As I’ve noted here and on PHIprivacy.net a number of times, sometimes the only way we seem to find out about breaches is when government attorneys issue press releases that refer to breaches. Often, such press releases lack the kind of details we need to help us understand what type of breach occurred, how many…
Author: Dissent
Facebook condemns European data protection fines
Antony Savvas reports that Facebook is warning EU data protectors that companies may start court battles if they are fined 2% of their global turnover for a data breach. They also raise a host of other concerns and objections to the draft proposal. Facebook’s response to the draft regulations was obtained under a freedom of information…
PK: Crucial data from Balochistan prison chief’s office stolen
Essa Tareen of News Tribe reports: The credibility of government’s information system is being questioned after important data was stolen from the office of Balochistan Inspector General of Prisons. According to sources, the data was stored in the hard disks of the computer situated inside the office of the IG. The data related to the…
Data Breach Class Action against Popular Video Game Developer Dismissed for Failure to Plead Adequate Damages
An update on the Valve/Steam breach… Alan Pate writes: In a ruling this past Wednesday, November 14th, a Federal Judge in the Western District of Washington dismissed a class action against video game developer Valve Corporation. The class action stemmed from a November 6th, 2011 data breach of Valve’s popular online video game distribution platform,…
Breach notification done right? (Nationwide hack, updated)
I spend a lot of time criticizing breach notifications, so it’s nice when I can occasionally point to a positive example. Without considering whether the breach could have been prevented, consider this notification letter from Nationwide Insurance, dated November 16: We want to make you aware that a portion of our computer network was criminally…
RI: Laptop stolen from Landmark Medical Center (updated)
Tony Gugliotta reports: A laptop computer with a[n Excel] spreadsheet containing certain patient information was stolen from Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket. The hospital sent out a letter to affected patients that said the computer was set up in a conference room within the hospital and was for used [sic] by authorized employees only. According…