Data Security

Earlier this morning, news began to trickle out that something happened at eBay. A press release has now confirmed it: There has been a massive data breach at the online auction and shopping giant. BGR.com may have been first to report it, advising readers to change passwords on their eBay accounts after an alert blogger noticed that Paypal, the payment...

Gregg Steinhafel’s ouster at Target this week was a major C-Suite casualty in corporate America’s war on hackers. Sales took a major nosedive after the retailer’s big data security breach hit the news last December, with fourth-quarter profits down 46%. So what’s a CEO to do? First of all, if it seems a little overblown to blame Target’s poor performance...

Today’s data breaches are like a game of musical chairs: sooner or later, you’ll have to face the music. Last year was bad for data security: More than 800 million records containing sensitive consumer data were exposed. News of breaches keeps rolling in. Identity theft—which had been considered a crass scare tactic conjured up by creative marketing departments to...

The latest security alert online seems to be the work of a Walking Dead fan. Twitter is lighting up with users complaining that long-closed AOL accounts recently came back to life, with phishing emails spreading like a zombie epidemic. #AOLHacked is trending on Twitter as people are letting their followers know about the phishing emails, and venting their frustration....

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine – let’s call her Mallory - got an unsettling call from her accountant. The accountant had been preparing Mallory’s taxes, hit “Send” to e-file the finished return, and it was rejected. Someone had already filed a tax return using Mallory’s Social Security number. She’d been a victim of tax identity theft. The...

Smart business people know that they must secure their systems to withstand the most determined and persistent real-world, as well as cyber, attacks. They must minimize their risk of exposure by deploying the most sophisticated security and anti-malware software, using outside firms to frequently penetration-test their cyber defenses, continuously training their employees to comply with the most stringent security...

My alma mater, Stanford University, is awaiting final judicial approval of a $4 million settlement in a class action suit over its 2011 data breach. Each of the 20,000 class members -- whose confidential medical records were left up online for almost a year -- will receive $100 and Stanford Hospital & Clinics will fund a $500,000 educational program...

There is a line of thinking among many of my small-business colleagues that allowing employees to supply their own computers and phones – known as Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD – is both convenient and a great way to save money. Whenever I hear that from anyone, the first thing I ask is if they require these employees...

The Ponemon Institute released a report today that includes some alarming news: Criminal attacks on healthcare organizations increased by an eye-popping 100 percent since 2010. With a continued ad-hoc approach to security at many organizations and millions of patients signing up for healthcare made possible by the Affordable Care Act, cybercriminals have been presented with an irresistible opportunity for...

If you’ve had to go get a new passport lately, you have learned (like me) it’s no longer the easiest thing to prove that you’re you. If you’re a first-timer, you must show up in person with a birth certificate, at least one government-issued ID (two if it’s out of state), photocopies, forms and fees, and then wait your...