Dan Raywood reports: Details of a political website being hacked has been reported when a sensitive site was hit by a hacker who managed to gain access to the email database. After two political websites were hit last week, the Pakistani National Response Center for Cyber Crimes, part of the Federal Investigation Authority, was also…
Author: Dissent
UK: Records stolen from hospital that held secret DNA database
Mark Tighe reports: Two computer servers containing the records of almost 1m patients were stolen from the Children’s University hospital in Temple Street in 2007 and have never been recovered. The data were far more than that lost on stolen bank laptops in recent years. The theft was investigated by the data protection commissioner (DPC)…
AU: Go card controversy claims two call operators
Darren Cartwright reports: Two call centre operators have been stood down following an incident that cast doubts on the security of the Queensland government’s paperless ticket system, the go card. Acting Premier Paul Lucas said an investigation was under way to determine why a commuter’s go card was stripped of funds and transferred to another…
TSA ID theft probe ongoing
Jessica Fargen reports: A former Transportation Security Administration contract worker at Logan International Airport – accused a month ago of stealing co-workers’ personal information and giving it to alleged identity thieves – remains under investigation, authorities said. The TSA and Massachusetts State Police are probing the woman’s alleged role in the successful scheme. No charges…
Time for full and frank data disclosure (opinion)
From an editorial in New Scientist: DNA profiling technology has improved by leaps and bounds since its potential was first glimpsed by geneticist Alec Jeffreys in 1984. But as DNA databases grow, so does the risk that coincidental matches will lead to false convictions. This week we report on the publication of a letter in…
Customers alerted to BlueCross data breach
Customers of Chattanooga-based insurer BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee slowly are being notified by mail of a potential breach of their personal information. This week, BCBS will provide updated data to the public on exactly how many customers were exposed when 57 hard drives were pilfered in October from a storage closet at the insurer’s Eastgate…