5 Companies That Had A Rough Week

The Week Ending Oct. 2

Topping this week's roundup of companies that had a rough week was credit services provider Experian, the latest victim of a data security breach.

Also making the list was Hilton Hotels, which disclosed a security breach this week, Dimension Data's loss of a key cloud executive, Hewlett-Packard's latest headaches from its Autonomy acquisition, and distributor Synnex's sales decline and disappointing Windows 10 sales.

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.

Experian Breach Exposes Data Of 15M T-Mobile Customers

Credit services provider Experian said Thursday that the personal data of more than 15 million T-Mobile customers who were using the company's services was exposed in a security breach.

The company discovered on Sept. 15 that someone had gained unauthorized access to a company server storing information on T-Mobile customers who had applied for the telecom vendor's postpaid services. Experian has handled those services since September 2013.

Personal information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers and birth dates were compromised. But data segmentation in the system protected customers' credit card and bank account information.

T-Mobile said its own systems and networks were not compromised in the incident.

Hilton Hotel Retail Systems Hit By Data Breach

Experian wasn't the only cyberattack victim this week. The Hilton Hotel chain was hit by a data security breach and solution providers say the attack shows the need for businesses to make sure they have their security ducks in a row.

The data breach reportedly affected point-of-sale systems in Hilton Hotel gift shops and restaurants, but did not appear to have included the hotel chain's reservation systems, according to a report from cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs.

It was not clear how many records may have been compromised in the breach, which the report said could date back to November 2014.

Dimension Data Loses Cloud Exec To Security Startup

Former Dimension Data vice president and general manager of cloud services Tina Gravel has left the company to join network security startup Cryptzone as senior vice president of strategic alliances and channel partners.

Dimension Data did not comment on Gravel's move or say how it would impact the company's cloud services business. She was hired in February 2014 to manage the company's growing cloud services and Software-as-a-Service operations.

Dimension Data's loss is Cryptzone's gain. Hiring top talent like Gravel is proof that the company is betting big on the channel.

Autonomy Founder Sues HP For $150 Million

The controversy over Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of data management software developer Autonomy just won't go away.

This week Autonomy founder Mike Lynch sued HP in British court charging that HP made "false and negligent statements" about him and other Autonomy executives. Lynch is seeking damages of $150 million, according to stories on The New York Times and Fortune websites.

HP acquired Autonomy in October 2011 for about $11 billion. But one year later HP took an $8.8 billion charge against earnings after saying Autonomy was overvalued because of "serious accounting improprieties" by Autonomy. Since then there has been a lawsuit from HP against Autonomy's executives, a shareholder lawsuit against HP, and lots of finger pointing.

Synnex Reports Sales Decline, Windows 10 Sales Disappoint

Distributor Synnex reported its second quarterly sales decline this week as tepid demand for Windows 10 failed to offset the loss in business from Beats Electronics.

The company's revenue for the quarter ended Aug. 31 was down 2.2 percent, failing to meet analyst forecasts and disappointing Wall Street.

Declining sales in Japan due to macroeconomic conditions are partly to blame. So is the $180 million in lost business from Beats Electronics, whose products Synnex used to distribute before Apple acquired the consumer electronics maker. And Windows 10 sales in the commercial space have been slow as most businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach until the operating system is more broadly deployed and tested.