Two companies that maintain large amounts of sensitive information about the employees of their business customers, including Social Security numbers, have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they failed to employ reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect the data, in violation of federal law. Among other things, the settlement orders require the…
Author: Dissent
Porn industry STD testing clinic that was implicated in horrific privacy breach shuts down; files for bankruptcy
Dennis Romero reports: It has been a saga much more juicy than any of porn’s non-plots. Nearly three months after reopening as a private entity, AIM Healthcare, the clinic that tests adult performers for STDs, has shut down and filed for bankruptcy, industry sources confirmed to the Weekly. We were told a privacy lawsuit challenging…
SOE security breach: only “900” of stolen credit cards were active
Steven Williamson reports: Following the closure of Sony Online Entertainment’s network operations earlier today, the company has now confirmed that only a small percentage of credit card details – possibly seized by hackers during the recent security breach – could be used for fraudulent purposes. Earlier today, PSU reported that Sony Online Entertainment had shut…
Texas Comptroller dips into campaign fund to pay for credit restoration services
Facing mounting criticism of her handling of her office’s massive data breach, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has apologized for the security lapse that exposed personal information on 3.5 million citizens and has agreed to pay for identity restoration services out of her campaign fund. Read more on InfoSecurity. Okay, her campaign fund isn’t exactly the…
Stolen Laptop Compromises Patient Information
WMUR reports: Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth (New Hampshire) is warning patients that a laptop computer with patient information was stolen last month. Officials said the computer was in an employee’s locked car in Boston on April 3. It contained patient names, addresses, hospital account numbers, medical record numbers, and other patient and health information….
Woman Arrested for Identity Theft While Temping for Doctor's Office
Chandra Johnson Greene reports Stamford police arrested a 42-year-old Mount Vernon, NY, woman Monday afternoon for making fraudulent charges to credit cards she had access to while doing temp work for a Stamford-based doctor’s office. According to Sgt. Robert Shawinsky, Melba Witter of 461 South 3rd Ave. was employed by Staff Providers, a Wilton-based staffing…