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Sunday 30 November 2014

High triglycerides linked with prostate cancer recurrence

Friday November 21, 2014

BY RONNIE COHEN

This post is on Healthwise


The risk of prostate cancer recurrence may go up for those with a higher triglyceride count, this link may help healthcare providers in the treatment of the cancer.
The risk of prostate cancer recurrence may go up for those with a higher triglyceride count, this link may help healthcare providers in the treatment of the cancer.

A new study has linked high triglyceride levels with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer.
Among men who had surgery for prostate cancer, those with elevated triglyceride levels before surgery were 35% more likely to show signs of a cancer recurrence than men with normal preoperative levels.
Triglyceride is a form of lipid or fat found in the blood. A high level of triglyceride also raises the risk of having heart diseases. 
The study reinforces the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, says epidemiologist Elizabeth Platz.
Platz, who studies cancer prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, was not involved with the current study.

Researchers have found a correlation between those with high triglycerides and increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence. – AFP
“We all need to think about modifying behaviours that promote well being in general – not smoking, reducing obesity, increasing physical activity while decreasing sedentary time,” she says.
Investigators studied the records of men who were not taking statins before radical prostatectomy at six Veterans Affairs hospitals in California, Georgia and North Carolina.
After prostate cancer treatment, 293 of the 843 men in the study had a rising level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
The researchers expected to find more cancer recurrence in men with high pre-surgical cholesterol levels. But they did not.
Instead, they found that for the overall group, only high triglycerides raised recurrence risk, according to the study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
But when the researchers looked only at the 325 men with abnormally high preoperative cholesterol levels, they found the risk of recurrence increased 9% for each 10 mg/dL in total cholesterol above the abnormal cutoff of 200 mg/dL.
More striking, though, was their finding that among men with abnormally low levels of HDL cholesterol (that is, below the desired level of 40 mg/dL), every extra 10 mg/dL of HDL brought the risk of recurrence down by 39%.
“Our findings suggest that controlling lipid levels is not only important for cardiovascular disease but also may have a role in prostate cancer,” says lead author Emma Allott from Duke University Medical School in Durham, North Carolina.
The study can’t prove that cholesterol and triglycerides caused the recurrence of prostate cancer.
Still, Allott says, “Controlling your lipid levels is well known to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Here we’re showing that there may be a role for prostate cancer.”
The researchers call for additional studies of the role of cholesterol in prostate cancer growth. They also note that other studies have linked cholesterol-lowering statins with a reduced risk of prostate cancer recurrence. – Reuters
Drop the triglyceride 
Managing triglyceride levels is super-easy. All you need to do is move more, says experts. 
Watch the video. 

http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Health/2014/11/21/High-triglycerides-linked-with-prostate-cancer-recurrence/

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Saturday 29 November 2014

Diet may influence ovarian cancer survival

Saturday November 22, 2014

BY KATHRYN DOYLE

This post is on Healthwise


Women who practised healthy eating were 27% less likely to die after an ovarian cancer diagnosis, says research. - Filepic
Women who practised healthy eating were 27% less likely to die after an ovarian cancer diagnosis, says research. - Filepic
 

