Computerworld Jaikumar Vijayan News

Yahoo launches big data analytics tool for online advertisers

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:52:00 GMT

Yahoo today launched Genome, a new tool that allows online advertisers take advantage of the company's extensive experience with big data analytics.

SAP gets tough on violation of software use terms

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:11:00 GMT

A recent crackdown by SAP AG on companies that it considers are indirectly accessing its software without paying for it could spell trouble for some longstanding customers of the software vendor, an analyst firm said this week.

CERT warns of targeted phishing attacks against gas pipeline firms

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:28:00 GMT

The United States Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) has issued a warning about an active "spear phishing" campaign targeting companies in the natural gas pipeline sector.

Investors are pouring funds into big data

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:05:00 GMT

Surging enterprise demand for big data tools that can manipulate and analyze massive volumes of structured and unstructured data has caught investor attention in a big way.

FAQ: What you need to know about CISPA

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) despite opposition from privacy advocates, lawmakers and the White House, which threatened to veto the bill if it lands on the president's desk in its current form.

Privacy advocates vow to continue CISPA fight

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:30:00 GMT

The battle over the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is certain to heat up over the next few weeks, as the U.S. Senate begins debate on its versions of the controversial cybersecurity legislation.

White House threatens veto of CISPA bill

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:34:00 GMT

The White House today threatened a veto of the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) if the bill reaches President Obamas desk in its present form.

VMware downplays leaks of source code

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:57:00 GMT

Virtualization software vendor VMware today downplayed the seriousness of a source code leak involving the companys ESX hypervisor technology.

E-voting system declares wrong winners in Florida

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

An optical-scan vote-tallying system, now used by some 300 U.S. municipalities, misreported the results of an election in Palm Beach County, Fla., last month.

Lawmakers question FAA on privacy protections around drone use

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:43:00 GMT

Two senior lawmakers are asking the Federal Aviation Administration to explain how the agency will ensure that privacy rights are protected when it issues drone licenses to government, law enforcement and private organizations.

Workers did not exceed authorization when data stolen, says appeals court

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:05:00 GMT

In a somewhat startling decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last week ruled that several employees at an executive recruitment firm did not exceed their authorized access to their company's database when they logged into the system and stole confidential data from it.

Anonymous offers alternative to Pastebin.com

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:01:00 GMT

The Anonymous hacking collective has launched a new site that it claims will allow users to post material without fear of being tracked down.

Judge dismisses one Marin County suit versus Deloitte

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:54:00 GMT

A former judge hired to settle a protracted legal dispute between Marin County, Calif., and Deloitte Consulting over a botched SAP project last week dismissed all charges made by the county in one of two lawsuits.

Weak passwords still the downfall of enterprise security

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:19:00 GMT

A recent data breach that exposed the Social Security numbers of more than 255,000 people in Utah has once again highlighted the longstanding but often underestimated risks posed to organizations by weak and default passwords.

Bill would ban employers from seeking Facebook passwords from workers, job-seekers

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:39:00 GMT

Maryland's General Assembly on Monday passed legislation that bars employers in the state from asking workers and job-seekers for access to their personal social media accounts as a condition of employment.

Utah breach 10X worse than originally thought

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:56:00 GMT

The scope of a data breach involving a Medicaid server at the Utah Department of Health is much worse than originally thought.

Basic defenses were absent at most breached sites, Verizon finds

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Despite rising concern that cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, hackers used relatively simple methods in 97% of data breaches in 2011, according to a report compiled by Verizon.

Oracle CSO trashes PCI rules

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:58:00 GMT

Oracle chief security officer Mary Ann Davidson is calling on vendors of payment application software to join the company in opposing certain security vulnerability reporting requirements of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.

Obama's online privacy plan gets mixed reaction

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:01:00 GMT

The Obama administration's recent call for new codes of conduct for handling private consumer data on the Internet has evoked sharply different, if somewhat predictable, responses from rights groups and industry stakeholders.

Path tightens mobile app security

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:58:00 GMT

Social networking service Path has upgraded the security of its mobile application in apparent response to a recent outcry over its data gathering practices.

E-voting system awards election to wrong candidates in Florida village

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:49:00 GMT

An optical scan vote tallying system, now used by some 300 U.S. municipalities, misreported the results of a Palm Beach County, Florida, municipal election last month.

Global Payments breach raises questions

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:18:00 GMT

Questions remain over a computer intrusion at Global Payments that exposed data on at least 1.5 million credit and debit card holders.

Congress urged to secure drone law

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:05:00 GMT

A leading rights advocacy group this week called on Congress to add civil liberties protections to a recently passed law that opens U.S. airspace to unmanned aerial vehicles.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen victim of ID theft

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:39:00 GMT

An AWOL U.S. Army soldier based in Pittsburgh is accused of stealing Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's identity and using it attempt to steal money from Allen's Citibank account.

RockYou settles FTC charges related to 2009 breach

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:06:00 GMT

RockYou will submit to third-party security audits for the next 20 years as part of a settlement of charges filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in connection with a Dec. 2009 data breach that exposed email addresses and passwords belonging to over 30 million individuals.

