Tilon financial malware targets banks via MitB attack, Trusteer finds

Security researchers at Trusteer have discovered a new financial malware strain that captures form submissions to steal banking account credentials.

What is most impressive about Tilon is the breadth of evasion techniques it employs to avoid detection and scrutiny, and to survive attacks by security products.

Amit Klein,
CTO, Trusteer

Trusteer said the new Tilon financial malware uses a man-in-the-browser (MitB) attack, targeting users of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and others. It fully controls the traffic from the browser to the Web server, gaining access to login credentials and other transactions, according to Amit Klein, CTO of Boson-based Trusteer.

The Tilon Trojan uses many of the features of other financially driven malware, such as the Zeus and SpyEye families, but it is closely related to Silon, malicious code detected by Trusteer in 2009. Klein said that even more interesting is the ability of the Tilon malware to control traffic back from the Web server to the browser. It uses a sophisticated method of searching and replacing pages with its own text to trick the victim.

"What is most impressive about Tilon is the breadth of evasion techniques it employs to avoid detection and scrutiny, and to survive attacks by security products," Klein wrote in a blog entry detailing the new Tilon malware.

The financial industry has had to deal with a variety of financial Trojans, primarily driven by increasingly sophisticated automated attack toolkits. Silon was seen as a serious threat in 2009 because it took advantage of hardware tokens to add cybercriminals as new payees to bank accounts. Once an account connection is established, the cybercriminals behind the Tilon Trojan set up a mule account to drain the victim's account.

The Tilon malware authors have put in a mixture of standard and advanced evasion capabilities. Tilon doesn't install on a virtual machine, making analysis more difficult for security researchers. In fact, Klein said Tilon terminates the installation and sometimes installs a fake system tool, making researchers believe it is another rogue scareware tool, rather than a more serious financially driven attack.

When it infects the victim's machine, "the service injects malicious code into various native Windows processes, [and] then terminates itself, so no malware process is found in memory thereafter," Klein wrote. The malware authors also added a watchdog process that monitors its service entry in the registry and its executable file on disk. The goal is to resist removal by many security products, Klein wrote.

The malicious code also attempts to evade detection by security products that monitor browser functions for anomalies, according to Klein.

Tilon was discovered in July and researchers said they have already detected at least one variant of the malware. There's also evidence, Klein said, that Microsoft came across the malware and may have categorized it as a fake system tool, rather than financial malware. The malicious code is noted in the software giant's Threat Encyclopedia.

Five critical vulnerabilities expected in August 2012 Patch Tuesday

Microsoft plans to issue nine bulletins, including five critical, addressing vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office and its other products.

The five critical bulletins will patch ten vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, Exchange, SQL Server, and the Server Software and Developer Tools, according to the Microsoft Advance Notification issued on Aug. 9.

Bulletins 1-5, the ones given the marker of “critical,” could allow for remote code execution. The first three will require a restart, the fourth may require one, and the fifth does not, Microsoft said.

Specifically, Bulletin 1 addresses an issue with all currently supported versions of Internet Explorer running on Windows. August marks the third consecutive month of patches for Internet Explorer.

Bulletin 2 addresses a vulnerability in Windows XP Service Pack 3, while Bulletin 3 focuses on issues in several different versions of Service Packs on different Windows operating systems. Bulletin 4 addresses issues on the widest range of software, from Microsoft Office to Microsoft SQL Server. Bulletin 5 confronts problems within Microsoft Exchange Server.

In addition to the critical bulletins, Microsoft has marked four bulletins as “important,” affecting Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows. Of these bulletins, three could allow for remote code execution and may require a restart. One could allow an elevation of privilege and will require a restart.

The bulletins will be released Aug. 14 at approximately 1 p.m. ET.

Last month, Microsoft patched a vulnerability in its XML Core Services, fixed a flaw in its Internet Explorer browser and addressed a vulnerability in Microsoft Data Access Components, among other repairs to a variety of its different programs.

If Conference Calls Keep You Trapped At Your Desk You Need This App!

At one time, “work” meant sitting at a desk all day, surrounded by your phone, computer, and other associated tools of the trade. But today's small business owner is constantly on the move, using mobile devices to stay connected.

One element makes it a little difficult to operate from the field, however, and that's the conference call. As technology has enabled businesses to save money and time on travel costs, an increasing number of meetings are being held via telephone and web conferencing sites. Dialing into calls via smartphone is always an option, but dialing long conference call numbers with passcodes can be grueling on tiny smartphone keyboards, risking the odds of a misdial. Once you do get connected, you may somehow lose connectivity, which can be embarrassing, especially if your conference call is with a client.

MobileDay allows you to dial into a conference call with just one touch. Here's how it works. MobileDay syncs with all major conference services, as well as your own calendars. When you log into MobileDay, all of your conference calls are there. Simply click on the green “Call” button and you're into the call with your passcode automatically entered for you. Set up the thirty-second alert, and you'll be dialed in thirty seconds before the call is scheduled to begin.

“Even though audio conferencing is a four billion dollar per year business, with over five million calls made into conference calls a day, 25% of those made from mobile phones, the process has not gotten any better over the years,” Jim Haid, MobileDay CEO, says. “In fact, it's gotten worse.”

Many conference call invites involve long passcodes that have to be entered. The problem is, unless the person has printed out the invitation, he or she must remember that long passcode even if they can automatically click the link in the invite to go to the call. Add elements like being behind the wheel at the time of the designated call and dialing into an audio conference can be a nightmare.

Since connectivity can be iffy on a cell phone, MobileDay allows you to reconnect with just one click, minimizing downtime. If you're running late, you can send a message to all attendees letting them know.

In order for MobileDay to work, however, the event will need to be loaded onto your calendar. The announcement will also need to contain all information pertinent to the call, including the passcode number. You can either manually enter the information into your calendar or have it sent there.

If you want to be able to create conference calls directly inside the app, MobileDay allows that, as well. You can use MobileDay's web conferencing capabilities. MobileDay is available for free in the iTunes Store, as well as on Google Play as an Android app.

TimeStation App: A Mobile Version Of A Time Clock

Everything in the business world is becoming mobile. Business owners and employees use their smartphones and tablets for just about everything, but some companies still don't have an easy, instant, and mobile way to punch in and out of work. Enter TimeStation, which is a new app that serves as a modern version of a time clock.

TimeStation gives business owners and managers the opportunity to turn their mobile devices into a contactless time and attendance system. Using custom QR code cards and an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, employees can punch in and out of work in less than a second.

