Nicole Blake Johnson reports: A Veterans Affairs Department data breach may have put at risk the personal information of more than 4,000 veterans, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said Wednesday. That is nearly twice the number of potentially affected vets VA said last week were eligible for credit monitoring because of the breach. The…
Author: Dissent
Final phase of Mass. data protection law kicks in March 1
Jaikumar Vijayan reports: All companies storing personal data on Massachusetts residents have just over a month to ensure that their contractors, suppliers, technology providers and other third parties comply with a provision of a state data breach law that went into effect in March 2010. The law (download PDF) is designed to ensure that companies holding data…
OK: Medical records stolen from skincare company
Sharon Phillips reports: A burglary in south Tulsa has detectives on high alert. The personal information of more than 400 people is now in the hands of crooks. It happened at Preferred Skin Solutions near 55th and Lewis, and now officers are concerned about identity theft. The owners believe the thieves broke in sometime between…
Study Examines the Aftermath of Data Breaches
A press release from Experian Data Breach Resolution and the Ponemon Institute: Nearly everyday consumers willingly provide their personal information to organizations online with no hesitation, neglecting to realize how that information can be exposed due to employee negligence, insider maliciousness, system glitches or attacks by cyber criminals. With Data Privacy Day (Saturday, January 28) right…
Programming Note
A number of regular readers have e-mailed to ask why the blog is not being updated as frequently as it usually is. The answer is simple, but sad: my mother is dying. Updates will continue to be sporadic for a while as I am at the hospice every day to spend time with her as…
MN parents file lawsuit over DNA collection from newborns
Dionne Cordell-Whitney reports: Minnesota collects DNA samples from newborn children, then illegally keeps the genetic information and shares it with third parties without informed consent of the parents, parents say in a class action. Lead plaintiffs Nathan and Katrina Anderson sued the state, the Minnesota Department of Health, and its commissioner, in Hennepin County Court….