy
of the "Printable Order Summary," similar to the documents resulting from legitimate
marketplace purchases. Note the small details, such as "Total before tax," "Sales
tax," and other particulars that make the receipt convincing.

Many sellers on these markets will ask the buyer to send them a copy of the receipt
should the buyer run into trouble, have orders go missing, lose the license key
for a piece of software, and so on. The scammer relies on the seller to accept the
printout at face value without checking the details. After all, how many sellers
would be aware someone went to the trouble of creating a fake receipt generator?

Sellers must remain ever vigilant about this scam, which has been a popular topic
in recent hacker forums. The VirusTotal detection rate is currently 1/43 – detected as Hacktool.Win32.Amagen.A.

Malicious Code In .gov E-mail

A recent malware campaign, disguised as a holiday greeting from the White House,
targeted government employees. The recipient received the below e-mail with links
to what masqueraded as a greeting card, but when they clicked on the link, it attempted
to download a file named "card.exe." The executable program proved to be an information-stealing
Trojan, which would disable the recipient’s computer security notifications, software
updates, and firewall settings. The malware also installed itself into the computer’s
registry, enabling the code to be executed every time the computer was rebooted.
At the time of review, this particular malicious code sample had a low antivirus
detection rate of 20%, with only 9 out of 43 antivirus companies reporting detection.

From: sender@whitehouse.gov [mailto: sender@whitehouse.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 10:33 PM
To: recipient's name
Subject: Merry Christmas, recipient's name
Recipient’s name here,
    
    As you and your families gather to celebrate the holidays, we wanted to take a moment
    to send you our greetings. Be sure that we're profoundly grateful for your dedication
    to duty and wish you inspiration and success in fulfillment of our core mission.
    
    Greeting card:
    
     hxxp://xtremedefenceforce.com/card/
     hxxp://elvis.com.au/card/
    
    
    Merry Christmas!
    
    ___________________________________________

 Executive Office of the President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500




    
 Source: FBI, February 2011   


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AFCOM 2009/2010 Data Center Trends Survey Reveals Weakness in World Cyber Terrorism Readiness and Government Greening

(BUSINESS WIRE)--AFCOM, the world’s largest data center association, today (October 27) announces its 2009/2010 Data Center Trends survey that offers perspective and insights on the major trends facing 436 commercial, government and college/university data centers throughout the world; twenty percent responsible for budgets of $10M plus. Significant findings reveal that though threat of cyber terrorism is real, it is not being adequately addressed by the world's keepers of the most confidential financial, military and personal data. In addition, it reveals the government is behind its private industry counterparts in terms of greening initiatives. Meanwhile, it shows that the mainframe may be losing its place in worldwide data centers, as servers become more capable. And cloud computing, despite the hype, hasn’t pushed beyond 15 percent acceptance at this point. In comparison, 73 percent have implemented virtual processing.

“We designed this survey to better understand current trends in the industry, and to help our members understand what others are doing to get to that next level in operational effectiveness. In many cases, the results and analysis of this survey are bringing awareness to areas that need improvement. For instance, the industry needs a clear definition of cloud computing and virtualization; we’ve supported data center professionals for three decades now and many of these terms seem merely re-packaged and over-marketed new names for technologies that have actually been around for quite some time,” said Jill Eckhaus, CEO of AFCOM. “Our analysis also shows that data center managers need to develop more comprehensive cyber terrorism policies, and get more aggressive in greening, particularly in government agencies where greening lags behind private industry. Finally, it’s time to decide where the mainframe is still viable and needed, and where high-end servers can do a more efficient job.”

A closer look – survey background

AFCOM is the only data center association that represents both the IT and facilities side of the data center. Respondents, part of AFCOM’s 4,500 member data center sites, represent 27 countries, 83 percent in the U.S. and 17 percent overseas; 60 percent are responsible for Information Technology, 31 percent Facilities and 9 percent represent other roles in the data center. The survey, completed in early October in conjunction with AFCOM’s bi-annual Data Center World Conference and Expo, asked respondents questions regarding their greening initiatives, cyber terrorism, emerging technologies, mainframe usage and about their plans for consolidation, performance monitoring and storage strategies, among other initiatives.

A closer look – survey results

Data center greening, no longer just a concept, but obstacles still exist

The survey re-iterates that greening of the data center is no longer just a concept – it is actually taking place, and on a large scale, with 71.3 percent of all respondents indicating they are actively engaged in greening initiatives at this time. And while 71.3 percent are, in fact, engaged in greening, only 42.2 percent have a “formal” greening initiative. According to respondents, the most important results they have experienced as a result of implementing green measures are in power efficiency, 60.8 percent report they are using less power and 51.4 percent have implement cooling efficiency strategies. In addition to power and cooling efficiencies, 11.5 percent also report a significant savings in water usage.

Data centers & cyber terrorism, a real threat that needs more attention

Cyber terrorism has become even more prevalent in the past few years. From hackers attacking NATO computers to cyber-attacks in China, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea and the U.S., it’s not likely a threat that will go away any time soon. Data center professionals must be well-equipped to handle and respond to cyber terrorist attacks, but according to AFCOM’s survey, there’s considerable room for improvement.

Respondents revealed that 60.9 percent of all data centers worldwide officially recognize cyber terrorism as a threat they need to deal with, but only a little over one-third (34.4 percent) have included it in their disaster/recovery plans, which would include their best defense plans if attacked. Only one in four, or 24.8 percent, has addressed cyber terrorism in their policies and procedures manuals and only 60.2 percent have a written policies and procedures manual. Meanwhile, less than one in five, or 19.7 percent provide any cyber terrorism employee training. On the positive side, however, 82.4 percent report that they do perform background security checks on all potential new employees, another solid defense against cyber terrorists.

Data center consolidation spurred by economic reality

Data center consolidation has historically been cyclical in this industry. As the economy suffers, more companies have traditionally looked to consolidation as a method of saving money. The economic downturn we are experiencing today is no exception, with 62.1 percent of all respondents either already in the process of consolidating one or more data centers, or seriously considering it. More than half of respondents (52.1 percent) plan to relocate their newly consolidated data center to another existing facility, or build an entirely new one to accommodate the additional requirements.

Emerging technologies breaking through – from cluster to cloud

According to the survey, the technologies with the highest levels of adoption in today’s data centers are: virtual processing, implemented by 72.9 percent of all respondents, Web applications (70.4 percent), automation (54.8 percent) cluster computing (50. percent), and cloud computing (14.9 percent).

Surprisingly, in addition to the slim 14.9 percent who utilize cloud computing, this technology has been considered by an additional 46.3 percent, but never implemented.

AFCOM’s Data Center Institute (DCI) has undertaken an in-depth research project on the myths and realities surrounding cloud computing that will be released at AFCOM’s 2010 Data Center World in Nashville, Tennessee, March 7-11. To register, visit www.datacenterworld.com.

The state and fate of the mainframe

Only 39.6 percent of all data centers worldwide still operate mainframe computer systems today. In data centers that have mainframes installed, the median number in residence is two. And of all the data centers that have mainframes installed, 45.7 percent expect to replace one or more of them in the next two years. Of those that are expecting to replace their mainframes during the next two years, more than two out of three, or 67.1 percent will be replacing them with new mainframes, and 32.9 percent will be replacing them with high-end servers or other alternatives.

Based on this data, AFCOM concludes that the number of data centers using mainframes today versus five and ten years ago, is going down, and the future will continue this trend. Approximately one-third, or 32.9 percent of all existing mainframe data centers will no longer use mainframes in the future. Of all data centers with no installed mainframes today, 38.2 percent report that they did have them ten years ago and another 27.2 percent had them five years ago. And, according to respondents, five years from now, an additional one-third of those with mainframes today will no longer have them.

Performance monitoring gets more active

As witnessed by the number of performance monitoring tools and dashboards on display at AFCOM’s recent 2009 Data Center World in Orlando, performance monitoring in the data center is finally coming into its own, with many critical systems and components under 24/7 scrutiny. As the consequence of error in the data center has risen so dramatically (with the entire company dependent on all systems being continually available), the need to find and correct any and all malfunctions on the fly has become a necessity. In many cases, automated performance monitoring helps fulfill that need.

According to the survey, power consumption is now being monitored by 68.1 percent of respondents, network traffic by 65.8 percent, storage capacity by 64.4 percent, server utilization by 61.7 percent and Web security by 54.1 percent.

