Information Security Research

1. Information Security Research Tapping the Blogosphere Michael R. Farnum, CISSP, GSEC, DSB http://infosecplace.com/blog http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/farnum m1a1vet@infosecplace.com

2. Who is my Audience? • Security managers / administrators • Security consultants • CSO / CISO • Security analysts • Others interested in security

3. Who is my Audience? INFORMATION JUNKIES

4. Information Security Research What is the goal? Better security

5. Traditional Forms of Research • Trade magazines (online and print) • Trade analyst services / Security researchers • Security vendors • Friends / colleagues

6. Pros and Cons Trade magazines (online and print) • Pros • Often free (if you qualify) • Fairly current • Technology comparisons • Cons • Tech reviews often driven by vendors who pay • Information is scattered (online is getting better with RSS)

7. Pros and Cons Trade analyst services / Security researchers • Pros • Detailed • Covers wide array of technologies and issues • Cons • Can be VERY expensive

8. Pros and Cons Security Vendor • Pros • Should know their part of the market very well • Should be able to provide comparative documents • Cons • Biased

9. Pros and Cons Friends / Colleagues • Pros • Real world experience • May be able to show instead of just tell • Cons • Environment may not be similar enough • Solution bias may turn into religious argument

10. Types of Blogs • Trade magazines (online) • Trade analyst services / Security researchers • Security vendors • Friends / colleagues Anything look familiar?

11. So What’s the Difference? VOLUME Availability Current

12. Volume As of April 17, 2007 • Technorati says it is tracking 75.2 million blogs (http://technorati.com/about/) • 6,469 blogs using “security” as a tag • 826 blogs using “information security” as a tag • 511 blogs using “network security” as a tag • 220 blogs using “data security” as a tag

13. Availability FREE

14. Organization RSS - Really Simple Syndication Exciting! Boring…

15. RSS – Not Just for Blogs! • Vlogs • Podcasts • News

16. RSS Aggregators Web-based aggregators • These are sites that aggregate feeds for reading in a browser. • 24bytesSimple Blog RSS/Atom aggregator • 24x7 News24x7 Medical News Aggregator • 24eyesWeb 2.0 RSS aggregator • AggregatoTag-based RSS/Atom aggregator (R) • Alesti Feed ReaderWeb 2.0 RSS reader • AlmondRocksSimple aggregator • Attensa Onlineis a free AJAX RSS reader that works like a dedicated RSS reader application. • BeanRocketSocial aggregator (R) • BlogLinesFolder style aggregator (R) • Blox0rSimple news aggregator • ClickBioClickBio Biological News Aggregator • Chrysanth NETime Channel Online RSS/Atom aggregator and RSS/Atom preview (R) • Editaste Aggregator, also enables creating feeds comprised of arbitrary items (free) • FeedBucket RSS/Atom aggregator with River-of-News or individual feeds • FeedFeeds RSS/Atom aggregator that also features FeedTV • FeedLounge Commercial aggregator (N) • FeedReader.net Your personal web XML/RSS news reader • FeedShow.com RSS feeds reader / includes RSS monetization

