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Tag: PGP

  • Newton Lives On As New Owners Take Over From Essential

    Newton Lives On As New Owners Take Over From Essential

    Popular email app Newton Mail has received another lease on life, thanks to new owners who are taking over for Andy Rubin’s failed startup Essential.

    Newton has had a tumultuous history in the email market, initially being released as CloudMagic in 2013 and rebranded as Newton Mail in 2016. The app, available for iOS, macOS, Windows, Android and Chrome OS, won rave reviews across the board. In spite of its success, the original developer announced the app would be shut down in September 2018.

    The app was ultimately acquired by Andy Rubin’s (of Google Android fame) Essential and subsequently resurrected, only to face the chopping block again as a result of Essential shutting down. In the original announcement, Newton Mail was scheduled to stop working after April 30, 2020.

    In a blog post, developer Maitrik Kataria outlines how he and business partner Justin Mitchell were able to work out terms with Essential to take over ownership of the app and continue developing it. The two were motivated by a deep love for the app and its innovative approach to email.

    Just as significant, the pair are acutely aware of Newton’s troubled past, and are determined to bring some much needed stability to the app’s future. In outlining their goals moving forward, the first step in their model involves creating a contingency plan, complete with open-sourcing the app, to ensure Newton never again faces extinction—regardless of what happens to the individuals or company currently tasked with its development.

    Kataria and Mitchell are also committed to improving privacy and security, bringing Newton into compliance with the EU’s GDPR, as well as adding features like PGP integration. The company is also offering a number of promotions to existing users, as well as those who had previously cancelled their subscriptions.

    The announcement is good news for Newton users, as well as the email market in general. For email to grow and evolve, it’s important for third-party developers to continue to push the envelope, rather than relying solely on Apple, Microsoft or Google’s built-in clients.

  • Cost Of Data Breaches Continues To Climb

    Data breach incidents cost U.S. companies $204 per compromised customer record in 2009, compared to $202 in 2008, according to a new study from the Ponemon Institute and security firm PGP.

    Even with an overall drop in the number of reported breaches (498 in 2009 vs. 657 in 2008), the average total per-incident costs in 2009 were $6.75 million compared to an average of $6.65 million in 2008.

    Data-Breaches

    Highlights from the study include:

     

    •   Careless insider breaches have decreased in number and cost most likely resulting from training and awareness programs having a positive affect on employees’ sensitivity and awareness about the protection of personal information. Additionally, 58 percent have expanded their use of encryption up from 44 percent last year.
    •   Organizations are spending more on legal defense costs which can be attributed to increasing fears of successful class actions resulting from customer, consumer or employee data loss.
    •   Average abnormal churn rates across all incidents in the study were slightly higher than last year (from 3.6 percent in 2008 to 3.7 percent in 2009), which was measured by the loss of customers who were directly affected by the data breach event (i.e., typically those receiving notification). The industries with the highest churn rate were pharmaceuticals, communications and healthcare (all at 6 percent), followed by financial services and services (both at 5 percent).
    •   Third-party organizations accounted for 42 percent of all breach cases, dropping from 44 percent of all cases in 2008. These remain the most costly form of data breaches due to additional investigation and consulting fees.
    •   The most expensive data breach event included in this year’s study cost a company nearly $31 million to resolve.  The least expensive total cost of data breach for a company included in the study was $750,000.

    "In the five years we have conducted this study, we have continued to see an increase in the cost to businesses for suffering a data breach," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of The Ponemon Institute.

    "With a variety of threat vectors to contend with, companies must proactively implement policies and technologies that mitigate the risk of facing a costly breach."

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