Data center facilities in terms of growth, expansion and relocation

Sixty percent of all respondents report that they expect to require additional data center space within the next five years. 32.6 percent expect to handle the growth and need for additional space by physically adding to and/or upgrading existing facilities and 30 percent report they will relocate to a new facility. Additional growth and expansion strategies to include 22.0 percent that will utilize a co-location center to meet their increased space requirements, 13.8 percent will use managed hosting services, and 11.2 percent will add pods or Data centers-in-a-box.

Changing storage requirements of the data center

Nearly two out of three worldwide data centers, or 63 percent, report a dramatic increase in their storage requirements over the past five years. Another 35.9 percent report a ‘slight’ to ‘moderate’ increase and only percent of all data centers saw their storage requirement decrease. Somewhat surprisingly, only 8.3 percent report that the main cause of their increased storage needs has been government regulations – while a whopping 77.5 percent attribute it to business growth.

“We’ll use the results of the survey to help us plan tracks, sessions and round tables at the 2010 Data Center World conference in Nashville in order to help professionals develop solutions for trouble spots and share successes and failures to date around all these trends,” continued Jill Eckhaus, AFCOM CEO. AFCOM’s next Data Center World conference and trade show is scheduled for March 7-11, 2010 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. For more information and to register, visit www.datacenterworld.com. “It’s going to be a great show and corresponds with AFCOM’s 30-year anniversary – if you cover or work in the data center, you’ll want to be there. Our show isn’t just a display of data center products; it’s a place where extraordinary education takes place.”

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Study Finds U.S. Small Businesses Lack Cybersecurity Awareness and Policies

/PRNewswire/ -- Small business owners' cybersecurity policies and actions are not adequate enough to ensure the safety of their employees, intellectual property and customer data, according to the 2009 National Small Business Cybersecurity Study. The study, co-sponsored by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Symantec [Nasdaq: SYMC], as part of this year's National Cyber Security Awareness Month, surveyed nearly 1,500 small business owners across the United States about their cybersecurity awareness policies and practices.

The survey confirmed that small businesses today are handling valuable information - 65 percent store customer data, 43 percent store financial records, 33 percent store credit card information, and 20 percent have intellectual property and other sensitive corporate content online. 65 percent of the business survey claimed that the Internet was critical to their businesses success yet they are doing very little to ensure that their employees and systems are not victims of a data breach.

The survey shows discrepancies between needs and actions regarding security policies and employee education on security best practices. Only 28 percent of U.S. small businesses have formal Internet security policies and just 35 percent provide ANY training to employees about Internet safety and security. At the same time, 86 percent of these firms do not have anyone solely focused on information technology (IT) security. For those small businesses that do provide cybersecurity training, 63 percent provide less than 5 hours per year.

The lack of focus on cybersecurity awareness and education on the part of U.S. small businesses can lead to the loss of vital customer and company data. The study found that while more than 9 in 10 small businesses said they believe they are safe from malware and viruses based on the security practices they have in place, only 53 percent of firms check their computers on a weekly basis to ensure that anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewalls and operating systems are up-to-date and 11 percent never check them.

"The 20 million small businesses in the U.S. are a critical part of the nation's economy. While small business owners may understandably be focused on growing their business and the bottom line, it is imperative to understand that a cybersecurity incident can be disruptive and expensive," said NCSA Executive Director Michael Kaiser. "To the millions of very savvy entrepreneurs across our nation, our message is simple - being smart about the online safety of your employees, business and customers is a critical part of doing business. Cybersecurity is not a nice thing to have for American businesses, it is critical to their survival."

Meanwhile, small businesses seem out of sync with some Internet security risks. 75 percent of small businesses said that they use the Internet to communicate with customers yet only 6 percent fear the loss of customer data and only 42 percent believe that their customers are concerned about the IT security of their business. What's more, 56 percent of small businesses believe cybersecurity is the cost of doing business while 21 percent believe it is just "a nice thing to have."

Laptops, PDAs and wireless networks are great conveniences to businesses, yet they carry with them an added responsibility to ensure the data is secure. Today, more than 66 percent of employees take computers or PDAs containing sensitive information off-site. Wireless networks are gateways for hackers and cyber criminals and must be secured by complex passwords. Unsecured wireless networks are akin to leaving the front door of a filing cabinet wide open on the sidewalk. 62 percent of the companies surveyed have a wireless network but 25 percent of them do not password protect their wireless networks. This is a significant security risk as hackers can steal information being passed through these open networks.

