Worldwide Chief Technology Officer George Kurtz, who helped lead the company’s product strategy, will leave at the end of this month, the spokeswoman said.Kurtz could not be reached for comment.Vice President Dmitri Alperovitch, a highly regarded threat researcher whose work at the company help give it a reputation for conducting cutting-edge research on hacking, quietly left last month, without the company issuing any announcement.Alperovitch led a research team that produced several high-profile studies on suspected Chinese-government backed hackers during his tenure at McAfee.Those studies included a landmark January 2010 report in which Alperovitch coined the term “Operation Aurora” to describe attacks suspected by Chinese hackers on Google Inc and several dozen other companies. His team identified the malware used in those attacks, which exploited previously unknown flows in Microsoft Corp’s Internet Explorer browser.In August his team uncovered “Operation Shady RAT,” the biggest series of cyber attacks disclosed to date, which involved the infiltration of the networks of 72 organizations including the United Nations, governments and companies around the world.Alperovitch, who has been doing consulting since he left the company, declined to comment on the reason for his resignation.Company spokeswoman Heather Edell said the company is currently looking for replacements for the two executives.
On April 1, 2010, the department had appealed to the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court against Kingsway’s disposition of
stakes.Kingsway also announced that LGIC Holdings has completed its
previously announced acquisition of Walshire.LGIC Holdings is a joint venture between Kingsway, which
owns 49 percent, and 51 percent owner Tawa plc.
CS’s Long-term IDR is equalised with that of its 98% shareholder, Erste
Group Bank AG (EB; ‘A’/Stable), reflecting CS’s particularly strong
integration into EB, its high strategic importance to the Austrian bank,
substantial contribution to the group’s balance sheet and income statement and
EB’s full ownership of the subsidiary.KB’s Long-term IDR is driven by potential support from its majority
shareholder, Societe Generale (SG; ‘A+’/Stable). At end-H111, SG had
about 60.4% ownership and the rest was publicly held. The one notch difference
between the ratings of SG and KB reflects the high probability of such support
being forthcoming, if required.CSOB’s Long-term IDR is driven by potential support from its sole
shareholder, KBC Bank (KBCB; ‘A’/Stable Outlook). The one notch difference
between the ratings of KBCB and CSOB reflects the high probability of such
support being forthcoming, if required. A public offering for a minority stake
in CSOB is no longer being considered by KBCB following an amendment of the
restructuring plan of the wider KBC Group , approved by the European
Commission.The banks’ Viability Ratings reflect their broad domestic franchises with
the leading positions in their selected segments (the three banks altogether
accounted for more than half of the sector assets at end-H111), solid
profitability which proved to be resilient through the crisis, stabilisation in
asset quality, sound capital and liquidity positions with the healthy
loan/deposit ratios being in the 67%-77% range (sector average of 79% at
end-H111). The Viability Ratings also factor in sizeable exposure to the
property market, although mainly as the result of residential mortgage lending,
and pressures from the slow recovery in domestic demand.The highly open nature of the Czech economy makes it dependent on the growth
dynamics of its major trading partners, in particular those from the euro zone,
including Germany. Fitch is forecasting real GDP expansion in the Czech Republic
to remain moderate at 2.1% in 2011 and 1.7% in 2012, rising to 2.5% in 2013,
with exports to be the main driver of economic growth.Fitch’s outlook for the Czech banking system remains stable, reflecting the
sector’s healthy fundamentals, ensuring its stability and a solid degree of
resilience to external shocks. Sector impaired loans (defined as the bottom
three of five regulatory categories) remained largely unchanged in Q211 at 6.6%
of end-H111 loans, supported by the return to economic growth and suggesting
loan impairments have peaked already. The sector’s capitalisation continued to
improve in H111, reflecting moderate growth and solid earnings, with the Tier 1
and total capital adequacy ratios being strong at around 15% and 16% at
end-H111, respectively, despite large dividend payouts.Any changes in the parent banks’ IDRs would directly affect those of their
Czech subsidiaries. Upside potential for the banks’ Viability Ratings is
currently limited by the uncertain prospects for euro zone economies with the
potential indirect pressures on the banks’ business development, performance and
asset quality. However, in Fitch’s view, the banks’ Viability Ratings would at
their current levels be resilient to a moderate deterioration in the operating
environment.The rating actions are as follows:CSLong-term foreign currency IDR: affirmed at ‘A’; Outlook StableShort-term foreign currency IDR: affirmed at ‘F1’Support Rating: affirmed at ‘1’Viability Rating: affirmed at ‘bbb+’Individual Rating: affirmed at ‘C’CSOBLong-term foreign currency IDR: affirmed at ‘A-‘; Outlook StableShort-term foreign currency IDR: affirmed at ‘F2’Support Rating: affirmed at ‘1’Viability Rating: affirmed at ‘bbb+’Individual Rating: affirmed at ‘C’KBLong-term foreign currency IDR: affirmed at ‘A’; Outlook StableShort-term foreign currency IDR: affirmed at ‘F1’Support Rating: affirmed at ‘1’Viability Rating: affirmed at ‘bbb+’Individual Rating: affirmed at ‘C’
