CyberTRAX Canada

Cyber heist: Thieves drain ATMs from Canada, 26 other countries of $45 million

Zak — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:34:44 +0000

NEW YORK — The sophistication of a global network of thieves who drained cash machines around the globe of an astonishing $45 million in mere hours sent ripples through the security world, not merely for the size of the operation and ease with which it was carried out, but also for the threat that more [...]

NDP call for broader probe into data breaches, identity fraud

Zak — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:27:48 +0000

OTTAWA — The opposition New Democrats will ask a Commons committee next week to widen the scope of its investigation into identity fraud and probe the reasons behind thousands of data breaches that have plagued the federal government over the past 10 years. The NDP argue such a study is needed to see what’s being done to [...]

Patients sue Montfort for $40M

Zak — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:59:45 +0000

A group of patients whose personal information was lost by the Montfort Hospital is suing the organization for $40 million. The suit stems from a lost USB memory stick that contained information on 25,000 patients. The stick was lost in November 2012 but it was eventually recovered. The memory stick contained patient names, a summary [...]

36 governments (including Canada’s) are now using sophisticated software to spy on their citizens

Zak — Wed, 08 May 2013 02:42:39 +0000

A new report from Citizen Lab, a Canadian research center, shows surveillance software sold by FinFisher, a “governmental IT intrusion” company owned by the UK-registered Gamma International, is now active in 36 countries. That’s up from the 25 countries reported two months ago. Gamma’s product, which it sells exclusively to governments, infects computers and mobile phones through devious means. These include posing as [...]

Vancouver teacher finds damage from ex-girlfriend’s cyber stalking impossible to undo

Zak — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:52:19 +0000

The suicides of teenagers Rehtaeh Parsons and Amanda Todd, among others, has demonstrated the devastation that cyber bullying can cause. The Internet has also become fertile ground for life-ruining cyber stalkers, whose victims might not be driven to kill themselves but whose lives are disrupted and even ruined. The case of Vancouver teacher Lee David [...]

$20m to fund cyber strategies

Zak — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:46:57 +0000

Stating that “sophisticated threats demand sophisticated responses,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay has committed $20 million to fund projects aimed at making Canada safer from cyber attacks. Among the 26 science and technology initiatives to receive funding is a joint government-academic project to develop capabilities to “identify, locate and mitigate potential wireless security threats,” strengthen Canada’s digital [...]

Government could be handcuffed during cyber attack affecting private sector

Zak — Fri, 03 May 2013 02:46:05 +0000

OTTAWA — A targeted cyber attack on a private company or organization controlling a piece of Canada’s critical infrastructure could leave the federal government on the sidelines, able to offer help but with no guarantee that it would be accepted. Nor would there be any way for the federal government to force companies to accept [...]

Security gaps still exist in federal government contracting, Auditor General says

Zak — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:31:50 +0000

OTTAWA — The federal departments handling most of the Canadian government’s secrets are risking security breaches by handing out contracts dealing with classified and other sensitive information to suppliers before they have met the proper security clearances to do the work. Auditors examined 300 contracts and found that required security documentation was incomplete or missing, [...]

Stopping digital pickpockets: contactless credit cards face fraud risk

Zak — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:27:06 +0000

MONTREAL – They’re easy to use. But the information inside? Easy to lose. As more consumers buy things by waving their credit or debit card or cellphone at a payment terminal — no PIN, no signature, no contact — a new frontier has opened up for digital thieves. With something as simple as a downloaded [...]

LivingSocial cyber attack affects millions of customers

Zak — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:22:20 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO - LivingSocial, the second-largest daily deal company behind Groupon Inc, said on Friday it was hit by a cyber attack that may have affected more than 50 million customers. The attack hit customers in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Southern Europe and Latin America. The company said the attack [...]