Thursday, October 25, 2007

Details are slow to emerge, but eventually they must...

http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2007/10/true_lies_and_d.html?source=rss

True Lies and Data Breaches

October 24, 2007

... When they were done, they'd stolen at least 45.7 million credit card numbers – a new high (or low) in the world of consumer data breaches. The actual count could be much higher, though we'll never know exactly how high; TJX deleted most of its records before the store realized it had been hacked. The hackers left a bunch of their own files on TJX's network, but TJX can't read them because they're encrypted.

In other words, TJX didn't know or care enough to encrypt its records, but the hackers did.

... Of course, TJX will pay in other ways. It's proposed a $200 million settlement to compensate consumers for identity theft, but mostly in the form of store vouchers and a three-day 'customer appreciation event' next year. That's like mugging somebody, then offering to take them to dinner using the money you just stole from them.



Just so we can all remember what was being said way back at the start of the TJX data spill – now at 94 million (and counting?)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/business/19data.html?ei=5090&en=c7d2fe60eeb8f8ae&ex=1326862800&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1169226098-OVSNOx2mEdGZjjKvMq+ZNA

Data Breach Could Affect Millions of TJX Shoppers

By ERIC DASH Published: January 19, 2007

... TJX’s vice president for investor and public relations, Sherry Lang, said yesterday that the amount of information removed was “substantially less than millions,” but conceded that many more could have been “potentially exposed.”


...and do we learn from the mistakes of others? Alas, no...

http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN246551120071024

Canada execs not confident in data security -survey

Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:24pm EDT

TORONTO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Almost half of Canadian executives aren't confident that their company's private information is secure and more than a third admit to taking no action despite recent headlines about high-profile security breaches, a new survey has found.

As well, one in five executives at Canadian companies said his or her company currently doesn't use anti-virus software and 25 percent operate without firewall applications, according to the survey conducted by Leger Marketing and released on Wednesday.



Comcast revises its story... Again. “We gots some customers we don't like and we gots some we like. We gonna take some bandwit from da ones we don't like and we gonna give to da ones what we like. Youse gotta problem wit dat?”

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/C/COMCAST_DATA_DISCRIMINATION?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-10-23-19-17-24

Comcast Admits Delaying Some Traffic

By PETER SVENSSON AP Technology Writer Oct 23, 7:17 PM EDT

Watch Related Video http://video.ap.org/v/Default.aspx?partner=en-ap&g=15a05090-fa7e-42ae-aa64-345d3c21b5ca&t=m326&p=ENAPbusinesstechnology_ENAPtechnology&f=WIRE&

NEW YORK (AP) -- Comcast Corp. on Tuesday acknowledged "delaying" some subscriber Internet traffic, but said any roadblocks it puts up are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users.



Security Manager Alert! How to get past those pesky firewalls!

http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/iloveim--Beat-Firewalls-With-ILoveIM/

ILoveIM.com - Beat Firewalls With ILoveIM

It is becoming more and more difficult to use our IM services at school and work these days. Many schools and offices have created a firewall for MSN and AOL chats. ILoveIM.com gives you a way to continue to stay in contact with your instant messenger buddies even at the office. The ILoveIM web messenger allows you to stay connected with your; MSN, Yahoo, GTalk , and AOL chats. All you need is to create an account, a web browser and internet connection. You don’t need to download any applications ILoveIM.com is easy to use and works behind a firewall. ILoveIM.com works like your other IM services, your buddy list appears with your buddies placed in the same groups you have put them into. You can set your online status. Don’t be discouraged by firewalls, ILoveIM.com gives you a way to always be connected to your friends.

http://www.iloveim.com/



Think of this one as an e-hit on Security researchers...

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/24/1532240&from=rss

Storm Worm Strikes Back at Security Pros

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday October 24, @01:25PM from the skynet-worm dept. Security Spam

alphadogg writes "The Storm worm, which some say is the world's biggest botnet despite waning in recent months, is now fighting back against security researchers that seek to destroy it and has them running scared, conference attendees in NYC heard this week. The worm can figure out which users are trying to probe its command-and-control servers, and it retaliates by launching DDoS attacks against them, shutting down their Internet access for days, says an IBM architect."



Makes a strange sort of sense...

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/24/1615229&from=rss

Humans Not Evolved for IT Security

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday October 24, @02:51PM from the wait-it-guys-have-emotions? dept.

Stony Stevenson writes to tell us that at the recent RSA Conference security expert Bruce Schneier told delegates that human beings are not evolved for security in the modern world, especially when it comes to IT.

"He told delegates at the 2007 RSA Conference that there is a gap between the reality of security and the emotional feel of security due to the way our brains have evolved. This leads to people making bad choices. 'As a species we got really good at estimating risk in an East African village 100,000 years ago. But in 2007 London? Modern times are harder.'"



I wonder if Steve Jobs gets a fee from AT&T anyway?

http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/59975.html

Apple COO: Users Unlock 1 in 6 iPhones Sold

By Troy Wolverton San Jose Mercury News 10/24/07 9:14 AM PT

The day Apple reported its Q4 earnings, COO Tim Cook estimated that a quarter million iPhones -- that's about a sixth of all the iPhones Apple has sold -- have gone to customers who have no intention of signing up to AT&T. Several methods for unlocking the phones can be found on the Internet, though Apple's latest software update reportedly ruined some unlocked iPhones.



The Japanese are too polite to say it, so they let their phones talk for them. In New York, the phones would have a built-in Taser...

http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/59978.html

Mobile App Warns Subway Gropers 'Hands Off!'

By Hiroko Tabuchi AP 10/24/07 11:54 AM PT

Uninvited gropes from strangers is a problem faced by many women on Japan's crowded subway trains. Game developer Takahashi has addressed the issue with its Anti-Groping Appli, a program for mobile phones that flashes messages across the user's screen like "Groping is a crime," while the user holds the screen in the groper's field of view.



http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/016334.html

October 24, 2007

New Pew Internet Data on Parents and Internet Use

"Parents today are less likely to say that the internet has been a good thing for their children than they were in 2004. However, this does not mean there was a corresponding increase in the amount of parents who think the internet has been harmful to their children. Instead, the biggest increase has been in the amount of parents who do not think the internet has had an effect on their children one way or the other. Fully, 87% of parents of teenagers are online -- at least 17% more than average adults."

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