Phishing gangs have been increasing their tactics against brands, social networks, online  classifieds and online gaming, according to a new report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG).

Update: Twitter has addressed the issue on the main company blog:

The short story: This morning at 2:54 am PDT Twitter was notified of a security exploit that surfaced about a half hour before that, and we immediately went to work on fixing it. By 7:00 am PDT, the primary issue was solved. And, by 9:15 am PDT, a more minor but related issue tied to hovercards was also fixed. 

The longer version of the story can be read on the blog. 

Google has introduced a more secure sign-in capability for Google Apps accounts with two-step verification. The company says this "significantly increases the security of the cloud."

HP announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ArcSight, a security and compliance company, for $1.5 billion at $43.50 per share. There were rumors of the acquisition going around over the weekend, but the companies have now made it official. 

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed a lawsuit today challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) policy allowing border agents to search laptops or other electronic devices at the border without reasonable suspicion.

The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Facebook is testing a feature that lets users "subscribe" to other users. Nick O’Neill at AllFacebook shares an official statement from Facebook: "This feature is being tested with a small percent of users. It lets people subscribe to friends and pages to receive notifications whenever the person they’ve subscribed to updates their status or posts new content (photos, videos, links, or notes)."

As of today, Twitter apps will all use OAuth for user authentication. Users will be able to use apps without them storing their password.

"The move to OAuth will mean increased security and a better experience. Applications won’t store your username and password, and if you change your password, applications will continue to work," says

CareerBuilder released some survey findings this week, indicating that over a third of employers in the U.S. are using social media to promote their company, but it’s employee use that still has some businesses worried.

The other day, reports surfaced of scammers running up iTunes users’ tabs through PayPal. Apple said there was no vulnerability in its system, and some blamed users for being gullible and falling for phishing scams.

According to a new report from IBM, vulnerability exposures reached record levels in the first half of the year. This info comes courtesy of IBM’s X-Force 2-1- Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report.

Over 4,300 new vulnerabilities were documented by IBM’s R&D team during this time period. This is a 36% increase from the same period last year. 55%  of the disclosed vulnerabilities had now vendor-supplied patch at the end of the period.

Some iTunes users are finding that scammers are stealing their money through PayPal. Numerous people have been claiming as much on Twitter and Facebook.

AOL has released the results from a new survey, conducted by Nielsen, about parenting and social networking. The survey found that over half of children don’t knows all of their "friends" personally.

The survey also found that 76% of parents with kids on Facebook have "friended" their teenagers, while 29% of these teens would un-friend their parents if they were given the option. Heartwarming isn’t it? These kids are twice as likely to un-friend their mothers as opposed to their fathers.

The Chinese search company that is more or less the Google of its home market has sued another organization over its security software.  Baidu said in its lawsuit that Qihoo 360′s Safe PC software unfairly identifies its toolbar and address bar as malware.

Symantec detected a trojan within an Android game, which is secretly uploading GPS user location information. A representative for the company tells WebProNews that while the particular instance doesn’t really represent a major security threat, "it does demonstrate how new mobile threats are emerging and evolving."

Many Facebook users have long awaited the arrival of a "dislike" button for status updates that they find dumb, repulsive, or just annoying. If you happen to see someone on the social network claiming to have found one, however, don’t buy it. It’s a scam.

Fast Company has an interview with none other than Chad Ochocinco, receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals who makes as much of an impact on online pop culture as he does on the football field (perhaps more so). He wants to get rid of Farmville.

Update 2: The issue is reportedly resolved.

Update: Facebook is already fixing the issue. AllFacebook got a statement from the company saying: 

Rupert Murdoch is excited about tablets. The Guardian has a piece quoting him as calling them "a perfect platform" for cheap and convenient, up-to-date News Corp. content. He says the company has "tens of thousands of readers" through apps for the Wall Street Journal, the Times and the Australian.

Facebook has put a lot of people on edge about privacy in recent months, and while some of it may be legitimate concern, a lot of the discussion is simply getting blown out of proportion.

According to a report released by Barracuda Labs, Google has twice as much malware than Bing, Yahoo, and Twitter put together. The study was conducted across these web properties over a two-month period.

Android device owners can perhaps stop frantically deleting apps from their phones.  An app that appeared to represent a serious security risk – supposedly transmitting users’ passwords, browsing histories, and text messages to someone in China – has been found to mine much less data than early reports indicated.