17. More RSS Aggregators • FeedZilla Dutch online RSS aggregator (N) • FlipSkipper River-of-news style web based aggregator • Freepress An political-news weblog aggregator with a set list of feeds, grouped by political party • Google Reader Google's Atom/RSS aggregator (R) • Grabline.com India News Aggregator (English and Hindi). Aggregates Deals as well. • Greensboro101.com Community aggregator for Greensboro, North Carolina (S) • HyperSuper Personalized news aggregator • Inform Advanced news aggregator (R) • IndiaNews India News Aggregator(R) • Kinja Kinja, the weblog guide (R) • metaRSS News aggregator and meta RSS producer (R) • monitor Greek blog aggregator. • MyNewsbot News aggregator with a twist • My Yahoo! Most used online RSS aggregator • Netvibes Highly DHTML-oriented aggregator • NewsAlloy News aggregator (still in beta, as of 3 Feb 06, but very usable). • NewsBurst CNET's news aggregator (R) • NewsGator News aggregator (R) • NewsIsFree Folder style news aggregator • NewsOnFeeds Categorized news aggregator • NewsNow UK's oldest news aggregator. International news in several languages, organised into various topics • Pluck Also includes bookmark management (R) • Pressrank News Aggregator Comparative tool to assess which sources are covering which stories • Protopage Allows for web based RSS feeds right on your desktop. • Poets101.com Exclusively for poetry bloggers. (S) • Rezzibo Beautifully designed RSS/Atom aggregator, Spanish with English translation forthcoming (R) • Rocket RSS Reader Folder style aggregator (R) • Rojo Tag-based news aggregator • RSS2GIF enables you to convert RSS feeds to GIF files. • RssPress.it Italian free RSS/Atom news aggregator • RSSA Folder style aggregator • Sabkuch Newsan RSS/Atom News aggregator for various categories with archives. • slashgeo Community-driven ad-free slash-based News aggregator for GIS, RS and everything geospatial. • Sofomo Simplified news aggregator • Steven's News Service Fast easy-to-use RSS/Atom aggregator (R) • We Do The Ping Web based aggregator • YodPod A free web-based aggregator. Optional registration. • Yuva News Aggregator India News Aggregator.

18. Even More RSS Aggregators • Desktop news aggregators • These can be downloaded and installed on a computer. • Cross-platform • AmphetaDesk was an open source syndicated news aggregator. Although once cutting-edge, in early Morbus Iff moved on to other projects. (Mac, Windows, Linux) • BlogBridge is a free, open source reader which runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux. The free BlogBridge service syncs your feed list between desktops. • RSSOwl is an open source Java RSS news reader. • RSS2PDF enables you to view RSS feeds as PDF files. • AgileRSS is a java aggregator that runs on Windows, Unix, linux and MacOsX. • Macintosh • endo. 21 day trial, US$18. By the makers of ecto. • News Reader is an RSS widget for Dashboard. • NetNewsWire • NewsAccess • NewsFire • Pheeder A extensible RSS / XML reader. • Postino • shrookShrook users cooperate to monitor feeds. • Vienna supports RSS and Atom feeds (open source hence free). • Microsoft Windows • Marcel (imum.info net-reader) feed reader (RSS/Atom/LS1), original and ultra-simplified. One feed in one page, no popup. (Free, english/french, for Windows). • Alertbear offers a river of news style view via a stack of feed items, instead of the usual email style view of other readers. • Awasu - monitoring information from any source. • Newsplorer is a fully skinnable news reader application that integrates with the online bookmarking service del.icio.us • Companion Desktop™ Companion Desktop™ is the latest configurable news reader with preconfigured categories. • Twins WebNews Twins WebNews is an RSS and ATOM news reader, that works like an e-mail client. • RSS Xpress is a free Atom/RSS reader (requires .NET Framework v1.1). • FeedTray is a tiny RSS/Atom/podcast news reader that quietly sits in your task tray and monitors any number of news feeds (requires .NET Framework v2). • Feedreader is a lightweight open-source aggregator that supports RSS and ATOM formats. It works under Windows 95 and later versions. • BitsCast is a free rich media RSS reader/aggregator integrating Microsoft JET database engine with rich media (news | audio (podcast) | video (vlog) | software delivery | BitTorrent attachment) download/search/playback.

