Emil Protalinski writes: A hacker who goes by the name of Amped Attacks specializes in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS). Unlike some hackers who take out websites and services that many rely on, Amped Attacks prefers to target racist and homophobic bullshit. Read more on VentureBeat. While some may nod their heads approvingly because well, we hate these sites,…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Failure to update software left Naperville computers vulnerable: report
A costly reminder of the need to patch and update promptly. Geoff Ziezulewicz reports: Hackers were able to break into Naperville’s computer network in an unprecedented 2012 cyber attack because of a vulnerability in the city’s web software that had not been patched, even though an alert and update had been released roughly a month…
Aspen Way Enterprises and Aaron’s Inc. lose coverage in privacy breach case
Yelitza V. Dunham of Winston & Strawn LLP writes: A group of Liberty Mutual insurance companies successfully obtained declaratory relief that they had no duty to defend Aspen Way Enterprises and Aaron’s Inc. from two underlying actions alleging that spyware had been installed on rent-to-own computers. One of these, the Byrd Action, was a putative class action…
Security researchers face wrath of spy agencies
Darren Pauli reports: Researchers tasked with revealing attacks by intelligence agencies are being harassed, locked out of tenders, and in some cases deported, Kaspersky researcher Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade says. Retaliation by the unnamed agencies is in direct response to news of prominent advanced-persistent threat campaigns that have coloured information security reporting over recent years. Those…
Resource for Schools: Data Privacy Guide
The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association has produced a data privacy guide for districts containing a range of best practices, sample vendor contracts, and steps to take when a data breach occurs. Data Privacy Guide is a collaborative project between the California Education Technology Professionals Association (CETPA), the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) and…
Veteran says financial services company USAA failed to warn her of ID theft
Paul Woolverton reports: Retired Army Maj. Veronica Carter is furious with the USAA. She says the financial services company failed to warn her when an identity thief or thieves called three times over the past month to try to persuade a customer service representative to withdraw money from her account. On Oct. 6, someone made…