From the UF web site: University of Florida officials have notified 239 former students that their names, addresses and Social Security numbers were part of a web-accessible archive of computer science class information created in 2003 by a faculty member. Discovered last month, the website was removed immediately from the server, which is housed in…
Author: Dissent
ICO confirms imminent data breach fines
Dan Worth reports: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed that it is in the process of imposing fines against organisations that have breached the Data Protection Act. Deputy information commissioner David Smith told V3.co.uk at an Internet Society event in London that the regulator hopes that the fines will make a significant statement about…
Did the punishment fit the "crime?" (the Lucile Salter Packard Hospital breach fines)
Jason C. Gavejian writes about a hospital breach that is causing waves because of the exorbitant fine the state imposed. Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at StanfordUniversity was fined $250,000 earlier this year by the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) for an alleged delay in reporting a breach under California’s health information privacy law. What makes…
When is three years of free credit monitoring still not enough?
How quickly times change. It seems like only a few years ago that we thought it newsworthy that a breached entity would offer a year of free credit monitoring. Then it became newsworthy when they offered two years. Then it became newsworthy when they didn’t offer any free services. Now some retirees in Delaware are…
Social Networks For Patients Stir Privacy, Security Worries
Kelly Jackson Higgins writes: Social networking is infiltrating healthcare with platforms for patients to share intimate details of their diagnoses, medications, physical conditions, locations, and other personal data — and not necessarily anonymously. Members of emerging sites, such as PatientsLikeMe, DailyStrength, andHealthyPlace, for example, can post profiles similar to those on Facebook, and many users are posting…
AU: Tough new ID fraud laws proposed
It will be much tougher for criminals to steal someone’s identity under proposed new laws introduced to the upper house today. The government plans to crackdown on identity thieves by introducing new offences into law, imposing heavier penalties, while also improving how such fraud is policed. It also wants to frame the offences in words…