Fergie's Tech Blog

Guidance Software Makes Deal with Feds Over Data Leak

Anne Broache writes on C|Net News:

A leading seller of software for investigating computer crimes has reached a settlement with federal regulators, after a hacking incident exposed data on thousands of its customers.

Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission announced on Thursday, Pasadena, Calif.-headquartered Guidance Software must put into place a "comprehensive information-security program" and undergo audits by independent, third-party security professionals once every two years for the next decade.

The intrusion into Guidance's servers, discovered last December, unmasked the names, addresses and credit card details of about 3,800 customers, the company said at the time. Guidance executives said they had notified all of its approximately 9,500 customers about the attack and called on the U.S. Secret Service to conduct an investigation. The company, one of the world's top providers of forensic software, counts government and law enforcement personnel and security researchers among its clientele. A handful of these reported suspicious credit card charges after the breach.

posted by Fergie @ 11/16/2006 11:14:00 AM