Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

China Delays Tough Bank Tech Rules

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 30, 2015

Chinese officials have reportedly agreed to delay some banking-sector requirements aimed at foreign technology vendors, who were instructed to submit to rigorous audits and to add government-approved backdoors to their products.

GitHub DDoS Attack Traces to China

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 30, 2015

DDoS attackers have been targeting the popular code-sharing website GitHub. Security experts say the massive attacks appear to have originated from China and been designed to disrupt access to GitHub-hosted anti-censorship tools.

Cybersecurity Bills: Latest Developments

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 27, 2015

The House Intelligence Committee has approved cyberthreat information sharing legislation that its leaders developed. Meanwhile, a national data breach notification bill has been introduced that's modeled on language proposed by the White House.

Fighting U.S. Card Data Fraud Overseas

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 26, 2015

To help take down global "carding" rings, the U.S. Justice Department wants to expand current law so it can prosecute those who commit fraud anywhere in the world that involves U.S. payment card data.

Google's Psychological Patch Warfare

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 25, 2015

Psychologically speaking, nothing beats the power of a well-timed deadline. And love it or hate it, Google's 90-day "Project Zero" deadline for fixing flaws - before they get publicly disclosed - has rewritten bug-patching rules.

Free Defense for Alleged $18M Hacker?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 23, 2015

U.S. prosecutors are asking a judge to rescind his decision to provide a free defense for a Russian citizen who faces 40 charges relating to the alleged theft and sale of at least 2 million credit card numbers.

Target Settlement: What About the Banks?

Tracy Kitten , Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 23, 2015

Target Corp.'s pending settlement of a consumer class action lawsuit is more about public relations than compensating victims, some observers say. But will it have an impact on a pending suit filed by banks?

Was Register.com Breached?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 19, 2015

Web.com won't confirm or deny that its Register.com subsidiary, which manages more than 2 million domain names, has been breached. But a news report claims the FBI is investigating a year-old intrusion.

Judge OK's Target Breach Settlement

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 19, 2015

A federal judge has granted preliminary approval of a $10 million settlement of a consolidated class action lawsuit filed on behalf of consumers affected by the massive 2013 Target data breach.

Microsoft Blacklists Fake Certificate

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 17, 2015

Microsoft has revoked a fraudulent SSL digital certificate issued in the name of its Finnish Windows Live service. But security experts warn that some software may "trust" the certificate for years, so it could be exploited in phishing campaigns.

Arrests Pending in Chase Breach?

Tracy Kitten , Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 17, 2015

Experts analyze a news report that the investigation into the hack attack against JPMorgan Chase could result in criminal charges being filed in the "coming months" because investigators believe at least some suspects can be extradited.

Hackers Wield Extortion

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 16, 2015

More hackers are holding data for ransom, demanding everything from bitcoins to the shutdown of nuclear reactors, under the threat of leaking sensitive information. But it's not clear how many such attacks generate revenue for attackers.

Google Leaked Whois Data

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 13, 2015

Google has warned Google Apps administrators that their private Whois contact information has been exposed. The leak affects more than 282,000 administrators, and places them at greater risk of ID theft and spam attacks, according to Cisco.

Who Hacked Barbie?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 13, 2015

Mattel will sell a cloud-connected $75 "Hello Barbie" doll that can "listen" to what kids are saying and talk back. But security experts warn that anything that connects to the Internet can - and will - be hacked.

Surveillance Report Demands Transparency

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 12, 2015

Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee has called for a reboot of the regulations that govern Britain's intelligence services, warning that the current approach "is unnecessarily complicated and - crucially - lacks transparency."