"Security threats are becoming more complex and employees of small businesses are increasingly the target of attacks that expose their organizations to data loss," said Sheri Atwood, vice president, global solutions and programs, Symantec. "Security awareness and education, combined with a comprehensive security solution, can empower small businesses and their employees to protect themselves and their information."

For more information on how you can keep you and your business safe online visit www.staysafeonline.org. For additional results from the Zogby study, visit: http://staysafeonline.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=67

The demographic makeup of the small business polled focused on number of employees and revenue. 56 percent of those polled were companies with one-to-nine employees, 10 percent had 10-25 employees, five percent had 26-50 employees and five percent had more than 51 employees. In terms of revenue, 56 percent had annual revenue of $249,000 or less, 11 percent have revenue of $250,000-$499,000, eight percent have revenue of $500,000 to $1 million. 11 percent have revenue between $1 million and $5 million and five percent have revenues exceeding $5 million. The Zogby International poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points.

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Social Media Explosion

/PRNewswire/ -- Social networks are exploding in popularity. Forty-three percent of the online community now uses social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. This is up from 27 percent a year ago, reports The Conference Board and TNS.

The Consumer Internet Barometer, a quarterly report produced by The Conference Board, the global business membership and research association, and TNS, a global market insight and information group, surveys 10,000 households across the country and tracks who's doing what on the Internet.

More than half of social networkers log on at least once a day, and the majority log on several times a day. Interacting with family, friends and celebrities are among the main reasons people log on to sites like Twitter. The majority of users log on at home, although a quarter of social networkers log on at work, and 10 percent connect through their phone.

Social networking spans all generations. Today, about 19 percent of those age 55 and over visit these sites, up from just 6 percent a year ago. Women are more likely than men to use social networking sites (48 percent versus 38 percent), but usage has increased dramatically among both groups in just a year.

"Social media is here to stay," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Online social networks are more than just a fad among the younger generation. They've become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. They're an effective way to keep in touch with people, connect with friends and family, and network with colleagues. Social media will also transform marketing as we know it. They're powerful communication tools, and are becoming an essential part of successful marketing strategies."

"Social media has transformed the way individuals connect and communicate with one another," says Anita Watkins, Senior Vice President at TNS. "Smart marketers are utilizing this behavior to their advantage by setting up online communities in which consumers can freely interact, discuss and debate issues around products, services and brands in a natural way. Companies are listening in to these conversations and harnessing the power of influencers to co-create their marketing strategies."

Facebook Most Popular Site

The most popular site is Facebook, used by 78 percent of online households, followed by MySpace (42 percent), LinkedIn (17 percent) and Twitter (10 percent).

Both men and women use Facebook in equal numbers. However, women are more likely than men (47 percent versus 35 percent) to use MySpace. Conversely, more men than women (21 percent versus 15 percent) use LinkedIn. Across generations, Facebook usage is about equal, but when it comes to MySpace, those under 35 are more likely to have an account than their older counterparts.

When asked with whom they would like more access/interaction with, celebrities (15 percent) topped the list, with favorite company (14 percent), service providers (13 percent) and athletes/sports teams (11 percent) not far behind.

The top concerns of social networking members -- expressed by about 50 percent -- are viruses/malware, exposure of information to strangers and lack of privacy. Women tend to be moderately more concerned than men. Only 14 percent claim they have no concerns, compared to 22 percent of men.

Twitter Encourages Closer Connections

Members of Twitter, the real-time micro-blogging website, say their top reasons for "tweeting" are to connect with friends (42 percent), update their status (29 percent) and look for news (26 percent). They also use Twitter for work-related (22 percent) reasons. Two out of three Twitter users interact with friends. Thirty percent interact with family, 30 percent connect with celebrities, and 24 percent interact with other bloggers. Members of Twitter also are likely to interact with TV shows, employers, co-workers, companies/brands and TV anchors/journalists.

Among Twitter users, half report being introduced to the site by a friend or family member, and one out of three were introduced by a co-worker.

