Jeremy Wagstaff and Paul Carsten report: Thousands of apps running code built by Chinese Internet giant Baidu have collected and transmitted users’ personal information to the company, much of it easily intercepted, researchers say. The apps have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times. The researchers at Canada-based Citizen Lab said they found the problems…
Month: February 2016
Site creates unauthorized searchable database of info of Jacksonville State University students, faculty
Seth Boster reports: Jacksonville State University officials learned Tuesday of a website that allows users to search for students’ personal information, including photos, addresses and phone numbers, all apparently stolen from JSU’s own database. The site allows visitors to search using students’ names to find photographs along with birthdates, student ID numbers, fraternity and sorority…
Former Smart Online IT manager sentenced to 30 months for sending damaging code to the firm’s servers
There’s a follow-up to an incident previously reported on this site. Nikhil Nilesh Shah, a former information technology manager at Smart Online, who pleaded guilty in August to sending damaging computer code to servers at his former employer has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay pay $324,462 in restitution. SOURCE: U.S. Attorney’s…
NZ health board hit with ransomware
Sophie Ryan reports: Whanganui District Health Board has been targeted by hackers who infected its computers with a “ransomware” attack. […] Whanganui District Health Board’s information and communications technology manager Barry Morris said the threat from Locky had been contained and no ransom was paid to the hackers. Read more on New Zealand Herald.
Bronx Tax Preparer Sentenced to 9 Years for Stealing Children’s Identities
AccountingToday reports: A former New York tax preparer was sentenced to nine years in prison for filing thousands of fraudulent tax returns using the stolen identities of minors. Noel Cuello, 32, the former operator of a tax preparation business with multiple names and locations in the Bronx, N.Y., was sentenced Monday in Manhattan federal court…
EWTN reports security breach of 425 employees’ data
It’s been a rough patch for EWTN Global Catholic Network. Last week, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them in their appeal of ACA’s mandate requiring employer-sponsored health plans to provide coverage for contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs. The very next evening, they discovered they’d suffered a data breach involving all their U.S. employees after…