Larry Barrett

Companies of all shapes and sizes are using social media to make new contacts, interact with their customers and, ultimately, drive new sales. But as eCRM Guide reports, a new study finds that those tangible benefits must be weighed against the security risks inherent in such an unstructured and highly collaborative environment. According to the […]

Willie Sutton famously said he robbed banks because “that’s where the money is.” But today’s bad guys and girls don’t have to get their hands dirty messing with the physical security challenge of banks and storefronts to gain illicit profits; not when there are so many ways to exploit users online. eSecurity Planet details the […]

Adding controversy to an already controversial international development, Iranian officials this week admitted that the Stuxnet worm, one of what security researchers call a new breed of targeted malware attacks, managed to infiltrate the computer systems at the country’s first nuclear power facility. As eSecurity Planet reports, the malware attack is unique in that it […]

Pay day for victims of the latest ChoicePoint data breach is here. But no one’s going to be getting rich off of their share of the settlement payout. The Federal Trade Commission is issuing payments of $18.17 to each victim this week in a case that resolves a 2008 ChoicePoint breach that occurred in the […]

The iPhone is functional, it’s aesthetically pleasing and has tons of apps, but it’s also facing a new breed of competitors that offer many of the same features and more service options. As Enterprise Mobile Today reports, the iPhone clung to the top spot in customer satisfaction for the fourth consecutive year, according to J.D. […]

Symantec’s latest malware study for September highlights the importance of companies establishing solid and enforceable Internet usage rules to keep their data networks secure. As eSecurity Planet reports, this is especially true for remote workers who tend to try to access more questionable content than their in-office counterparts. However, remote workers accessing web-based malware accounted […]

Twitter’s security woes continued this week, with security-software vendor Sophos detailing a new attack that sees hackers embedding JavaScript within URLs in tweets, delivering a pop-up message that directs users to malicious or pornographic sites. Sophos is cautioning users to employ a third-party application until Twitter addresses the mouseover flaw. In the meantime, the company […]

As it looks to broaden the availability of its Docs productivity suite, Google has announced plans to release a version tailored for Apple’s iPad and the growing crop of Android-based mobile devices. Google made the announcement at a conference in Paris, where it boasted that more than 3 million businesses and 30 million users have […]

Adobe Systems last week warned users of an exploit that hackers had been using to target the company’s Flash Player software. In its warning, Adobe promised an update by next week. But for a flaw that is now deemed critical, Adobe decided to speed up the release, and has now offered a fix for the […]

It was known that Ivan Seidenberg wasn’t going to steer the ship forever. But when he steps down as the chief executive of Verizon Communications, who will fill his shoes? The telecom giant answered that question this week, outlining plans for a corporate line of succession. For Lowell McAdam, who currently serves as CEO of […]

No one should complain about a lack of free entertainment on the Web. From music, videos and so-called “adult entertainment,” Web surfers have a seemingly endless supply of entertainment-oriented sites to choose from. But as a new report from security vendor McAfee details, there’s a hidden cost to many of these free services. eSecurity Planet […]

Rice University officials are in the process of notifying 7,000-plus students and employees that their most personal information was compromised last month when someone made off with a portable device. As eSecurity Planet reports, the data breach is under investigation by university and local law enforcement. In the meantime, affected students and staffers will have […]