About This Survey:

The Consumer Internet Barometer is based on a quarterly survey of 10,000 households. A unique sample is surveyed each quarter. Return rates average 70 percent, which ensures highly representative data. Data is weighted as well to reflect the latest U.S. household demographic information. The latest survey was conducted during the second quarter of 2009. For more information, please email f.tortorici@conference-board.org or lynn.franco@conference-board.org.

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Cox's New Survey on Cyber-Safety Finds Many Teens Going Online Wirelessly Without Limits or Controls

/PRNewswire/ -- For the fifth consecutive year, Cox Communications, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) and America's Most Wanted host and children's advocate John Walsh, will present the results of a new survey on the behavior of young people online. This year, the survey also looks at teen behavior using wireless devices.

Under the auspices of Cox's Take Charge! program, the partners are helping parents understand the potential dangers of the Internet and learn ways they can help keep their kids safer online. The initiative includes both the survey about teen behavior and a frank discussion with a teen focus group at the Cox Communications' Annual National Summit on Internet Safety.

WHAT: Cox Communications' Annual National Teen Summit on Internet
Safety
WHEN: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
-- Teen Summit at 9:00 a.m.
-- Virtual Media Conference at 10:45 a.m.
WHERE: National Cable & Telecommunications Association
25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW - Suite 100
Washington, DC 20001


Key results from the survey conducted by Harris Interactive among a representative sampling of U.S. teens between the ages of thirteen and eighteen years include:

-- Technology enabled: Ninety-one percent of teens have an email address
and 60 percent have an instant messenger screen name. Seventy-three
percent of teens have a cell phone and 59 percent have a digital
camera.
-- Acceptance of Social Networking: Seventy-two percent of teens
surveyed have online profiles on social networking sites where many
have posted photos of themselves and their friends, along with
personal information.
-- Conflicted over Safety: Most teens surveyed are aware and concerned
about the risks of putting personal information out in the open.
Fifty-nine percent say having personal information or photos on a
public site is unsafe, and 26 percent say they know someone who has
had something bad happen to them because of this. Still, 62 percent
of teens post photos of themselves on blogs or social networking sites
and greater than 40 percent name their school or the city in which
they live.
-- Prevalent Cyberbullying: More than one-third of teens surveyed have
been cyberbullied, perpetrated cyberbullying or know of friends who
have experienced or perpetrated it, and 68 percent think it is a
serious problem. About 4 in 5 teens (81 percent) think that bullying
online is easier to get away with or to hide from their parents than
bullying in person.
-- Engaging in Sexting: Nineteen percent of teens surveyed have engaged
in sexting -- sending, receiving or forwarding sexually suggestive
nude or nearly nude photos through text message or email. Sixty
percent of teens who sent sexts say they send photos to their
boyfriend/girlfriend, but 11 percent say they have sent sexts(1) to
someone they don't even know. Eighty-one percent of teen sexters are
under 18.
-- Online wirelessly: Nineteen percent of teens surveyed go online via
their cell phone and 19 percent say their parents are unaware. The
vast majority of teens (80 percent) whose parent know they go online
via their cell phone say they are not given any limits or controls --
far fewer than are given boundaries on their desktop PC or laptop.


"Teens are not only online, they are active in every nuance of cyberspace. Many have no controls over what they do online and of those who do, nearly 30 percent figure ways around the boundaries set by their parents," said John Walsh. "Those parents who have been vigilant over their kids' use of the Internet via their computers, haven't extended their watch to their kids' use of the wireless devices, which are increasingly offering predators all the access they need to our precious and vulnerable young ones. Teens are prone to choosing risky behaviors even though they know better, so parents must continue to regularly talk with their children and monitor their activities."

At the June 24th summit, Walsh will lead teen participants from Cox Communications' markets across the country in a discussion of cyber-safety and ways parents, guardians and teen mentors can help children stay safer online. Results of the survey and information from teen discussion at the summit will be presented immediately following during the live virtual media conference (details to be announced via media alert immediately prior); Walsh and select teens will be available to answer questions. Teens participating in the Summit will also deliver the news directly to Capitol Hill in meetings with members of Congress on June 25th.

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Survey: Despite Increasing Sophistication in Web Threats and Cybercrime, Most SharePoint(TM) Users Are Inadequately Protected

/PRNewswire/ -- There appears to be a void in security around companies' Microsoft SharePoint infrastructure even though SharePoint usage is on the rise. This puts SharePoint servers and employee PCs at risk for data-stealing malware; outside customers, clients, partners, and remote employees who share the same collaboration platform also become vulnerable to the growing complexity of Web threats that can spread silently, but destructively.

