Bruce Schneier’s PasswordSafe lockbox, which provides a free utility for users to encrypt and manage multiple passwords on a computer, is ready for a new phase of open-source development. The celebrated cryptographer, who is credited with designing or co-designing several widely used encryption algorithms, announced the release of Version 2.1 of the database utility as a full-fledged open-source project at SourceForge.

IBM has agreed to buy privately held Isogon to tap into the growing demand for software that automates the way companies manage application expenditures and usage. Terms of the deal, which was announced Thursday and is expected to close in the third quarter, were not disclosed. Isogon’s operation will be integrated into IBM’s Tivoli infrastructure management software business.

The credit files of about 600 Canadian consumers were accessed without authorization, credit reporting agency Equifax Canada said Thursday. The breach resulted from what appears to be improper use of the access codes and passwords of one of Equifax’s customers. Most of the affected people are in British Columbia, and all have been contacted and offered a one-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Equifax said.

Software maker Adobe Systems acknowledged that an information disclosure vulnerability in two of its products could be exploited by malicious hackers to hijack sensitive system information. The flaws were flagged–and fixed–in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat, two programs widely used to view and print PDF files. Affected versions include Adobe Reader 7.0 and 7.0.1, and Adobe Acrobat 7.0 and 7.0.1 on Windows and Macintosh platforms.

Oracle announced a new program to lure SAP AG users over to its E-Business Suite. Dubbed OFF SAP (Oracle Fusion for SAP) the program offers SAP R/3 users up to 100 percent license credit to switch from SAP to Oracle applications. At the same time, Oracle Consulting announced a free workshop and migration plan for R/3 users, and Oracle Financing said it would offer the equivalent of a six-months-same-as-cash offer.

Gallatin has announced kNEWS Professional v4.0 for IBM Lotus Notes and Domino users. kNEWS is a subscription management and electronic publishing application that enables organizations to build and manage opt-in email list groups, generate email, Web, and RSS notifications and e-newsletters, and manage bounced email.

A security breach has occurred at a third-party processor of payment card transactions that affects over 40 million card accounts, Mastercard International said Friday. Of the cards involved, 13.9 million were MasterCard-branded cards, which include Maestro and Cirrus, and 22 million were Visa cards, said Visa spokeswoman Rhonda Bentz. The breach took place at the Tucson office of CardSystems Solutions, which processes transactions on behalf of financial institutions and merchants. CardSystems said in a statement that it identified the breach on May 22 and contacted the FBI the next day.

It’s amazing how these companies can be complicit in this. How can Jerry and Bill sleep at night?

BEA Systems rolled out a slew of products under the aegis of its new Enterprise Liquid Assets vision as the company continues its effort to position itself as a serious force in service-oriented architectures. The company unveiled its BEA AquaLogic family of products, aimed at addressing what BEA refers to as service infrastructure. Speaking at the launch event at the NASDAQ MarketSite, Bill Roth, vice president of product management at BEA, said the AquaLogic products will complement the company’s WebLogic line of tools for building applications.

Delta Air Lines, Google and other major companies are firing and disciplining employees for what they say about work on their blogs, which are personal sites that often contain a mix of frank commentary, freewheeling opinions and journaling. And it’s hardly just an issue for employees: Some major employers such as IBM are now passing first-of-their-kind employee blogging guidelines designed to prevent problems, such as the online publishing of trade secrets, without stifling the kinds of blogs that can also create valuable buzz about a company.