Employers can also assign employee pin numbers so that people can sign in by using their assigned numbers. TimeStation also offers a site where employers can manage their departments and hours, track attendance, run reports, and more.

In addition, employers can set up TimeStations on multiple devices. By using their TimeStation credentials to set up the app on each device, employees can punch in on their own mobile devices or by checking in with another manager or supervisor.

Employers can also give employees the ability to manage their own reports and edit entries, but managers have full control over which employees receive access to those abilities. Other features available from TimeStation include the ability to work off-line, GPS tagging so managers can see where employees punch in and out from, and data security and encryption.

For small businesses, this mobile, cloud-based system can help to reduce overhead costs that come with traditional time and attendance management systems. It also gives managers the ability to see time and attendance reports from just about anywhere.

To use the TimeStation system, companies need only to sign up and download the app and then print out cards for their employees. Signing up and downloading the app are both free and TimeStation is free for organizations with up to ten employees, with several different monthly plans for larger companies.

Is Summer Slow or Busy for Your Business?

For the first years of my business, summer slowed everything to a near halt. It seemed that so many people were taking vacations that they didn't need much in the way of marketing. For some reason, that's completely changed over the past few years. Summer has been busier than ever for me, and I'll admit, I rather wish it wasn't.

Make the Most of Your Time

If your business is a little slow this time of year, use this time productively. Consider all the projects you've been putting off, from organizing your desk (and the stack of papers on top) to tweaking your business or marketing strategy.

Maybe now's a great time to start writing that book you keep threatening to start., Or catch up on your business reading. Whatever you don't have time to do the rest of the year, make it your goal to take care of now. (The winter holiday season is another great time to play catchup)

Making Time for Work/Life Balance

If you're like many entrepreneurs, when you're busy, you're extremely busy. There may be months at a time that you work more than 40-hour workweeks and have little time to spend with your family. It's easy to stay in this rut, even when your workload lightens. Make an effort to disengage from work for a week or so, or just cut out early on Fridays.

If you do take a vacation, take measures to truly go on vacation, and don't check in on work like 71% of small business owners do. This is your time to completely disconnect. Not only will it bring you closer to your family, but it will also give you fresh perspective on your business.

Trust your staff to handle work in your absence, and plan your activities just before you leave to include letting everyone know you'll be on vacation, assigning a go-to person to cover for you, and completing any pending projects.

What if Summer is Busy Time?

If you're like me and have a full schedule but still want to take time off, strategically plan your work schedule. Maybe you work early in the morning or late at night so that you can spend time with your kids while they're out of school. Working one weekend might allow you to catch up so that you can take a family vacation for a week. Be flexible with your schedule and build in downtime deliberately.

Whatever your summer looks like, manage your time so that you maximize both work and play this time of year.

Vacation Photo via Shutterstock

Tech Thursday (8/9): Study Shows File Sync As The Fastest Growing Cloud Service; Verizon Wireless Adds Microsoft Office 365 To Portfolio of Mobile Tools; Palo Alto Software Introduces ‘Live Plan\'

Study Shows File Sync Has Emerged as the Fastest Growing Cloud Service

Verizon Wireless Enhances Portfolio of Mobile Tools For Small Businesses With Microsoft Office 365

Palo Alto Software Introduces ‘Live Plan'

 

 

Independent Consulting Study Shows File Sync Has Emerged as the Fastest Growing Cloud Service

 

File Sync Services Crossed the Chasm in 2011, and are Exploding in 2012

SAN MATEO, CALIF.,â€" Cloud provider SugarSync announced today that a new commissioned study from Forrester Consulting was released tracking the exponential growth of Personal Cloud services over the last three years. The study, commissioned on behalf of SugarSync, surveyed over 2,000 people to track usage of a broad range of Personal Cloud services including file access, sync and share services, online backup services, and online office productivity. The new research reveals that adoption of file access, sync, and share services grew by two thirds from 9% of U.S. online adults in 2010 to 15% in 2012 to become the fastest-growing online file service category.

“Personal Cloud services are transforming personal computing, as U.S. individuals move to store their files on online services accessible from any device, rather than fiddle with files to get them on the right PC or mobile device of the moment. The growth of a rich personal computing ecosystem of PCs, mobile devices, Internet-connected appliances, and a myriad of online services is spurring this transformation of personal computing into a Personal Cloud services ecosystem.” Forrester Consulting, “Personal Cloud Services Emerge To Orchestrate Our Mobile Computing Lives,” July 25, 2012.

Key findings of this report include:

• File sync services crossed the chasm in early 2011, and are exploding in 2012. File access, sync, and share adoption grew by two thirds from 9% of U.S. online adults in 2010 to 15% in 2012 to become the fastest-growing online file service category, ahead of both online backup and web-based office productivity. Forrester estimates adoption to have surpassed 10% of U.S. online adults in early 2011, implying hyper-growth this year and next.
  
• Mobile device proliferation is driving daily use of the personal cloud. Using multiple computers has motivated many to try Personal Cloud services, but the increased usage of mobile devices is driving even more demand for the Cloud. Fifty-eight percent of personal cloud users with smartphones use personal cloud services daily or hourly.
  
• Two-thirds of US online adults are using at least one form of personal cloud services. Whether for photos, files, information, media, password services, contacts, or calendaring, two out of three U.S. online adults are using at least one personal cloud service.
  
• U.S. online adults are increasingly blending work and personal technologies. Almost half of personal cloud services are used for blended work and personal purposes.
  

To learn more about which Cloud services are growing fastest, how people are currently using the Cloud, and other key Cloud trends, please download the complete report for free at: https://www.sugarsync.com/media/sugarsync-forrester-report.pdf

 

Verizon Wireless Enhances Portfolio of Mobile Tools For Small Businesses With Microsoft Office 365

 

 

A Partnership to Help Small Businesses Stay Connected

 

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. â€" Verizon Wireless today announced an enhancement of their mobile portfolio tools for small business customers with the addition of Microsoft Office 365.

Office 365, which is part of Verizon Wireless' Small Business Essentials portfolio, is Microsoft Corp.'s cloud productivity service that includes email, instant messages with presence, video and voice conferencing, and document sharing. By offering Office 365, Verizon Wireless' small business customers can take advantage of productivity in the cloud while on the go.

Office 365, which supports mobile operating systems including Windows Phone, Android™, iOS and BlackBerry®, helps enable businesses to collaborate with customers, co-workers and employees in real time while having access to email, contacts, calendars and other important business data. Information is synchronized across all devices including smartphones, tablets, PCs or Macs.