A survey conducted by Osterman Research and commissioned by Trend Micro of 269 IT managers involved in overseeing the messaging and collaboration infrastructure of their organizations found that only 60 percent have currently deployed security, leaving 40 percent unprotected. Of those with security, many organizations are still vulnerable -- they are relying upon file server antivirus products, which fail to adequately protect SharePoint content and users.

The survey, which involved companies from North America, France, Germany, Sweden and the U.K., also found that many of these organizations allow external users to access their SharePoint systems: 48 percent of these outside users are contractors, 38 percent are business partners, 30 percent are affiliates, and 20 percent are customers. This leaves endpoint security outside a company's control and increases the potential impact of data loss and compromise.

The survey showed that approximately seventy-two percent of SharePoint users surveyed cite protecting business-sensitive information as the biggest need for SharePoint security, and 43 percent cite preventing malware as their top concern.

Web threats have increased by nearly 2000 percent since 2005 and collaboration systems like SharePoint that enable real-time interaction and information sharing are more vulnerable than ever to cybercriminals who target business-critical information. The sophistication of these threats, many of which are executed through social engineering tactics, demand security that keeps SharePoint repositories free of viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware, as well as protect against data loss.

"While real-time collaboration enables efficient day-to-day business operations, these tools can also increase security risk by opening new pathways for cybercriminals to enter into a corporate network," said Dave Lieberman, director of messaging security for Trend Micro. "Trend Micro encourages all companies to consider solutions that have SharePoint-specific security capabilities such as Trend Micro's PortalProtect(TM), and not rely solely upon general server antivirus products that do not provide complete and adequate protection."

"For many organizations, [we] found that SharePoint security is considered a "nice to have", but that security capabilities deployed at the gateway, server and endpoint level are perceived to be sufficient to protect SharePoint servers from malware and related threats," said Michael Osterman, founder and president of Osterman Research. "However, deploying anti-malware software at the endpoint or on a server does not fully secure the SharePoint environment (the underlying database, Web pages, etc.) Organizations should understand that deploying SharePoint at all layers of the network and on all systems is key to providing complete protection from all threats."

Trend Micro's PortalProtect was the first security solution integrated with Microsoft SharePoint and is built on proven enterprise security technology for reliability and interoperability. It provides a centrally managed solution to effectively secure SharePoint Portal systems and their users. PortalProtect is part of the Trend Micro(TM) Communication & Collaboration Security family, which is powered by the Trend Micro(TM) Smart Protection Network. With the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network, a cloud-client content security architecture delivering correlated, up-to-the-minute threat intelligence, customers get immediate protection across their Microsoft(TM) Exchange, SharePoint and Office Communications Server (OCS) environments.

Other notable findings from the survey:

-- Deployment of SharePoint security is more prevalent in Europe. Among North American respondents, 58 percent of respondent organizations have deployed security on their SharePoint servers and another 27 percent plan to do so in the next 12 months. Among European respondents, 62 percent have done so and 24 percent plan to deploy security in the next 12 months. Globally, there are a variety of reasons cited by organizations for using SharePoint, including improvement of remote or regional communication (74 percent), improvement in the speed of decision making (56 percent), reducing in-person meetings and travel expenses (55 percent) and improving communication with external partners or vendors (34 percent).

-- Where they are deployed, the focus of SharePoint security concerns appears to be much more on protecting sensitive information than on traditional malware and similar threats. There was somewhat more concern about security for SharePoint from an information-protection perspective in Europe which may be related to the stricter information privacy regulations in Europe.

-- Organizations who use SharePoint often allow access to their SharePoint systems to outside partners and vendors, making it difficult for organizations to control security. Among such organizations, 31 percent allow access to affiliates, 38 percent allow business partners, 48 percent allow contractors or consultants and 19 percent allow customers.

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Arbitron Commercializes the Portable People Meter Radio Ratings Service in Four New Local Markets

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arbitron Inc. (NYSE:ARB) announced today that it has commercialized its Portable People Meter(TM) radio ratings service in four new local markets.