Women with healthier diets before an ovarian cancer diagnosis are less likely to die than women with poorer diets, according to study.
The exceptions were women with diabetes or a high waist circumference, which is often linked to diabetes.
A healthy diet before diagnosis may indicate a stronger immune system and, indirectly, the capacity to respond favourably to cancer therapy, says lead author Cynthia A. Thomson of Health Promotion Sciences at the Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Researchers find that survival benefits come from an overall healthy diet and not the individual components. – Filepic
“It also may reflect our capacity to sustain healthy eating after diagnosis, which in turn could support better health in a broader sense,” says Thomson.
Researchers looked back at cases of ovarian cancer occurring between 1993 and 1998, 90% of which were invasive cancers.
The women had filled out dietary and physical activity questionnaires at least one year before their cancer diagnoses as part of the larger Women’s Health Initiative study. Researchers measured their heights, weights and waist circumferences.
The healthy eating index in this study measured 10 dietary components, scoring diets with a higher amount of vegetables and fruit, more variety in vegetables and fruit, more whole grains, lower amounts of fat and alcohol and more fibre as healthier than other diets.
On average, the women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer around age 63.
As of September 17, 2012, 354 of the women had died, and 305 of those died specifically from ovarian cancer.
When the researchers divided the women into three groups based on their diet quality, those in the healthiest-eating group were 27% less likely to die of any cause after ovarian cancer diagnosis than those in the poorest diet group, according to the results published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute(JNCI),
There was a similar but slightly weaker association between pre-diagnosis diet and death due specifically to ovarian cancer.
“The index gives more points for eating good foods, such as vegetables and whole grains, and fewer points for eating not-recommended foods, such as added sugars, fatty foods and refined grains,” says Dr Elisa V. Bandera, associate professor of Epidemiology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick.
“Interestingly, they found that it was not the individual components that affected mortality, but an overall healthy diet,” says Bandera, who was not part of the new study.
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains may lower inflammation, which has been linked to ovarian cancer mortality, she says.
“Such a diet has also been linked to reduced risk of other chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease which may complicate ovarian cancer treatment and increase mortality,” she says.
High scores on the Healthy Eating Index are very similar to guidelines and recommendations for cancer survivors provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the American Cancer Society, Dr Anne McTiernan of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
“However, the data on diet and lifestyle associations with ovarian cancer survival are all observational,” says McTiernan, who was not involved in the new study. “Clear recommendations would require a randomised controlled clinical trial – the gold standard of medical evidence – before women with ovarian cancer could be advised to change their lifestyles in order to improve their prognosis.”
Women with a history of diabetes and those with a waist circumference greater than 34 inches did not seem to get the same survival benefit from a healthy diet as other women. In their report, the study authors note that past research has already linked diabetes with higher-than-average mortality in ovarian cancer.
The amount of regular exercise women got before diagnosis did not seem to affect the link between diet quality and survival.
Although the researchers accounted for exercise and total calorie intake, they did not account for ovarian cancer treatment. Women who had healthier diets may also have had access to better treatment, Bandera notes.
In any case, Thomson says, healthy diets do seem to be important to reduce cancer risk and to improve survival after cancer. “One in two US adults will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime and eating healthy is important in regards to how we come through this experience.”
Healthy behaviours may also delay the onset of cancer, for example from age 55 to 65, but that is difficult to demonstrate, she says. – Reuters
http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Health/2014/11/22/Diet-may-influence-ovarian-cancer-survival/

