Equifax Credit Agency will Pay As Much as $700 Million to Settle Investigations

Equifax will pay as much as US $700 million to settle state and federal investigations as well as consumer claims related to the 2017 data breach that exposed personal information of 147 million individuals. The terms of an agreement the company signed on Monday, July 22, requires it to pay at least $575 million to states, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and a credit monitoring fund. The company has agreed to pay an additional $125 million to that fund if necessary. (Please note that the WSJ story is behind a paywall.)

Read more in:
– www.ftc.org: Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction and Monetary Judgment (PDF)
– www.krebsonsecurity.com: What You Should Know About the Equifax Data Breach Settlement

Kazakh Government Intercepting All HTTPS Traffic

Ministry officials in Kazakhstan say that the government’s new practice of intercepting all HTTPS traffic that moves within the country’s borders is “aimed at enhancing the protection of citizens, government bodies and private companies from … cyber threats.” ISPs in the country have begun forcing all users to install a government root certificate that allows government agencies to decrypt their traffic, examine it, re-encrypt it with their certificate, and send it on its way. Citizens who have not installed the government’s certificate report being unable to access the Internet.

Read more in:
– www.zdnet.com: Kazakhstan government is now intercepting all HTTPS traffic

Cyber Weapons Are Changing Modern Warfare and Statecraft

The U.S. National Security Advisor, John Bolton, has made cyberwarfare an integral part of statecraft. This past September, the Department of Defense issued a strategic plan that not only confirmed the existence of cyber weapons but declared its commitment to using them “to advance U.S. interests” and “defend forward.”
Read more in:
– www.newyorker.com: How Cyber Weapons Are Changing The Landscape of Modern Warfare

NSA Contractor Who Took Home Classified Documents is Sentenced

Harold T. Martin, a former NSA contractor, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing as much as 50 terabytes of classified documents over a period of nearly 20 years. The government’s investigation of Martin did not find that he had committed treason.

Read more in:
– www.nytimes.com: N.S.A. Contractor Who Hoarded Secrets at Home Is Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison