Cyrus Farivar reports: Two Russian men convicted of their involvement in a massive hack of the Nasdaq stock exchange, Citibank, and other major companies have been given hefty sentences. The two men, Vladimir Drinkman and Dmitriy Smilianets, pleaded guilty in 2015. On Wednesday, Drinkman was sentenced to 144 months, while Smilianets was given 51 months. Read more…
Category: Of Note
Malaysian govt sued over data breach affecting millions
Malaysia’s internet regulators are being dragged to court over the massive data breach that involved more than 46 million mobile subscription accounts in the country. Fahmi Fadzil, communications director of the opposition People’s Justice Party, has filed a civil suit against the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Nuemara (M) Sdn Bhd, a private…
UK: Scores of confidential files with personal details about abuse survivors were left in our office – and nobody seemed to care
Jennifer Williams reports: Scores of confidential social services files containing highly personal details about the lives of vulnerable young people – including abuse survivors – have been found abandoned in an empty Tameside office. The extraordinary data breach was discovered by the building’s landlord after drug service contractor Change, Grow, Live (CGL) left a fortnight…
Russian hackers involved in largest hacking scheme ever prosecuted in U.S. sentenced
Vladimir Drinkman, the Russian hacker indicted and extradited as part of what was the largest hacking case of its time, was sentenced yesterday to 12 years in prison by a federal judge in New Jersey. Drinkman had pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiring to hack firms including Heartland Payment Systems Inc., 7-Eleven, and Hannaford Bros., and Jet Blue. Dmitriy Smilianets,…
ICE lawyer in Seattle charged with stealing immigrants’ identities
AP reports: The chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle has been charged with stealing immigrants’ identities. Raphael A. Sanchez, who resigned from the agency effective Monday, faces one count of aggravated identity theft and another of wire fraud in a charging document filed Monday in U.S. District Court. Prosecutors with the…
Consequences for HIPAA violations don’t stop when a business closes
There’s a new settlement announcement from HHS OCR that makes clear that even if an entity closes its doors, any HIPAA enforcement action continues: A receiver appointed to liquidate the assets of Filefax, Inc. has agreed to pay $100,000 out of the receivership estate to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office…