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Insider Threats

Malicous attacks increase

Dan Kaplan June 17, 2009

The number of breaches caused by insider malfeasance or hacker attacks is creeping upward, according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center. The organization said Tuesday that 18.5 percent of 250 breaches reported to the center so far this year were related to insider theft, compared to 15 percent last year and six percent in 2007. Similarly, the number of incidents caused by hackers rose to 18 percent this year, compared to 12 percent in 2008 and 14 percent in 2007. Combined, the two categories represent a 10 percent hike over last year. - DK

Bank insider nabbed

Angela Moscaritolo June 08, 2009

Former Bank of America teller Jeffrey Gautreaux, 25, of Peabody, Mass. has been charged in federal court for allegedly stealing bank customer identities in a scheme to fraudulently withdraw bank funds. According to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's office, Gautreaux participated in the scheme with other unnamed people, netting more than $330,000 from numerous accounts. He was charged with 17 counts of bank fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of access device fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. — AM

Process over trust: Will we ever learn?

Jeff Nielsen, director of development and quality assurance, Symark International May 27, 2009

To give businesses greater confidence in privilege management, we must define, implement, monitor and enforce processes for delegating administrative access.

California water company insider steals $9 million, flees country

Angela Moscaritolo May 15, 2009

An insider at the California Water Service Co. in San Jose broke into the company's computer system and transferred $9 million into offshore bank accounts and fled the country.

Defense Department insider charged with espionage

Angela Moscaritolo May 13, 2009

A Defense Department official has been charged with espionage conspiracy after allegedly selling classified U.S. government information to an agent of the People's Republic of China.

Mass. police snooped on celebrities' records

Angela Moscaritolo May 06, 2009

Massachusetts law enforcement personnel tapped into the state criminal records database and inappropriately viewed the personal records of celebrities on dozens of occasions, according to a state audit released Tuesday.

Former Federal Reserve Bank IT worker charged with ID theft

Angela Moscaritolo April 27, 2009

Two brothers, one a former IT analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, have been charged with committing identity theft to obtain fraudulent loans.

Inside threat: The power of privilege

Adam Bosnian, Cyber-Ark Software April 06, 2009

Identifying your greatest risks and threats is the first step in safeguarding your organization.

Passport perp punished

Dan Kaplan March 23, 2009

A former U.S. State Department administrative assistant was sentenced on Monday to one year probation and 100 hours of community service for illegally accessing the passport application files of more than 150 people, including celebrities, politicians and friends, authorities said. Dwayne Cross, 41, of Maryland admitted he accessed the documents out of curiosity. The files contained the applicant's name, birth date and telephone number, among other data. Another former worker previously was sentenced in connection with the investigation. — DK

IT contractor indicted over oil company computer intrusion

Dan Kaplan March 19, 2009

A federal grand jury this week indicted a disgruntled IT contractor on charges he disrupted a computer system used, among other purposes, to notify an energy company if its oil properties are leaking.

InfoSec: Cybersecurity expert says preparation key to business survival

Greg Masters March 13, 2009

The world is more interconnected than ever before, so security pros have opportunities to make a difference in their enterprises, a former White House cybersecurity adviser told a group of CSOs.

Insider data theft exacerbated by economic crisis

Angela Moscaritolo February 24, 2009

The majority of individuals laid off, fired or changing jobs in the last 12 months stole data from their former employer, according to a new survey from the Ponemon Institute and Symantec.

Web filtering evolves to meet changing threats

Angela Moscaritolo February 18, 2009

Web filtering today goes beyond just blocking access. It now has to be integrating Web 2.0, managing data leakage, and guarding against malware coming in, according to a new study.

Los Alamos computers go missing

Angela Moscaritolo February 12, 2009

At least 69 computers are missing from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a national security research institution in New Mexico.

Don't blame the employees for peeping: Organizations are at fault for poor access governance

Brian Cleary vice president of products and marketing, Aveksa February 09, 2009

Some employees are taking advantage of access policy gaps without realizing they are breaking privacy laws.

Fannie Mae innocence plea

Dan Kaplan February 02, 2009

A disgruntled Fannie Mae former employee pleaded innocent during an arraignment on Friday to one count of computer intrusion. Rajendrasinh Makwana is accused of trying to destroy 4,000 company servers by planting malware that was scheduled to activate Saturday. Makwana, who was seeking revenge for being fired last October, faces up to 10 years in prison. The malware was detected before it caused any damage. -- DK

Stimulus bill includes protection for digital health care records

Dan Kaplan January 30, 2009

The $818 billion economic stimulus bill that the U.S. House passed this week includes security and privacy controls regulating the digitization of patient health records.

Disgruntled Fannie Mae insider indicted for cyber intrusion

Angela Moscaritolo January 29, 2009

A former Fannie Mae employee attempted to destroy 4,000 company servers with malicious code he planted in the system after being fired.

Case study: Risks and solutions

Greg Masters January 15, 2009

Security risks might not change, but the priorities of threats to an organization do. First Advantage found help.

Paris Hilton's website infects users with data-stealing trojan

Angela Moscaritolo January 13, 2009

The official website for Paris Hilton has been targeted by cybercriminals to distribute malware, and most anti-virus scanners are not detecting the threat.

Patch batch from Oracle to include 41 fixes

Dan Kaplan January 09, 2009

Microsoft is letting IT departments off easy next week, but not Oracle, which plans to deliver 41 patches on Tuesday.

State Department snoop sentenced

Greg Masters December 23, 2008

A former employee of the U.S. Department of State was sentenced for unauthorized access to a database containing passport applicants' confidential information.

Survey: Collaboration applications inadequately secured

Angela Moscaritolo December 18, 2008

A gap in security exits for applications that help enable collaboration among employees, such as intranet portals and content management systems, a recent study found.

Keeping a keen eye on your employees to be discussed at SC World Congress

Greg Masters December 03, 2008

New business tools are changing the ways we do business, but these innovations, in turn, effect our organizational security policy.

Financial industry "fire sale" economy: Protecting data during M&A

David Meizlik, senior manager for data security solutions, Websense November 25, 2008

With companies being acquired on the cheap, there is little time to understand and protect sensitive data on multiple systems.

Obama's cell phone records breached

Angela Moscaritolo November 21, 2008

Verizon Wireless employees accessed the President-elect's cell phone account.

Keeping malware out

Angela Moscaritolo November 17, 2008

The IT staff at Eastern Kentucky University faced a unique challenge: maintaining academic freedom while still protecting network users, reports Angela Moscaritolo.