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Friday 28 November 2014

Chronic Kidney Disease

Last Updated: August 29, 2013

This post is on Healthwise


urolo_01.jpgThis topic provides information about chronic kidney disease. If you are looking for information about sudden kidney failure, see the topic Acute Kidney Injury.
Having chronic kidney disease means that for some time your kidneys camera.gif have not been working the way they should. Your kidneys have the important job of filtering your blood. They remove waste products and extra fluid and flush them from your body as urine. When your kidneys don't work right, wastes build up in your blood and make you sick.
Chronic kidney disease may seem to have come on suddenly. But it has been happening bit by bit for many years as a result of damage to your kidneys.
Each of your kidneys has about a million tiny filters, called nephrons. If nephrons are damaged, they stop working. For a while, healthy nephrons can take on the extra work. But if the damage continues, more and more nephrons shut down. After a certain point, the nephrons that are left cannot filter your blood well enough to keep you healthy.
One way to measure how well your kidneys are working is to figure out your glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The GFR is usually calculated using results from your blood creatinine (say "kree-AT-uh-neen") test. Then the stage of kidney disease is figured out using the GFR. There are five stages of kidney disease, from kidney damage with normal GFR to kidney failure.
There are things you can do to slow or stop the damage to your kidneys. Taking medicines and making some lifestyle changes can help you manage your disease and feel better.
Chronic kidney disease is also called chronic renal failure or chronic renal insufficiency.
Chronic kidney disease is caused by damage to the kidneys. The most common causes of this damage are:
  • Uncontrolled high blood pressure over many years.
  • High blood sugar over many years. This happens in uncontrolled type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Other things that can lead to chronic kidney disease include:
  • Kidney diseases and infections, such as polycystic kidney disease, pyelonephritis, and glomerulonephritis, or a kidney problem you were born with.
  • A narrowed or blocked renal artery. A renal artery carries blood to the kidneys.
  • Long-term use of medicines that can damage the kidneys. Examples include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such ascelecoxib and ibuprofen.
You may start to have symptoms only a few months after your kidneys begin to fail. But most people don't have symptoms early on. In fact, many don't have symptoms for as long as 30 years or more. This is called the "silent" phase of the disease.
How well your kidneys work is called kidney function. As your kidney function gets worse, you may:
  • Urinate less than normal.
  • Have swelling and weight gain from fluid buildup in your tissues. This is called edema (say "ih-DEE-muh").
  • Feel very tired or sleepy.
  • Not feel hungry, or you may lose weight without trying.
  • Often feel sick to your stomach (nauseated) or vomit.
  • Have trouble sleeping.
  • Have headaches or trouble thinking clearly.
Your doctor will do blood and urine tests to help find out how well your kidneys are working. These tests can show signs of kidney disease andanemia. (You can get anemia from having damaged kidneys.) You may have other tests to help rule out other problems that could cause your symptoms.
Your doctor will do tests that measure the amount of urea (BUN) andcreatinine in your blood. These tests can help measure how well your kidneys are filtering your blood. As your kidney function gets worse, the amount of nitrogen (shown by the BUN test) and creatinine in your blood increases. The level of creatinine in your blood is used to find out the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The GFR is used to show how much kidney function you still have. The GFR is also used to find out the stage of your kidney disease and to guide decisions about treatment.
Your doctor will ask questions about any past kidney problems. He or she will also ask whether you have a family history of kidney disease and what medicines you take, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
You may have a test that lets your doctor look at a picture of your kidneys, such as an ultrasound or CT scan. These tests can help your doctor measure the size of your kidneys, estimate blood flow to the kidneys, and see if urine flow is blocked. In some cases, your doctor may take a tiny sample of kidney tissue (biopsy) to help find out what caused your kidney disease.
Chronic kidney disease is usually caused by another condition. So the first step is to treat the disease that is causing kidney damage.
Diabetes and high blood pressure cause most cases of chronic kidney disease. If you keep your blood pressure and blood sugar in a target range, you may be able to slow or stop the damage to your kidneys. Losing weight and getting more exercise can help. You may also need to take medicines.
Kidney disease is a complex problem. You will probably need to take a number of medicines and have many tests. To stay as healthy as possible, work closely with your doctor. Go to all your appointments. And take your medicines just the way your doctor says to.
Lifestyle changes are an important part of your treatment. Taking these steps can help slow down kidney disease and reduce your symptoms. These steps may also help with high blood pressure,diabetes, and other problems that make kidney disease worse.
  • Follow a diet that is easy on your kidneys. A dietitian can help you make an eating plan with the right amounts of salt (sodium) and protein. You may also need to watch how much fluid you drink each day.
  • Make exercise a routine part of your life. Work with your doctor to design an exercise program that is right for you.
  • Do not smoke or use tobacco.
  • Do not drink alcohol.
Always talk to your doctor before you take any new medicine, including over-the-counter remedies, prescription drugs, vitamins, or herbs. Some of these can hurt your kidneys.
When kidney function falls below a certain point, it is called kidney failure. Kidney failure affects your whole body. It can cause seriousheart, bone, and brain problems and make you feel very ill. Untreated kidney failure can be life-threatening.
When you have kidney failure, you will probably have two choices: start dialysis or get a new kidney (transplant). Both of these treatments have risks and benefits. Talk with your doctor to decide which would be best for you.
  • Dialysis is a process that filters your blood when your kidneys no longer can. It is not a cure, but it can help you feel better and live longer.
  • Kidney transplant may be the best choice if you are otherwise healthy. With a new kidney, you will feel much better and will be able to live a more normal life. But you may have to wait for a kidney that is a good match for your blood and tissue type. And you will have to take medicine for the rest of your life to keep your body from rejecting the new kidney.
Making treatment decisions when you are very ill is hard. It is normal to be worried and afraid. Discuss your concerns with your loved ones and your doctor. It may help to visit a dialysis center or transplant center and talk to others who have made these choices.

