The Personal Data Protection Bill 2009 was passed by the Dewan Rakyat today without any “fireworks” as had been expected. Debate on it lasted less than three hours and was mainly focused on several issues, specifically credit reference agencies, in particular Credit Tip Off Sdn Bhd (CTOS), the time frame of data protection and the…
Author: Dissent
Countrywide Sold Private Info, Class Claims
Tim Hull reports: Countrywide Financial employees stole and sold “tens of thousands, or millions” of customers’ personal financial information, invading their privacy and exposing them to identity theft, a class action claims in Ventura County Court, Calif. The class seeks to know, among other things, whether Countryside merely aided and abetted the theft and illegal…
Debate over newborn blood tests
Interesting piece in the Statesman Journal about how mandatory screening of babies has led to some ethical debate about the use of the blood spots for broader research purposes.
UK: NHS sends confidential patient records to India
Jon Ungoed-Thomas reports: The NHS is sending millions of patient records and confidential medical notes to India for processing — despite a pledge by Labour that personal information would not be sent overseas. It is the first time that databases of names, addresses and NHS numbers of patients have been sent abroad, along with private…
Former FDIC Employee Admits Leaking Financial Data
Merikay Wootton, 63, Lenexa, Kansas, has pleaded guilty to disclosing confidential information while she was an employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today. Wootton pleaded guilty to unlawfully disclosing confidential information from a government agency. In her plea, she admitted she was working as a loan officer for Columbian…
OH: Private papers found in trash
Ryan Gauthier reports: For several weeks, a mound of city documents containing Social Security numbers, phone numbers and carbon copies of checks filled a Dumpster at Smith Park, where they were accessible to anyone. The Journal received a tip that led to the discovery of countless junked records containing personal information for Middletown residents, along…