Julie Zauzmer reports: More than 1,400 Howard University Hospital patients accidentally received letters intended for other patients with the same last names, the university disclosed on Friday. The letters contained only the patients’ names, their account numbers and the dates that they visited Howard University doctors, not any other personal information, the university said in…
Month: July 2015
Army National Guard announces data breach; establishes call center
From their press release: Former and current members of the Army National Guard could be affected by a breach of personal information, Guard officials said today. This incident is unrelated to the breach of federal civilian employee personal information reported last week and on Thursday by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), officials confirmed. “All…
Ca: Mailing error in Newfoundland and Labrador reported to privacy commissioner
The Canadian Press reports: Six beneficiaries in Newfoundland and Labrador’s prescription drug program have received letters from the Department of Health and Community Services that were intended for someone else. The government says it has contacted the six people affected by telephone. The six letters are from 21,000 mailings sent on June 29 extending beneficiaries’…
AU: Asylum-seeker victim of government privacy breach fears being murdered by the Taliban
Nicole Hasham reports: He was threatened with beheading by the Taliban after immigration officials leaked his private details online, and now asylum seeker Nadir Sadiqi fears he will be sent home to certain death in Afghanistan. Mr Sadiqi was among 10,000 asylum seekers – about one third of those held in Australia at the time…
Audits find data security lapses at L.A. County agencies
Ouch. Abby Sewell reports: Security lapses in several departments of Los Angeles County government put residents’ medical information, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information at risk of being stolen, three recent audits have found. Probation, Public Health and Public Social Services, which dispenses welfare benefits, failed to deactivate computer login codes for hundreds of…
Hospital investigating leak of Jason Pierre-Paul’s medical information
More on a privacy breach previously noted on this blog. Henry McKenna reports: The hospital treating Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has begun searching for the cause of a data breach, which allowed ESPN reporter Adam Schefter to share Pierre-Paul’s medical records on Twitter on Wednesday. The documents showed Pierre-Paul was scheduled for a right…