Black Hat USA 2007 Briefing

Information Security Technology
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
Vendor Management

Over 3,700 security professionals gathered in Las Vegas early this month to preview the latest threats and to see firsthand what new attacks and compromises are coming. This year’s conference was substantially bigger than last year’s and included significant representation from vendors and the white hat legitimate security community. Unfortunately, the news from Black Hat is not good for banking and finance executives.

> Listen to the Black Hat Conference 2007 vendor interviews

Numerous experts demonstrated attacks that could be launched without creating malicious script. Many features of commonly used protocols, when used in creative ways, can expose users and companies to significant vulnerabilities. One of the more interesting presentations was by Bryan Sullivan and Billy Hoffman of SPI Dynamics on the vulnerabilities of AJAX applications. Many banks and other financial organizations are adopting AJAX to give their users a richer web experience.