For small business customers, Office 365 delivers enterprise-grade technology at a predictable monthly price. It also helps elevate mobility and productivity to another level while giving the business integrated mobile device management and robust IT controls when connected through Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network.

“Our small businesses and entrepreneurs consistently rank two priorities the highest when it comes to using productivity tools to run their business: simplicity and cost effectiveness,” said Michael C. Schaefer, executive director, Wireless Business Solutions, Verizon Wireless. ”We included Office 365 with Small Business Essentials to address these needs. Plus, we also want to emphasize it is scalable â€" which is ideal for companies in the growing segment of up to 50 employees. With all of our SMB-related products and services, our goal is to help customers expedite their workflow so they can work smarter, faster and more efficiently. Customers also have the advantage when they utilize our fast 4G LTE network, which is available in over 330 markets across the United States.”

Many businesses across various industries already utilize Microsoft Office. Now those same tools, plus voice and video conferencing with Lync Online and collaboration with SharePoint Online, enable information to be easily accessed and shared virtually anywhere, on nearly any device on their network.

For internal and external business communications, Office 365 capabilities that are included in Small Business Essentials are:

Office Web Apps
-  View and make light edits to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote documents within supported browsers
-  View business documents in the browser with virtually no data or formatting loss during transfer between PC and browser

SharePoint Online
-  Public website and design tool with ready-to-use site templates
-  Private team site for working with colleagues, partners and customers
-  Share private sites with external users
-  Store and back up business documents and data
-  Access business documents from virtually anywhere

Exchange Online
-  Premium anti-virus and anti-spam protection
-  Email, calendar and contacts synchronized across PCs or Macs, smartphones and tablets
-  Tools for managing email, calendar and contacts
-  25 GB mailbox, plus up to 25 MB of attachments per email

Lync Online
-  Rich presence tells you when co-workers are online and available
-  Instant messaging plus PC-to-PC audio/video calling
-  Click-to-communicate from Outlook, SharePoint Online and other Office Web Apps
-  Online meetings and presentations with up to 50 attendees, using PC-audio, video conferencing, desktop and application sharing
-  Invite external contacts to easily attend online meetings via the browser

Many small businesses have limited IT resources and Office 365 is designed to meet their unique needs. There is no need for expensive, long-term IT hardware installations.

If a user's device is lost, damaged or stolen, the data can be locked and wiped clean remotely, helping to protect the company's important proprietary information. When the replacement device is activated and connected to Office 365, all of the user's email, contacts and calendar data will be available on the new device.

Office 365, included with Verizon Wireless' Small Business Essentials, is now available at the rate of $6 per month, per user. Go here for additional information.

 

Palo Alto Software Introduces ‘LIVE PLAN'

 

Maker of the #1 business planning software introduces a new comprehensive online tool for developing a business plan and managing a growing business

 

Eugene, Oregon â€" Palo Alto Software, developer of best-selling business planning software, Business Plan Pro, and Sales and Marketing Plan Pro, is proud to announce the official launch of LivePlan, the company's new cloud-based business planning and management tool. 

Palo Alto Software CEO, Sabrina Parsons, stated, “LivePlan is an accessible, affordable solution for entrepreneurs and business owners to create a lender-ready professional business plan. LivePlan also makes it easy to track what is actually happening financially in your business so that you can manage your business and adjust your plan based on what's going on in the real world. Smart planning is a great way to avoid unpleasant surprises.”

LivePlan can be accessed from nearly any device with a browser connected to the Internet, and the software's collaborative features are ideal for instances where multiple people are contributing to a single plan or helping manage a business.

Palo Alto Software's nearly 25 years of developing business planning software has enabled the company to develop a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for anyone writing a business plan for the first time and encourages users to engage in active planning. The software encourages users to write only what they need and to focus on the act of planning instead of just simply creating an old-fashioned static business plan document. A user can create a professional plan for funding, with help and guidance at every step, or just use LivePlan to create a forecast and a budget to plan for growth. The financials have been created from years of experience and all the formulas and calculations are automated to ensure accuracy.

“LivePlan is incredibly simple and easy to use. The financial sales forecasting tool is very intuitive and makes writing a business plan more fun. I would highly recommend this product to anybody starting a business or revising their business plan,” stated Helga Douglas, LivePlan user and Founder and CEO of sustainable apparel company, Svala.

For ongoing business management, the software includes an innovative “Scoreboard” feature that allows business owners and managers to compare their actual results against their plan. This real-time, accurate visibility of key performance indicators such as cash balances can expose important trends that are critical for ongoing management. 

While this is the official introduction of LivePlan, the software quietly launched 14 months ago. In that short period of time, LivePlan has become the most-used online business planning tool with more than 40,000 paid accounts and an average monthly growth rate of over 20%. The economic impact of LivePlan users is significant. For example, a survey of completed LivePlan plans, from United States-based businesses, indicated that LivePlan small business owners intend to generate over 37,000 new jobs over the next 12 months. 

Parsons added, “We're proud of the role we play in the entrepreneurial process and the creation of successful new businesses. According to research conducted at the University of Oregon, entrepreneurs with a business plan are two-and-a-half times more likely to secure investment capital. The research also found that writing a business plan correlated with increased success reaching business goals such as purchasing assets, recruiting employees, and overall strategic thinking that leads to company growth.”

In conjunction with the official release of LivePlan, Palo Alto Software is also excited to announce the inaugural “LivePlan $10,000 Business Boost” business plan competition. The winning plan will receive a $10,000 business grant. The competition officially runs from July 17 through August 24 and preliminary details can be found at www.liveplan.com/boost.

Google to mine user\'s Gmail in searches

Google is creating an information bridge between its influential internet search engine and its widely used Gmail service in its latest attempt to deliver more personal responses more quickly.

The experimental feature unveiled yesterday will enable Google's search engine to mine the correspondence stored within a user's Gmail account for any data tied to a search request. For example, a query containing the word "Amazon" would pull emails with shipping information sent by the online retailer.

Such Gmail results will typically be shown to the right of the main results, though in some instances, the top of the search page will highlight an answer extracted directly from an email. For example, the request "my flight" will show specific airline information imported from Gmail. Something similar could eventually happen when searching for a restaurant reservation or tickets to a concert.

Although Google has a commanding lead in internet search, it remains worried about the threat posed by social networking services such as Facebook. As social networks have made it easier to share information online, the world wide web is starting to revolve more around people than the keywords and links that Google's search engine uses.

