Intel was aware of the chip vulnerability when its CEO sold off $24 million in company stock

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich sold off a large portion of his stake in the company months after Google had informed the chipmaker of a significant security vulnerability in its flagship PC processors — but before the problem was publicly known.

The vulnerability, which affects processors from Intel, AMD, and ARM and could allow malicious actors to steal passwords and other secret data, became public this week. The disclosure has left processor makers and operating-system vendors including Intel and Microsoft scrambling to get on top of the story and patch their products.

But while the public is just being informed about the security problem, tech companies have known about it for months. In fact, Google informed Intel of the vulnerability in June, an Intel representative told Business Insider in a statement. read more »

Meltdown and Spectre: ‘worst ever’ CPU bugs affect virtually all computers

Everything from smartphones and PCs to cloud computing affected by major security flaw found in Intel and other processors – and fix could slow devices

PwC ruled negligent in Colonial Bank auditing case

In a ruling that exposes the Big Four firm to heavy potential damages, a federal judge found that PricewaterhouseCoopers was negligent in its audits of Colonial Bank, which failed in 2009 in the midst of the financial crisis.

The case involved a lawsuit by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which sued the firm for failing to detect a multi-billion-dollar fraud against Colonial Bank and its parent Colonial BancGroup by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., another financial firm that collapsed in 2009. The FDIC faulted PwC for letting Colonial account for certain transactions as sales of mortgages from Taylor Bean to Colonial, rather than as loans from Colonial to Taylor Bean that were secured by mortgages. read more »

Former Executive Admits Guilt in Antitrust Conspiracy Affecting Water Treatment Chemicals

A former executive pleaded guilty today in the District of New Jersey for his role in a conspiracy to eliminate competition by rigging bids, allocating customers, and fixing the price for liquid aluminum sulfate sold to municipalities and pulp and paper companies in the United States.

Brian C. Steppig, former director of sales and marketing for a water treatment chemicals manufacturer headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana, admitted to agreeing with competitors, from approximately 2005 until February 2011, not to compete for contracts for liquid aluminum sulfate, a coagulant used by municipalities to treat drinking and waste water, and by pulp and paper companies in their manufacturing processes.  read more »