Betfair is in for a rough ride over data theft

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8797993/Betfair-is-in-for-a-rough-ride-over-data-theft.html

By Alistair Osborne
Telegraph
30 Sep 2011

Among 13 pages of risk factors was the generic heading: "Failure to 
adequately protect customer account information could have a material 
adverse effect on Betfair."

In one sentence the betting exchange, then shooting for a £1.39bn 
valuation, admitted it had "experienced a limited number of security 
breaches in the past [which have not had a significant effect on 
Betfair's reputation, operations, financial performance and prospects 
and in respect of which remedial action has been taken]".

No great drama there, then. Indeed, any potential investor weighing up 
last October's £13-a-share float was much more likely to have focused on 
the prominent description of Betfair's "unique" exchange technology, 
supporting more than 3m registered customers.

It "processed, on average, more than 5m transactions per day... more 
than on all European stock exchanges combined", page two of the 
prospectus trumpeted -- a claim frequently echoed by David Yu, the man 
who graduated from chief technology officer to chief executive.

[...]

_____________________________________________________________
FINAL CALL to register #HITB2011KUL - Asia's premier
deep-knowledge network security event now in it's 9th year!
http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2011kul/