Learning about chronic kidney disease:
Being diagnosed:
Getting treatment:
Ongoing concerns:
Living with chronic kidney disease:

Health Tools


Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
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Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems.
Advance Care Planning: Should I Stop Kidney Dialysis?Kidney Failure: Should I Start Dialysis?Kidney Failure: What Type of Dialysis Should I Have?Kidney Failure: When Should I Start Dialysis?
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Actionsets are designed to help people take an active role in managing a health condition.
Diabetes: Checking Your Blood SugarHigh Blood Pressure: Checking Your Blood Pressure at HomeKidney Disease: Changing Your Diet





Further Reading:



http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/chronic-kidney-disease-topic-overview

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Hemodialysis Compared to Peritoneal Dialysis

Last Updated: August 29, 2013


This post is on Healthwise



Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are both used to treat kidney failure. Hemodialysis uses a man-made membrane (dialyzer) to filter wastes and remove extra fluid from the blood. Peritoneal dialysis uses the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneal membrane) and a solution (dialysate) to remove wastes and extra fluid from the body.
Each form of dialysis has its advantages and disadvantages.

Comparison of dialysis methods
HemodialysisPeritoneal dialysis
What is usually involved
  • Before hemodialysis treatments can begin, your doctor will need to create a site where blood can flow in and out of your body.
  • Hemodialysis uses a man-made membrane called a dialyzer to clean your blood. You are connected to the dialyzer by tubes attached to your blood vessels.
  • You will probably go to a hospital or dialysis center on a fairly set schedule. Hemodialysis usually is done 3 days a week and takes 3 to 5 hours a day.
  • You may be able to do dialysis at home. Home hemodialysis requires training for you and at least one other person. Your home may need some changes so that the equipment will work. You may have choices in how often and how long you can have dialysis, such as every day for shorter periods, long nighttime dialysis, or several times a week for 3 to 5 hours a day.
  • You will have a catheter placed in your belly (dialysis access) before you begin dialysis.
  • Peritoneal dialysis uses the lining of your belly, which is called the peritoneal membrane, to filter your blood.
  • The process of doing peritoneal dialysis is called an exchange. You will usually complete 4 to 6 exchanges every day.
  • You will be taught how to do your treatment at home, on your own schedule.
Advantages
  • It is most often done by trained health professionals who can watch for any problems.
  • It allows you to be in contact with other people having dialysis, which may give you emotional support.
  • You don't have to do it yourself, as you do with peritoneal dialysis.
  • You do it for a shorter amount of time and on fewer days each week than peritoneal dialysis.
  • Home hemodialysis can give you more flexibility in when, where, and how long you have dialysis.
  • It gives you more freedom than hemodialysis. It can be done at home or in any clean place. You can do it when you travel. You may be able to do it while you sleep. You can do it by yourself.
  • It doesn't require as many food and fluid restrictions as hemodialysis.
  • It doesn't use needles.
Disadvantages
  • It causes you to feel tired on the day of the treatments.
  • It can cause problems such as low blood pressure and blood clots in the dialysis access.
  • It increases your risk of bloodstream infections.
  • Home hemodialysis may require changes to your home. You and a friend will need to complete training.
  • The procedure may be hard for some people to do.
  • It increases your risk for an infection of the lining of the belly, called peritonitis.


http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hemodialysis-compared-to-peritoneal-dialysis-topic-overview

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Longevity has nothing to do with genes

November 23, 201

This post is on Healthwise

The world's oldest people share no genetic secrets, says study.
The world's oldest people share no genetic secrets, says study.
 

