I received an email today from a University of Hawaii student who is feeling unsettled by all of the breaches that the University has had in the past year. He wanted to let me know that although mainstream media were saying that the University of Hawaii had experienced three breaches since 2009, they’ve actually experienced…
Author: Dissent
Will New Congress Alter HITECH Plans?
Howard Anderson writes: Republicans have pledged to block the spending of any economic stimulus money not yet spent, but it’s unlikely they’ll try to pull the plug on the federal HITECH Act incentive payments for use ofelectronic health records several observers say. But they expect the new Congress will keep a very close eye on the…
How to identify spreadsheets and databases with protected health information (PII and PHI)
Shahid writes: The nice folks from IBM’s developerWorks group asked me to write an intermediate-level set of instructions (with a little code) for how technical teams can identify and find databases and spreadsheets that might contain personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). The article is now available on IBM’s developerWork… Read more…
Richmond school system inadvertently sent e-mail with personal data
Jeremy Slayton reports that an employee of the Richmond Public Schools sent an email on Tuesday morning that inadvertently contained personal information, including SSN, of almost 110 employees. The e-mail was sent out to all Richmond public school staff — about 3,300 employees — around 9:15 Tuesday morning. Less than an hour passed before the…
U.S. Workers Are on Alert After Breach of Data
Ashley Southall reports: Federal workers at the General Services Administration are on alert against identity theft after an employee sent the names and Social Security numbers of the agency’s entire staff to a private e-mail address.The agency, which manages federal property, employs more than 12,000 people. Officials apologized to employees for the incident in a letter dated…
New FTC portal to assist businesses in complying with privacy and security laws
From the FTC’s press release: The Federal Trade Commission has a new Business Center at Business.ftc.gov that gives business owners, attorneys, and marketing professionals the tools they need to understand and comply with the consumer protection laws, rules, and guides the FTC enforces. The Business Center provides practical, plain-language guidance about advertising, credit, telemarketing, privacy, and a host…