Hackers Nab 3.6M Social Security Numbers
A cyberattack gleaned 3.6 million Social Security numbers and the details for 387,000 credit and debit cards from the South Carolina Department of Revenue, Gov. Nikki Haley said in a recent announcement.
The Oct. 10 attack, which was initiated outside the U.S., was not announced until recently to give law enforcement a chance to investigate the occurrence.
The investigation revealed hackers tried to gain access to the DOR’s website a number of times between August and September.
“This is not a good day for South Carolina,” Haley said. “I want this person slammed against the wall.”
Haley said any residents who have issues because of the attack will be assisted by the state.
Sandy Hits Verizon Hard
Hurricane Sandy knocked out communication throughout the Northeastern states Oct. 30.
Power outages and flooding caused sporadic cellphone coverage and in many cases, downed television, landline and Internet services.
Although the entire region’s telecom service providers had difficulties, Verizon Communications, which serves many of the states in the hurricane’s path, seemed to be the most affected by the storm, according to Reuters.
The company, which is located in New York, suffered flooding at three Verizon central offices that hold telecom equipment in Lower Manhattan as well as sites in Queens and Long Island, Reuters reported.
Flooding at its downtown headquarters caused all its telecom equipment at that office, which serves much of Wall Street and downtown consumers, to be out of service.
4M Windows 8 Upgrades
Microsoft has sold 4 million upgrades to Windows 8, the company’s top boss Steve Ballmer announced Oct. 30.
Ballmer, who spoke at a meeting for software developers at Microsoft’s headquarters near Seattle, predicted hundreds of millions of Windows systems would be purchased throughout the rest of this year and next year, Reuters reported. He also said the company is receiving a lot of interest from business users.
Ballmer had said Oct. 29 that Windows 8 was outselling Windows 7, the prior operating system, at the same point after it was launched three years ago.
Acer Delays Launch of Tablets
Acer is delaying its launch of tablets using Microsoft’s new Windows RT operating system to observe how Microsoft’s own Surface tablet fares with consumers, Reuters reported Oct. 30.
The company originally was set to launch Windows RT tablets based on ARM chips in early 2013. The Surface tablet, launched Oct. 25, has received mixed reviews, causing Acer to halt its own tablet until at least the second quarter of next year.
“Originally we had a very aggressive plan to come out very early next year but because of Surface, our R&D development doesn’t stop, but we are much more cautious,” Acer President Jim Wong told Reuters. “Originally our plan was Q1, but now I don’t think it will be earlier than Q2.”
Acer was critical of Microsoft’s plan to enter the tablet market which would compete with its partners’ devices.
Technology News Briefs — Oct. 30, 2012