Information security analytics

The Briar Group LLC, which runs Ned Devine's, the Green Briar, The Lenox, and other popular restaurants, has agreed to pay $110,000 to resolve allegations that the Boston chain failed to take reasonable steps to protect diners' personal information and put at risk the information on tens of thousands of credit and debit cards.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has imposed fines of $450,000 against Lincoln Financial Securities, Inc. (LFS) and $150,000 against an affiliated firm, Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation (LFA), for failure to adequately protect non-public customer information. In addition, LFS failed to require brokers working remotely to install security application software on their own personal computers used to conduct the firm’s securities business.

A former Apple manager accused of accepting kickbacks from Asian iPhone and iPod accessory suppliers pleaded guilty Monday in a San Jose, Calif. federal court, and has been ordered to forfeit $2.3 million in money and property.

Vadim G. Zdor, Chief Consulting Officer, InfoWatch: Bank of America has begun full-scale counterintelligence operation ». … no, not in Latin America, not in the Middle East, but in its own backyard. Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has threatened to reveal some sensitive information about Bank of America back in 2009, but it took more than a year for US financial sector mammoth to realize the danger and apply counter-measures.

The U.S. Air Force said today that it had taken steps to remedy the accidental release of bidding information to competitors for its aerial refueling tanker contract, and that the mistake should not have an impact on the high-stakes contest. Maj. Gen. Wendy Masiello, a senior contracting officer who reviewed the Air Force’s internal investigation of the incident, told a panel of U.S. senators Thursday that Pentagon leaders had determined the error was unintentional and did not compromise the selection process.

A laptop stolen from the house of a junior doctor employed by the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust contained unencrypted information on over one thousand patients. The theft occurred back in November, but the doctor did not immediately alert the trust about it because he was not authorized to carry the data on his computer. The exposed information included names, dates of birth, hospital numbers, as well as details about treatment received by 1,147 orthopaedic patients.

Hawaii lawmakers are likely to take up proposed legislation that would punish state agencies responsible for data breaches that can result in identity theft. "Right now the problem is that victims are the ones who bear all the brunt in recovering from identity theft," said state Sen. Mike Gabbard (D, Kalaeloa-Makakilo). "It's like having someone break into your house and then holding you responsible for crimes committed while the thief was wearing your clothes. Most people would agree that if you mess up, you should own up. So this is what we're trying to accomplish."

ZURICH — A Swiss banker who claims to have handed WikiLeaks details of rich tax evaders has been found guilty of coercion and breaking Switzerland's strict banking secrecy laws. A judge at Zurich's Regional Court has sentenced Rudolf Elmer to a fine of over 6,000 Swiss francs ($6,000). Elmer claimed at the one-day trial in Zurich's banking capital Wednesday that he acted after being persecuted by his former employer Julius Baer.

The personal details of millions of Vodafone customers, including their names, home addresses, driver's licence numbers and credit card details, have been publicly available on the internet in what is being described as an ''unbelievable'' lapse in security by the mobile phone giant. This website is aware of criminal groups paying for the private information of some Vodafone customers to stand over them. Other people have apparently obtained logins to check their spouses' communications.

I have made some edits for accuracy based upon input from my colleagues and commenters.