Google has been trying to adapt by building more personal services and plugging them into its search engine.

Blending email information into general search results could raise privacy worries. Google is trying to mitigate that by showing Gmail results in a collapsed format that users must open to see the details. For now, users must sign up to participate.

Google ran into trouble over privacy in 2010 when it tapped the personal contact information within Gmail accounts to build a social networking service called Buzz. Google set it up in a way that caused many users to inadvertently expose personal data from Gmail. An uproar culminated in a US Federal Trade Commission settlement requiring the company to improve its privacy controls and undergo audits for 20 years.

Google is treading carefully as it hooks Gmail up to its internet search engine. The new feature initially will be available to 1 million Gmail users who sign up at http://g.co/searchtrial. That's a small fraction of the more than 425 million Gmail accounts that have been set up since Google launched its free email service eight years ago to compete against offerings from Yahoo and Microsoft.

After getting feedback from the test participants, Google hopes to give all Gmail users the option of plugging their accounts into the main search engine, according to Amit Singhal, a senior vice-president for the company.

Singhal said Google was also willing to display information from other email services in its main search results. The gesture could avoid spurring additional complaints about Google abusing its position as the internet's search leader to favour its other services.

When Gmail started in 2004 it provided 1 gigabyte of free storage, an amount that was unheard of at the time. Now, many long-time Gmail users have 10 gigabytes of storage. That has turned Gmail into a valuable storehouse of personal information going back several years.

Ultimately, Google hopes to know enough about each of its users so it can answer their questions with the precision and insight of the artificial intelligence that so far has been the stuff of science fiction. "The destiny of search is to become that perfect Star Trek computer," Singhal said.

- AP

Smartphone, BYOD security risks fuel interest in MDM platforms, survey finds

Enterprise IT security professionals have been concerned about lost and stolen smartphones and tablets, but a new survey conducted by SearchSecurity.com found mobile malware and data slurping apps are increasingly becoming top of mind at many organizations.

"Mobile malware has been a hyped up threat for a decade, but some of the malware we're seeing is scary enough to be of concern," said Lisa Phifer, mobile security expert and owner of Core Competence Inc., a Chester Springs, Penn.-based consulting firm that specializes in the business use of emerging Internet technologies. "If you're going to put sensitive business applications on those devices, then you would want to start taking that threat seriously."

SearchSecurity.com Mobile Security Survey

SearchSecurity.com surveyed 487 IT security professionals in the first quarter of 2012, and found many organizations are either considering new technology to control the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon, or are creating new security policies to address personal smartphone and tablet device use in the organization. More than half (53%) allow personal devices to connect to the corporate network and those firms are looking closely at mobile device management (MDM) platforms that can provide cross-platform security capabilities and address BYOD security risks.

The survey results suggest much of the interest in new technologies to control and lock down devices is being generated by newfound fears over application security, privacy issues, device data leakage and malware attacks, Phifer said. Researchers have documented how some mobile apps gather contact information, location data and potentially other sensitive data that could put an enterprise at risk. Other security firms are tracking the slow, but steady, rise in mobile malware â€" mainly SMS Trojans â€" targeting Android devices.

Authentication, data loss prevention, access control and encryption top the list of security technologies being implemented by organizations addressing BYOD concerns. At a minimum, organizations are seeking the capability to remotely wipe a device and the ability to force device owners to use a PIN.

Phifer said that despite the interest in MDM technology, most of the initiatives indicated in the survey can be handled without deploying new mobile security technology in the enterprise. Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, a widely deployed synchronization protocol, can enable many organizations to enforce basic security rules, such as password management, remote wipe and encryption.

"If you are an Exchange shop and already managing Exchange settings on multiple devices, you can leverage those hooks," Phifer said. "You might not be able to satisfy all your security policies with rigor or substantial reporting, but you can do it."

Mobile malware has been a hyped up threat for a decade, but some of the malware we're seeing is scary enough to be of concern.

Lisa Phifer,
owner, Core Competence Inc .

Traditional security measures still work when it comes to mobile, said Marcus Carey, a malware researcher at Boston-based vulnerability management and penetration testing vendor, Rapid7. Mobile devices in general shouldn't be able to connect to regular corporate assets beyond email and calendar items, Carey said. The number of publicly available exploits targeting mobile devices is extremely low to nonexistent because cybercriminals are sticking to the lowest hanging fruit: desktops and laptops. For that reason, Carey said IT security teams are better off focusing on Web application security and vulnerability management, areas that provide a far greater risk of being targeted by cybercriminals.

"We know that people can pivot from that workstation to the rest of the network via several different kinds of attack methods, but a mobile device attack leading to an enterprise compromise is just not happening at this time," Carey said "We're talking about a very, very small attack surface."

MDM offers peace of mind, greater device control

Looking for peace of mind, IT teams at organizations are taking a closer look at MDM platforms because they provide more robust management capabilities. For example, some MDM platforms provide organizations with the ability to create closely monitored mobile application stores, giving employees access to only company-approved applications. But SearchSecurity.com found the capability was largely unused, with 85% of those surveyed indicating their organization was not building an application store. Software security is becoming a major initiative, with 86% of those surveyed indicating their organization is putting more resources into application security.

Phifer called the application security focus a positive finding, but thought it was puzzling because so far most mobile experts haven't seen an increase in enterprises making a strategic investment into enterprise application development to build custom mobile applications.

There is a tendency for enterprise IT teams to put the cart before the horse, Phifer said. Many firms often implement technology to address a security concern without conducting an assessment or communicating a set of formal security policies to employees, she said. Of those surveyed, 64% indicated their company had a written mobile device security policy. Of those that do have formal policies in place, 81% require users to read and sign a mobile device security policy. The high number could indicate organizations that have MDM systems in place. When enrolling devices, it is not uncommon for the system to display the formal mobile security policies to employees enrolling their devices. MDM systems often prompt end users to confirm they have read and understand the policies, she said.

Gauss toolkit used in nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks, Kaspersky says

Kaspersky Lab researchers have uncovered what they believe is another nation-state-sponsored attack toolkit designed to steal sensitive data from individuals in the Middle East.

Similar to the two previous cyber-espionage weapons, Gauss' spreading mechanisms are conducted in a controlled fashion, which emphasize stealth and secrecy for the operation.

Kaspersky Lab

The Gauss attack toolkit steals passwords, banking credentials, browser cookies and configuration data of infected machines. More than 2,500 infections were detected by Kaspersky in May, with the number of total infections estimated in the tens of thousands. 

