Linda McGlasson writes: At first this court case was a curiosity: Experi-Metal Inc. (EMI), a Michigan-based metal supply company, sued Comerica Bank, claiming that the bank exposed its customers to phishing attacks. But now this story shapes up as a significant test case for the banking industry, raising several key questions that must be answered…
Category: Of Note
Widespread Data Breaches Uncovered by FTC Probe
The Federal Trade Commission has notified almost 100 organizations that personal information, including sensitive data about customers and/or employees, has been shared from the organizations’ computer networks and is available on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks to any users of those networks, who could use it to commit identity theft or fraud. The agency also has…
Hackers Get Data on 10s of Thousands of Payment Cards
Helsinki police are investigating a computer system intrusion that gave hackers access to information about tens of thousands of different types of credit and bank cards. So far, the information for only a few cards has been exploited by the criminals. Altogether, the hackers accessed the numbers of over 100,000 payment cards from the poorly…
(follow-up) Cops say suspected data thief continued spending while awaiting trial
George Warren reports: A data breach involving 29,500 Northern California Kaiser Permanente employees discovered a year ago has led to at least 400 Kaiser employees becoming victims of identity theft, according to criminal investigators. Detectives said the woman accused of stealing the personnel files continued to victimize employees even while she awaited trial. Mia Garza,…
(update) GA: Up to 170,000 Valdosta State grades, other information breached
Arek Sarkissian II reports: A Valdosta State server that was reported as being breached last month could have exposed the information of up to 170,000 students and faculty, the university said on Thursday. Valdosta State officials reported the discovery of a breach on Dec. 11 and estimated it began on Nov. 11. On Thursday, the…
Business Counter-Sues Bank in Fraud Dispute
Linda McGlasson reports: The Texas machinery company that was sued by its bank after a data breach has filed a countersuit against the institution, saying it “won’t be bullied.” The case pits Plano, TX-based Hillary Machinery, Inc. against PlainsCapital Bank, a $4.4 billion institution headquartered in Dallas. Hillary was defrauded by cyber thieves who made…