The cat and mouse game between hackers and security experts went uninterrupted this past week. Google stepped up its efforts to better encrypt personal information, Apple pulled the curtains back on the iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner, and Echopass became the first cloud-based contact center to earn PCI Level 1 certification. In other news, NSFOCUS shed light on the latest trends in the DDoS landscape

In June 2012, Google launched a company-wide encryption initiative to keep user data away from prying eyes. Insiders revealed this week that the program has been accelerated in a push to mop up the publicity mess caused by the search giant’s involvement in the now infamous PRISM snooping program. The new encryption probably won’t keep the NSA at bay given the large amount of resources and technical knowledge at the agency’s disposal, but it will succeed in complicating surveillance efforts.

While Google is trying to sweep the NSA scandal under the rug, Apple is taking end-user security to the next level. The company revealed that its newly debuted iPhone 5S will ship with Touch ID, a fingerprint sensor that makes it all but impossible for hackers to gain unauthorized access to the device.

Companies in data-driven industries are increasingly pursuing new ways to ensure consumer privacy. Case in point, contact center Echopass recently obtained the PCI DSS Level 1 certification after passing a rigorous external security audit. The firm credits its success to FishNet a Kansas-based provider of information security solutions.

A few days after Echopass announced its latest achievement, DDoS prevention specialist NSFOCUS published the results of its latest study. The company found that hackers launched 168,459 DDoS attacks in the first half of 2013, the equivalent of 1.3 attacks every two minutes.