Showing posts with label CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION. Show all posts

Friday, May 23, 2014

CEO OF HIGHER EDUCATION SOFTWARE PROVIDER PLEADS GUILTY IN HACKING CONSPIRACY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
President of Higher Education Software Provider Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Hack into Competitors’ Computer Systems

The president and chief executive officer of Virginia-based Symplicity Corporation pleaded guilty today to conspiring to hack into the computer systems of two competitors to improve his company’s software development and sales strategy.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Lee of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Ariel Manuel Friedler, 36, of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization.   Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the intellectual property and private information of our citizens and businesses from economic espionage,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil.   “Hackers who think they can anonymously steal confidential information from competitors’ computer systems should take note: we will investigate you, and we will prosecute you.”

“We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to protect American businesses from intellectual property theft, whether the threat comes from an international or domestic source,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “This case should send a clear message:  We will aggressively prosecute criminals who attempt to steal confidential business information while hiding behind a cloak of anonymity.”

“This was a complex investigation involving senior executive management of the Symplicity Corporation who used sensitive customer login credentials to gain unauthorized access to their competitor’s computer networks” said Special Agent in Charge Lee.  “These actions caused significant harm to their competitors and ultimately gave Symplicity an unfair business advantage.  Although many victim businesses seek civil remedies in situations like this, reporting breaches of business computer networks to law enforcement is crucial towards combating these types of crimes.”

According to court records filed with the plea agreement, Symplicity provides student disciplinary records management services to colleges and universities.   Friedler conspired with two other Symplicity employees between 2007 and 2011 to hack into the computer systems of two companies that competed with Symplicity’s business.  Friedler and others decrypted account passwords of former customers, and Friedler hid his IP address using TOR, a network of computers used to encrypt and anonymize online communications.   Friedler then accessed customer contacts and viewed the proprietary and confidential software design and features of competitors Maxient LLC and a second company, identified in court documents as “Company A,” to inform Symplicity’s software development and sales strategy.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office.   Trial Attorney Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander T.H. Nguyen of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

EPA WORKING TO ALLOW ACCESS TO CHEMICAL INFORMATION BUSINESSES CLAIM AS CONFIDENTIAL

FROM: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Declassifying Confidentiality Claims to Increase Access to Chemical Information
Background

Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA collects a range of data, including health and safety studies on chemicals, some of which may be claimed as
Confidential Business Information (CBI) by the submitter.

The Agency uses this information to carry out a range of activities including prioritizing chemicals for review, conducting risk assessments and taking risk management action if needed. This information is equally important to entities outside the Agency including product formulators, manufacturers, state governments, communities and others.

Access to chemical safety information allows a greater understanding of the possible implications of certain chemicals and enables users to make informed chemicals-related decisions. Through these efforts, EPA is attempting to make this information available in as timely a manner as possible.

In the past, public access to many of these studies on human health and the environment had been restricted by confidential business information claims. In 2010, the Agency initiated a program to review and where appropriate challenge confidentiality claims for chemical identity. The criteria for review were that the filing needed to contain health and safety data that had been submitted to the Agency under TSCA and relate to chemicals in commerce. The FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan included a measure to review, and challenge where appropriate, more than 22,000 existing TSCA cases with CBI claims for chemical identity, potentially containing health and safety studies.

EPA continues to encourage TSCA submitters to declassify unnecessary CBI claims made in submissions under TSCA section 8(e) through the
TSCA CBI Voluntary Challenge. Additionally, EPA is reviewing certain older submissions made under TSCA sections 4 and 8(d) to verify that these cases contain CBI claims for chemical identity and health and safety studies. Finally, EPA is reviewing the non-CBI data recently collected under the Chemical Data Reporting Rule to determine if there are related cases with health and safety data and the chemical identity claimed as CBI that can be declassified.

The effort supports both legitimate CBI claims and protecting the public’s right to know about potential risks posed by widely-used chemicals. In addition to reviewing existing cases, all new cases containing health and safety data submitted under TSCA that claim the chemical identify as CBI and are chemicals in commerce are being reviewed upon receipt to determine if the claim is appropriate.


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