SEC Suffers Email Encryption Snafu

About 4,000 employees at the Securities and Exchange Commission have been notified about a breach that may have exposed their Social Security numbers and other payroll information, Los Angeles Times reports.

Drew Malcomb, a Department of Interior spokesman, told Los Angeles Times the sensitive information was included in an unencrypted email sent May 4 by a contractor at the department’s National Business Center,…

SAIC Inks Deal to Provide IT Services, EHR Systems Support

Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) has won a prime contract by the Defense Department to provide IT services and electronic health record systems support to the TRICARE Management Activity Military Health System.

The contract has a one-year base period of performance, three…

Eastern European Hackers Blamed for Omaha Credit Card Theft

Police in Omaha, Neb., are investigating an identity theft case involving hackers who stole personal information using customers’ credit and debit cards, ketv.com reports.

Investigators said more than 50 victims from across the Omaha metro area were targeted in the last few days or weeks following a breach of security through a credit card processor. Customers of at least three local banks have…

Woman Pleads Guilty to Causing Damage to Protected Computer

A woman who pleaded guilty to intentionally causing damage to a protected computer could now face a year in prison or a $100,000 fine, the FBI’s Buffalo division announced.

Prosecutors say Andrea M. Burch, 48, of Hornell, N.Y., a former billing systems administrator for Universal Health Network, accessed her former employer’s computer system using the password of another employee. Burch was not authorized…

DHS Cyber Official Phil Reitinger Resigns

Phil Reitinger, deputy undersecretary for Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate, announced his resignation yesterday.

According to the National Journal, Reitinger will leave his post June 3.

In an email to DHS employees obtained by the National Journal, Reitinger states his reasons for leaving are personal, and he remains on good terms with…

Terremark Worldwide Founder, CEO Manny Medina to Resign

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) subsidiary Terremark Worldwide, Inc. has announced founder and CEO Manuel D. Medina will step down from his position effective May 31, with Kerry Bailey, Verizon group president of enterprise cloud strategy and services, assuming …

Qakbot Causes Data Breach at Mass. Unemployment Agency

Officials in Massachusetts say 210,000 unemployed residents may have had their personal information compromised after uncovering a computer virus that allowed hackers to steal confidential data, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers, Boston Herald reports.

The W32.QAKBOT virus did not infect the labor department’s hard drives, so it could have only stolen information entered into the labor department’s computers from April 19 through last…

Online Marketers Accused of Swindling Consumers in $450M Scheme

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against an online operation that allegedly raked in more than $450 million from consumers in the United States and overseas by luring them into “free” or “risk-free” offers, and then charging them for products and services they did not agree to buy.

“The defendants used the lure of a ‘free’ offer to open an illegal pipeline to consumers’…

Norwegian Military Targeted by Massive Cyber Attack

The Norwegian security police have launched an investigation into a cyber attack that targeted military computers shortly after the Nordic nation joined the Libya air campaign in March, The Associated Press reports.

Between 200 and 300 computers were targeted in the March 25 attack in which “carefully selected” staff received a fake email, seemingly sent from a Norwegian government agency, Norwegian daily VG reported.

The email had…

Israel Stands Up Cyber Command

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday announced the stand up of a cyber command to protect the nation against cyber attacks on digital infrastructure and to boost the competitiveness of local industries specializing in high-tech security, Reuters reports.

The new National Cybernetic Taskforce will have access to a budget of “hundreds of millions…