Arbitron has released radio audience estimates for the December 2008 PPM(TM) survey month (November 21-December 17) to its subscribers in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Washington DC and Detroit.

Effective today, the PPM radio audience estimates for these markets should be used as the basis for buy/sell transactions of radio commercial time among subscribing stations, agencies and advertisers. In addition, audience estimates from the October and November PPM survey months, which Arbitron had previously released as "pre-currency" information, are now designated as "currency" data. The Summer 2008 diary-based radio audience report (June 26-September 17) is no longer deemed "currency" for buy/sell transactions.

PPM audience estimates are now the buy/sell "currency" in 14 local markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit, Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Somerset-Union, Riverside-San Bernardino and San Jose. These markets account for 51.7 percent of the estimated radio station revenue in the top 50 radio markets.

In April 2009, Arbitron plans to commercialize the PPM radio ratings service in Boston with the release of the March PPM survey report (March 5-April 1.)

About the Portable People Meter

The Arbitron Portable People Meter service uses a passive audience measurement device -- about the size of a small cell phone -- to track consumer exposure to media and entertainment, including broadcast, cable and satellite television; terrestrial, satellite and online radio as well as cinema advertising and many types of place-based electronic media. Carried throughout the day by randomly selected survey participants, the PPM device can track when and where they watch television, listen to radio as well as how they interact with other forms of media and entertainment.

The PPM detects inaudible codes embedded in the audio portion of media and entertainment content delivered by broadcasters, content providers and distributors. At the end of the day, the meter is placed in a docking station that extracts the codes and sends them to a central computer. The PPM is equipped with a motion sensor, a patented quality control feature unique to the system, which allows Arbitron to confirm the compliance of the PPM survey participants every day.

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Study Finds Both Students and Teachers Lack Basic Cyber Security Education

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Less than 25 percent of educators feel comfortable teaching students how to protect themselves from online cyber predators, cyber bullies and identity theft, according to a recent study by The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Educational Technology, Policy Research and Outreach (ETPRO).

At a time when children ages 10-to-14 spend more time on the Internet than watching television, the study found that only the Commonwealth of Virginia has education curriculum requirements that include information on how students can protect themselves online. Since completion of this study, several more states including Georgia, Illinois and Tennessee, have passed legislation requiring online safety education in the classroom. In addition, 90 percent of educators have received less than six hours of professional development on cyber security in the past year.

The 2008 National Cyberethics, Cybersafety, Cybersecurity Baseline Study was conducted to explore educational awareness policies, initiatives, curriculum, and practices currently taking place in the U.S. public and private K-12 educational settings. The survey was administered online. 1,569 public and private U.S. K-12 educators and 94 technology coordinators took the survey and local and state technology directors and 219 educators participated in focus groups for the survey.

"Children are integrating technology into their lives at lightning speed. Our schools need to find ways to introduce cyber security education as a fully integrated part of the K-12 curriculum," said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the NCSA. "We take the time to teach our children how to safely cross the street. Given the amount of time children spend online, the continuously emerging role of the technology in everyday life, and the risks that young people face, we are obligated to ensure that every child learns about safety, security and responsible use of the internet; yet we are not yet to the point of teaching children how to 'look both ways' to avoid the 'accidents' that can occur online."

"Schools are not alone. Nonprofit groups, government, the private sector and parents all play critical roles in ensuring children's safety online. However, educators and school systems will need to make the issue a priority if we can expect to see widespread adoption of cyber safety curricula in the classroom."

As part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, all students are required to be digitally literate by the 8th grade but half of the survey's respondents said there were no clear methods chosen by their school or school district to convey information on cyber safety and cyber security to students. Despite feeling unprepared or uncomfortable discussing C3 topics with students, more than 60 percent of educators are interested in learning more about C3 issues in general and in many cases the percentage increased on specific topics such as cyber safety, which was rated their highest priority.

"Policies need to be updated regularly and reviewed to ensure that teachers, students and parents understand the basics of cyber security. We must ensure our teachers are given the training necessary for them to inform their students on these topics," said Davina Pruitt-Mentle, PhD, Executive Director and Senior Research Analyst for ETPRO. "However, the burden cannot be placed solely on our education system. From media to corporate America to our federal, state and local governments, a variety of partnerships need to be formed to protect our children."

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