5 Companies That Had A Rough Week

The Week Ending April 6

Topping this week's roundup of those having a rough week is Facebook, which continues to battle a firestorm over its user data practices. This week the social media giant said profile data on 2 billion users could have been accessed by "malicious actors."

Also making the list this week is retailer Hudson's Bay Co. and its Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor chains, which were the victims of a security breach that might have resulted in the theft of 5 million credit and debit card numbers. Also on this week's list is Intel for a report that Apple might ditch Intel processors in future Apple products, Docker for losing its founder and CTO, and Commvault for facing a proxy fight from activist investor Elliott Management.

Not everyone in the IT industry was having a rough go of it this week. For a rundown of companies that made smart decisions, executed savvy strategic moves – or just had good luck – check out this week's 5 Companies That Came To Win roundup.

Facebook Admits That Data On All 2 Billion Users At Risk

The data privacy firestorm that hit Facebook two weeks ago continued to grow this week when the social media giant acknowledged that data from most of its 2 billion users may have been accessed by what it called "malicious actors" who took advantage of Facebook's search tools to scrape data from public profiles.

This week also included a revelation that Facebook considered a research project to ask several major U.S. hospitals to share anonymized patient data, including information about illnesses and prescriptions. The project, which never went beyond the planning stage, according to a CNBC story, intended to combine that information with other data Facebook collected to identify patients that might need special care or treatment.

All this comes on the heels of a scandal in which data on some 87 million Facebook users was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, which then used the information to target political ads. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating that incident.

The controversy over how Facebook protects user data and how it uses the data to generate revenue isn't going away—it's intensifying.

Saks, Lord & Taylor Hacked, More Than 5 Million Credit And Debit Card Numbers Reported Stolen

Sticking with the topic of misappropriated data, The Hudson's Bay Co. disclosed this week that hackers stole credit and debit card numbers from about 5 million customers of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor -- retailers both owned by Hudson's Bay.

While Hudson's Bay confirmed the security breach, the company did not say when the breach occurred or how many payment card numbers were compromised.

Details of the attack came from cybersecurity firm Gemini Advisory, which identified the attackers as a hacking syndicate known as "JokerStash" and said that 125,000 card records were already for sale on the internet, according to the Gemini Advisory website.

Intel Hit With Report That Apple May Not Use Its Processors In Future Macs

Intel was hit with reports this week that Apple is planning to ditch Intel processors for Macintosh computers starting as early as 2020.

Apple is reportedly considering using its own chips in future Macs under a project code-named Kalamata that aims to make all Apple devices, including iPhones and iPads, work more similarly.

If true, such a move would be tough for Intel as Apple accounts for about 5 percent of Intel's annual revenue. Intel's stock price dropped more than 6 percent Monday on the reports.

Commvault Faces Proxy Fight After Activist Investor Elliott Management Acquires 10 Percent Stake

Data protection software developer Commvault Systems could soon find itself in a proxy battle after hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed Monday that it had acquired a 10.3 percent stake in the company and planned to nominate four directors to the company's board.

Elliott Management, in a letter to Commvault management, expressed frustration with the vendor's profit margins and called on the company to conduct an operational review and return more capital to investors, according to a Reuters story. The letter also called for a review of Commvault's management.

The 10.3 percent stake makes Elliott Management one of Commvault's biggest shareholders. In recent years, it has acquired stakes in a number of IT industry companies, including Cognizant, Citrix Systems and BMC, and sought changes in their management ranks and strategic directions.

Docker Losing Founder And CTO At A Critical Juncture

Solomon Hykes, founder and CTO of container technology pioneer Docker (pictured), is leaving the company just as it's embroiled in a fierce fight to scale its open-source technology into a massive commercial business.

Hykes founded Docker 10 years ago, developing its container technology that has had an enormous impact on the IT industry. While remaining on Docker's board, Hykes is withdrawing from his day-to-day responsibilities as CTO.

While Docker has been on an aggressive growth trajectory, a growing array of competitors is forcing Docker to fend off competitive threats from many sides, including startups that have bought into container technology and established software vendors that see Docker as a threat to their business.