Think the secret to longevity is in the genes? You would be wrong.
Think the reason some people live beyond the age of 100 is because of their genes? Think again.
American scientists said recently that they’ve found no genetic secrets shared between a group of 17 supercentenarians, or those who have lived beyond 110.
“From this small sample size, the researchers were unable to find rare protein-altering variants significantly associated with extreme longevity, compared to control genomes,” said the study led by Hinco Gierman of Stanford University.
The research was published in the November 12th issue of the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
People who live to age 100 and beyond are far less likely to get cancer – a 19% lifetime incidence compared to 49% in the general population – according to background information in the article.
Those who live more than a century also have lower rates of cardiovascular disease and stroke than controls.
There are 74 supercentenarians alive worldwide, and 22 live in the United States.
The 17 people whose genomes were sequenced had lived to age 110 and older.
Their average age at death was 112, and the longest living member of the group lived to age 116.
Fourteen had European ancestry; two were Hispanic and one was African-American.
Even though no genetic clues emerged in this study, scientists said they would make their analysis available to the public as a resource for future research.
“Supercentenarians are extremely rare and their genomes could hold secrets for the genetic basis of extreme longevity,” it said. – Tribune News Service
http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Health/2014/11/23/Longevity-has-nothing-to-do-with-genes/

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Thursday 27 November 2014

Obese and diabetic? There’s a shot for you

November 23, 2014

BY TAN SHIOW CHIN

This post is on Healthwise



Dr Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen speaking to international media at the Novo Nordisk Favrholm campus in Denmark. He observed that once countries become obese, there is a lag time of about 10 years before the resultant increase in diabetes. - Novo Nordisk
Dr Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen speaking to international media at the Novo Nordisk Favrholm campus in Denmark. He observed that once countries become obese, there is a lag time of about 10 years before the resultant increase in diabetes. - Novo Nordisk

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk tackles both obesity and diabetes in their current drug pipeline.
Being overweight or obese has long been known to be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
Research has shown that the increased amount of fat in the body, particularly around the waistline, contributes to the development of insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance, where the body’s cells become increasingly insensitive to this hormone, plus the decreasing ability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin for the body’s needs, are the cause of type 2 diabetes.
Ironically, weight gain is also a side effect of insulin therapy, due to the renewed increased efficiency of the body in converting excess glucose to fat.
Therefore, it is quite exciting that in the past few years, a new class of drugs called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists have emerged in the market.
While primarily meant to treat diabetes, GLP-1 agonists have also been shown to promote weight loss in those who take it.
Novo Nordisk executive vice-president and chief science officer Dr Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen explains over the phone from Copenhagen, Denmark, that these drugs are longer-lasting analogues of the natural hormone GLP-1.
This hormone is released from the gut whenever we eat, and acts to stimulate insulin secretion, inhibit glucagon secretion (which converts the body’s glycogen to glucose), delays gastric emptying and triggers the satiety centre in the brain.
Says Dr Krogsgaard: “The problem is when people are obese, they tend to keep on eating when people normally stop. They don’t get the feeling that ‘I’m full, now I can stop.’”
He adds: “Some people don’t respond to the body’s own GLP-1. So, when we give liraglutide, we hope to help the body to respond better.”
The main problem with using the natural GLP-1 hormone is that it is broken down very rapidly in the body – usually within a couple of minutes.
But those pharmaceutical companies that have been working on it, including Novo Nordisk, have managed to successfully lick that problem with their analogues.
The phase III SCALE clinical trial, which involved more than 5,000 participants who were obese or overweight with concurrent medical conditions, showed that those given 3mg of liraglutide a day for one year, in combination with a healthy diet and exercise, lost an average of nine kilogrammes by the end of the trial.
In addition, those with the relevant medical conditions also saw a decrease in high blood pressure, cholesterol and lipid levels, and sleep apnoea, as well as improved blood glucose control.
“We’re very excited. We believe that this is the first natural appetite regulator.
“The other (appetite-regulating) drugs that have been developed have all been CNS (central nervous system) drugs; and I think, have a number of side effects, as they have a number of receptors all over the brain.”
Liraglutide is currently being sold at lower dosages for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In fact, this drug – introduced in 2009 and taken as a once-a-day injection – was a bestseller for the Danish company last year, with sales of about USD2bil (RM6.7bil).
It is currently awaiting approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to be sold at the higher 3mg dosage under a different brand name for the treatment of obesity.
However, Dr Krogsgaard notes: “Liraglutide is for weight reduction, but it is for weight reduction in people who have clearly a high degree of obesity (a body mass index, BMI, of more than 35), or overweight people who also already have some other medical complications (like diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnoea).”
Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk has also received approval from the EMA for the first-ever basal insulin/GLP-1 combination.
Says Dr Krogsgaard: “It combines the best of GLP-1 with the best of insulin degludec in just one product.”
The GLP-1 analogue being used is the approved lower dosage of liraglutide for treating diabetes, while insulin degludec is a long-acting once-daily injected insulin product.
He adds that with this combined product, diabetics would only have to inject themselves once, instead of twice with the two separate drugs. “It is to make life as easy for the patient as possible.”
The combined drug is expected to go to market in Europe starting next year.
In addition, the diabetes-focused pharmaceutical company is also working on a once-weekly injected GLP-1 analogue for the treatment of type 2 diabetes called semaglutide.
This drug, says Dr Krogsgaard, “has generated data in phase II that is even better than (a once-weekly dose of) liraglutide”. It is currently undergoing a phase III clinical trial.
Another drug in the pipeline that he is excited about is the oral version of semaglutide.
“We have also been able to design a special version (of semaglutide), so we are trying to make a tablet.
“We are doing a big phase II study with it for one time per day for type 2 diabetes.
“This is a very exciting project and it will generate data in the first half of next year.”
He adds: “All anti-diabetic tablets that exist are quite weak medicines. They only control your blood sugar in a weak way, so they only work for one to two years.
“But now, you have a tablet that works at the full power and strength of GLP-1, but in an oral form.”
While these are exciting developments in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the fact is that they remain the last line of defence against this widespread disease.
There is no cure for this non-communicable condition. Or so we think.
In his presentation to international media in Copenhagen, Denmark, recently, Novo Nordisk senior vice-president for International Operations Mike Doustdar said: “I tell my colleagues we actually have a cure for type 2 diabetes.
“We just don’t see it because we think a cure is a pill or injection.
“The cure is to eat less and exercise more.”
Note: The above drugs are not currently available in Malaysia.
http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Health/2014/11/23/Obese-and-diabetic-Heres-a-shot-for-you/

