Danny Yadron reports: Three months after the State Department confirmed hackers breached its unclassified email system, the government still hasn’t been able to evict them from the department’s network, according to three people familiar with the investigation. Government officials, assisted by outside contractors and the National Security Agency, have repeatedly scanned the network and taken…
Month: February 2015
UMaine professor whose laptop was stolen violated university’s data policy
Noel K. Gallagher provides additional details on a U. of Maine breach reported earlier this week: A University of Maine physics professor who compromised the personal information of more than 600 current and former students when his laptop was stolen violated a university policy that prohibits professors and other employees from having students’ Social Security…
CT High Court Case May Reshape Data Breach Coverage
Jeff Sistrunk reports: The Connecticut Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision in an insurance coverage dispute over an incident that exposed sensitive information for 500,000 IBM Corp. employees could help shape data breach coverage litigation, as the court is likely to weigh in on what constitutes a “publication” that triggers coverage when data is lost. Read more…
U.S. Shifts Focus of Morgan Stanley Breach Probe
Justin Baer reports: Federal authorities are probing whether a hacker is behind the online publication of a cache of Morgan Stanley ’s client data—and not the financial adviser who was fired in connection with the breach, people familiar with the matter said. This latest twist raises the possibility that the incident is connected to larger…
Alex Yücel, co-creator of Blackshades RAT, pleads guilty
Well, he reportedly tried to back out of his plea deal less than two weeks ago, but yesterday, Alex Yücel, the co-creator of the Blackshades Remote Access Tool, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to one count of distribution of malicious software. Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the plea,…
Former East Texas hospital employee sentenced for criminal violation of HIPAA
In March 2014, Joshua Hippler was indicted for criminal violations of HIPAA. He pleaded guilty on August 28, and on Tuesday, he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, from December 2012 through January 2013, Hippler was an employee of a covered entity under HIPAA, the Health Insurance…