Under U.S. privacy laws, HIPAA protections extend past death. The same does not appear to be true in New Zealand, however, as this report by NZCity suggests: The Privacy Commission is sympathising with the family of 103-year-old Myra Letts who claim her privacy was breached when a photo was taken of her in a rest…
Author: Dissent
DNA Testing Firm Goes Bankrupt; Who Gets the Data?
Kim Zetter reports: An Icelandic firm that offers private DNA testing to customers has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., raising privacy concerns about the fate of customer DNA samples and records, according to the Times of London. DeCODE Genetics, a genetics research firm, began offering personalized DNA testing through its deCODEme website two years…
OH: Social security numbers found in area library books
Tim Miller reports: Folks have been warned about not giving out personal information, but never knew an old library book could hold clues to their identities. At the University of Toledo, books from the 1980s and 90s with readers’ social security numbers may still be in circulation. Today, when UT students check out a book,…
Two held in global PC fraud probe
Two suspected computer hackers have been arrested in Manchester in a major inquiry into a global internet scam designed to steal personal details. The trojan program is believed to have infected thousands of computers around the world, said The Metropolitan Police which is leading the investigation. A man and woman, both aged 20, have been…
Massive card processor breach in Spain affecting Europeans
Back in October, this site reported that “tens of thousands” of Swedish banking customers and “tens of thousands” of Finnish banking customers had been affected by a breach in Spain that might involve a card payment processor. Today, the BBC reports that: Anyone who used a Visa or Mastercard credit card when in Spain may…
Former GEXA employee pleads guilty to computer intrusion
A former database administrator for GEXA Energy has been convicted following his guilty plea to intruding into his former employer’s computer database system. The conviction of Steven Jinwoo Kim, 40, was announced yesterday by United States Attorney Tim Johnson. At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore, Kim admitted to recklessly causing damage to…