Sloppy Web Security

Lee Gomes writes in this morning's Wall St. Journal about weak web security (subscription required) -- in particular problems recently with the web sites of OpenTable.com and Saks Fifth Avenue.

The two sites' problems show something of the whack-a-mole nature of Web security. New worries always pop up. At first, the emphasis online was on preventing a hacker from snooping on the connection between a user and a Web site. Now, with that problem largely solved, sites are being forced to examine more-subtle issues, like how seemingly innocuous information given to trusted customers can be used for ill.

Update: Open Table has posted more information about the security problem last week on its web site.