Cybersecurity is a growing issue as the world moves to be more constantly connected. A study in 2014 from Javelin Strategy and Research and reported by CNN stated that every two seconds, a new person falls victim to identity fraud. One third of the people who have had their identities stolen can be traced back to a data breach in a company’s cybersecurity. In January, 2014, 110 million customers had portions of their personal information stolen because Target failed.
It is not enough that consumers and companies have to worry about hackers breaching their cybersecurity and making off with sensitive information. If Richard Wallace is to be believed, the people that are suppose to be protecting us from these attacks can also be the cause. Wallace, a former investigator for Tiversa, appearing in federal court, accused the cybersecurity company of hacking into customers’ systems to extort them.
According to a transcript obtained by CNN, Wallace stated Tiversa used fraud and “mafia-style” shakedowns. He went as far to say the cybersecurity firm basically gave an ultimatum to potential customers.
One company in particular was subjected to the wrath of Tiversa, LabMD. LabMD was a cancer testing center in Atlanta. According to Wallace in 2010, he hacked into LabMD and accessed their medical records. Tiversa then contacted LabMD over the breach and offered “incident response” cybersecurity services. When LabMD refused their service, Tiversa turned them into the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC went after LabMD, asking them to sign a plea deal and be knee deep in paper work for the foreseeable future or go to court. LabMD elected to go to court. The battle has been ongoing, and the cancer testing firm has been forced to let go of all of their employees because of court costs. LabMD CEO Michael Daugherty explained to the court the dilemma facing his company.
We were a small company. It’s not like we had millions of dollars to fight this and tons of employees. The fight with the government was psychological warfare. There was reputation assassination. There was intimidation. We thought we were extorted. My staff and management team was demoralized. My VP left. My lawyer left
LabMD is not the only company that has felt the wrath of the cybersecurity firm. Wallace mentioned Tiversa falsified information that Iran had stolen blueprints of Marine One, the President’s helicopter. CEO of Tiversa Bob Boback dismisses Wallace as a disgruntled employee they let go.
This is an overblown case of a terminated employee seeking revenge. Tiversa has received multiple awards from law enforcement for our continued efforts to help support them in cyber activities
In the meantime, Tiversa has raised the suspicions of U.S. Representative Darrell Issa. He is the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and he has demanded the FTC look into “corporate blackmail” allegations concerning Tiversa. If wrongdoing is found, it could have a bearing on over 100 breaches in cybersecurity cases that Tiversa has informed the FTC of.
Have you been a victim of a cybersecurity breach? Do you think that this is a case of sour grapes from a disgruntled employee, or should Tiversa be put through the same treatment some of their alleged victims have gone through?
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