Gauss' payload is encrypted and so far researchers have not been able to determine what vulnerabilities it exploits and how it spreads. Victims are running Windows 7 systems. Kaspersky Lab said the attack toolkit was uncovered following the discovery of the Flame attack toolkit in June.

Kaspersky Lab is working with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to detect and reduce the risks posed by cyberweapons. The ITU, a UN agency established to discuss international communications issues, has been trying to gain authority over issues governing the Internet from private organizations. The Russia-based antivirus giant has detected a number of nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks, including Stuxnet, Duqu and the Flame attack toolkit. No nation-state has claimed responsibility for the use of malware in cyberespionage activities. But a New York Times report, citing anonymous government sources, said the United States and Israel were behind the Stuxnet attack that disrupted operations at an Iranian Nuclear refinery facility. Some characteristics of Flame and Duqu have been linked to the Stuxnet worm.

Kaspersky Lab provided its analysis of the Gauss toolkit in a blog post Thursday. The company said Gauss also shares characteristics with Flame, which targeted hundreds of individuals in Iran and the Middle East. "These include similar architectural platforms, module structures, code bases and means of communication with command-and-control [C&C] servers," the security firm said in a statement.

The researchers believe the attack toolkit was used beginning in September 2011. It was discovered in June 2012, following analysis of the Flame malware. Kaspersky said the C&C infrastructure was shut down in July, leaving the malware in a dormant state.

"Analysis of Gauss shows it was designed to steal data from several Lebanese banks, including the Bank of Beirut, EBLF, BlomBank, ByblosBank, FransaBank and Credit Libanais," Kaspersky said. "In addition, it targets users of Citibank and PayPal."

Gauss' main module was named by the unknown creators after the German mathematician Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss. Other components bear the names of famous mathematicians as well, including Joseph-Louis Lagrange and Kurt Gödel.

Like many malware families, Gauss can collect information from browsers, including the history of visited websites and passwords. Detailed data on the infected machine is also sent to the attackers, including specifics of network interfaces, the computer's drives and BIOS information.

Gauss can also infect USB thumb drives, using the same LNK vulnerability that was previously used in Stuxnet and Flame. "Gauss is capable of 'disinfecting' the drive under certain circumstances, and uses the removable media to store collected information in a hidden file," Kaspersky said.

While Gauss is similar to Flame in design, the geography of infections is noticeably different. The highest number of computers hit by Flame was recorded in Iran, while the majority of Gauss victims were located in Lebanon. The number of infections is also different. Based on telemetry reported from the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN), Gauss infected approximately 2,500 machines.

"Similar to the two previous cyberespionage weapons, Gauss' spreading mechanisms are conducted in a controlled fashion, which emphasize stealth and secrecy for the operation," Kaspersky said.

Big Data Provides Big Advantages in Small Business Lending

Increasingly, the power of data is impacting the small business lending marketplace by enabling banks and others providing funding to make more detailed risk assessments of potential borrowers.

Advances in technology and the accessibility of big data enabled underwriters to:

- Spread risk more widely across geography and industries.
- Lower acquisition costs while expanding geographic footprints.
- Reduce the need to open new bank branches.
- Offer paperless loan applications, refine underwriting, and speed up the lending process.
- Develop targeted financial products geared for startup businesses, which have experienced difficulty in securing capital from big banks.
- Lower significantly the cost of capital, particularly from alternative lending sources.

Since the credit crunch began, small companies - particularly businesses that have been operating for less than two years - have often been denied loans by traditional banks. Use of technology provides lenders with more robust information about borrowers and enables them to offer products specifically targeted to the needs of startups.

Because of this, people with credit scores as low as 535 can secure funding, in part because lenders are able to access robust information about their credit history, industry, and even the economic status of the area in which they live.

Today, financial institutions can analyze primary data, such as loan application documents, and information from credit ratings agencies such as Equifax and D&B. Since financial data is so detailed today, lenders can develop financial products especially for startups.

I am seeing this more and more among non-bank lenders, which have become increasingly important in small business finance since 2008 when credit markets tightened.

The so-called “alternative lenders” approve more than 60 percent of funding requests, according to the most recent Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index.  Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the integration of technology in small business lending is that it has made it easier for women-owned and minority-owned companies in economically disadvantaged areas to secure capital.

As financial institutions streamline the credit decision-making process, they save entrepreneurs time and frustration that they otherwise might encounter in seeking funding to start and expand their operations. Technology truly is revolutionizing small business finance in the same way that online shopping forever changed retail.

Loan Approval Photo via Shutterstock

State-sponsored Trojan \'Gauss\' targets Lebanese banks and user details

Kaspersky Lab has announced the discovery of a fresh cyber threat that targets users in the Middle East that is designed to steal credentials, cookies and configurations of infected machines.

Named ‘Gauss', it claimed that this is a complex, nation-state sponsored cyber espionage toolkit and its online banking Trojan functionality has not been found in any previously known cyber weapons.

Alexander Gostev, chief security expert at Kaspersky Lab, said: “Gauss bears a striking resemblance to Flame, with its design and code base, which enabled us to discover the malicious program.

“Similar to Flame and Duqu, Gauss is a complex cyber espionage toolkit, with its design emphasising stealth and secrecy; however, its purpose was different than Flame or Duqu. Gauss targets multiple users in select countries to steal large amounts of data, with a specific focus on banking and financial information.”

Discovered during investigations into Flame by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Kaspersky Lab said its experts discovered Gauss by identifying the commonalities the malicious program shares with Flame. These included similar architectural platforms, module structures, code bases and means of communication with command and control servers (C&C).

The investigation revealed that the first incidents with Gauss date back as early as September 2011, yet ten months later the Gauss C&C servers stopped functioning. Analysis shows it was designed to steal data from several Lebanese banks including Bank of Beirut, EBLF, BlomBank, ByblosBank, FransaBank and Credit Libanais. It also targets users of Citibank and PayPal. These servers have now been dormant since July 2012.

Since late May 2012, more than 2,500 infections were recorded by Kaspersky Lab's cloud-based security system, with tens of thousands estimated victims. This number is lower than that of Stuxnet, but it is significantly higher than the number of attacks of Flame and Duqu.

Kaspersky Lab claimed that Gauss is designed to collect information including: user passwords; cookies; browser history; information about the computer's network connections, processes and folders; and local, network and removable drives.

It also said that it is able to infect USB drives, use the removable media to store collected information in a hidden file and disinfect a drive under certain circumstances.

Kaspersky Labs' chief malware expert at the global research and analysis team, Vitaly Kamluk, said that he believed that the Trojan was created by the same people as Flame and it was the first time a nation-sponsored attack was stealing the details of internet banking users.

Regarding similarities to Flame, he said: “There are many similarities, they are related. All of them sharing a common way of infecting machines, as it is through a USB drive, they use the same technique to infect machines that were first used in Stuxnet that were later reused by Flame, so again they are used by Gauss. Both also have C&Cs running Linux and use the same approach with fake SSL certificates and both use registered fake names and addresses that point to hotels or public places. They also both use HTTPS to hide the traffic from being sniffed.”

Kamluk also pointed out that this is the third discovery of a nation-state sponsored cyber attack within 12 months.

In regard to how users are being infected by Gauss, he said: “We don't know the infection vector. It does not spread like Stuxnet, as it is not a worm, also the infection of a USB is a very limited functionality is a special model on stealing information without leaving infection of the user system, it does not stay on the system. It is not self-spreading malware.”

Need Workers? Europe\'s Largest Online Freelance Marketplace Launches in U.S.

For small businesses, outsourcing has always been a great way to get small jobs completed without having to commit to a full-time, long-term employee. In recent years, outsourcing has blossomed on the internet, thanks to the ease of finding workers worldwide without having to leave your office. With internet outsourcing, called “crowdsourcing,” a business owner submits details of a needed project, say a website design or copy written for a company blog. Workers submit proposals, giving a price and usually providing samples of previous work. The business owner can then go through the bids and find the worker that best fits the project.

Until recently, a few popular sites have stood out from the crowd. Freelancer and oDesk are popular but tend to attract a great deal of overseas work, driving the prices down to the point that professional American freelancers can't compete. Elance has emerged as a viable option for professionals who command wages that are livable by American, UK, and Canadian standards. Elance, with its $20 per job minimum and $3 per hour minimum, seems to be interested in attracting professional workers and employers who seek quality, not quantity. Unfortunately, some business owners have found ways to go around this to find cheap workers.

PeoplePerHour is targeting the professional freelancer…and the businesses searching for one. As Xenios Thrasyvoulou, CEO of PeoplePerHour, puts it, the average rate on PeoplePerHour is $35 per hour, which is substantially higher than many jobs posted on other sites.

“PeoplePerHour is about finding quality freelances who deliver fast and reliably, mostly onshore,” Thrasyvoulou explains. “The others focus on outsourcing work offshore and hence there is a much higher emphasis on cost than quality. Onshore talent also means we cater for a broader skill base - more softer skills such as design, creative services, writing, marketing, etc which normally do not lend themselves to counties such as India and Philippines.”

Additionally, PeoplePerHour is both supply and demand driven, according to Thrasyvoulou. While other crowdsourcing sites rely on freelancers submitting proposals in response to requests from employers, PeoplePerHour lets sellers promote their services directly using “Hourlies.” The Hourlies section of PeoplePerHour has such offerings as, “I can design a banner for your website in two hours for $25.” The overall concept is similar to that found on Fiverr but usually at a higher rate than $5.

The best news about PeoplePerHour is that the site is free to businesses. You'll pay those who do work for you, but the freelancers are the ones who pay the fees on this site. On other sites, the freelancer has the opportunity to add the fee onto his or her bid, which the client can then effectively dismiss by choosing a different bidder.

Lastly, Thrasyvoulou pointed out that many of Elance employers are actually offshore companiesâ€"many in India. PeoplePerHour specializes in employers (which they call “buyers”) from the U.S. and U.K., most of whom are individuals seeking workers.

If you've become daunted with the process of looking for workers, PeoplePerHour may be worth checking out. Whether you're looking for someone to help with your social media campaign or to design your business's mobile site, PeoplePerHour may be just the site you need.

‘Using Customer Service To Date Your Leads and Marry Your Customers\' Comes to NYC on August 21st!

 

Grow your B2B Business with LifeCycle Marketing and Customer Service 

 

On Tuesday, August 21, 2012, you can join Ramon Ray, Regional Development Director, Infusionsoft (and Tech Evangelist, smallbiztechnology.com) and Michael Spadaro, Founder of Help with a Smile in New York City for ‘Using Customer Service To Date Your Leads and Marry Your Customers'.

WHEN : August 21st, 2012 (Tuesday) â€" 8:30am â€" 10:30am 
WHERE : The Hatchery, 500 7th Avenue, 17th Floor (37th Street) 

In this 2-hour seminar, Ramon and Michael will show you how to use Lifecycle Marketing to get your prospects to say YES (a “no” does not always mean “no”) and then implement key customer service strategies to retain your best customers. 

Ramon will walk you through a 7 step process, called Lifecycle Marketing that will help you see opportunities for growth in your business and focus on how to WOW your customers. He'll show you how to nurture your prospects, how to convert to sales and more. 

Michael will walk you through 5 keys to delivering outstanding customer service that have led to his firm's highly successful track record of client retention, and how you can apply them to your own business to foster loyal customer relationships that will yield consistent repeat business and increased word of mouth referrals. 

For more information and to register for this event, click here.

Security researcher cracks Microsoft\'s BlueHat prize-winning ROPGuard tool

A security researcher has admitted that he has managed to crack the ROPGuard tool that won second prize at the recent Microsoft BlueHat contest.

According to Arstechnica, security researcher Shahriyar Jalayeri has demonstrated an exploit that bypasses the tool's protection. According to a blog, Jalayeri said that he managed to bypass EMET 3.5 and wrote a full-functioning exploit for CVE-2011-1260 with all Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit's (EMET) ROP mitigation enabled.

According to Microsoft, the EMET is a utility that helps prevent vulnerabilities in software from being successfully exploited. However Jalayeri said that EMET's ROP mitigation works by hooking certain APIs (such as VirtualProtect) with Shim Engine, and monitors their initialisation.

He said: “I have used SHARED_USER_DATA ,which mapped at fixed address ‘0x7FFE0000' to find KiFastSystemCall address (SystemCallStub at ‘0x7FFE0300'), so I could call any syscall by now.

“By calling ZwProtectVirtualMemory's SYSCALL ‘0x0D7', I made shellcode's memory address RWX. After this step I could execute any instruction I wanted. But to execute actual shellcode (with hooked APIs such as ‘WinExec') I did patch EMET to be deactivated completely.”

