DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

NZ: Personal info on children, beneficiaries and contractors of Ministry of Social Development found on kiosk computers (UPDATE4)

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Dissent

Radio New Zealand reports what appears to be a data leak that may have started two years ago:

Information about children in the care of Child Youth Family, beneficiaries and contractors employed by the Ministry of Social Development has been freely accessible through public computer kiosks at Work Income offices.

Freelance journalist and blogger Keith Ng says he was able to download 7000 documents from the ministry’s network through self-service computer kiosks set up for job-seekers.

Mr Ng says the documents were just a fraction of those available. They included invoices detailing the medical conditions of children in state care, the names of people being investigated for benefit fraud, and pay rates for individual ministry contractors.

The self-service kiosks have been in Work Income offices since October 2010.

Mr Ng says he did not have to hack into the system – no passwords or special commands were required.

He informed the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the ministry has begun an investigation.

MSD deputy chief executive Marc Warner said all kiosks are now closed and won’t be open again until the ministry obtains clearance from independent security experts.

So the question is: when and how did MSD ever test the security of their databases? Medical info of children leaking as well as the other types of info is pretty serious.

See the blogger’s report here for more details on what was exposed.  The New Zealand Herald has also picked up the story.

Update 1:  Oh my. It turns out that Work Income (WINZ) was notified of this breach in July 2011. They’ve really got some explaining to do now.

Update 2: Well, maybe it wasn’t. MSD claims the original claim of security breaches a year ago was “quite different” than the most recent breaches.

Update 3:  The blogger named his source.

Update 4: It seems KPMG audited the system in February but didn’t spot the problem?

Category: Breach IncidentsExposureGovernment SectorNon-U.S.Of Note

Post navigation

← NZ: Personal info on children, beneficiaries and contractors of Ministry of Social Development found on kiosk computers
Oprah Winfrey Under attack by @GoatseSec →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Masimo Manufacturing Facilities Hit by Cyberattack
  • Education giant Pearson hit by cyberattack exposing customer data
  • Star Health hacker claims sending bullets, threats to top executives: Reports
  • Nova Scotia Power hit by cyberattack, critical infrastructure targeted, no outages reported
  • Georgia hospital defeats data-tracking lawsuit
  • 60K BTC Wallets Tied to LockBit Ransomware Gang Leaked
  • UK: Legal Aid Agency hit by cyber security incident
  • Public notice for individuals affected by an information security breach in the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division of Helsinki
  • PowerSchool paid a hacker’s extortion demand, but now school district clients are being extorted anyway (3)
  • Defending Against UNC3944: Cybercrime Hardening Guidance from the Frontlines

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • US Customs and Border Protection Plans to Photograph Everyone Exiting the US by Car
  • Google agrees to pay Texas $1.4 billion data privacy settlement
  • The App Store Freedom Act Compromises User Privacy To Punish Big Tech
  • Florida bill requiring encryption backdoors for social media accounts has failed
  • Apple Siri Eavesdropping Payout Deadline Confirmed—How To Make A Claim
  • Privacy matters to Canadians – Privacy Commissioner of Canada marks Privacy Awareness Week with release of latest survey results
  • Missouri Clinic Must Give State AG Minor Trans Care Information

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.