On October 29, Kaiser Permanente began notifying employees of a breach that occurred August 24th when their names, Social Security numbers, and other information were mistakenly e-mailed to an individual not authorized to receive such information. From their letter: [First Name] [Last Name] [Street Address] [City], [State], [ZIP code] Dear [First Name], We are writing…
Month: November 2012
Salinas Valley State Prison staff notified of intranet breach
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been notifying employees of a data breach affecting staff at Salinas Valley State Prison. From their letter describing the intranet exposure: We are writing to you because of an information security incident at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) involving your personal information. On September 26, 2012 it was…
Julius Bär data theft probe widens
World Radio Switzerland reports: Swiss prosecutors say they are now investigating three people in connection with the theft of data at Swiss private bank Julius Bär [Baer]. Until now, the only suspect who has been arrested, is a former employee of the bank. He is alleged to have sold a CD containing the stolen bank…
UK: Public sector squanders £2m due to data leaks
Dan Worth reports: Public sector organisations including the police, NHS and councils have had to pay out £2m in fines as a result of poor data handling practices over the past 18 months. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was given the ability to levy penalties of a maximum of £500,000 in April 2011 in an…
Fake Japanese app steals 10m pieces of personal info
Dave Evans reports: A group of Japanese app developers could face up to three years imprisonment after being arrested over a smartphone virus scam. Initial reports said that about 90,000 smartphones were infected by the virus which extracted personal information stored on users’ handsets. The apps, marketed to unsuspecting customers as a download called “The Movie”,…
Rental leases with personal information found outside apartment complex
Keke Collins reports from South Carolina: Pictures taken in July show boxes of old leasing agreements from Cypress Cove Apartments in West Ashley tossed outside the complex’s storage unit area. The papers, which were discovered this past July, were full of social security numbers, credit reports, W-2 forms, addresses and phone numbers from previous residents….