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Wednesday 26 November 2014

WiFi users easy target for criminals

23 NOVEMBER 2014


This post is on Healthwise


HOW often have you asked “Is there free WiFi connection here?” or heard someone in a coffee shop or hotel asking the question. WiFi connectivity is a must-have service these days and many don’t seem to be able to do without it.
What’s pushing this need for WiFi is the huge uptake of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets packed with apps and services. Not wanting to use up their limited data or pay a rather high price to consume data on 3G/4G networks, especially when roaming, the first thing they do when in a public place is to look for free WiFi to connect to the Internet.
A research by online accommodation booking service, Hotels.com, also revealed that free WiFi connectivity mattered most to global business, as well as leisure travellers. More than 50 per cent of business travellers and 35 per cent of leisure travellers picked a hotel based on its free WiFi offering.
This insatiable demand for WiFi has led to the tremendous growth of WiFi hotspots around the world and the numbers are set to grow from 1.3 million in 2011 to 5.8 million next year, marking a 350 per cent increase, according to research published by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), and compiled by market research company, Informa Telecoms and Media.
Even telecommunication companies providing cellular network connections are now offering WiFi hotspots as means to offload mobile broadband networks and to provide a value-added service to their customers.
In five years, according to some studies, 52 per cent of mobile traffic is expected to be offloaded onto WiFi networks from cellular networks.
F-Secure Corporation Sdn Bhd security adviser Goh Su Gim said while everything looks good, there were obvious weaknesses as WiFi networks were not built with security demands in mind and people usually logged onto public WiFi without question about the security of the network.
Criminals were exploiting the weaknesses and setting up rogue WiFi access points to deceive users and steal personal data, he added.
“The key issue is that public access points are not regulated, which means any one can put up access points and let anyone connect for free. It’s fine if it is done with good intentions.
“However, the reality is that there are people with malicious intentions. Unlike home wireless networks, public WiFi can be a risky platform to be on as it has strangers using it, and even more petrifying is that these WiFi access points may not be genuine.”
Goh, who studies the threat landscape on networks, explained that these fake points could be used to conduct a man-in-the-middle attack.
Such an attack takes place when an attacker dupes users to connect to a malicious WiFi network and then intercepts their communications to steal valuable information or personal data.
Even an existing genuine WiFi service, such as that of a hotel or cafe, can be “forced out” by using an access point with a stronger signal and no password on it that allows everyone using the service to reconnect without realising they are now on a rogue system.
“This actor can actually see every bit and byte of information that users are sending across the network as he has placed himself between the users and the resources they (the users) are communicating with.
“For instance, if it’s a financial transaction, they will get hold of the user’s credit card information. As long as the data is not encrypted, e-mail or WhatsApp messages in plain text, can be viewed easily,” said Goh.
A fake WiFi network was almost impossible to identify and this, he added, made it even more difficult for users to protect their privacy.
He said many websites used HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) connections to encrypt the transfer of data but even this could not be depended on to keep users protected.
HTTPS is based on the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client, such as a website and a browser. SSL allows information, such as credit card numbers and log-in credentials, to be transmitted securely.
“Today, a hacker can pretend to be that encryption certificate authority and trick users into conducting their online transactions as though they are on a safe platform. This is why users have to be careful when on public WiFi — you can never tell what is bona fide.”

