Week in Review: September 16, 2015

European Union and United States Reach "Umbrella Agreement"

The governments of the European Union and the United States reached an agreement on Tuesday (September 9) to allow for the exchange of personal data during counterterrorism investigations. In regards to the Umbrella Agreement, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourová noted, “The finalization of the Umbrella Agreement negotiations is therefore an important step to strengthen the fundamental right to privacy effectively and to rebuild trust in EU-U.S. data flows." The Umbrella Agreement emphasizes the individuals' right to access and rectification. The European Commission's online fact sheet states clearly, "The Umbrella Agreement will be signed and formally concluded only after the US Judicial Redress Bill, granting judicial redress rights to EU citizens, will have been adopted." Negotiations regarding the Umbrella Agreement began officially on March 29, 2011.

India, the Philippines, Mexico, and Ukraine: Cisco Routers Found with Stealthy Backdoor

Researchers from security firm Mandiant/FireEye wrote in a report on September 15, 2015 that SYNful knock malware had been located in 14 routers in four countries, including Ukraine, the Philippines, Mexico, and India. In response, Cisco Systems shared intrusion detection signatures for customers to employ against attacks. The researchers, Bill Hau and Tony Lee, added, " It should be evident now that this attack vector is very much a reality and will most likely grow in popularity and prevalence." At this juncture, the identity of the hackers, who planted the malware, has not been revealed, though computer logs indicate that the malicious activity has been going on for at least a year.

Facebook: The Company Announces a "Dislike" Button Is Coming

At a town hall in Menlo Park, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that his company was in the final stages of crafting a "dislike" button. "We have an idea that we're going to be ready to test soon, and depending on how that does, we'll roll it out more broadly," he explained. International news outlets around the world [EN] [ES] [FR] [AR]  broadcasted this announcement. Previously, many bloggers had asserted that it was not in Facebook'