David Lazarus writes: Twenty-two industry groups, representing thousands of U.S. businesses, sent a letter to Congress the other day calling on lawmakers to pass sweeping data-security rules. At first glance, that seems like a really good thing for consumers. Upon closer inspection, however, the letter suggests these corporate heavyweights are aiming to sell out consumers…
Category: U.S.
FL: Records from defunct finance firm exposed after company closes and leaves them behind
Vic Micolucci reports on yet another case where records with personally identifiable information are left behind – and then disposed of improperly – when a business closes: Hundreds of pages of personal information, including credit card numbers and Social Security numbers, were found in a Jacksonville dumpster behind a business on San Juan Avenue and Blanding…
Inside Uber’s $100,000 Payment to a Hacker, and the Fallout
Nicole Perlroth and Mike Isaac report: “Hello Joe,” read the November 2016 email from someone identifying himself as “John Doughs.” “I have found a major vulnerability in Uber.” The email appeared to be no different from other messages that Joe Sullivan, Uber’s chief security officer, and his team routinely received through the company’s “bug bounty”…
The Coca-Cola Breach and Who’s on Hook for Security of Employee Data
Chris Opfer writes: Six years after Shane Enslin left his repairman job at a Coca-Cola distribution plant in Pennsylvania, the company told him that his Social Security number and other personal information might have fallen into the wrong hands. A few months later, a declined credit card upended his family vacation. Then came a third…
Hospital hit by ransomware: Attackers demand Bitcoin to release control of system
The Greenfield Reporter notes: Hancock Health fell victim to a cyber attack Thursday, with a hacker demanding Bitcoin to relinquish control of part of the hospital’s computer system. Employees knew something was wrong Thursday night, when the network began running more slowly than normal, senior vice president/chief strategy and innovation officer Rob Matt said. A…
Website operators are in the dark about privacy violations by third-party scripts
by Steven Englehardt, Gunes Acar, and Arvind Narayanan Recently we revealed that “session replay” scripts on websites record everything you do, like someone looking over your shoulder, and send it to third-party servers. This en-masse data exfiltration inevitably scoops up sensitive, personal information — in real time, as you type it. We released the data…