Category Archives: Security

Cologne Archive Collapse

Something smells funny in the Cologne City Archive Collapse

The archive was built in the 1970s, and there was initially no clear answer to the question of why it would suddenly collapse.

Eberhard Illner, a former archive employee, told German radio station Deutschlandfunk the collapse was a “foreseeable catastrophe” and that he had noticed cracks in the building’s basement walls.

I wonder what the toll on the archives will be. Original works lost? Only nine people are still reported missing. The images look like an entire city block has imploded.

Urgent Vulnerability: Adobe Flash

F-Secure Security Center has disclosed an Adobe Flash Player remote code execution vulnerability.

Report ID: SA200900917
Source: F-Secure
Date of Discovery: 25.02.2009
Criticality: Urgent
Affects:
Adobe Flash Player 10.x
Adobe Flash Player 9.x
Compromise From: From remote
Compromise Type: System access
Remote code execution

An upgrade to 10.0.22.87 (10.0r22) is the solution.

It also is a good idea to check the program directory (C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash) and remove all prior versions of flash.

Eli Lilly fraud case settled

The US Department of Justice has settled with Eli Lilly for more than $1.4 billion over illegal “off-label” marketing practices for an antipsychotic drug.

Facing tens of thousands of claims and over a hundred lawsuits that involved Medicaid fraud investigations in more than 30 states Lilly now has to pay civil penalties of $800 million, plead guilty to criminal charges and pay an additional $600 million in fines.

“Eli Lilly completely ignored the law” and made “hundred of millions of dollars” from its illegal promotion of Zyprexa, [U.S. Attorney Laurie] Magid said at a press conference in Philadelphia today. “We’re holding a company responsible for putting thousands and thousands of patients at risk.”

Lilly had advertised, without clearance from regulators, that five milligrams at 5 pm would help dementia patients fall asleep. The drug represented almost a quarter of company revenues with $4.76 billion in sales for 2007 alone.

Six former sales representatives responsible for blowing the whistle under the federal False Claims Act are to receive $78.8 million in the civil settlement and a share from settlements in states that have whistleblower laws. The company now also must operate under federal monitoring for five years.