Jaikumar Vijayan

Shutdown could test IT security at federal agencies

A government shutdown that lasts more than a few days could test the ability of federal agencies to protect their information systems against security threats.

Rights groups plan anti-NSA surveillance rally in D.C.

About 100 public advocacy and other groups plan to stage what they hope will be a big rally in Washington D.C. to protest the the controversial National Security Agency surveillance programs disclosed by document-leaker Edward Snowden in June.

Usage-based auto insurance found to pose privacy risks

Pay-as-you-drive insurance plans, where premiums are based on an individual's actual driving habits, pose a potential privacy risk for motorists, a recent study has found.

Sudan drops off Internet amid internal strife

In what has become a familiar pattern in countries in crisis, the government in Sudan appears to have pulled the plug on Internet services there.

Virginia Tech breach exposes data on 145K job applicants

A Virginia Tech official Tuesday blamed human error for a data breach that may have exposed sensitive data on about 145,000 people who applied online for jobs at the school over the past 10 years.

Encryption is still the best defense, despite NSA code-cracking

Though the NSA has apparently cracked widely used encryption algorithms, security experts maintain that, properly implemented, encryption is still the best way to secure data.

Sen. Franken seeks data on privacy controls in iPhone 5S fingerprint tech

A U.S. lawmaker wants to know whether the Touch ID fingerprint reader in Apple's iPhone 5S has adequate controls to protect the personal data of users.

Hacking courses offer cybercrooks tips on how to hone skills

A growing number of experienced hackers have begun offering structured hacking courses for crooks seeking to make a career in cybercrime.

Snowden's role provided 'perfect cover' for NSA data theft

Fugitive document leaker Edward Snowden's role as a systems administrator provided easy access to classified NSA documents sitting in a file-sharing location on the spy agency's intranet portal.

China-based hacking group behind hundreds of attacks on U.S. companies

A group of between 50 and 100 professional hackers operating out of China has been systematically targeting businesses, military and government agencies around the world since at least 2009, security vendor Symantec said in a report released on Tuesday.

Security researchers create undetectable hardware trojans

Security researchers from the U.S. and Europe released a paper showing how integrated circuits used in computers, military equipment and other critical systems can be maliciously compromised during the manufacturing process through virtually undetectable changes at the transistor level.

Court decision in Google Street View case called unpersuasive, flawed

A U.S appellate court's decision earlier this week to permit a wiretapping case against Google to proceed, is based on flawed reasoning, a leading technology think-tank says.

Obamacare data hub is secure and ready to roll

The central system built to support Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges has successfully completed security testing and is set to begin operating on October 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Wednesday.

Encryption still best way to protect data -- despite NSA

Though the National Security Agency spends billions of dollars to crack encryption technologies, security experts maintain that properly implemented, encryption is still the best way to maintain online privacy.

Brewer taps Bud Lab at University of Illinois

Belgium-based brewer Anheuser-Busch has set up a "Bud Lab" at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign as part of an effort to gain access to young engineering talent.

Microsoft will move forward with litigation over NSA data collection

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith Friday said that the company would move ahead with its lawsuit against the U.S. government seeking permission to release more information on demands Microsoft receives from the National Security Agency and others for Internet user data.

U.S. appetite for Internet user data not unique

For all the privacy concerns raised by Edward Snowden's leaks about government data collection activities, the U.S. is not alone or even always the most demanding when it comes to law enforcement requests for customer data from Internet service providers.

New York Times site hack shifts attention to registry locks

One way that owners of major websites can mitigate the risk of their domains being hijacked like The New York Times' site was on Tuesday is to apply what is known as a registry lock on the domain, security researchers say.

New York Times site outage caused by attack on domain registrar, company says

The New York Times blamed a prolonged website outage on Tuesday on a hacking attack at the company's Australia-based domain name registrar, Melbourne IT.

New York Times website hacked

Less than two weeks after suffering a prolonged website outage, the New York Times was knocked offline again on Tuesday -- apparently as the result of a malicious hacking attack.