SAS promises pervasive BI with new tool

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:54:00 GMT

SAS Institute this week unveiled new technology designed to allow a broad swath of enterprise users to do advanced analytics on massive volumes of data.

Most 2011 cyberattacks were avoidable, Verizon says

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:30:00 GMT

Despite rising concern that cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, hackers used relatively simple methods in more than 95% of data breaches in 2011, according to a report compiled by Verizon.

Univ. of Tampa says student info was exposed for 8 months

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:37:00 GMT

An in-class project on advanced search techniques led to the discovery of a major data breach at the University of Tampa in Florida last week.

ClearStory to launch big data service for business users

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:05:00 GMT

Startup ClearStory Data came out of stealth mode Monday and said it will soon launch a sophisticated data analytics service for business users.

Duqu trojan built by 'old school' programmers, Kaspersky says

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:01:00 GMT

The Duqu Trojan, an espionage tool that last year attracted lots of attention for its many Stuxnet-like features, may have been written by experienced old school programmers, a security researcher at Kaspersky Labs said Monday.

18 firms sued for using privacy-invading mobile apps

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:04:00 GMT

Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Yelp and 14 other companies have been hit with a lawsuit accusing them of distributing privacy-invading mobile applications.

Tennessee insurer to pay $1.5 million for breach-related violations

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:23:00 GMT

A 2009 data breach that has already cost BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee nearly $17 million got a little more expensive Tuesday.

Anonymous defaces police equipment supplier site, releases Symantec code

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:50:00 GMT

For the second time this week, hackers associated with the Anonymous hacking collective have taken down a website in retaliation for the arrests of several of their prominent members.

Alleged Stratfor hacker no stranger to law enforcement

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:49:00 GMT

Jeremy Hammond, one of the five hackers arrested in Tuesday's crackdown on key members of LulzSec and Anonymous, is no stranger to the law.

Hackers claiming to be from Anonymous take out Vatican site

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:45:00 GMT

The main website of the Vatican was inaccessible Wednesday after what appears to have been an attack by malicious hackers claiming to be affiliated with the Anonymous hacking collective.

Anonymous takes down security firm's website, vows to fight on after arrests

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:31:00 GMT

Hackers claiming to belong to the Anonymous hacking collective early Wednesday defaced Panda Security's PandaLabs website in apparent response to the arrests of five hackers in the U.K. and the U.S.

High-profile hacker arrests a coup for FBI, analysts say

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:31:00 GMT

Security analysts said that the today's FBI arrest of of several prominent members of LulzSec and Anonymous highlight the seriousness with which U.S. law enforcement is treating the hactivist activities espoused by such groups.

Former LulzSec leader, now FBI informant, brings down hacking group, Stratfor hacker

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:55:00 GMT

In a major break for law enforcement, several members of the LulzSec and Anonymous hacking groups were arrested this morning based on information provided by "Sabu," the shadowy LulzSec leader who was secretly arrested last year.

Internet voting systems too insecure, researcher warns

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:13:00 GMT

Internet voting systems are inherently insecure and should not be allowed in the upcoming general elections, a noted security researcher said at the RSA Conference 2012 this week.

Remote access tools a growing threat to smartphones

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:13:00 GMT

Malware tools that allow attackers to gain complete remote control of smartphones have become a serious threat to users around the world, researchers told an overflow RSA conference audience.

IT execs must shift security approaches

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:58:00 GMT

IT security executives must secure what they cannot directly control to properly protect enterprise data in the coming years.

FBI seeks tool to keep tabs on social media

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:00:00 GMT

In a move that's alarmed some privacy advocates, the FBI has begun scouting for a tool to allow it to gather and mine data from social networks including Facebook and Twitter, as well as from blogs.

36 state AGs blast Google's privacy policy change

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:07:00 GMT

Attorneys General from 36 states are concerned over the potential implications of Google's new privacy policy, especially for users of Android-powered smartphones.

Astrolabe withdraws copyright suit over Internet time zone database

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:37:00 GMT

A copyright lawsuit targeting the administrators of a key time zone database used widely in operating systems, applications and to set computer clocks, has been withdrawn by the company that filed it.

Obama online privacy plan faces challenge

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:13:00 GMT

Privacy advocates Thursday said they welcomed a White House privacy plan that would let consumers control how their personal data is collected, used, stored and shared by websites and online advertisers.

Zettaset to offer role-based access control for Hadoop

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:55:00 GMT

Zettaset, which makes tools for managing big data, has unveiled its SHadoop security initiative to help companies better control access to data in Hadoop.

Teradata partners with Hortonworks on Hadoop

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:44:00 GMT

Growing enterprise interest in Big Data analytics is beginning to drive partnerships between vendors of traditional relational database management technologies and purveyors of Apache Hadoop.

Privacy tussle brews over social media monitoring

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:01:00 GMT

A major tussle is emerging in the debate over how government agencies can gather and use information posted publicly on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Researchers crack online encryption system

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:59:00 GMT

An online encryption method widely used to protect banking, email, e-commerce and other sensitive Internet transactions is not as secure as assumed, according to a team of cryptanalysts.

Update: SunPower lawsuit highlights insider threat

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:56:00 GMT

SunPower Corp., which makes solar panels, has sued five former employees for stealing proprietary information and using it to benefit a rival firm.