Monday, March 03, 2014

The growing hacker epidemic...

I love the ironic quote “Data is the new oil” by Clive Humby of dunnhumby, a British company known for analyzing data to improve customer experiences and brand loyalty.

If anything, data may be the “new spoil” instead. And the past week has been much about data, a modern obsession not necessarily for the best reasons.

Bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox acknowledged last Friday that it had been hacked and now is bankrupt after more than 850,000 bitcoins worth over US$450 million disappeared from its computer systems – in theory not possible for a virtual currency trading platform. It now appears the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox tried to conceal it was hacked, as it sought to buy time to find out what actually happened. It declined to honor withdrawal requests from its depositors until mounting demands eventually led to the late disclosure.

This incident underscores once again that there is no such thing as a hack-proof computer system and anyone who still believes in that notion – unfortunately I came across some bankers who do – should join the Flat Earth Society.

This brings me to the news about traction in the US early last week to push for a standardized nationwide data breach law to force companies to become more accountable and proactive in notifying consumers and law enforcement agencies promptly when their database and web sites were compromised. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. World's biggest cyberattack detected, 360 million accounts, 1.25 billion...
  2. Why Apple's recent security flaw is so scary...
  3. Angry S Koreans flood banks after data leak...
  4. Wi-Fi computer virus goes ‘airborne’ like common cold...
  5. Singapore on alert for cyber attacks after websites hacked...
  6. The data hackers: mining your information for Big Brother ...
  7. Cyber thieves in Germany plunder 250,000 accounts...

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