Jalayeri posted an ASM code and the exploit on his blog, as well as a video that showed a Windows 7 machine falling prey to a ROP-induced exploit, even though the OS was running version 3.5 of EMET.

ROPGuard was developed by University of Zagreb researcher Ivan Fratric who won a $50,000 (£32,000) for his submission.

Yunsun Wee, director of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, said in a statement to Arstechnica: “The security mitigation technologies implemented by EMET increase the cost for attackers to develop a successful exploit.”

Google blocks on infected legitimate sites increases by 150 per cent

The number of top-ranked websites blacklisted daily by Google in the second quarter of 2012 increased by 150 per cent year on year.

According to Zscaler ThreatLabZ, the number of top-ranked websites (per Alexa rating) that were blacklisted increased, while 76 per cent of these websites were blacklisted because they contained a piece of malicious JavaScript, which most of the time was linking to the Blackhole exploit kit.

Julien Sobrier, senior security researcher at Zscaler, said that ten per cent of the blocked websites had malicious Java applets, while malicious iFrames were the third most prevalent infection and generally resulted from mass SQL injection attacks. 

“Only two per cent of the sites are trying to foil users into downloading a malicious piece of code through a fake AV, Flash or codec page,” he said.

“Since most of the blocked sites are legitimate sites with high traffic, they quickly get cleaned up and removed from the Google blacklist. While the average number of days a top site is blocked by Google is seven days, the vast majority are blocked for only a few days.”

The research found that the number of top domains blacklisted can vary on a daily basis, but the average changed from 400 in May, to more than 1,000 in July.

“Small or big, popular or not, all websites are under attack. No domain can be fully trusted and you never know if attackers managed to breach the protections of the website that you're currently on,” Sobrier said.

Danish investment bank selects SIEM technology from EdgeSeven

Saxo Bank has selected next-generation security information and event management (SIEM) technology from EdgeSeven.

The investment bank has selected the EdgeSeven SIEM to sit alongside its existing ArcSight technology, after deciding that a new SIEM solution was needed to further strengthen its IT security.

Mikael Augustinson, head of IT security at Saxo Bank, said: “EdgeSeven proved to have the skill and experience to deliver in time, budget and scope, but also the integrity to tell us when we were heading the wrong way.”

Jon Inns, co-founder of EdgeSeven, now a part of Accumuli, said: “Working with Saxo Bank was a real pleasure. They knew exactly what they needed to achieve, they had a tight deadline and they put their trust in us to get the job done. We listened, put the right team on the project, shared our experiences with them and delivered a cutting edge and tightly integrated solution that provided them with the compliance and security monitoring they needed.

“The key to success with SIEM projects, which deliver results like we have seen in Saxo and our other clients, really has less to do with technology selection, and more to do with the willingness of the client to engage and be involved in the process.

“If the client is willing to listen, our job as subject matter experts is really to guide them around the issues and highlight the opportunities. Once that is done then the technical bit is easy.

“Our advice to anyone considering a SIEM project would be to speak with an experienced independent subject expert in the field of SIEM, who can give an honest appraisal of the challenges and technology options.”

Google blocks on infected legitimate sites increases by 150 per cent

The number of top-ranked websites blacklisted daily by Google in the second quarter of 2012 increased by 150 per cent year on year.

According to Zscaler ThreatLabZ, the number of top-ranked websites (per Alexa rating) that were blacklisted increased, while 76 per cent of these websites were blacklisted because they contained a piece of malicious JavaScript, which most of the time was linking to the Blackhole exploit kit.

Julien Sobrier, senior security researcher at Zscaler, said that ten per cent of the blocked websites had malicious Java applets, while malicious iFrames were the third most prevalent infection and generally resulted from mass SQL injection attacks. 

“Only two per cent of the sites are trying to foil users into downloading a malicious piece of code through a fake AV, Flash or codec page,” he said.

“Since most of the blocked sites are legitimate sites with high traffic, they quickly get cleaned up and removed from the Google blacklist. While the average number of days a top site is blocked by Google is seven days, the vast majority are blocked for only a few days.”

The research found that the number of top domains blacklisted can vary on a daily basis, but the average changed from 400 in May, to more than 1,000 in July.

“Small or big, popular or not, all websites are under attack. No domain can be fully trusted and you never know if attackers managed to breach the protections of the website that you're currently on,” Sobrier said.

Danish investment bank selects SIEM technology from EdgeSeven

Saxo Bank has selected next-generation security information and event management (SIEM) technology from EdgeSeven.

The investment bank has selected the EdgeSeven SIEM to sit alongside its existing ArcSight technology, after deciding that a new SIEM solution was needed to further strengthen its IT security.

Mikael Augustinson, head of IT security at Saxo Bank, said: “EdgeSeven proved to have the skill and experience to deliver in time, budget and scope, but also the integrity to tell us when we were heading the wrong way.”

Jon Inns, co-founder of EdgeSeven, now a part of Accumuli, said: “Working with Saxo Bank was a real pleasure. They knew exactly what they needed to achieve, they had a tight deadline and they put their trust in us to get the job done. We listened, put the right team on the project, shared our experiences with them and delivered a cutting edge and tightly integrated solution that provided them with the compliance and security monitoring they needed.

“The key to success with SIEM projects, which deliver results like we have seen in Saxo and our other clients, really has less to do with technology selection, and more to do with the willingness of the client to engage and be involved in the process.

“If the client is willing to listen, our job as subject matter experts is really to guide them around the issues and highlight the opportunities. Once that is done then the technical bit is easy.

“Our advice to anyone considering a SIEM project would be to speak with an experienced independent subject expert in the field of SIEM, who can give an honest appraisal of the challenges and technology options.”

Spice Up Vanilla Customer Communication

Would you want to read your company emails, packing slips and bills? As consumers in an online market, we are often asked to “register” before being shuttled through to the buying stage of the online experience. It's a nuisance at times.  I occasionally opt to move through this process as a “guest” rather than taking the time to enter my information.

But what if we knew that at the end of the registration process, we would be rewarded and welcomed in with open arms by an email that is spunky and fresh AND contains important information like benefits and links to customize your personal account?

I might always take the time to register-providing essential consumer information to the company (bonus for the company)-and look forward to a continued relationship starting with a welcome email that pops!

Zappos wants to be known as a service company that happens to sell shoes, handbags, and more. The lens through which the company makes decisions is service. This is obvious in the tone of the welcome email that graced my inbox upon registration at Zappos-SERVICE with a smile (and shoes to quickly follow). Check out how I'm welcomed after registering on their site:

“Hello, Jeanne: Woohoo! We're so excited you registered with Zappos.com. We look forward to providing you with many amazing shopping experiences!”

