Software Testing News - April 2007

Another month has gone by and DrivenQA have been keeping a firm eye on the news related to software testing. We know bugs are everywhere in many different shapes and sizes - call bugs your friends and you may be surprised to see what can be found. Every bug that is found is an opportunity to learn for everyone, not just for the people involved in the development of the software.

Bugs in the news

With an increasing amount of software and services available through the internet, it is inevitable that vulnerabilities are exposed. New ideas, techniques and tools are continuously being used by black and white hackers. It is essential that we in the software development and testing industry keep on top of the latest technology and techniques to protect our assets.

Blackberry flaw

Blackberry proved that bugs can appear at any stage of a product's life, where the makers admitted that insufficient testing was the cause their 12 hour system outage. This certainly could have proved to be more than an inconvenience to their customers.

Flawed Adwords from Google

Not even Google is bullet proof, their Pay Per Click Adword service recently came under attack. Attackers were taking advantage of the way sponsored links are able to pretend to direct to a legitimate site, where the truth was users were being directed to sites serving up malicious code.

The Italian Job - Navigation system hacked

Perhaps a bit humorous from the outside, but surely you wouldn't want to use some trustworthy navigation software that falsely directed you into a traffic jam? Two Italian hackers have successfully managed to send false data to a navigation system meaning they can manipulate queues, bad weather, car parks, overcrowded service areas, accidents, roadwork and much more. They admit it's not the end of the world, but as a user it may well cause headaches.

Malicious code on the rise

It is being reported from many different sources that malicious code attacks are on the rise. This naturally causes risk to all internet users. Email and Javascript (e.g. Ajax) attacks are of big concern. In addition to this good hackers are facing a dilemma where they are keen to exploit issues to improve security, but are increasingly unwilling to do so due to the fear of being prosecuted. With attackers getting better at hiding and exploiting code, Where is the line drawn?

Other bug stories

• Apple and their buggy battery
• QuickTime mac flaw
• Adobe photoshop bug

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