Possible Card Breach at Michaels Stores

Saturday, January 25th, 2014

Multiple sources in the banking industry say they are tracking a pattern of fraud on cards that were all recently used at Michaels Stores Inc., an Irving, Texas-based arts-and-crafts retailer that maintains more than 1,250 stores across the United States. On Friday morning, I put a call in to SPM Communications, the public ...

Federal judge rules IP address alone not proof of copyright infringement

Thursday, January 23rd, 2014

All too often, we hear about web users who are targeted by litigators and law enforcement agencies, and accused of downloading copyrighted material on the basis of no more evidence than an IP address. But a pivotal ruling by a federal judge may have a significant impact on future lawsuits ...

Chrome exploit can secretly listen to oblivious users

Thursday, January 23rd, 2014

Google has been pushing hard to incorporate speech recognition features into Web apps. But a Chrome exploit that can secretly transcribe your conversations unless you're paying attention probably wasn't what the company had in mind. Whenever a website wants to access your microphone, Chrome requires permission. A dialog appears at the top of ...

“Password” unseated by “123456” on SplashData’s annual “Worst Passwords” list

Monday, January 20th, 2014

SplashData has announced its annual list of the 25 most common passwords found on the Internet. For the first time since SplashData began compiling its annual list, "password" has lost its title as the most common and therefore Worst Password, and two-time runner-up "123456" took the dubious honor. "Password" fell ...

Six more US retailers hit by Target-like hacks, security firm says

Saturday, January 18th, 2014

Cybercriminals have stolen payment card data from six more U.S. retailers using similar point-of-sale malware that compromised Target, a computer crime intelligence company said Friday. The conclusion comes from a study of members-only forums where cybercriminals buy and sell data and malicious software tools, said Dan Clements[cq], president of IntelCrawler, which ...