Nancy Amons reports that some Nashville, Tennessee flood victims discovered that their personal information was publicly available online after they submitted documentation such as canceled checks and other sensitive information online to obtain property tax relief. It seems that the Metro Assessor of Property had tried to make things easier for people to upload documentation…
Author: Dissent
Closing a Door on Child Identity Theft
The Identity Theft Resource Center offers a solution to the problem that has made headlines this week — young children have their pristine SSN misused to create credit histories for those who have poor credit ratings, are illegal immigrants, or have other illegal intent: Since the 1980’s, children in the US have been issued Social…
Break’s over: after decline in 2009, breach reports appear to rise in 2010
The Verizon breach analysis report released this past week reported declines in 2009 in both the number of records compromised and the number of breaches Verizon was asked to investigate. Their reported decline in number of breaches has some confirmation in reports from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the Identity Theft Resource Center, who…
HHS Dismisses AHF Complaint, Closes AIM Investigation
Oleh writes: The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the main group attempting to force adult performers to use condoms and dental dams (and possibly goggles) in every sex scene, has just been handed a setback by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has ruled that its Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has…
AVG uncovers new data-stealing Mumba botnet
Jeremy Kirk reports: Researchers at AVG have uncovered a botnet that has been harvesting personal information and uses the latest version of the Zeus code, underscoring the widespread use of the sophisticated malware. Dubbed the Mumba botnet, the campaign infected more than 35,000 computers when it started at the end of April, according to a…
Recent computer thefts at Montefiore affected 39,000
As a brief update on the Montefiore Medical Center breaches reported previously: According to a hospital spokesperson with whom I spoke today, the Finance Department theft affected 16,000 patients, while the School Health Program theft affected 23,000 students and their families. No arrest has been made in either case yet. The hospital declined to be…