Easy as writing an email. 

http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/08/cyber-fraudsters-reap-2-3-billion-through-email-wire-transfer-scams/?google_editors_picks=true

Cyber fraudsters reap $2.3 billion through email wire-transfer scams

Businesses have lost billions of dollars to fast-growing scams where fraudsters impersonate company executives in emails that order staff to transfer to accounts controlled by criminals, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Losses from these scams, which are known as “business email compromise,” totaled more than $2.3 billion from October 2013 through February of this year, the FBI said in an alert issued this week, citing reports to law enforcement agencies around the globe.

Interesting and probably legitimate request.

Computers Off Limits to Anthem in Data Breach Suit

Matthew Renda reports:

A federal judge denied Anthem’s request for access to computers of former customers who accuse the insurance giant of failing to protect their personal information in an enormous data breach last year.

Anthem filed a motion seeking permission to access plaintiffs’ computers, smartphones and tablets to image and copy them to determine whether the data breach or embedded malware was responsible for the potential harm that could include identity theft and tax problems.

Read more on Courthouse News.

[From the article: 

"This was a state-sponsored cyber attack," Hogan said.  "The attackers were not selling their information to the deep and dark Web, where people buy Social Security numbers."

China is believed to be behind the cyber attack, though it has denied responsibility.

For my Computer Security students.  The cost of poor security?

RESOURCE: Bryan Cave 2016 Data Breach Litigation Report

The law firm of Bryan Cave has issued its 2016 Data Breach Litigation Report.  From their Executive Summary, some of their key findings:

• 83 cases were filed during the Period.  This represents a nearly 25% decline in the quantity of cases filed as compared to the 2015 Data Breach Litigation Report (the “2015 Report”).
• When multiple filings against single defendants are removed, there were only 21 unique defendants during the Period.  This indicates a continuation of the “lightning rod” effect noted in the 2015 Report, wherein plaintiffs’ attorneys are filing multiple cases against companies connected to the largest and most publicized breaches, and are not filing cases against the vast majority of other companies that experience data breaches.  As with the overall quantity of cases filed, the quantity of unique defendants also declined as compared to the 2015 Report; approximately 16% fewer unique defendants were named in litigation.
• Approximately 5% of publicly reported data breaches led to class action litigation.
• Unlike in previous years, the medical industry was disproportionately targeted by the plaintiffs’ bar.  While only 24% of publicly reported breaches related to the medical industry, nearly 33% of data breach class actions targeted medical or insurance providers.⁴ 

Click here to read the full report.

For students writing papers in the 21^st Century. 

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-fascinating-ways-researchers-using-social-media/

7 Fascinating Ways Researchers Are Using Social Media

Keep current.

RESOURCE: State Security Breach Notification Laws

Mintz Levin has updated its convenient chart of state breach notification laws.  Read more here. I’ve already downloaded my copy of their updated chart to keep on my desktop.

I always wanted a Rembrandt (and we have 3D printers at school) 

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3052867/big-data/ai-just-3d-printed-a-brand-new-rembrandt-and-its-shockingly-good.html?google_editors_picks=true

A.I. just 3D-printed a brand-new Rembrandt, and it's shockingly good

…   A new "Rembrandt" painting unveiled in Amsterdam is not the work of the Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn at all, but rather the creation of a combination of technologies including facial recognition, A.I., and 3D printing.

Essentially, a deep-learning algorithm was trained on Rembrandt's 346 known paintings and then asked to produce a new one replicating the artist's subject matter and style.  Dubbed "The Next Rembrandt," the result is a portrait of a caucasian male, and it looks uncannily like a work by the Dutch master.

Ain’t technology wonderful?

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/148241/20160407/keurig-craft-beer-makers-introduce-smart-wine-dispenser-learns-palate.htm

'Keurig For Craft Beer' Maker Introduces Its Smart Wine Dispenser That Pours The Perfect Glass And Learns Your Palate