“We are committed to making as much money as possible from usury, coercion, bribery, insider trading, extortion, and credit card fees as possible.” Not exactly the message Bank of America wants to convey to the social media world, but that’s what its branded Google+ page said on Tuesday. The page appeared to have been created by hackers who fooled Google+ into giving them BofA’s page name, less than two weeks after branded pages were launched. READ MORE
Last year, security firms identified Stuxnet, a disabling virus that appeared aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities but then spread around the world. Stuxnet pointed up a well-known vulnerability in industrial control systems, which often have little or no security. READ MORE
The press and public reaction to many high profile hacks–think Sony, or the Pentagon–is that the breaches are embarrassments at best or setbacks at worst. But hacks can have grievous real-world consequences for companies, as Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar proved this week when it filed for bankruptcy after finding itself unable to recover from the consequences of a massive hack it suffered this summer. READ MORE
In the end, after three days and 31 start-up pitches, judge’s panels and interviews, there could be but one winner of TechCrunch Disrupt SF’s Start-up Battlefield. That title, plus a prize of $50,000 and the Disrupt Cup presented by Disrupt Battlefield NY winners Getaround, goes to … Shaker. READ MORE
Last week we heard about a new bill coming through the Senate now that, if passed, could carry hefty fines for any company that loses online data. Luckily, security companies like Dome9 keep popping up, looking to make your cloud doesn’t burst. READ MORE
The money involved in cyber crime last year, about $388 billion, comes out equivalent to the illegal drug trade, a cyber crime report commissioned and released by Symantec, an anti-virus software company. READ MORE
To help anyone dealing with leaked online information, the Consumer Federation of America has launched a new website and bills it as all-in-one location for information on virtual crime. READ MORE
A Connecticut senator introduced a bill Thursday designed to protect personal information from online data mishaps. And Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, proposes to punish careless companies. “While looking at past data breaches, I’ve been struck with how many are preventable,” he said. READ MORE
Earlier this year, when Sony took its Playstation Network offline after several crippling cyber attacks, it was a clear signal that tech companies needed to make security a priority. The company is hoping that a new hire will help do that. READ MORE
What would you do if aliens invaded our planet? Apparently, the Google security team has an answer to this and every other possible question. READ MORE
