Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Starbucks: Coffee and a Fresh Password

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 15, 2015

Caffeine junkies are up in arms over reports that criminals have been targeting their Starbucks account balances. But the real story is poor password-picking practices by consumers, and Starbucks' lack of multi-factor authentication.

UK Quietly Rewrote Hacking Law

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 15, 2015

The British government rewrote the country's computer abuse law in March to shield law enforcement and intelligence agencies from being prosecuted for hacking. The move, which just came to light, appears to have been driven by a legal claim.

GCHQ Seeks 'Responsible' Hackers

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 14, 2015

Wanted: Hackers for hire. Or in British government parlance: "Committed and responsible individuals who have the potential to carry out computer network operations to keep the U.K. safe." Ready to apply?

FBI Hacker Hunt Goes 'Wild West'

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 14, 2015

The FBI is offering a big-stakes reward for an alleged criminal who ranks at the top of its "cyber most wanted" list. But one cybercrime expert asks: "Would you cross the Russian mafia or some organized crime gang for $3 million?"

Fraudsters Drain Starbucks Accounts

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 13, 2015

Fraudsters have been hacking into and draining Starbucks accounts, customers report. Security experts say attackers appear to be guessing weak account passwords, then using funds to fill up gift cards destined for the black market.

Crime: Why So Much Is Cyber-Enabled

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 12, 2015

Much of today's crime is "cyber-enabled," warns cybercrime expert Raj Samani, and successfully blocking such attacks increasingly demands not just better technology and public-private collaboration, but also an understanding of psychology.

Why So Many Data Breach Lawsuits Fail

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 11, 2015

Legal experts say the majority of class-action lawsuits filed in response to data breaches fail, and that's unlikely to change unless lawmakers or the courts rethink notions of "injury" and "harm" to encompass more than just fraud.

UK Elections: Privacy, Security Impacts

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 8, 2015

Britain's Tory party has secured a majority in Parliament, which means the country will soon see a new legislative agenda. Here are some of the information security, privacy and surveillance initiatives to expect in the coming months.

Lenovo Patches Critical PC Flaws

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 7, 2015

Lenovo issues an emergency patch to fix flaws in the System Update software that it preinstalls on business-focused Windows PCs after security researchers discover vulnerabilities that could be used to remotely compromise machines.

Windows 10: No More Monthly Patches

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 6, 2015

With the upcoming release of Windows 10, Microsoft plans to inaugurate 24/7, cloud-based patching, among other new security features. Businesses can tap the anytime patches or define their own patch-release schedules.

eBay Breach-Related Lawsuit Dismissed

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 5, 2015

A federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit filed against eBay in the wake of a 2014 data breach that exposed encrypted passwords and personal information for 145 million users.

6 Questions About the Partners Breach

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  May 1, 2015

Partners HealthCare System is the latest healthcare organizations to suffer a data breach following a phishing attack. But why did Partners wait five months to issue a breach notification, when HIPAA requires notifications within 60 days?

Bugcrowd Unites Code Builders, Breakers

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 29, 2015

Why not tap a community of bug hunters to find vulnerabilities in your products? That's the pitch behind Bugcrowd, which enables thousands of bug hunters to earn prestige - and cash - for finding and reporting new vulnerabilities.

Application Protection: A New Approach

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 29, 2015

How can businesses ensure that the content coming into an application is executed safely, and that the application itself isn't under attack? That's the problem being addressed by Prevoty, says CEO Julien Bellanger.

Botnets Get More Opportunistic

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 28, 2015

Botnet operators are increasingly selling access to interesting zombie PCs, as well as continuing to launch DDoS and financial attacks, warns Menno van der Marel, CEO of investigation firm Fox-IT.