Employees' bad habits, such as using company computers for personal business and allowing others to use company-owned technology unsupervised, cause a glaring gap in security that goes unnoticed by many IT managers, according to a study conducted by Cisco Systems. 13 Oct 2008

Blacklisting is a common security tactic - information about a known bit of malware is distributed, and endpoint security tools search and destroy. Conversely, another approach called "whitelisting" only permits known safe programs to run at all. It can be a sturdy layer of extra protection; however, the system lock-down that sometimes results can be a pain for IT admins to manage. 10 Oct 2008

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

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

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

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

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