Aaron Katersky and Alyssa Newcomb report: One of the alleged masterminds behind what has been called “one of the most financially destructive computer viruses in history” is expected to appear this afternoon in a New York federal courtroom. Deniss Calovskis, a Latvian national, was arrested in November 2012 for his alleged role in writing some of…
Mozilla says hacker compromised Bugzilla and used stolen ‘security-sensitive’ info to attack Firefox users
Emil Protalinsky reports: Mozilla today detailed a security attack on its bugtracker and testing tool Bugzilla, and the steps it is taking to mitigate a repeat incident. In short, a hacker compromised the service, stole security-sensitive information, and used it to attack Firefox users. Bugzilla is open-source software that has been adopted by a variety of organizations in…
EBay Disclosed Sellers’ Personal Information to Bidders, Will Change Practice
Sarah Messer reports: EBay is the online marketplace for 25 million sellers, but did you know that when you signed up you gave the company permission to disclose your personal information to your bidders? “GMA” Investigates has found that any bidder on an item can request – and receive in a matter of seconds –…
Ex-director of Baton Rouge drug rehab admits to using patient info to get prescription pills
There’s an update to a case noted previously on this site. Emily Lane reports that Shanta Barnes pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to charges of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. The scheme, according U.S. Attorney Walt Green’s office, started in June 2009, at the latest, and lasted less than a year at the facility…
Even encrypted medical record databases leak information
Jeremy Kirk reports: A new study from Microsoft researchers warns that many types of databases used for electronic medical records are vulnerable to leaking information despite the use of encryption. The paper, due to be presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security next month, shows how sensitive medical information on patients could be…
Former Tesla employee charged with hacking ex-boss’ computer
Kale Williams reports: A former Tesla employee has been indicted on charges of felony computer hacking after a federal investigation found he allegedly broke into his boss’ computer and posted employee evaluations on the Internet, officials said Thursday. Nima Kalbasi, a 28-year-old Canadian, was arrested Aug. 24 as he tried to cross the border from…