Privacy Monday – February 24, 2014

On this Privacy Monday:

US Attorney General Puts Pressure on Congress for Data Breach Disclosures

Today, US Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress to pass legislation requiring retailers to make significant customer data breaches known in a timely manner. This push follows Congressional hearings where members of Congress expressed dismay over the Target and Neiman Marcus data breaches, along with what the members of Congress deemed mixed communications from breached retailers.

Target, the highest profile victim of malware hacking, did notify customers on its own through emails and other means, but the disclosure was seen as somewhat slow-footed and not entirely forthright. Neiman Marcus, another victim of the same malware, was widely criticized for failing to disclose its breach until the news broke elsewhere.

See the AG's statement here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/eric-holder-consumers-must-be-notified-about-data-breaches/

Update Your Apple Devices - STAT

"It's as bad as you could imagine...." That is the description of Johns Hopkins crypto expert Matthew Green when asked about the flaw discovered late last week in the operating systems that run Apple's mobile devices and computers. The iOS flaw could allow hackers to circumvent encrypted connections and capture all of the electronic data being communicated by users. Apple has offered a software update for mobile devices (GET IT NOW!) and will release a patch for Mac computers "very soon."

The bug has apparently been present for months.

Read more here:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/22/uk-apple-flaw-idUKBREA1L...