Archive - April 30, 2009

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced this week that it has fined Centaurus Financial, Inc. $175,000 for failing to protect confidential customer information.  Specifically, between August 2006 and July 2007 Centaurus failed to employ adequate safeguards against infiltration of its fax server containing the information at issue.  Examples of the inadequate protection measures include the use of a “weak” username, “Administrator,” and the password “password.”  The company’s safety failures resulted in unknown persons conducting a “phishing” scam hosted by Centaurus’s fax server.  Additionally, Centaurus’s notification to customers regarding the breach in security was found to have been misleading.

To read the full text of FINRA’s press release regarding this decision, click here.
 

Announced this week, Broadcom Corporation and Qualcomm Incorporated have entered into a settlement and multi-year patent agreement.  Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Qualcomm has agreed to pay Broadcom $891 million over four years.  Other notable terms of the agreement include dismissal of all litigation between the companies and Broadcom’s withdrawal of its complaints to the European Commission and the Korea Fair Trade Commission.  According to Qualcomm’s press release, the parties have also agreed to grant one another certain rights under their respective patent portfolios.

To read the full text of Qualcomm’s recent press release, Click Here.