How Not to Acknowledge a Data Breach

I'm not a huge fan of stories about stories, or those that explore the ins and outs of reporting a breach. But occasionally I feel obligated to publish such accounts when companies respond to a breach report in such a way that it's crystal clear they wouldn't know what to do with a data breach if...

Houzz Urges Password Resets After Data Breach

Interior decorating website Houzz on Friday issued a notice that user data – including usernames, passwords and IP addresses – had been accessed by an “unauthorized third party.” Houzz connects consumers to varying home-goods departments or professionals for purchasing furniture. The Palo Alto,...

Monsanto Suffers Data Breach at Precision Planting Unit

Monsanto, the massive international agricultural conglomerate, has disclosed a data breach that involved the personal information of customers and employees of its Precision Planting subsidiary. The breach included names, addresses, possibly Social Security numbers and some financial account...

AOL Breached, Investigating Spam from Spoofed Accounts

AOL reported today that it has been breached and urges users of its web-based email and other online services to change their passwords. AOL’s investigation of a breach of its internal network and systems is under way with the help of federal authorities and a forensics firm, the company said. La...

Target Corp. Suffers Black Friday Data Breach

UPDATE – TJX and Heartland Payment Systems may soon have company atop the list of the worst retail data breaches in U.S. history after reports surfaced that Target Corp. was breached around Black Friday and millions of credit and debit cards were stolen. Target confirmed the breach this morning a...

Attackers Had Access for Months in South Carolina Data Breach

Attackers had two months of unfettered access to South Carolina’s Department of Revenue systems in a classic targeted attack that began with a phishing email and ended with the loss of electronic tax return data, and payment card and personal information on 3.8 million filers, possibly dating bac...