Will Greenlee reports: Police on Tuesday turned up medical files containing information that could be used to commit identity theft in a trash bin near University Medical Clinics, a police spokesman said Wednesday. Police determined the files, which contained information including patient names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and addresses, had been discarded from University…
Author: Dissent
A Federal Court Dismisses a Suit Based on a Threat of Identity Theft and an Extortion Letter
Anita Ramasastry has a commentary on a recent federal court decision in a lawsuit against Express Scripts. She writes, in part: Readers may wonder, Why didn’t the extortion letter make a difference in the Amburgy v. Express Scripts case? After all, didn’t the letter substantially strengthen the risk that a breach would occur? Perhaps –…
(update) Missing National Archives hard drive contained more data than previously estimated
The National Archives breach involving White House staff and visitors seems to be one of those breaches where after almost a year, estimates of number of people affected are still emerging and increasing. An article on Roll Call indicates that personal information on 250,000 Clinton administration staff and White House visitors sent to the National…
Commerce Dept. slow to notify employees of security breach
Joe Davidson reports on a Commerce Dept. breach that involved the transmission of unencrypted PII: Why did it take the Commerce Department so long to notify employees that their personal information, including Social Security numbers, had been let loose on the Internet? On Monday, employees were informed by letters mailed to their homes about “a…
Hotel chain Starwood warns of possible credit card fraud
Customers who stayed at one of the hotels owned by international hotel conglomerate Starwood within Germany may have been victim to widespread credit card fraud, the company confirmed on Tuesday. The New York-based company owns chains such as Sheraton, Westin and Le Méridien, and believes that some customers who carry “Miles and More” cards –…
Personal data stolen? Don’t count on being told promptly.
Andrea Rock of Consumer Reports highlights one of the findings of the new Ponemon report: Not only are data breaches from criminal attacks on U.S.-based companies’ financial and customer data on the rise, but your odds of being promptly informed if you’re a breach victim aren’t very high, according to a new data breach report…