Lawyers smartening up with cybersecurity: ”Lawyers Get Vigilant on Cybersecurity“ by Jennifer Smith. Law firms are now beginning to see an increasing number of cyber attacks. With the use of mobile devices to handle deals and other confidential matters, firms are now starting to smarten up and lock down. Lawyers are being asked to encrypt messages, avoid free Wi-Fi, and even be cautious with text messages. In 2010, Gipson Hoffman & Pancione were able to trace data retrieving emails to Chinese servers that were similar to the ones that were sent to a software company filing a $2.2 billion lawsuit against the Chinese government. More about BYOD in the workplace can be found in our new ebook!
FTC charges Wyndham Worldwide: ”F.T.C. Charges Hotel Group Over Data Breaches” by Edward Wyatt. The FTC has officially filed charges against Wyndham Worldwide and three hotel and resort affiliates for allowing three breaches of corporate data files in two years. These breaches resulted in the theft of hundreds of thousands of credit card accounts from the hotel chain’s customers. FTC is claiming that Wyndham violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission act with unfair and deceptive practices. The FTC does not have the authority to fine companies for violations of the FTC Act, except in certain circumstances, but it recently asked the federal court for an injunction to prevent further violations and for relief to “to redress injury to consumers.”
Recommended Government Approaches to Cybersecurity issued: ”Alliance of IT security groups issues cyber principles for government” by Greg Masters. An alliance of IT security groups from the US, Europe, and Japan recently issued a call for cooperation between the government and private industries to advance cyber security initiatives without creating complex regulations. The statement, titled “Recommended Government Approaches to Cybersecurity,” contains 12 principles that call for transparency, adaptability, and global cooperation when developing cyber security policies. More about the current state of cyber security in our State of Software Security Report.
Two year undercover op nets 24 arrests in eight countries: ”International Cyber Crime Takedown Said to Be Largest of Its Kind” by Anne Saita. The largest coordinated international takedown in history took place this week, and was directed at traffickers who steal financial data through online forums. The investigation uncovered 411,000 stolen credit and debit cards, and saved approximately $205 million in losses. Thirteen of the 24 arrests took place in the United States, with others being spread among the UK, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Norway, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
London company loses £800 million due to cyber attack: ”MI5 director says that London business has lost £800 million to a cyber attack” by Dan Raywood. The Director General of the Security Service, Jonathan Evans, said that “malicious activity in cyber space has become more prominent in the last few years,” and that “the frontline in cyber security is as much in business as it is in government.” He further stated that a major London company lost £800 million to a hostile cyber attack, in the form of intellectual property and commercial disadvantage in contract negotiations. He concluded his address by, “encouraging the boards of all companies to consider the vulnerability of their own company to these risks as part of their normal corporate guidance, and require their key advisors to do the same.” More on the costs of a data breach in the data breach survival guide