Information security analytics

The state prosecutor has convincing evidence that a former system administrator at the UBS PaineWebber finance company installed a malicious piece of code he has written on over a thousand of the company’s computers – including the back-up system – and programmed his “logic bomb” to go off at a set time and date. When the giant company was brought to a standstill – due to every single computer ceasing to function – the insider tried to make money on the company’s falling value on the stock market. The company had to pay out 3.2 million USD on restoring the computers alone.

Virtually all of Asia has voiced its intention of adopting Basel II, with the stronger economies of Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia planning to do so shortly after 2008. A number of other countries, including the Philippines, say they will phase in the regulations over a five-year period. According to experts at InfoWatch, the Basel II regulations have become so popular that they will soon cover the whole planet.

A U.S. federal jury has found the two former bosses at Enron guilty of fraud. They will learn their sentences on Sept. 11, with both of them facing over 100 years in prison. Although the court ruling brings to an end the biggest corporate scandal in U.S. history, according to experts at InfoWatch, its effects will not be forgotten soon. The SOX law will offer daily reminders of just how corporate America has changed.

Head of the Department of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson has told U.S. lawmakers that a recent leak of private data could cost the government up to $500 million. However, the InfoWatch analytical centre has described that figure as somewhat optimistic. The real cost to U.S. taxpayers could exceed $4 billion.

The Delhi High Court has made a landmark ruling prohibiting four former employees from making use of their ex-employer’s proprietary data and confidential information. The ruling may set a precedent for Indian and international law. The decision may also become the basis for cases involving insiders and data breaches. According to experts at InfoWatch, the Indian authorities can now address those dishonest employees in the country’s outsourcing industry, making the business more attractive to international investors.

Financial authorities in the U.S. have stated they will do everything they can to ensure that Basel II does not undermine the strong capital base at U.S. banks and intend to measure just how effective the accord’s system of risk management and reserve capital is. Experts at the InfoWatch analytical center say the results will give bankers worldwide some more food for thought.

The latest bill on data breaches to be debated by Congress could force companies to disclose any leaks to the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI within 14 days of the incident or face a fine of up to $1 million and up to five years in prison. According to experts at InfoWatch, it is high time Congress enacted one of the numerous bills that have been proposed.

An employee from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has been blamed for exposing 26.5 million former servicemen to the threat of identity theft. The information was stolen from the home of the VA insider who was not authorized to remove it from the office. The scale of the leak is particularly staggering, even in this era of frequent data breaches, with experts at InfoWatch describing it as the biggest data breach ever.

U.S. Republican lawmakers have said they intend to introduce a bill to Congress that would exempt small businesses from some aspects of Sarbanes-Oxley. Companies with market capitalization of less than $700 million and revenues of less than $125 million would be able to opt out of complying with section 404. According to experts at InfoWatch, the proposed changes are unlikely to be adopted unconditionally because they contradict the basic principle of SOX – to protect the interests of investors at any cost.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are prepared to reform the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to reduce the costs that small businesses incur when complying with section 404 and during auditing procedures. The regulatory bodies appear to have reacted to a recent study that suggests that small businesses' costs for implementing the rules are disproportionately higher than those for bigger firms.