AT&T Breach Exposes 19,000 Identities

A security breach at AT&T has exposed personal information on over 19,000 people who shopped at the company's online store, the company confirmed Tuesday. According to a statement from AT&T, the leaked data included credit card numbers and occurred over the weekend, causing the company to shut down the store.

The break-in affected individuals who purchased DSL equipment online through AT&T. As a service to its customers, the company has both notified the credit card companies and would provide credit monitoring to those affected. The company is also in the process of notifying those who had their data accessed.

"We deeply regret this incident and we intend to pay for credit monitoring services for customers whose accounts have been impacted," AT&T chief piracy officer Priscilla Hill-Ardoin said in a statement. "We will work closely with law enforcement to bring these data thieves to account."

Incidences of data loss are becoming an increasing problem, according to third-party data. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a non-profit consumer information and advocacy group, says that since February 2005, over 91 million records have been compromised by data breaches.

However, some say that most compromised data is never used in actual incidents of identity theft. A study released in December of last year indicated the level of the breach and how the data was lost contribute to the risk factor.

For example, the firm separated the incidents into two categories, "identity-level," where names and social security numbers were stolen, and "account-level," where account numbers were stolen, occasionally tied to accountholders. The study found that identity-level breaches pose the greatest risk.

Fraud experts with the firm ID Analytics, which commissioned the study, surmised that the reason for the low rate of misuse is likely due to the amount of time it takes to actually commit identity theft.

IBM Acquires Internet Security Systems

In order to snag a piece of the rapidly expanding Web security industry, IBM has acquired Internet Security Systems for $1.3 billion, a move designed to bolster its IT security portfolio. The acquisition of ISS also continues Big Blue's recent buying spree -- the purchase is its fourth in just this month alone.ISS provides security services to companies and government agencies, which include both applications and appliances that alert of break-ins, as well as provide virus and malware detection. The purchase additionally falls in line with IBM's new strategy of transforming itself into a services-based business

Most of the more profitable businesses are in the services industry, and the majority of IBM's acquisitions, especially recently, have fallen into this category. The company has said in the past that it was transitioning its business to provide a better mix of services, consulting and hardware to increase profit margins.

"ISS is a strategic and valuable addition to IBM's portfolio of technology and services," IBM Global Services' Val Rahmani said. "This acquisition will help IBM to provide companies with access to trained experts and leading-edge processes and technology to evaluate and protect against threats and enforce security policies."

The company is the only one of its kind that offers protection remotely through a network of datacenters. Teaming with IBM would bring ISS' services to a much larger audience, and analysts have called the acquisition a logical step for the company that could end up being very profitable.

ISS already has a customer base of about 11,000, including 17 of the world's largest banks, 15 of the largest governments, 11 of the top public insurance companies and 13 of the world's top IT organizations. The company's products would be sold through IBM's Tivoli software division and its services through IBM's Global Services unit.

Facebook Selects Microsoft to Run Ads

Social networking service Facebook, largely aimed at students in the United States, has inked a deal with Microsoft to turn over control of the site's advertising exclusively to the Redmond company. The news is the first major deal for Microsoft's new adCenter platform.

adCenter works much like Google's AdWords program: advertisers bid on keywords, and the service targets ads to related pages. Unlike with traditional graphical banners, advertisers only pay when they receive a click, although Google is now serving some impression-based ad campaigns in addition to text links.

Microsoft is coming late to the game, however, and the company is attempting to catch up to established rivals like Google and fellow search engine Yahoo. Initial versions of adcetner rolled out in the U.S. in May, with testing ongoing internationally.

Although it foresees ad sales dropping initially, Microsoft asserts that adCenter is the key to its future success. Most of Google's revenue comes from its AdWords programs, and Yahoo has seen similar success.

Partnering with Facebook gives Microsoft instant access to millions of eyeballs and will be the first true test of adCenter.

Microsoft will handle all banner advertising and sponsored links on Facebook. The two companies also pledged to work together on future technology and advertising initiatives. Facebook will also provide aggregate user behavior to Microsoft, which it says will allow adCenter to better tailor ad placements.

"We believe that the combination of Microsoft and Facebook strengths will be incredibly attractive to advertisers as they forge more meaningful connections with one of the largest, most engaged audiences on the Internet," said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. "The consumer assets brought to bear by this relationship will be very hard to match."

The announcement comes after less than a week of negotiations. Ads from Microsoft will begin to appear on Facebook in the fall.

Google this month signed a major deal of its own in the social networking space,agreeing to pay at least $900 million in shared revenue to become the exclusive search provider for MySpace.com and other Fox Web sites. Google will also become the exclusive text-based ad provider on Fox Web sites.

"This has got to hurt at Yahoo and Microsoft," JupiterResearch analyst David Card remarked on the Google deal. "Especially Microsoft, who still hasn't established its marketplace."

Microsoft Spoofs Office Training Video

Microsoft UK may have a viral hit on its hands after filming a spoof training video about Office with comedian Ricky Gervais. Gervais is most known for his role as David Brent in the British version of "The Office," and discusses the values at Microsoft -- sort of.

The video is split into two segments totally 37 minutes, about the length of a television episode. Interviewing Gervais is fellow "The Office" cohort Stephen Merchant, discussing issues of integrity and completing challenges. Google Video is hosting the videos, which can be found here.

Miranda IM 0.6 Test Build 3 (beta)

Publisher Review :

Miranda IM is a multi protocol instant messenger client for Windows. It is designed to be resource efficient and easy to use. It uses very little memory, requires no installation and can easily be carried around on a single floppy disc. The goal of this project is not to duplicate the functionality of AOL's ICQ Client, but to design a client that has the basic features that is designed for mouse-less operation with a small memory requirement.










Latest Changes:

• Netlib layer was revised to maintain the compatibility code
• Massive fix for MSN file transfers
• A lot of fixes for ICQ, YAHOO & AIM protocols
• A lof of minor fixes for almost all plugins

AOL CTO, Two Researchers Dismissed

An internal company memorandum indicates that AOL's chief technology officer Maureen Govern has resigned after only one year with the company. Govern oversaw the division that released the search data on over a half million AOL subscribers, which created a firestorm for the company earlier this month. AOL's former CTO John McKinley would reassume his position while the company searches for a replacement.

Govern's departure is not the only one related to the data release. Sources told Reuters that at least two researchers have also left as a result: the researcher who oversaw the release and his manager. The Wall Street Journal termed all three departures as "firings," indicating that the dismissals may have come as a result of the negative publicity AOL has faced since the snafu. AOL has declined to comment on the situation.