featured - itbusinessdirect

Russians Implicated In White House Hack After Obama Makes Cybersecurity Executive Order

April 8, 2015February 16, 2016 Staff Writer

The same Russian hackers who breached the State Department system for months also gained access to an unclassifed White House computer system, according to a report from CNN. Although the system did not contain classified information, the Russians reportedly had access to the president’s private schedule. The connected cyberattack on the State Department in recent months has been characterized as the “worst ever” hack on a federal agency. The White House is no stranger to attacks from foreign spies. The Chinese have been implicated in several high profile attacks of White House unclassified systems and employee emails. News…

Share this

EU hopes to abolish Internet geoblocking as it stands in the way of a modern digital market

March 27, 2015February 16, 2016 Staff Writer

The European Commission has said it is resolved to do away with the common practice of the user IP-based blocking of some digital content on the Internet. It said geoblocking stood in the way of a modern digital market. The EU executive announced Wednesday it had reached a decision in principle to tear down national Internet usage barriers by scrapping the widespread practice of what’s become known as geoblocking. It’s a method of preventing users from accessing certain websites, videos, music and other content based on their location and has…

Share this

CIO: The Cybercrime Economy Personified

March 5, 2015February 16, 2016 Staff Writer

While the Center for Strategic & International Studies and McAfee estimated the annual cost to the global economy from cybercrime at $375 billion conservatively and $575 billion maximally as of June 2014, at least one expert stands by cost figures that are many times those numbers. “U.S. companies and the U.S. economy lose approximately $500 billion each year to theft of trade secrets and innovation. This includes all forms of economic espionage where cybercrime plays a major factor. When you factor the 10-year life of the investment in innovation, the…

Share this

Banks in Russia, Japan, the US, and Europe have fallen victim to a massive, sophisticated malware hack

February 16, 2015February 16, 2016 Staff Writer

Hackers rob US and global banks of millions in one of the largest heists ever writes Kwame Opam on the Verge Banks in Russia, Japan, the US, and Europe have fallen victim to a massive, sophisticated malware hack, allowing the perpetrators to steal hundreds of millions of dollars since 2013. According to a Kaspersky Labs report provided to the New York Times, more than 100 banks in 30 nations have been affected by the breach, with upwards of $300 million stolen in the process. One of the largest bank heists ever…

Share this

EU Parliament blocks Microsoft’s new Outlook apps over privacy concerns

February 11, 2015February 16, 2016 Staff Writer

Access to Microsoft’s new Outlook apps has been blocked for members of the European Parliament because of “serious security issues.” Microsoft launched new Outlook apps for iOS and Android just over a week ago. The new apps are basically a rebranded version of a mail app made by Acompli, a company Microsoft bought in December for a reported US$200 million. Access to the apps though was blocked on Friday by the Parliament’s IT department, DG ITEC, in order to protect the confidentiality and privacy of its users, according to an…

Share this

WSJ: U.S. Technology Companies Worry About the Backlash They Face in Europe

January 23, 2015February 17, 2016 Staff Writer

By Stephen Fidler: Europe Pulls Welcome Mat for U.S. Tech Companies One message so far from the corridors around the World Economic Forum in Davos: U.S. technology companies are very worried about the backlash they are now facing in Europe. From their standpoint, Europe risks shooting itself in the foot by rejecting the cutting-edge technologies they have brought to the continent. But they would say that, wouldn’t they? Look at it from the European point of view. Europe once led the world in mobile technology: The Global System for Mobile…

Share this

France, Germany Seek Help From Tech Firms in Policing Terrorism Online

January 22, 2015February 17, 2016 Staff Writer

Officials Expect Companies Like Twitter, Facebook, Google to Pre-Emptively Remove Content on Terrorism Online LILLE, France—France and Germany demanded that U.S. tech companies help them police terrorism on the Internet, escalating European efforts to wrangle more law-enforcement help from Silicon Valley. Top law-enforcement officials from the two countries said on Tuesday they expect U.S. Internet and social-networking companies like Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. to pre-emptively remove terror content from their services—or face new laws aimed at forcing them to do so in order to fight Terrorism Online.…

Share this

White House: President Obama Announces New Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal and Other Cybersecurity Efforts

January 14, 2015February 17, 2016 Staff Writer

Obama unveils cybersecurity proposals: ‘Cyber threats are urgent and growing danger’ Proposed legislation will allow companies to share information with government agencies including NSA, with which White House admitted there were ‘overlapping issues’ “In this interconnected, digital world, there are going to be opportunities for hackers to engage in cyber assaults both in the private sector and the public sector. Now, our first order of business is making sure that we do everything to harden sites and prevent those kinds of attacks from taking place…But even as we get better,…

Share this

Obama Wants Firms to Notify of Data Breach Within 30 Days

January 13, 2015February 17, 2016 Staff Writer

The Proposal Complemented a Series of Data Privacy Related Rules Suggested by the White House Today. President Barack Obama wants companies to notify consumers within 30-days of a personal data breach. Despite a slew of pressing issues facing the administration and a potentially unsympathetic Republican-led congress, the White House today unveiled a handful of legislative proposals aimed at safeguarding consumer privacy, continuing along a path established by its privacy and big data report published in May. The administration’s Personal Data Notification and Protection Act is being pitched in part as…

Share this

“Sophia Bekele Scholarship Fund” Pledged on Nazareth School 60th Anniversary-Diamond Jubilee

January 7, 2015February 17, 2016 Staff Writer

Sophia Bekele has pledged personal funds of up to 100,000 Ethiopian Birr for the benefit of Nazareth School students. “This amount would be drawn-down and disbursed to the Nazareth School to the most deserving students of the school on the basis of academic excellence and leadership achievement,” She said in her Keynote address to the audience. She is among African Women who are supporting youth development and innovation through ICT, girl child empowerment; encourage them to pursue opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The announcement of the Sophia…

Share this