What if every email registration confirmation greeted you in a personalized manner that is consistent with their brand personality?

Surprisingly, few businesses have clued in to the fact that communication exposes how much they consider the customer on the other end of the email, letter, notification or packing slip. Companies consider these touchpoints as tasks they have to execute â€" not opportunities to showcase their personality and connect with customers in a real and human manner.

Zappos has opened their arms to me, and while I know in reality it's not personal, the warmth behind the sentiment makes this welcome email seem like a great big hug. And I'm not kidding when I say-it makes me want to shop for shoes.

A CDBaby.com Email Read ‘Round the World!

CD Baby is another company that has succeeded in the customer communication arena. This company was born to create an enjoyable and profitable channel to enable musicians to sell their music to the public. The company has made it their quest to keep these musicians in business, cutting out the record-producer middleman that prevents many independent musicians from making a living.

CD Baby carries this commitment to artists through every action, including how they bond and communicate with customers.

CD Baby has a warm style we see far too rarely in customer communications. And that is to “write like you talk.” Just to give you an idea, this is a direct quote from their order confirmation email:

“Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing it. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved ‘Bon Voyage!' to your package…”

It goes on in this same silly, but heart-warming manner to elaborate on a fanciful journey each CD is taking as it leaves the shelf and lands with the buyer.

While whimsical, this note CD Baby sends out to confirm orders gets to the heart of the company's commitment to the more than 360,000 artists they represent. Began as a garage start-up in 1997, CDbaby.com is now the world's largest online distributer of Indie music.

Zappos and CD Baby have both taken risks, straying outside the boundaries of regular communication patterns between customers and company. By letting down their guard and “writing like they talk,” these companies have succeeded in their individual industries and relish in the customer loyalty that sparks repeat business and earns constant raves by their fans.

Try This: EVALUATE The Personality of Your Communication

• Print a sample of your letters to customers?  What's the tone?
• Post every single thing you send to customers on a wall.  What does it look like? What does it sound like?  Are you having a conversation with customers or sending them “documents?”

Take a Chance:  SHOW Your True Colors

Email Surprise Photo via Shutterstock

You\'ve Got Some Content, But Do You Know How To Promote It?

When you see blogs talking about how successful they are, you probably feel a little bit left out as your content isn't producing the stellar traffic they boast about. It seems that SEO isn't the alpha and omega to producing content that gets you tons of traffic after all. Is there a way to mitigate this?

The Web works in very mysterious ways, and topics might not flow as easily as others do if you don't have the right tools. A carpenter can cut a block of wood with a steak knife, but would you rather take a week to do it or just grab the chainsaw and hack through that block in a few seconds? The Web pretty much operates in the same manner. There are just simpler ways to do things that don't involve producing tons of search-optimized content.

Here's where content promotion services step in and do the job of marketing your content for you. Have a look at a couple:

• Dlvr.it - Pronounced “deliver it,” dlvr.it is a service that lives up to its name in every aspect. It literally delivers your content through major (and minor) social media venues, optimizes it for search, and polishes over the rough ends so anybody and everybody can see it. Your promotions will reach millions of readers who also read The New York Times and other major publications. And with $1 for your first promotion, does it really hurt to give it a shot?
• Outbrain - This service puts the most recommended content on your site within a small widget, or box, that attempts to coax the visitor into visiting even more of your site. This effectively will decrease your bounce rate and works well for SEO. If you want to put your best foot forward, Outbrain should be a component of your content marketing strategy. But you don't only get the cute little box at the bottom. You also get your site promoted in other different venues that pay them to distribute your content. This kind of strategy will attract readers from all over the Internet right to your doorstep. You must contact them for pricing and more information on how they do this.

Both of the services we've discussed so far are paramount examples for what you should include to make your website's content speak more to the visitor and possibly achieve sales. With these solutions, you'll shortly discover why people say that “content is king!”

Digg Returns with New Design

A few weeks ago we ran a roundup about the descent of Digg from one-time social media pioneer to failing Web business sold off bit by bit to a variety of companies including LinkedIn, The Washington Post, and New York-based tech firm Betaworks. But now Digg is back with a brand new look. The question of whether it's possible to resurrect an under-performing brand is important to every entrepreneur. Here's more:

Up and Running

It's alive! Fans got a chance to see just how much has changed as the new Digg was officially launched after a very rapid redesign of the beloved social bookmarking site. The Newsbar and Newsrooms are gone, with a focus on top, popular, and upcoming stories, and Facebook and Twitter sharing are taken into account when ranking each story. The Verge

Back to basics. Even days before launching the new Digg, the team at Betaworks offered up some thoughts about the changes. The redesign would be an attempt to get back to basics and focus on what the old Digg did best: creating community instead of unique content. Sometimes the best way to fix a business model is to get back to its roots. BetaBeat

The Big Fix

Guiding principles. Another interesting thing the Betaworks team did in its run-up to the Digg redesign launch was to survey users for more information about why they visited Digg, incorporating some of what was said into the new site. Updates show a very transparent process during the redesign. The best way to find out what your customers want is to ask them. Here's one example. Digg Blog

A Rose by any other name. Digg founder Kevin Rose admits after leaving the company he helped create, he found it hard to return to the site and see what was being done with his “baby”. Among the most important lessons learned from the experience, he said, was to develop a pool of generalist talent who could adapt to changing situations. Gigaom

Takeaways

Going with your gut. Sharing some thoughts about Digg in a series of videos posted recently, Rose had some other insights entrepreneurs may definitely wish to take to heart. The most important of these is to go with your gut. Rose said the greatest regret he has is approving changes he deeply felt might be bad for the community. TechCrunch

A fond farewell. But for some former Digg users like blogger David Leonhardt, all this second guessing is too little, too late. He and other Digg users have moved on to different homes, becoming part of new communities on the Web to share the information most important to them. One thing to remember is that sometimes, when a community or customer base is gone, it's gone. Do your best to realize this before it's too late. David Leonhardt's SEO and Social Media Marketing

Lessons learned. Another lesson to be learned from the Digg situation is that perhaps innovation is not always the answer. There's a time to make changes and a time to stick close to your roots. One blogger has a solution any entrepreneur should heed before making big changes. If you want to know whether it's a good idea, ask your customers first. Seeking Alpha