...and no one finds this surprising? “After an extensive investigation, we conclude that we have no idea what our computer systems are doing.”

Central Hudson Completes Internal Cyber-Security Investigation Experts Report it May be Impossible to Ever Confirm Information Transfer; Law Enforcement Investigation Continues

Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation has issued a press release updating its customers on the breach disclosed in February that affected 110,000 customers:

(POUGHKEEPSIE, NY) Though New York State and federal law enforcement officials continue to investigate the incident externally, forensic computer experts have completed their internal investigation into the February cyber-security incident that had the potential to involve banking information for approximately one third of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation customers.

“Despite an exhaustive review, these cyber-security forensic experts could not confirm if any private banking information for any of our customers was transferred,” said James P. Laurito, Central Hudson’s president. “They also report that it is likely that it may never be possible to document if information was transferred.

[ … ]

The investigation conducted by an expert forensic computer firm on Central Hudson’s internal systems confirmed that the incident was the result of malware that infiltrated Central Hudson’s information systems during or prior to September 2012 but likely lay dormant until earlier this year, Laurito said. “The malware, which Central Hudson personnel discovered and disabled on February 19, 2013, was designed to seek out and export information. While the potential exists that information contained on the front of bank checks was exported, it cannot be confirmed what, if any, information was ever actually transferred,” Laurito said.

How is it that the court will accept “expert testimony” but there is nothing in the literature that allows the court to make an independent evaluation? (Or am I missing something?)

Data Breach Class Actions Can’t Survive Certification Without Expert Testimony on Classwide Damages

James (Jim) R. McCullagh and Amelia M. Gerlicher of Perkins Cole recap the status and issues in a class action lawsuit against Hannaford Bros:

This is the latest opinion in the ongoing litigation arising out of a massive data breach suffered by Hannaford Bros. grocery stores. In re Hannaford Bros. Privacy Litigation, __F. Supp. 2d __, Case No. 2:08-MD-1954-DBH, 2013 WL 1182733 (D. Me. Mar. 20, 2013).

The litigation arises out of a criminal attack on the payment card systems at the Hannaford Bros. grocery chain in late 2007 and 2008, which potentially affected over 4 million card numbers. The district court initially dismissed the action after the plaintiffs stipulated that none of the plaintiffs had incurred fraudulent charges that had not been reimbursed. The court certified a question to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, which agreed that in the absence of physical harm, economic loss or identity theft, the time and effort spent to avoid or remediate reasonably foreseeable harm did not constitute cognizable injuries for which damages may be recovered under Maine law.[1]

On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed with regard to two of the claims, finding that the plaintiffs had alleged sufficient injury for their negligence and implied breach of contract claims because “fees for replacing cards and the cost of identity theft protection products were foreseeable costs to mitigate any harm arising from the data breach.”

Finding themselves back before the district court, plaintiffs moved to certify a class consisting of those “Hannaford customers who incurred out-of-pocket costs in mitigation efforts that they undertook in response to learning of the data intrusion.” The court addressed each of the factors provided in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and ultimately denied certification based only on a finding that plaintiffs’ failure to provide expert testimony supporting its theory of classwide damages meant that common issues would not predominate with regard to damages. The plaintiffs moved for reconsideration on April 4, 2013, further clarifying their theory of damages and asking for 60 days to obtain and tender to the court appropriate expert evidence.[2] Because data breach class actions rarely get to this point, a summary of the court’s review of each element follows.

Read their recap and analysis on Perkins Cole.

It's what you don't know that hurts you...

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/033157.html

April 16, 2013

New Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec

2013 Internet Security Threat Report - "Key Findings:

• 42% increase in targeted attacks in 2012.
• 31% of all targeted attacks aimed at businesses with less than 250 employees.
• One waterhole attack infected 500 organizations in a single day.
• 14 zero-day vulnerabilities.
• 32% of all mobile threats steal information.
• A single threat infected 600,000 Macs in 2012.
• Spam volume continued to decrease, with 69% of all email being spam.
• The number of phishing sites spoofing social networking sites increased 125%.
• Web-based attacks increased 30%.
• 5,291 new vulnerabilities discovered in 2012, 415 of them on mobile operating systems."