Relying on Internet security software, he said, could not guarantee your data was protected when on public WiFi. The capability of such software is limited to protecting devices from viruses but it would not be able to protect the data that users sent out from falling into the wrong hands.
http://www.nst.com.my/node/55550

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‘People susceptible to threats as they’re trusting’

23 NOVEMBER 2014 @ 8:08 AM


WiFi connectivity is a must-have service these days.


IN an experiment conducted in London recently to find out how readily people would connect to an unknown WiFi hotspot, it was revealed that consumers carelessly used public WiFi without regard for their personal privacy.
The experiment by F-Secure, an anti-virus, online security and content cloud solutions provider, involved setting up “poisoned” WiFi hotspots in prominent business and political districts of London. Unsuspecting users exposed their Internet traffic, their personal data, the contents of their emails and even agreed to an outrageous clause.
“People, in their hastiness to get connected to the Internet over public WiFi, often overlook how susceptible they are to threats. They don’t even read the terms and conditions (T&C) before agreeing to the service.
“In the experiment, people were willing to give up their firstborn child or most beloved pet in exchange for WIFi use. This showed us the lack of attention people pay to T&C pages,” says Goh Su Gim, a security advisor at F-Secure Corporation Sdn Bhd.
The independent investigation, supported by law enforcement authority, Europol, was carried out on behalf of F- Secure by the UK’s Cyber Security Research Institute and SySS, a German penetration testing company.
“In a 31-minute period, 250 devices connected to the hotspot, most of them probably automatically without their owners realising it. Some people sent Internet traffic by carrying out web searches and sending data and emails.
“The researchers also found that the text of emails sent over a POP3 network could be read, as could the addresses of the sender and recipient, and even the password of the sender.”
According to Goh, with the information available online, it is easy for any one to set up a hotspot, give it a credible-looking name and to spy on users’ Internet activity.
“SySS built a portable WiFi access point from components costing about RM600 and requiring little technical know-how.
“The portable WiFi access point, used in the experiment, was built using a Raspberry Pi mini-computer system, a UTMS aerial, a WiFi aerial, a battery pack with a life of about two days, a USB port and a number of elastic bands.
“The device could be built by anyone with no specific knowledge. The device can be easily concealed in a bag and deployed in seconds.”
Lydia Chia, F-Secure’s regional marketing and communication manager, APAC, said a similar experiment would be replicated locally to gauge how the public react to free WiFi.
“We hope to get it wrapped up before the end of the year.
“We are getting support from our local regulatory body to make sure we are doing this ethically and not violating the law.
“The experiment in London revealed the widespread ignorance among the population on the issue of WiFi security.
“We believe it is the same world over: People trust technology and are not aware of the implications of that trust.”
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