Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Supermarket Chain Reveals New Breach

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 15, 2014

The U.S.-based Supervalu supermarket chain is investigating a network intrusion that may have resulted in criminals compromising customer data from point-of-sale systems at 180 stores in 25 states.

Fraudsters Target London Restaurants

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 14, 2014

Scammers, posing as bank employees, are telephoning restaurants and asking them to call a provided number and have cardholders answer "security questions" before accepting any card for payment.

Antivirus Apps Fail Test

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 11, 2014

Researcher Joxean Koret says he's cataloged local and remote vulnerabilities in 14 antivirus applications, many of which have since been patched. But shouldn't the vendors have spotted them first?

Blackphone: Inside a Secure Smart Phone

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 8, 2014

Can a smart phone increase your privacy and security while remaining both highly usable and attractive to buyers? The inaugural Blackphone is testing that question for consumers and businesses.

Ransomware: 7 Defensive Strategies

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 7, 2014

Learn the top techniques for defending against ransomware attacks that encrypt stored data and demand a payoff to unlock PCs, servers, storage devices and smart phones.

The Marketing of Security Threats

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 7, 2014

Expect every new warning of cybercrime attacks, online espionage or the malware du jour to be slickly marketed, with the announcements carefully timed. But is this bad for either the information security community or attackers' victims?

5 Facts About CyberVor Report

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 6, 2014

A report that a Russian hacker group dubbed "CyberVor" is hoarding more than 1 billion stolen passwords triggered worldwide concern, but security experts caution that scant details have been revealed, making the threat tough to judge.

Microsoft to Appeal E-Mail Ruling

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 1, 2014

A U.S. federal court judge has upheld a warrant requiring Microsoft to give the Justice Department copies of e-mails being stored at a data center in Dublin. But Microsoft plans to appeal the ruling on privacy grounds.

'Internet of Things' Security Analysis

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 1, 2014

Vendors are rushing useful new "Internet of Things" products to market, but too often treat device security and data privacy as an afterthought, says Forrester Research analyst Andrew Rose.

Gambling Site Breach Affects 650,000

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 31, 2014

The Irish online gambling site Paddy Power suffered a data breach in 2010, but says it only recently learned that the attack compromised non-financial personal information on 650,000 customers.

UK Battles EU 'Right to Be Forgotten'

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 30, 2014

A U.K. House of Lords subcommittee has criticized the recent EU Court of Justice "right to be forgotten" ruling as being "unworkable, unreasonable and wrong in principle." The U.K. government says it plans to fight the measure.

ICO Offers Big Data Privacy Warning

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 29, 2014

Warning from the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office: Businesses that work with big data must ensure they still comply with EU data protection regulations, especially when it comes to keeping personal information private.

4 Facts About Operation Emmental

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 29, 2014

A low-tech campaign combines phishing, small-footprint attack code and Android malware to topple banks' security defenses in Switzerland and three other nations. Will the campaign extend to U.S., U.K., and beyond?

EU Eyes Global 'Right to Be Forgotten'

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 24, 2014

Google and Microsoft met with European regulators in Brussels July 24 to discuss their compliance with the "right to be forgotten" ruling and whether it should apply to all of their search engine sites - and not just those in Europe.

European Central Bank Breached

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 24, 2014

The website of the European Central Bank has been breached and contact information for event registrants stolen. The breach only came to light when a hacker attempted to obtain a ransom to return stolen data to the bank.