The Westchester County District Attorney’s office announced that a nine count indictment was handed up charging Razvan Apostol, 31, a citizen of Romania staying in Queens, New York, with eight counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, and one count of Unlawful Possession of a Skimmer Device. On August 17, 2010, in the Town…
Author: Dissent
ID theft rings coming soon to a town near you
It seems that every day I read about an “ID theft ring.” Most of the cases reported in the mainstream media do not provide the kind of detail that would further analysis, though, so I often omit them, even though they may involve a lot of money or multiple states. Here are just two examples…
Editorial: Drug database access needs tight controls
I recently noted that sheriffs in North Carolina want access to a database containing records of those taking painkillers. Here’s an editorial from a NC paper, the News & Observer: Policing abuse is a growing challenge requiring the cooperation of the medical community and law enforcement, with the state establishing reasonable parameters that will ensure…
Clarifying CT's new Insurance Bulletin reporting requirement
The new bulletin from the Connecticut Insurance Commission, mentioned here, had left me a tad confused, so I wrote to them: Re the definition of a security incident: “The Department considers an information security incident to be any unauthorized acquisition or transfer of, or access to, personal health, financial, or personal information, whether or not…
OK: New law prevents storage of newborn blood samples
Mark Schlachtenhaufen reports: Most states do not inform parents of the retention and research use of newborn blood spot samples, according to the Indiana Center for Bioethics. However, a new Oklahoma law, Senate Bill 1250, authored by state Sen. Jonathan Nichols, R-Norman, prohibits any medical facility from storing or using infant DNA for research without…
Point-of-sale machines a growing magnet for identity thieves
Laura Baziak reports that theft of POS touch screens is increasing in Canada as thieves look for an easy way to get any card data stored on the device: …. Farahbakhchian said theft of all point-of-sale machines has been a steady problem in B.C. for the past three years. He said he hasn’t seen a…