19. Just a Few More RSS Aggregators • SharpReader SharpReader is an RSS/Atom Aggregator. • BlogBridge BlogBridge is an RSS/Atom Aggregator that supports Reading Lists (requires Java). • Awasu is a fully-featured news reader with both free and commercial versions. • CITA RSS Aggregator is a free Windows aggregator that also supports podcasts, BitTorrents and secure feeds (requires .NET Framework v2). • FeedDemon is a hybrid online/offline RSS reader. • FeedExplorer Freeware, Outlook 2003 look and feel. • Fuzzy Duck is a freeware RSS, Atom and RDF news reader. • GreatNews is a powerful RSS reader emphasising on usability. • News Bobbin is a freeware that scrolls the latest customizable headlines on the bottom of your desktop. • Nutshell Freeware, multi-window skinnable RSS reader with optional Ticker bar. • RSSBandit is an RSS/Atom aggregator written with the .NET Framework. • Snarfer is a freeware state of the art lightning fast RSS/Atom/XML reader. • wTicker RSS reader. Many Features. • FeedAmasser A Light Weight RSS Feed Reader. • WinRSS A freeware RSS/Atom aggregator for Windows, which uses your browser to display the news, and also balloon tooltips. • KlipFolio Is a small, smart and very configurable RSS Dashboard. KlipFolio can be used to monitor anything you want online--like weather, stocks, Hotmail, news, RSS feeds and even auctions. • Feed'n Read Feed'n Read (FnR) is a free Java based open source newsfeed reader. It is powered by the Sun ROME syndication framework and therefore supports all current formats. • Touchstone Touchstone is a heads-up-display that treats RSS less like news and more like an alerts/updates mechanism. Stay up-to-date with web-based apps (Web 2.0?) while you work without having to bury your head in a news reader. • Investor Vista Webfeed aggregator designed specifically for investors. Unique system which generates Stock + Feed News charts. • Linux • akregator is a KDE news feed aggregator. • blam is a GNOME RSS aggregator written in C#. • liferea is a GTK/GNOME-based news aggregator. • raggle is a console RSS aggregator written in Ruby. • rawdog is the RSS Aggregator Without Delusions Of Grandeur. • straw is another GNOME aggregator. • Ticker is a GNUstep news aggregator for Atom and RSS feeds.

20. Holy Crap that’s a lot of RSS Aggregators • Built-in aggregators • Web browsers, plugins and other software with built-in aggregators. • Attensa Toolbar for Internet Explorer Detect, preview and read RSS feeds and articles from a IE toolbar. • Chrysanth NETime Channel is a free software that transforms your IE (Internet Explorer) into a powerful RSS aggregator, thus enabling you to view any RSS, RDF or ATOM feeds directly inside your web browser as a nicely formatted web page. • eDIY Web Hosting CMS Software Built in aggregration plugin for CMS websites. • Internet Explorer 7 currently in beta. Reads Atom and RSS. • Madicon RSS Reader, an RSS/Atom reader for the groupware platform IBM Lotus Notes/Domino 6.x (or higher). • Mozilla Firefox is a free-software web browser that can display feeds as bookmark folders. • Mozilla Thunderbird is a free-software email and newsgroup client that can also read RSS and Atom feeds. • My RSS Toolbar is toolbar for Internet Explorer. Contains pre-defined list of feeds combined into categories. • Built-in RSS Client its a Internet Explorer plug-in for handling with RSS feeds. • Opera web browser detects RSS links and integrates it with its email client functionality. • While technically not an aggregator, the RSS Visualizer Quartz screen saver that comes with Mac OS X will display the ten most recent updates to any given RSS feed that you select in System Preferences. • Safari, is a Mac OS X browser from Apple, comes with built-in support for RSS aggregation. • Yoono A social bookmarking application with integrated news reader. (Microsoft Windows) • Firefox extensions • Aggreg8, an open source Mozilla/Firefox extension licensed under the Mozilla Public License. The developer stopped working on it in 2004 and now recommends the use of Habari Xenu. • Attensa RSS Firefox Extension Detect, preview and read RSS feeds and articles from the Firefox toolbar. • Habari Xenu was a project originally based on Aggreg8 and is also an extension for Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox. • NewsMonster is an RSS aggregator that runs inside a Mozilla-based web browser. • Pluck Also available for Internet Explorer. includes bookmark management. • Sage is a lightweight RSS and Atom feed aggregator extension for Mozilla Firefox. • Wizz RSS is a Firefox extension that supports all versions of RSS, Atom 0.3, Atom 1.0, GZIP compression, Podcast feeds and the feed: URI scheme. Also works as a Gmail notifier and can be used to publish feeds on any web site. • Outlook extensions • Attensa for Outlook is a news reader that delivers newsfeeds directly into folders in Microsoft Outlook. It includes browser toolbars (for IE and Firefox) that make it easy to add and manage subscriptions. It supports attachments including Podcast audio files. Does not work with other than english Outlook versions. • intraVnews is an RSS/Atom aggregator that runs in Outlook. Feeds are delivered into Outlook folders where they can be read alongside email. Does not work with Outlook 2000 (requires Outlook XP or 2003). • NewsGator is a news aggregator that runs in Microsoft Outlook. It allows you to subscribe to various syndicated news feeds (such as weblogs, news sites, and so on) and have news from these sites be delivered right into your Outlook folders. • RSS Popper is a news aggregator add-in for Outlook. News items delivered directly to Outlook as e-mails. No need to use a separate program for reading RSS anymore. All RSS/RDF/Atom formats are supported.

