An online seller of computer supplies and other consumer electronics has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law by failing to provide reasonable security to protect sensitive customer data. According to the FTC’s complaint, Compgeeks.com (Compgeeks), which operates the www.geeks.com Web site, and its parent company, Genica Corporation (Genica), collect…
Susquehanna Upgrades Heartland Payment Systems (HPY) to Neutral
Susquehanna analyst says, “We are upgrading HPY to Neutral from Negative, as it has achieved our price objective. Although considerable risk persists related to the credit/debit card data breach disclosed last month, we believe such penalties are contemplated in the current valuation. We consulted a range of experts, including reformed hackers, data security auditors (PCI…
phpBB hacked, 400,000+ account details intercepted
The online bulletin board phpBB (php Bulletin Board) was taken offline on Sunday, following a security breach that allowed access to user account details. phpBB is an open-source software package used to run discussion forums on web sites. The breach was caused when the attacker gained access through an unpatched security bug in PHPlist, a…
Controversial measure would require DNA sampling at arrest
Jennifer Sullivan reports: Suspects arrested in cases as minor as shoplifting would have to give a DNA sample before they are even charged with a crime if a controversial proposal is approved by the [Washington State] Legislature. State criminal defense groups and the American Civil Liberties Union say the House bill is unconstitutional. It would…
DE: Guilty plea entered in debit data theft
Sean O’Sullivan reports: One of two co-defendants in a complicated debit-card skimming operation that took in more than $500,000 from at least 70 victims pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington. […] According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilana H. Eisenstein, Grigoryan and Harutyunyan placed a skimmer device inside a keypad at Rite Aid…
Ca: Hacked Trent server housed some personal information
Andrea Houston reports: Trent University is sending out alert letters to several donors and alumni after an off-site computer server containing some personal information was recently hacked. Dianne Lister, vice-president of external relations, said a power surge between Dec. 22 and Jan. 7 caused the firewall to fail, which left the server unprotected to hackers,…