John Markoff reports: Ever since Google disclosed in January that Internet intruders had stolen information from its computers, the exact nature and extent of the theft has been a closely guarded company secret. But a person with direct knowledge of the investigation now says that the losses included one of Google’s crown jewels, a password…
Author: Dissent
Germany named Europe’s top computer virus culprit
Germany hung onto its dubious title as Europe’s leader in spreading computer viruses in 2009, though its share of malicious activity in the region dropped slightly, a survey has found. Some 12 percent of malicious software circulating in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2009 was deliberately spread via computers in Germany, the study…
AU: Health identifiers: more paperwork and fines
Jared Reed reports: Medical groups say heavy fines for practices that breach regulations for the new unique health identifier legislation are unnecessary and will stop doctors using them in the first place. Contravening a minor regulation exposes practices of fines of up to $5,500 a time. The legislation, due for debate in the Senate next…
Hospital board mum on possible privacy violations
Tim Lockette reports: Officials at Regional Medical Center [in Anniston, Alabama] have completed their first look into possible violations of patient privacy at the hospital. But so far, the results of that investigation are, well, private. “This is a peer review document, and as such it is not something we can release to the public,”…
Blood Bank’s computer stolen
Jim Mendoza reports: Honolulu police are on the lookout for thieves who stole a laptop computer from the Blood Bank of Hawaii that held personal information on nearly 40,000 deferred donors. The crime happened on March 29 at the organization’s Dillingham Donor Center. […] Information stored in one of the laptops included donors’ names, birth…
Newborn DNA Registries Raise Privacy Concerns
I’ve included some news stories on DNA registries for newborns in the past, most recently involving a troubling situation in Texas. Here’s an overview of some of the controversies surrounding such databases, from Sarah McIntosh: Parents are expressing outrage after discovering through recent news reports that their newborns’ DNA has been stored or even turned…