Perspective

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/033163.html

April 16, 2013

Experian reveals a quarter of time online is spent on social networking

Experian reveals a quarter of time online is spent on social networking: London, 16 April 2013 – "Insights from Experian, the global information services company, reveals that if the time spent on the Internet was distilled into an hour then a quarter of it would be spent on social networking and forums across UK, US and Australia. In the UK 13 minutes out of every hour online is spent on social networking and forums, nine minutes on entertainment sites and six minutes shopping."

More perspective.

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/033158.html

April 16, 2013

Report - Big Data, Big Brains

"This report on Big Data is the first MeriTalk Beacon, a new series of reports designed to shed light and provide direction on far reaching issues in government and technology. Since Beacons are designed to tackle broad concepts, each Beacon report relies on insight from a small number of big thinkers in the topic area. Less data. More insight. Real knowledge... Mankind created 150 exabytes (billion gigabytes) of data in 2005, and 1,800 exabytes in 2012; growth that only continues to accelerate. Every minute, users: Upload 48 hours of video to YouTube; Send 204 million emails; Spend $207,000 via the web; Create 571 new websites. Within the Federal government; U.S. drone aircraft sent back 24 years worth of video footage in just 2009. Every 24 hours, NASA’s Curiosity rover can send nearly three gigabytes of data, collecting in mere days the equivalent of all human knowledge through the death of Augustus Caesar – from Mars."

I'm sure I must have missed them, but this is the first “Management” publication I recall having ever seen. That may explain a lot.

http://gao.gov/assets/660/653789.pdf

MANAGING FOR RESULTS

The designation of senior-level officials to key performance management roles with responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) has helped elevate accountability for performance management within federal agencies and ensure high - level involvement, according to officials GAO interviewed. [What are they going to say? “We suck at our jobs!” Bob]

Sounds like a fun addition to the genealogy files...

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/033153.html

April 16, 2013

Get Grandpas FBI File.com Website Now Makes Getting FBI Files Easy

News release: "The process for obtaining FBI files about family members who may have been the subject of a federal investigation has just become much simpler with the help of a step-by-step consumer website: GetGrandpasFBIfile.com established by Virginia-based Meme Transmission Enterprises... The Federal Bureau of Investigation maintains billions of pages of records and millions of files -– all compiled using taxpayer dollars. But the clock is ticking. Recently, the FBI has begun destroying the bulk of its historic files to save space. Only a very tiny fraction of its voluminous files will be preserved at the National Archives So time is of the essence in asking for files before they are gone forever. Get Grandpas FBI File makes it easy to get these files by guiding the public through the process of completing a request letter. The website does not ask for any payment, and most requests for FBI files are processed by the FBI without any fees whatsoever."

I really do use this...

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/04/wikispaces-introduces-brand-new-look.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29

Wikispaces Introduces a Brand New Look for Classroom Wikis

Wikispaces has been a great supporter of classrooms for years now. They allow any teacher to use their services to create wikis for free and without advertising. Today, Wikispaces introduced a brand new look for classroom

Wikispaces Classroom is a new, free offering from Wikispaces. From the first look you'll notice that Wikispaces Classroom is quite different from the old Wikispaces format. Wikispaces Classroom simplifies the layout of pages to put only the tools students need in order to edit a page on display and hides the tools students don't need. On the management side of things Wikispaces Classroom is arranged to make it easy for teachers to quickly manage projects, alter settings, and see reports on students' use of the wiki.

Wikispaces is offering some free webinars about the new Wikispaces Classroom. You can get more information about those webinars here.

Applications for Education

Last year I wrote 5 Ways You Can Use Wikis With Students. Included in that list is creating digital reference pages as alternatives to textbooks. That was one of my primary uses of wikis when I taught a ninth grade geography class that didn't have a current textbook. I often started a set of pages and had students finish the pages. The new Wikispaces Classroom has a tool that I wish I had then to quickly see not only when students accessed pages, but also what they did on the pages.