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Keeping up with the hackers (chart)

Editors' note: This story was originally published June 17, 2011.

The number of hacking events of late is making our heads spin at CNET. There were scores of computer attacks, network intrusions and data breaches in 2011 and the trend shows no signs of abating in 2012.

In previous coverage, we've noted that it seems to be open hacking season, written about some of the hackers and groups who are behind the attacks,and speculated on their motives, so we thought we'd provide a chronological chart listing the attacks so we could all keep up on them. We … Read more

Three reasons Facebook has to go public

Make no mistake: Mark Zuckerberg doesn't want to go public.

It's no secret that Zuckerberg has tried to keep Facebook private as long as possible, believing--rightly or wrongly--that that's the best way to stay nimble and build the business. But at this point, Zuck's got little choice. Facebook has become too big, it has too many shareholders, and so it's on track to go public this spring, eight years after Zuckerberg started Facebook in his Harvard dorm room.

A couple of months ago, the 27-year-old Zuckerberg assembled his top management team to talk about the … Read more

SEC repeatedly pressed Zynga for revenue details

This isn't the sort of news investors like to see from a newly public company.

The SEC today disclosed six emails it exchanged with Zynga in which the government prodded the social-game maker for specifics about its financials before letting it go public.

Zynga, the maker of FarmVille and CitiVille, raised $1 billion when it went public in December, becoming the biggest Internet IPO since Google.

A key concern for the SEC was just how many people were paying to play Zynga games and how Zynga was accounting for that revenue.

In a letter dated October 7, SEC special counsel Maryse Mills-Apenteng … Read more

Beware of counterfeit tablets, warns security vendor

Buyers looking for the latest hot tablet should be careful where and how they do their shopping.

As almost 100 new brand-name tablets wend their way through CES this week, OpSec Security is cautioning that a lot of phony tablets are popping up on certain e-commerce sites and business-to-business marketplaces.

In a study released yesterday, the security and brand protection vendor said that such Web sites as Alibaba, DHgate, EC21, Made-in-China, and TradeKey can be home to counterfeiters who sell fake items in bulk or at unrealistically low prices.

Citing specific examples, OpSec Security discovered that listings for Motorola's … Read more

Hackers release credit card, other data from Stratfor breach

Hackers released more data obtained from a breach of Stratfor, including e-mail addresses and credit card numbers, the geopolitical intelligence firm confirmed to CNET today.

In a post on Pastebin by someone using the "AntiSec" moniker, there are links to downloads of data on different sites, some of which were removed by midday today. The data dump follows the release of a list of Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting) clients on December 25 and a warning from hackers that they had more sensitive data to release, including unencrypted credit card data.

"It's time to dump the full 75,… Read more

Anonymous targets military-gear site in latest holiday hack

In what its calling another round of "LulzXmas festivities," an Anonymous-affiliated hacktivst group today is claiming yet another breach and posting of customer information.

On Christmas Day the target was security think tank Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor. This time it was SpecialForces.com, a Web site that sells military gear.

"Continuing the week long celebration of wreaking utter havoc on global financial systems, militaries, and governments, we are announcing our next target: the online piggie supply store SpecialForces.com," the group wrote in a Pastebin posting today.

The hackers said they breached the SpecialForces.com site … Read more

Report details extent of Anonymous hack on Stratfor

Now that the Yuletide fog has cleared, details are emerging about the extent of an Anonymous hack on security think tank Strategic Forecasting that was first reported Christmas Day and appears to have affected some 50,000 individuals.

Austin, Texas-based Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, disclosed over the weekend that its Web site, which remains down, was hacked and information about its corporate subscribers--who include the likes of the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and Miami Police Department--was disclosed. AntiSec, an Anonymous-affiliated hacktivist group, quickly claimed responsibility and promised "mayhem" with plans to release even more documents.… Read more

Tidbits from Apple's 2011 annual filing: Lots of growth

Apple has released its 10-K annual filing, a full rundown of its fiscal year which wrapped up last month.

While there aren't too many surprises given what's found in the company's quarterly reports, it provides a good rundown of some of the company's key metrics over the course of the past 12 months, some of which have been summarized below.

See also: Apple's fiscal 2011 by the numbers

Apple's building space, which it has owned or leased, jumped from 10.6 million square feet, to 13.2 million square feet this year. In its … Read more

SEC orders disclosure of 'potential' security breaches

Even potential data security breaches must be disclosed by U.S. companies in some circumstances, the Securities and Exchange Commission said today.

The move by the SEC is likely to shed more light on how publicly-traded companies are grappling with cybersecurity problems -- especially because the agency's ruling says that disclosure is needed when "the risk of potential incidents" becomes significant enough to impact the bottom line.

In a statement, the SEC indicated it would like to see:

• Discussion of aspects of the registrant's business or operations that give rise to material cybersecurity risks and the … Read more