McAfee security experts make security blunder

Updated

Earlier this month, McAfee (MFE), one of the industry leaders in computer security, hosted a conference in Sydney, Australia. Not long afterward, it sent out emails with an attached spreadsheet that contained contact details for the conference's 1,408 attendees.

As many of McAfee's competitors chuckled over its major breach of confidentiality, the company scrambled, quickly placing the blame on human error and discounting the usefulness of the information. However, one attendee told Computerworld that the list included the entire registration database, down to employment details and menu choices for the conference banquet. Any hackers who wanted to know if their foes preferred steak or chicken would likely find this list highly illuminating.

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