Data breaches

Treasury Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin told a group of bankers that law enforcement and regulators need to declassify more information so banks can protect themselves.

The executive in charge of protecting JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s computer network from hackers has been reassigned, after a year on the job that included controversy over his handling of a massive data breach and the departure of several top security team members.

Heartland Payment Systems has reported it suffered another data breach last month.

A visit to an overnight shipping store in Napa Valley reveals that outdated payment-processing procedures remain de rigueur with some merchants — despite the fraud risk.

MasterCard issuers had to cast at least 90% of their votes in favor of the Target settlement by May 20, and not enough did, the companies said. Banks and credit unions will fight for a better deal.

Banks' technology investments are helpful but fail to ease customer concerns about the security of personal data, hidden fees and other problems, a new survey shows.

A New York woman convicted of participating in an identity-theft ring was sentenced Thursday to two to six years in state prison. The ring stole more than $850,000 from hundreds of JPMorgan Chase customers.

A group of small banks and credit unions could not persuade a judge to block the settlement Target and MasterCard reached last month that would reimburse banks on the card network $19 million for losses related to the retailer's breach.

A former JPMorgan Chase employee was arrested by the FBI on charges of stealing customer data and trying to sell it to an undercover informant for tens of thousands of dollars.

Sales of cyberinsurance are rising among financial services companies, a sign of the times as data breaches, distributed denial of services and other types of attacks continue. But policies can be misleading, and they definitely are no silver bullet.

Bank regulators plan to release their self-assessment tool later this quarter to gauge institutions' cyber readiness, but many see it as sign of more prescriptive measures down the road.

Retailers and bankers are teaming up to improve the flow of information regarding cybersecurity.

Target agreed to settle with more than 100 million customers whose personal information may have been breached in a database hack in 2013, among the biggest to hobble retailers and banks in recent years.

Apple Pay and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have a lot of appeal for banks looking to stay at the cutting edge of digital payments. But security and compliance risks are part and parcel of these innovations.

A stolen company laptop has left customers of Pioneer Savings Bank vulnerable, according to a consumer alert from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Uber Technologies Inc. said an unauthorized third party accessed the company's database last year and may have taken data on about 50,000 drivers.

Responding to reports last week that its encryption keys had been stolen by U.S. and British spies five years ago, Gemalto contends its products are secure and announced it would reveal results of its investigation into the claims at a press conference Feb. 25 in Paris.

At least two financial services groups say none of their U.S. bank members have reported the existence of Carbanak malware in their networks, suggesting the threat may not be significant.

Decisions about when and how to implement EMV technology in credit and debit cards are difficult. Many banks have decided to slowly phase it in, despite the fact the delay will open them up to greater potential liability.

Bankers, technology CEOs and President Obama are throwing everything they have at countering the growing threat of cyber attacks, putting their faith in biometrics, tokenization and data sharing. But it's far from clear that it will be enough.