Security

ANALYSIS

Avoiding Unpleasant Cloud Surprises

For most technologists in the enterprise nowadays, cloud is a pretty big deal -- and securing it can be an even bigger deal still. Security was the top concern of 46 percent of respondents to a recent survey by North Bridge Venture Partners. While this number is actually down from last year's 55 pe...

In an effort to catch up with their data-swamped online counterparts, brick-and-mortar retailers are turning to a new tool to help them better monitor shoppers and maximize sales: shoppers' cell phones. Approaches include tracking shoppers as they move about the store using their phones' connection ...

Although it initially denied involvement in the National Security Agency's PRISM surveillance program, Microsoft has in fact worked closely with U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor users' communications, even helping the NSA circumvent its own encryption to do so, new documents from whistleblower ...

Google Glass has generated a more or less steady stream of privacy criticisms and concerns since it was first announced, but the company's latest effort to satisfy critics has apparently fallen short. Specifically, Google's recent response to a letter sent in May by eight members of the Bipartisan...

A U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner is urging consumers to take more control over their data. The call to action comes as revelations that the NSA is spying on Americans to an unprecedented degree continue to shake the country. Unease has been mounting over the amount of data companies are handing ove...

If you own an iPhone or Android mobile phone and work at a BlackBerry shop, it will be simpler from now on to keep the personal information and apps on your device segregated from those you use for work. That's thanks to BlackBerry's Tuesday release of Secure Work Space, an iOS and Android solution ...

Following in the footsteps of rivals including Google and Mozilla, Microsoft this week hung a figurative "Wanted" sign in its Security Response Center offering rewards up to $100,000 for those who find vulnerabilities in its software. Specifically, the software giant announced three "Bug Bounty" pro...

The GAO earlier this month found two key deficiencies in a cloud contract that the CIA intended to award to AWS. The GAO decision was prompted by a protest against the contract filed by IBM. GAO is the designated federal agency for handling challenges to federal contracts. The proposed contract prov...

In the wake of recent revelations that the government has been tapping their networks to monitor users, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft in recent days have all published more information about those monitoring requests. Facebook, for example, on Friday reported that for the six months ending December ...

Verizon is on the hot seat. It is at the center of the story about releasing customer information to the U.S. National Security Agency. While Verizon does make information about every call available to the NSA, the actual conversation is still private -- for now, at least. To date, Verizon has been ...

Amazon on Tuesday announced a feature that lets users access websites using their Amazon account information. The goal of Login with Amazon is to reduce sign-in friction by providing secure credentials to websites, apps, games and other online access points on the Web, as well as on Android and iOS ...

Rep. Hank Johnson last week introduced into the U.S. House a new bill that could considerably change mobile app development. The bipartisan legislation would require application developers to gain explicit consent from consumers before collecting their data. It also would require developers to secur...

The mobile industry isn't doing enough to prevent cellphone theft or to help its victims, critics allege. Theft of mobile devices is on the rise. In some cities, notably Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, it represents a significant portion of all robberies. Device manufacturers could offer tech s...

GOVERNMENT IT REPORT

Big IT Firms Apply Talents to Fed Cybersecurity Research

Protecting Internet information has become a costly enterprise, with worldwide spending on security estimated at $60 billion in 2012. That figure will grow to $86 billion by 2016, according to a Gartner study. To help ensure that those investments are being spent wisely -- and to keep technology a s...

LivingSocial's customers received some bad news on Friday: The popular daily deal site had been hacked, compromising some 50 million members' customer data. There was some good news -- credit card data was not affected, the company promised in its notice to customers. Also, the Facebook credentials ...

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