We know that no security is perfect, but when a company collecting and storing teenagers’ data has repeated breaches, it’s cause for concern – and possible investigation by federal and state regulators. In 2017, we learned that the popular teen quiz app, Wishbone, had been “hacked.” According to reports at the time, hackers snagged 2.2…
Category: Of Note
How secure is your child’s data in Virginia’s virtual classrooms?
Tom Nash or the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism reports: … As the pandemic forces Virginia’s 1.2 million public school students to trade classrooms for laptops and smartphones — if they have them — many educators, parents and privacy advocates are raising alarms across the state about children’s digital security. Lapses in online protections have…
Verizon DBIR: Breaches doubled, but plenty of silver linings
Arielle Waldman reports: The number of confirmed breaches last year nearly doubled, according to the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, but the telecom giant noted several positive trends that may give enterprises and infosec professionals reasons for optimism. The 2020 Verizon DBIR, released Tuesday, analyzed a record total of 157,525 incidents in 2019, of…
Capital One Judge Skeptical That Breach Report Is Privileged
Law360 reports: A Virginia federal magistrate judge tackling discovery issues in the sprawling litigation over Capital One’s massive 2019 data breach appeared unconvinced during a hearing Friday morning that consumers suing the bank are barred from seeing a cybersecurity firm’s report on the event. Consumers within the multidistrict litigation are pushing to get hold of an incident…
FBI: ProLock ransomware gains access to victim networks via Qakbot infections
Catalin Cimpanu reports: The FBI has issued a security alert earlier this month about a new ransomware strain named ProLock that has been deployed in intrusions at healthcare organizations, government entities, financial institutions, and retail organizations. First spotted in March 2020, ProLock is part of the category of “human-operated ransomware.” Read more on ZDNet.
Data breach in new Illinois online unemployment system exposes private information
Jamie Munks reports: A glitch in a newly launched state system for processing unemployment claims for gig workers publicly exposed personal information, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sunday. The Illinois Department of Employment Security “is aware there was a glitch” in a new system for processing unemployment claims for independent contractors and…