21. Does this friggin’ list ever end? • Email based aggregators • These are sites that aggregate feeds and email them. • Blog Alert • Feed2Imap (uploads items as mails on an IMAP server) • FeedBlitz.com • Feednation • Queoo (email and IM) • RssFwd • R-mail • Squeet.com (100% FREE) • Yahoo! Alerts RSS alerts delivered via email, IM, and SMS • Command Line based aggregators • These allow feed to be read in a command line without graphical user interface • Centericq - instant messenger client that allows feed reading • snownews - is a simple, open source, aggregator for the command line • raggle - an open source ruby/ncurses based news reader • theyoke - an ultra-simple, polite aggregrator designed for use on the command line • Aggregators that require web server installation • Feed on Feeds (PHP and MySQL required) • Gregarius Can be themed and supports plugins (PHP and a database like MySQL or SQLite required) • Lylina • MetaPlanet (PHP required and SQLite required) • Newspipe Heavily customizable email-based news reader (Python required) • Planet Planet (Python required) • Python Desktop Server (Python required) • reBlog (aggregator with ability to republish to your weblog) • Online RSS Viewer (PHP required) • Rippy The Aggregator (PHP required) • Rnews (PHP and MySQL required) • Urchin (Perl and MySQL required) • rawdog an RSS Aggregator Without Delusions Of Grandeur (Python required)

22. FINALLY! • Aggregators for mobile devices • Newstouch Fast and customizable RSS reader for Symbian and Java phones. Feeds and images are compressed by a remote server. Articles are stored on the phone for offline viewing. • FreeRange Communications Advanced RSS News and Blog Reader for mobile phones and PDAs. Supports off-line reading, built-in text browser, email. Works on nearly all phones - Java, Symbian, Blackberry, Palm, Windows Mobile. • Go Mobile Solutions RSSToGo is an easy-to-use RSS reader for the Windows Mobile Platform • Attensa Mobile RSS reader for phones and PDAs synchronizes with Attensa for Outlook and Attensa Online • News Lite Free RSS reader for flash-enabled devices • Resco News RSS/Atom aggregator for Symbian S60 phones • Yahoo! Mobile allows you to read RSS feeds from your My Yahoo page • ZapTXT Uses SMS messages to send updates from RSS feeds you specify • FeederReader FeederReader is a full-featured RSS Aggregator with podcast listening and enclosure support, running on Windows Mobile • NomadReader List came from: http://www.newsonfeeds.com/faq/aggregators

23. Some Popular Aggregators • Bloglines (Online) • BlogBridge (Application) • NewsGator (Online and Application) • My Yahoo! (Online) • Rojo (Online) • Firefox browser (Application via Live Bookmarks feature) • Netvibes (Online)

24. Example of an Aggregator

25. Current • Security Alert Blogs • Bugs, Patches, etc. • Security News Sites • Big security events as they happen • Security Practitioner Sites http://www.bloglines.com/public/m1a1vet

26. Some Recommended Reading http://www.bloglines.com/public/m1a1vet

27. Special Guests • Martin McKeay • Army • StillSecure / Cobia Product Evangelist • http://www.mckeay.net • http://www.computerworld.com/blogs.mckeay • Cutaway (you can ask him his real name) • Marines • Security Ripcord Blog - http://www.cutawaysecurity.com/blog/