@Mitch Wagner - It's easy to see why SC doesn't look competent in the wake of this breach. Early on you have the governor and the state Revenue Department head saying "nothing could have prevented the breach". Now, after the investigation it showed that they could gave done a lot more.
Indeed, Joanne! Hopefully, the misfortunes of the Northeast will spur action elsewhere. South Carolina is in the hurricane alley too; it's no time to be wavering on security policies.
With industrial accidents (an explosion at a plant, or a chemical spillage, say), businesses are required to follow very precise regulations when it comes to informing people, protecting people, and addressing the damage. If they don't, they face hefty fines.
It's time we had something like OSHA holding enterprise accountable when it comes to digital disasters.
Wow, hpollard. This IT outfit gets no kudos, surely. And the government that doesn't seem to understand the technology involved is enabling them to cover their tracks pretty effectively.
As a South Carolina resident I'm living through this mess. The state did not inform the affected taxpayers. Instead, we had to call in through an 800 number to get a code we could use to get 1 year of credit protection. They did not automatically enroll everyone, due to 'privacy concerns'. There is still confusion as to which SSNs, bank accounts and credit card numbers were comprised.
They did not notify anyone of the breach until a local newspaper filed a FOI request. They were using the time to 'track down the hackers'.
At this point, they have not announced who was compromised, what was comprimised, exactly how this was accomplished and what the plan is to clean up this mess. We continue to hear that no one was to blame and there will not be discipline taken against public employees.
Ironically, the state's IT portrays itself as highly competent. Its Website calls out October as "Cyber Security Awareness Month" and describes the agency as "Leading the Way" with cyber security tips.
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Recently, the Obama administration has been of two minds where privacy rights are concerned. On one hand, you have an administration that vowed to veto CISPA and mandated open data for government websites. On the other hand, you have an increasingly out-of-control Department of Justice on a fishing expedition at AP and demanding legislation to let the FBI wiretap private, encrypted communications and levy fines if a company fails to comply.
The apartment and house sharing service, Airbnb, now requires members to verify their identities by demonstrating a presence on the web, and by either scanning a government ID or entering detailed personal details. Other enterprises should take a close look at Airbnb's verification policies.
Facebook advertising is a lightning rod. It seems neither brands nor consumers are 100 percent happy about the social media site's policies, placement, or procedures. But the real controversy about Facebook ads and promotions is over whether they work.
By now, you've most likely heard about the 3D-printed gun that Texas-based Defense Distributed demonstrated last week. But we haven't heard the last about the censorship war that began soon afterward.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
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