Be card wise drive: online safety
There are approximately five million South Africans online, according to www.internetworldstats.com, an increase of some 112.5% since 2000. As more people go online, online banking and financial transactions are becoming increasingly popular - Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB Credit Card, says it has almost 800 000 online banking customers. 26 Sep 2008 10:12

Embassies 'used for smuggling'
[Sibongakonke Shoba] Authorities are struggling to prevent counterfeit goods entering South Africa as criminals are using embassies to smuggle the products into the country. 11 Sep 2008 12:08

Web 2.0 holds promises and threats for online banking
[Rik Turner] Retail banks can see the benefits of technologies that enable a new, more customisable and interactive internet experience could bring to their online offerings, but fret about their security implications. 11 Sep 2008 06:00

Coming soon: New ID security rules
[Andrew K. Burger] USA: Financial institutions have until 1 November to comply with a revised set of rules under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, also known as Facta. EMC and its RSA security division have developed software that helps ensure compliance. 9 Sep 2008 12:51

New PCI security standards: Lock it down, lock it tight
[Jack M. Germain] USA: New Payment Card Industry (PCI) regulations are just around the corner, and retailers dealing with credit cards will need to tighten up their standards in order to comply. For instance, your firewall performance will be reviewed more often, and you'll have to use anti-virus protection even on non-Windows platforms. Also, if you're still using WEP encryption, better get ready to chuck that and move to something better ASAP. 3 Sep 2008 11:24

Astaro: Tapping the channel for security revenue
[Jack M. Germain] Why sell somebody else's product line when you can do a better job offering your own? That was the question that ultimately pushed Jan Hichert, CEO of Astaro, and two other cofounders to develop their own Internet security solutions for a market they viewed as needy of attention - the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) segment. 29 Aug 2008 12:32

Scope of Best Western customer data breach open to debate
[Jordan Robertson] Did a computer intrusion at a Best Western hotel in Germany open the door for a hacker to steal the records of 8 million customers and pull off "the greatest cyber-heist in world history", as a Scottish newspaper put it? Or was the incident a significantly more minor affair, affecting only 10 customers at the one facility, as claimed by Best Western International? 28 Aug 2008 12:34

Consumers should set online privacy ground rules
Finding the right balance between privacy and convenience online is best left to individual consumers; they are more vested than anyone in protecting their personal information. More control will enable them to decide what information they want to share and how they want to share it. 8 Aug 2008 06:15

Feds throw book at 11 customer data theft suspects
USA - The Department of Justice has charged 11 people with the theft of millions of account numbers from a long list of US big box retailers including TJ Maxx, OfficeMax, Barnes & Noble, Boston Market, BJ's Wholesale Club, Forever 21, DSW, Dave & Buster's and Sports Authority. 8 Aug 2008 06:10

Johnnie Walker set to collar fraudsters
Diageo, owner of Johnnie Walker, one of the world's best-selling Scotches, has developed new technology to crack down on whisky counterfeiters. 5 Aug 2008 07:19

Report: Hackers getting faster at cooking up new attacks
Computer hackers are whipping out exploits at an accelerating rate, according to a new IBM security report. They're able to come up with ways to attack newly discovered vulnerabilities faster thanks to automated programs, and they also benefit from well-intentioned security researchers who make too much information available too soon, according to the report. 4 Aug 2008 06:09

Smash, grab, then make a killing online
[Dahleen Glanton] USA - At first it seemed like ordinary shoplifting - stuffing a few pairs of jeans into an oversize bag and walking out of the store. But the thieves got bolder. They began showing up in groups of five or six in the middle of the day, spraying store clerks with mace and knocking customers out of the way as they gathered armfuls of clothes. Sometimes they tossed a brick through the glass. Sometimes they drove a truck through the front door. 28 Jul 2008 11:05

Leaked DNS exploit drives admins bonkers
Weeks ago, security researchers spotted a domain name system flaw that could spell trouble for the entire internet. They attempted to keep things quiet while they created and distributed a patch admins could use to plug the holes. But the flaw was leaked, it's in the wild, and some DNS admins may be caught with their pants way, way down. 28 Jul 2008 09:05