Encryption vendor Pointsec Mobile Technologies Inc. in Mokena, Illinois, released a new version of its Pointsec for PC software for mobile devices that is designed to better integrate with authentication technologies such as smart cards. Pointsec for PC 6.0 uses a new authentication engine that the company said is designed to work with virtually any smart card or token that is on the market today.

Fed cybersecurity efforts faulted

The U.S. government has made little progress in most cybersecurity areas in the past year, despite warnings from several groups, said a trade group representing cybersecurity vendors. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has failed to hire an assistant secretary for cybersecurity even though an elevated position was announced in July, and cybersecurity research and development within the U.S. government is "at a crisis," said Paul Kurtz, executive director of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance.

3Com wants to hack your network

3Com Corp. in Marlboro, Massachusetts, is introducing a service called Security Posture Assessment, where 3Com TippingPoint security experts try to break into customers' systems. In three days or more of on-site testing, the experts will run a variety of tests and assessment tasks, including network mapping, scanning and password cracking. They will then attempt to gain access to machines and move up the hierarchy of system privileges on corporate servers.