William R. Levesque reports: The door was supposed to be locked. It wasn’t. Two officers patrolling the Bay Pines VA Medical Center stepped inside. They found a stack of papers that should have been locked away. Some contained private patient information — Social Security numbers, treatment information, patient addresses. To figure out who could be…
Author: Dissent
(follow-up) Bank Worker Pleads Guilty to Hacking 100 ATMs
As a follow-up to a case reported here previously, Kim Zetter reports that a former Bank of America employee, Rodney Reed Caverly, pleaded guilty Tuesday to installing malware on more than 100 ATMs, and stealing $304,000 over a seven-month period. Authorities were able to recover at least $167,000 in cash after the worker told U.S….
Almost Half of Disclosed Breaches Do Not Include Number of Records Compromised
Perimeter E-Security today unveiled the results of its annual U.S. Data Breach Study, a review of the scope and impact of data security breaches that occurred in the past year. “While 2009 had the fewest number of data breach incidents reported in the last four years, there was a dramatic increase in the average number…
Over a Third of All Data Breaches in Germany Are the Result of Errors by External Partners
In 2009 German companies had to invest more than they did only a year ago when they suffered a data breach with subsequent data abuse. More and more frequently the source of the error leading to violation of data protection is not in the company’s own building but on the premises of external providers who…
More than 200 FFD workers warned personal info may be compromised
Minna Sugimoto reports: More than 200 Federal Fire Department workers are being advised to look for unusual activity on their bank accounts, after allegations that an employee wrongfully accessed their personal information. Navy officials in Hawaii launched an investigation after receiving an anonymous complaint that personal data was being compromised. Top brass at the Federal…
Liechtenstein digs in heels against stolen bank data
The small tax haven of Liechtenstein is preparing to backpedal on an agreement with Germany to crack down on tax dodgers, and now plans to give no help if investigations are based on stolen data, a report said Wednesday. The tiny alpine principality, which lies between Switzerland and Austria, intends to introduce new clauses into…