Google acquired its first security firm, start-up GreenBorder, a provider of virtualized web browsing anti-malware software.
Analysts commented that the acquisition likely does not mean that Google is seeking to join the IT security marketplace, but that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company will use the technology to secure its business application suite.
VeriSign announced the sudden resignation of Stratton Sclavos, the company's long-time chairman, CEO and president.
Sclavos was replaced by William Roper Jr. as president and CEO and Edward Mueller as chair.
Roper has served as CFO and executive vice president of Science Applications International Corporation and has been a VeriSign director since 2003. Mueller was CEO of Williams Sonoma from 2003 to 2006 and chief executive of numerous SBC Communications units.
A number of the nation's most recognizable corporations will comprise the newly formed PCI Security Standards Council board of advisors.
The 14 organizations making up the board, including Microsoft, Wal-Mart and Bank of America, will include merchants, financial institutions and credit card processors, and will ensure that PCI evolves for the latest data security threats.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget issued new mandates ordering federal departments to eliminate unnecessary collection of personal info, including Social Security numbers.
Departments were also told to develop training programs and breach notification policies in the wake of a number of embarrassing data breaches in the year since the theft of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs laptop compromised the personal information of millions of veterans and active-duty personnel.
The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission relaxed portions of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
New guidelines were set to lower SOX-compliance costs for many small businesses.
SOX's Section 404 requires companies to reassess internal controls, including technology tools that monitor access to financial systems.
Cisco Systems announced plans to acquire IP-based video surveillance provider BroadWare. Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which will enable Cisco to implement digital surveillance video across an organization, instead of analog solutions, thereby permitting "faster investigation response and event resolution," according to the company.
Errata: In an education story in the May issue, Jeff Durfee is misnamed. Our apologies for the error.
