Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Volatile Stock Market: Cybersecurity Fallout?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 24, 2015

Stock markets in the United States, Europe, China and India continued their volatility Aug. 24, and it's not clear how cybersecurity stocks will weather the downturns. But with hack attacks not letting up, some analysts say cybersecurity companies will likely continue to thrive.

Mitigating Organizational Risks After the Ashley Madison Leaks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 24, 2015

To help mitigate the risk that blackmail and extortion campaigns might target employees, employers' security teams must regularly review post-breach data dumps as well ramp up enforcement of their corporate security policies, says Stephen Coty of Alert Logic.

No Surprise: Ashley Madison Breach Triggers Lawsuits

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 21, 2015

The massive breach of online dating site Ashley Madison has triggered lawsuits against Toronto-based parent company Avid Life Media. Meanwhile, attackers continue to dump stolen data.

Ashley Madison Fallout: 8 Security Takeaways

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 20, 2015

The Ashley Madison mega-breach differs from previous breaches not just because of its scale, but also the fallout facing victims of the breached infidelity-focused dating site. Here are the top information security takeaways.

Bigger Stagefright: Another Bug Found in Android

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 20, 2015

In the wake of the discovery of the serious Android Stagefright flaws, which affect an estimated 950 million devices, security researchers reveal that they discovered yet another Stagefright flaw - and that Google's initial fix could be exploited.

Ashley Madison: Hackers Dump Stolen Dating Site Data

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 19, 2015

The attackers behind the hack of dating site Ashley Madison - tagline: "Life is short, have an affair" - have followed through on threats and released a file that includes details on many of the site's customers.

OPM Sued Again ... This Time by a Judge

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 18, 2015

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has been hit with yet another lawsuit focusing on the massive breach that exposed background-check information for 21.5 million individuals. But this time, the plaintiff is a judge.

Malware's Stinging Little Secret

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 17, 2015

What do successful but separate malware attacks against banking customers around the world, as well as the White House and health insurer Anthem, all have in common? Researchers say the answer is shockingly simple.

Security Sector Business Roundup

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 15, 2015

Security is a busy sector: Symantec jettisoned Veritas, Zscaler became a "unicorn" after its most recent funding round, and we have other M&A news from Cisco, Fidelity National Information Services and Proofpoint.

Is Windows 10 Secure for the Enterprise?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 14, 2015

The Windows 10 Home edition being released by Microsoft includes on-by-default cloud services that may pose "bring your own device" risks to organizations, F-Secure security expert Sean Sullivan warns.

Oracle's Security Absurdity

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 13, 2015

Thou shalt not reverse engineer Oracle's products. That was the stunning diktat issued by Oracle CSO Mary Ann Davidson in a blog post that some are reading as a declaration of war against the security research community.

Insider Trading Hack: 5 Takeaways

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 12, 2015

Instead of hacking into trading platforms, prosecutors say a gang stole confidential press releases, enabling traders to illegally earn $100 million. Security experts say it's time to review the "information supply chain."

Darkhotel APT Gang Taps Flash Flaw

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 11, 2015

The APT gang known as Darkhotel quickly tapped a Hacking Team exploit for Flash, Kaspersky Lab reports. But the gang's ongoing trickery shows that organizations must do more than just patch against the latest threats.

Feds Charge 9 with $30M Insider Trading, Hacking Scheme

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 11, 2015

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced charges against nine people suspected of running an international insider-trading and hacking scheme predicated on stealing confidential press releases before publication.

'Epic Fail': OPM Bests Ashley Madison

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 7, 2015

Nothing says "you really screwed up" like receiving the Pwnie Award for "Most Epic Fail" at the annual Black Hat conference. Hence it's no surprise that in the wake of its mega breach, the win goes to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.